Kiwifruit grower's hybrid, Bay of Plenty

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Traditional sauna, infrared option.

A kiwifruit farmer's sauna that runs traditional or infrared, built in spruce and abachi.

LocationBay of Plenty

ScopeHybrid sauna with infrared panels

TimberSpruce and abachi

HeaterVirta, external controls

The project

Our client grows kiwifruit over in the Bay of Plenty and wanted a proper sauna on the property. He started out after a traditional build, but partway through decided he wanted the best of both worlds — so we fitted one end of the room with infrared panels alongside the traditional benches, giving him a true hybrid sauna he can run either way.

Inside it's lined in spruce, with abachi used on the benching — the old-school pairing that's been the standard for generations. Abachi has got harder to find the last couple of years and the price has gone up with it, but we still had stock on hand for this job and it's worth it for the look and feel on the skin.

Heating comes from a Virta heater with external controls, so it's easy to run from outside the room. The stones sit above the heater rather than packed around the elements, separated by a perforated steel plate — so the stones never actually touch the elements. That keeps the elements, which are a consumable part, lasting a lot longer than a standard setup.

The brief

Wanted a traditional sauna that could also run as infrared — the best of both worlds.

One sauna, two ways to heat.

The sauna

Spruce panelling with abachi benching, the traditional old-school mix that's increasingly hard to source
Hybrid layout, with infrared panels fitted at one end alongside the traditional benches
Virta heater with external controls, for easy operation from outside the room
Stones kept off the elements, sitting above a perforated steel plate so they never touch the elements, giving the elements a much longer life

The result