After many years of threatening to by myself a sauna but demoting the thought on the ‘what do list’ and limiting saunas to Aquatic Centre Visits, COVID finally sent me over the edge. Suddenly the thought of having to share this space with others in a commercial aquatic centrewas no longer that appealing.
Long story short I had already laid a concrete slab in an appropriate spot in our backyard. I have searched ‘saunas for sale’ intermittently for years but I have never been keen on an infrared and any ‘outdoor’ traditional sauna that I could find on the market just didn’t seem sturdy enough. Being on Phillip Island I had only searched in Victoria. When I extended my search for some reason, I found ‘The Sauna King’. I thought, ‘well I’ll be the judge of that’.
I read the blurb on most ‘outdoor’ saunas being designed for under cover areas and couldn’t agree more. Not sturdy enough. Then I saw Ian’s pictures of a sauna looking like a solid cubby house with colour-bond roof, and internal shots that truly looked like a smaller version of a commercial sauna and that was it – if I ever did bite the bullet this is the one I would want.
As my 60th birthday approached my six kids got together and decided to surprise me with a sauna. My wife urged them to check with me first as if I got a sauna I was not happy with I might ‘sook up’ – and she’s dead right. No brand name needs to be mentioned, but their selection was one I’d dismissed. I suggested I order one through ‘The Sauna King’ – they’re budget would become the deposit and I’ll pick it up from there.
Ian was so good to liaise with through this process. After some general chit-chat and handy suggestions I sent through the dimensions and floor plan. I was given regular updates as to the progress, delayed a little by having to source cedar from different places due to high demand during Covid. A couple of weeks later and it’s being freighted from Adelaide and a few days after that it’s sitting on a pallet in my garage.
There is some weight in it so don’t think you can whack it up yourself, but sturdy is what I wanted. With the help of my son-in-law (a carpenter) and a couple of heavy lifters we had it up in a few hours. Electrician in to wire it all up and Robert’s your father’s brother.
The only thing I have been disappointed with is that I waiting so long. On a scale of 0-10 of how happy I am with the finished product and how it works – it’s off the charts. You pay more than the cheaper flimsy ones but this is the sauna you want.
My biggest recommendation to anyone else is advice given to me by a friend of mine who is a jockey and has had a few different saunas over the years. That is – don’t go too big. 2m x 2m is what he suggested and this just happened to be the dimensions of my pre-laid slab. Means is heats up quick and very efficient. Each to their own though. Ian was very accommodating in making it to fit the area and forthcoming on how to trim costs a little bit. For example he suggested I didn’t need a floor because I was putting it on a concrete slab.
In summary I cannot recommend The Sauna King highly enough. Though we had not met and I was buying sight unseen, he sounded like he was riddled with integrity and never was I the slightest bit nervous about the process. So if you’re a sauna freak like me, do yourself a favour and speak to ‘The Sauna King’.
Need to go now …… saunas ready!
Brendan
January 2021 | Cowes, Vic