FAQ

Four to eight weeks is typical, measured from approved drawings to first heat. Freestanding backyard cabins run longer, and a straightforward interior conversion can beat it. You get a dated schedule before we mobilize.

Yes. That is the point of going custom. We have built into garages, spare bedrooms, side yards, and pool decks. After we measure, we will tell you what fits.

Both work here. An outdoor sauna gets the most use in fall and winter, and an indoor room is easy to use in July when it is 100 degrees outside. Plenty of clients go outdoor and add shade. We will help you choose.

Yes. We file with the city, book the inspections, and build to code. If your neighborhood has an HOA, we put together the drawings they ask for too.

Yes, and this is what most saunas get wrong. Real steam needs enough rocks, a heater sized to the room, and vents in the right spots. We plan all three from the start.

That is the bulk of this service. Send the model number and the packing list, we will confirm it suits your footprint and your panel, then we receive the delivery, inventory it, and put it up. Still shopping? Ask first and we will point you at something that fits.

It does. Coverage hangs on the kit going up per the maker’s instructions with properly rated wiring, which is exactly how a licensed crew works. We photograph and document the build so you have proof if a claim ever comes up.

Usually. A hardwired heater triggers one, and so does anything past a certain footprint. Checking with the city and carrying the permit is part of what we do. HOA neighborhoods get their submittal package prepared as well.

Three to seven days for most kits once every part is on site. You get a timeline after we see the kit and the space, and we do not start until the count is done.

Yes. Most heaters need their own line, and we run it, hook it up, and test it. Then we heat the room so you can feel it work. If your panel needs an upgrade, you hear it from us early.

Gladly. Other people’s builds make up the bulk of our service calls, everything from imported Finnish cabins to flat-pack units out of a warehouse store. Age and brand do not matter. We diagnose it, quote it, and get it safe.

Once a year is the rule, and twice for an outdoor sauna in full sun. Dry heat and hard water do their damage slowly, and a yearly check heads off the big repairs.

Usually. We come stocked with the common parts, so most calls finish that day. Full rebuilds and special-order parts need a second trip, which we schedule up front.

One visit a year: the heater and stones checked, scale cleaned off, wood sanded and oiled, vents and seal checked, and the door adjusted. One set price, and it catches small problems while they are still small.

Repair, most times. Weak output traces back to a spent element, scaled stones, or a failed seal, and each of those is a fix rather than a replacement. We meter it and tell you straight if a new heater is the better spend.

Different products for different people. Acrylic gives you jets, molded seats, and a control panel. Cedar gives you depth, quiet, and the smell of the wood itself. Cedar asks for a bit more attention through the year, and in exchange it feels like something built rather than purchased.

We recommend it. One contract means one permit, one trench, and one mobilization, which lowers the total and puts hot and cold within a few steps of each other.

Electric is the easy one: set the temperature and climb in. Wood-fired gives you the fire and keeps working through an outage. We walk you through both and you pick what matches how you will use it.

Cedar resists rot on its own, which is why it has held water for centuries. The risk here is drying out, not rotting. We use tight-grain heart cedar, band the staves right, and show you a simple care routine that keeps the wood tight through August.

We do. Almost every tub needs an electrical permit, and some need a structural one on top of that. Our license lets us file both, book the inspections, and get the sign-off, so you never stand in line at a permit counter.

Yes, as long as the cooling unit is sized for our summers, which is how we spec it. Pick any temperature between 39 and 55°F and it holds all day, right through a heat wave. You set it once and step in cold every morning.

A plunge stands on its own as a recovery tool, and plenty of our clients never add heat. The pairing is popular enough that we usually ask, though, because designing both at once beats retrofitting one later.

Less than people expect, and nothing like hauling ice. Treatment and filtration hold the water clear on their own, so you are left with a quick look and an occasional top-off. We configure it and walk you through the weekly check.

Yes. We build on patios, in garages, beside pools, and inside finished rooms. Each has its own weight, drain, and noise needs, so we plan the build and pick the filter around your spot.

We are. San Jose Sauna carries a California Class B license and full insurance and bonding. Framing, waterproofing, electrical, and finish carpentry all stay in house, so nobody is pointing fingers when a detail goes sideways.