FURNISHINGS : Saunas Use a Dried and True Method

In Finland, there are an estimated 1.4 million saunas for a population of 5 million. For more than 2,000 years, the sauna’s dry heat has been unclogging the pores and leaching the stiffness from sore Scandinavian muscles.

Finnish businessmen and politicians take to the sauna during tense negotiations, in the belief that in the heat, hostility melts away.

Babies have been in Finnish saunas, where it is warm and hygienic. Saunas (pronounced in Finland sow-nas , as in “how”) have even been used to smoke ham and malt barley and in the past was the place where the dead were prepared for burial.

The sauna ritual continues strong. Many Finns have summer cottages with lakeside saunas, says Pirkko Valtakari, secretary of the International Sauna Society in Helsinki, an organization of 1,800 members that promotes the sauna and its traditions.

Pioneer Finns brought the sauna to the United States when they settled in Delaware in 1638, according to Reino Tarkiainen of Finlandia Saunas in Portland, Ore.

In Southern California, there’s a tiny but thriving market for saunas, says Dave Dickerson, owner of California Sauna in Garden Grove. Saunas here are most commonly found in million-dollar houses.

Orange County has pockets of sauna enthusiasts. Dickerson’s clients are bunched in Newport Beach, Anaheim, Tustin Hills, Marbella in San Juan Capistrano and parts of San Clemente. Many saunas are being installed during remodels.

Most people buying saunas have used them before, notes Pamela Temme of Nordic Sauna in Van Nuys.

Lack of experience may be the main reason why there aren’t more in the county. Those who have not tried a sauna are typically confused about the difference between a sauna and a steam bath, Dickerson says.

Unlike a steam bath, the sauna offers a dry heat. Ladling a dipper of water onto the hot stones called kiuas (kee-wass) creates a vapor called loyly that carries a burst of heat through the sauna. Temperatures in a sauna usually run about 180 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning it’s hot. The humidity is about 25%, which one can increase by throwing more water on the stones.

The average residential sauna is 5-by-6 feet, with a 7-foot ceiling to keep the heat down where it’s needed. It has two levels of benches with room for two people to stretch out, or four to sit. Dickerson’s saunas average about $2,500.

In Southern California, “The spa has been an easier product to sell,” says Toby Olssen of Skandic Saunas in San Diego. “People can imagine themselves sitting in a spa with a glass of wine. In a sauna, that’s a no-no. You’re pushing your body a little bit. It’s roughly the equivalent of a brisk walk.”

Sauna experts warn that heat endurance should not be turned into a competitive sport. If people get uncomfortable, they take a shower or a swim, then return for another round. (Experts advise a gradual change of temperature for those with heart problems or high blood pressure.)

As if fiery heat isn’t enough, real sauna enthusiasts whisk themselves with leafy birch branches to stir their circulatory systems still more.

The traditional sauna was fired by wood, using birch logs to heat the stones. Most Finns, however, have long since gone to electric heaters that can bring the sauna quickly up to temperature.

The popular Finlandia brand stainless-steel heaters are designed to put the stones in direct contact with the heating elements. This gives a softer feeling to the heat as it spreads, Dickerson says, eliminating the harsh blast that some heaters generate.

Free-standing saunas are easily installed. Modular kits are available for do-it-yourselfers. For his built-in saunas, Dickerson has the contractor frame the room, provide the rough electrical capacity for 240 volts and put in a finished, moppable floor (a drain is not usually needed in a residential sauna).

After that, the sauna can be installed in a day. Dickerson’s crew insulates the walls and ceiling, using R-11 foil-faced insulation to reflect the heat.

Dickerson uses unpainted cedar for the walls and doors (in Finland, Nordic spruce is commonly used). These softwoods absorb some of the heat; hardwoods will burn the skin.

About 80% of the time, owners install the sauna in the master bath, Dickerson says. Another popular spot is off the exercise room.

One Coto de Caza home has a cabana next to the pool; the cabana has a sauna and an adjoining exercise/family room, says Dave Cervantes, project manager for R.D. Olson Construction in Anaheim.

Dickerson uses a 15-by-60-inch, dual-pane, glazed-glass window in the doors of his saunas, but the sauna can be customized.

At the Cook residence on Linda Isle, additional glass panels were set on either side of the door, so that one has a view of the exercise room, says Daniel Shultis, a Laguna Beach general contractor.

There’s a lot to be said for a sauna with a view. Hotels in Finland often take full advantage of the Scandinavian scenery. At the Inter-Continental Hotel in Helsinki, the eighth-floor sauna has a glass wall overlooking a park and lake. After a soothing sauna, one follows up with a swim in the pool--and finishes with a snack of thick beef-and-flour sausages called nakkia, dipped in sweet mustard and washed down with beer.

The sauna becomes quickly addictive. For homeowners wanting every convenience, saunas can be equipped with speaker systems and TVs, shaving bars or just about any other amenity. Once in the habit, sauna lovers will go to great lengths to sauna; Temme has installed saunas in a treehouse, a motor home and even in a 707 jetliner.