What is the Best Sauna Wood?
While Western Red Cedar is the most popular choice for sauna wood in America, in Finland, where there are more saunas per capita than any other country, they use a wide variety of woods that you may prefer over cedar for their appearance and performance. SteamSaunaBath offers a broad selection of wood for saunas to allow you to create a sauna room that reflects your personal taste and style.
The best and most resillient woods for saunas are thermally modifed. These woods have greater dimensional stability and are much less prone to weathering with age than non-modified wood. Thermal modification involves a chemical-free, organic process that alters the timber using only heat, steam, and pressure, which modifies every fiber of the board resulting in superior rot-resistance, reduced moisture absorbancy, and greater longevity.
Thermo-Aspen
Thermo-Aspen has a richer color and more prominent grain pattern than un-modified aspen for a unique and attractive visual effect. SteamSaunaBath offers Thermo-Aspen from Thermory, a world leader and sauna wood specialist. Thermo-Aspen is an eco-friendly, all natural product that has a reduced thermal conductivity for greater comfort. Its warm color creates a luxurious and cozy sauna space. Select Thermo-Aspen for its warm appearance, durability, and dimensional stability. Ideal for sauna interiors and benching.
Aspen
Natural Aspen is an excellent sauna material because it's not too hot to the touch and doesn't secrete resin or splinter. It's light tone and smooth texture create a striking appearance and a bright and contemporary sauna room. You can also create a sophisticated effect by using Aspen with other woods to create color accents. Great for sauna interiors and benching.
Thermo-Radiata Pine
Thermo-Radiata Pine is an excellent quality wood that is cultivated throughout the world. Its a beautiful, smooth wood with a complex grain that adds a unique, luxurious appearance. It's a terrific choice for a sauna because it has no exposed knots, doesn't secrete resin, doesn't splinter, and won't overheat, making it great for sauna benches. Thermo-radiata pine is thermally modifed for superior dimensional stability, durability, rot-resistence, and decreased moisture absorbtion. Excellent for sauna benching and exterior paneling.
Alder
Alder wood is a popular choice for saunas because it doesn't overheat and is highly water repellant. It's reddish tone and pleasant texture make it an ideal finishing material. Alder is both beautiful and hardy, so it can be used for a variety of interior features.
Western Red Cedar
Western Red Cedar is an extremely popular sauna material becsause of its traditional look and pleasant aroma, but also because of its ablity to withstand wet conditions and that it remains cool enough to sit on in the extreme heat of a sauna. Cedar can be used for sauna interiors, benching, and exterior panels.
