Friday, December 19, 2008

Buying Home Sauna Kits: Prebuilt Or Kit Form

By Mike H

Would you like to have a sauna installed in your house? Put off by the high cost of hiring a contractor? You can save more than half the cost by installing a kit or prebuilt sauna yourself.

It is much easier than you may consider, installing a prebuilt or sauna kit in your own home. You should be able to handle the job with no problems when you have basic tool skills. Using a simple Allen key you can fit together a prebuilt sauna easier than using a kit.

What's the Difference?

A sauna kit is a package containing all the precut pieces necessary to build a sauna. Assembling a kit is usually straightforward and can be accomplished with a few simple tools. A prebuilt sauna is even easier -- it has already been assembled into two or three large pieces that simply need to be connected together.

Since a prebuilt sauna has already had most of the assembly work done, it is usually more expensive than a comparable sized sauna kit. The additional cost may be worth it if you have limited time - prebuilt saunas can be up and operating in half an hour.

Sauna Kits

When compared to constructing a sauna from scratch, sauna kits require more building skills while prebuilt saunas offer big savings on a contractor. All the materials are precut including the wood. You simply read the directions and fit the sections together properly.

Sauna kits offer an advantage over prebuilt saunas as they can be easily installed in some pre-existing area such as a small room or closet. Prebuilt saunas are most often freestanding saunas and are generally too large to place in small areas.

There are sauna kits available in just about any shape or size you can think of. In fact, you can have a custom made sauna kit that installs in some of the most unusual spaces.

You will need to provide the wiring and framework necessary for your sauna when using a sauna kit. For instance, you begin by stripping out any existing wallboards from their frames. Then you will place a plastic vapor barrier over the insulation.

You'll probably want an electrician to install the wiring for you sauna heater. Once all of this has been taken care of, you just attach the pieces in the sauna kit to the framework already present and plug the heater into the power supply. This can all be done in a single day, if you are somewhat handy.

Prebuilt Saunas

Modular or prebuilt saunas are a snap to install. There will be 2 or 3 sections for you to attach together. You can install them anywhere since they are freestanding units. The lighting and wiring are included and various companies will include the heater and all the sauna accessories you will need.

When buying a prebuilt sauna, make sure that the individual pieces will fit through your doorways. Most companies selling prebuilt saunas specify the minimum size of doorway required.

Prebuilt saunas are portable which is very beneficial. You may not want to take it with you everywhere you go, however if you ever decide to sell your home you can take your sauna with you when you go.

On the other hand, a permanently installed sauna may add to the resale value of your house when it comes time to sell, and the extra money may allow you to install a new sauna in your new house.

About the Author:

No comments: