Guide

Garden sauna buying checklist: 10 things to check

The checks that change the real price of a garden sauna, in the order to do them.

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The heater, the electrics and the base can add £2,500 to the price you see. Check these ten things before you pay.

Is the heater included? Many prices exclude it.
What power does the heater need? A plug, a new circuit or a bigger supply. Electrics guide.
Electric or wood? Wood needs no electrician but check the smoke rules.
Will it fit? Outside size, height, and 2 m from boundaries. Planning guide.
Can it get to the spot? Base and delivery.
Wood and wall thickness: (heat-treated wood) resists rot; walls of 40 mm or more hold heat better.
How many people really fit? Seat counts are the seller's; we size by the top of the range.
Warranty on the cabin, and separately on the heater.
Who builds it? Self-assembly, or the seller's installation price.
The 5-year cost, not the sticker price. Every sauna page shows it.

Common worries

"It's too expensive."

Garden saunas you can buy today start at £3,900 ready to use, with the heater, electrics and base included. Infrared cabins that plug in start at £1,595. Used twice a week by two people for five years, a typical sauna costs a few pounds a person each time. A community sauna charges about £10. Work out your own payback →

"The electrics sound like a nightmare."

It is one visit from a registered electrician. Every sauna page says what power it needs, and we add a typical cost to the price (£450 for a new circuit). 8 saunas we list plug into a normal socket, and 46 garden saunas take a wood stove with no electrics at all. Sauna electrics, explained →

"Won't I need planning permission?"

GOV.UK's guidance says usually not in England, if it is behind the front of the house, single storey, and no taller than 2.5 m within 2 m of a boundary. Most garden saunas we list are well under that, and every sauna page shows its height. The finder can filter for it. The planning rules →

All ten sauna worries