Built where a tired spa used to be.
An unused outdoor spa in Takapuna became a proper sauna with heat and humidity you can dial in separately.
This Takapuna home had a semi-external spa area that hadn't been used in years, taking up a decent chunk of outdoor space for no good reason. The client was switched on about it — they organised and paid for the removal of the old concrete pool themselves, which saved them money and meant our guys could start with a clean site rather than a demolition job.
In its place we built a sauna lined in Thermally Modified Alder, picked for its colour and the way it holds up over time. At the heart of it is a combi heater — stones on top and a water system built into the front, so it does both sauna and steam duty from the one unit.
What makes this one work well day to day is the control setup. Two separate thermostats, one for temperature and one for humidity, both run off external controls sitting outside the sauna door. The client doesn't have to open the door and let the heat out to make an adjustment — they just dial it in from outside and let the room do its thing.
Turn a disused spa area into a sauna that gets used, with proper control over heat and humidity.
One room, built to control.
The sauna
- Thermally Modified Alder panelling and benching, chosen for its colour and long-term durability
- Combi heater with integrated water system, so the same unit handles both sauna and steam
- Two independent thermostats, one for temperature and one for humidity
- External controls outside the sauna, so settings can be changed without opening the door
- Built on the footprint of the old spa area, cleared and prepared by the client themselves
The build, photographed.
Same seven stages as every build.
Design and planning
Material selection
Frame and insulation
Wall and ceiling lining
Benching and detailing
Heater and tiling
Final fit-out and handover
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