Getting Your Spot Ready for a Soona Sauna is Easier Than You Think
Preparing for your Soona delivery doesn't have to be complicated. Here is the simple guide to creating a stable, level base for your new sauna.
You chose a Soona sauna for its exceptional design and its seamless convenience—it arrives fully assembled and ready to enjoy. We believe preparing the spot for it should be simple, too. Many customers worry that they need to pour a complex concrete foundation. Good news: You usually don't. While a solid base is crucial for protecting your investment and ensuring the doors open smoothly, achieving it is straightforward.
Here is the no-stress guide to preparing for delivery day.
Choosing the Right Spot
While you already might have just the right place in mind, let’s take a look at your landscape. The ideal location for a Soona sauna has three traits:
Natural Drainage: Avoid low points in your yard where rain pools.
Airflow: Do not bury the base in tall grass or dense bushes. The wood needs to breathe.
Accessibility: Remember, a crane needs to reach this spot to lower the sauna down.
“For most of our customers, the simplest solution is the best one”
The Golden Rule: Flat, Level, and Strong
Following standard guidelines, the requirement for the foundation is very simple:
The sauna must be placed on a flat, level surface that can withstand the structure's weight and allows water to drain away.
That’s it. How you achieve this depends on your land, but for most of our customers, the simplest solution is the best one.
Our Recommendation: The Gravel & Slab Base
This is the most popular option because it is affordable, effective, and doesn't require heavy machinery in your garden. This solution supports versatile drainage, from natural ground absorption to controlled runoff.
The Simple Process:
Clear the Spot: Remove the top layer of soft soil and grass from the area where the sauna will sit.
Create a Gravel Bed: Fill the area with crushed stone (gravel). Make it smooth and ensure it is compacted so it is firm underfoot.
Add Support Points: Place standard concrete patio slabs (pavers) on top of the gravel bed. These need to be positioned under the specific weight-bearing points of your Soona model (we will provide a simple map for this). We recommend on using standard 30 cm x 30 cm slabs.
Level the Slabs: This is the most important part. Use a spirit level to ensure all the concrete slabs are perfectly level with each other.
Once those slabs are level, your site is ready for the sauna to be lifted onto them.
A Tip for Nordic Climates: While a simple gravel bed works, if you live in an area with hard freezing winters, we highly recommend placing rigid frost insulation boards (like XPS) underneath the gravel layer. This is a standard Finnish practice that stops the ground from moving during winter freezes, keeping your sauna stable for decades.
To ensure longevity: Place a strip of bitumen felt between the concrete slab and the wooden frame of the sauna. This "capillary break" stops moisture from wicking up into the wood.
Bitumin strips on concrete slabs to create a capillary brak
Other Simple Options
Screw Piles (Ground Screws) If your ground is uneven or on a slope, screw piles are a fantastic, modern solution. A specialist installs metal posts into the ground to create a level platform. It’s fast, clean, and requires no digging. It’s not a bad idea to have a second look at the floor plans as the piles needs to align precisely with our frame beams.
Existing Patios or Decks Yes, you can place your Soona sauna on an existing patio or a strong wooden deck, provided it is level and built to hold the weight (approx. 1200kg–1500kg depending on the model).
Delivery Day: What to Expect
We lift it off the truck, lower it onto your prepared spot, and you can start heating up your first sauna session that same evening.
To make this happen, we need to work together on the logistics.
Crane Access: The truck is heavy. Ensure the driveway or road can support a Hiab-style crane truck.
Reach: Can the crane arm reach the foundation? Standard trucks have a limited reach (usually 5–15 meters depending on the sauna weight). If your spot is further away, we need to know in advance to arrange a larger mobile crane.
Foundation: Have your base ready to go, and we’ll handle the rest. We’ll lift your sauna directly into place so you can start relaxing the very same day.
Unsure about your location? Send us a photo of your garden, and we will happily advise on the easiest route to a perfect foundation.
Explore our collection and design your own sauna at soonasauna.com/collection