Code Blues
One issue that comes up frequently when building anything, including a sauna is Code. In builder’s parlance code refers to the building code or International Building Code (IBC) which is broken down into specialties such as National Electrical Code (NEC) Residential Code, Commercial Code, Mechanical Code, and so on. Each one of these rule books fills a tome about as thick as a two-by-four; the whole set requires a dedicated book shelf and years of study to understand fully. Mostly there is national uniformity but some states have specific additions to the Code. A peeve of mine is that even though his set of prescriptive building measures constitute laws that we are mandated to follow, to access them completely, you need to pay a third party, the International Code Council, hundreds of dollars, or more, a year in subscription fees (go to: iccsafe.org). That, by itself, sets up the animus relationship builders tend to have towards them.
Saunas are a special category of construction, both for residential and commercial situations. They have unique needs and functionality and are poorly understood by those not in on the magical powers we aficionados know to be true. The rules are subject to the interpretation of bureaucrats who have the power to force changes or even shut down operations.
Often, when it comes to sauna, they are mis-informed by myth and superstition. I have gotten the sideways glance that tells me they think saunas are in line with brothels and other dark intentions, or that sitting in a 200 degree room is insane and will “cause your skin to melt”. I had one inspector, citing his fireman training, trying to convince me that throwing water on a sauna stove would cause it to explode and that the wood fired sauna needed some mechanical means to dump all of the hot air if it reached 90° C. (The owner, an engineer with a sense of humor and money to burn, designed an an enormous automated fan to dump the heat, that worked once: for the inspection.)
Other inspectors have asked where the water tub was (no, that’s a spa) or gave me clues they had no idea what they were looking at. One wanted a safety call button installed in the sauna.
Not all are bad: some have been enthusiastic, launching into their own childhood sauna tales, or dreams of owning one. These are the inspectors you want to work with. Unfortunately, you don’t get a choice; each jurisdiction has it own inspector: the Authority Having Jurisdiction or AHJ, who, ultimately is the one making the decisions regarding your project, despite what is written in the Code Book. If the Code Book is the bible we must obey, then that makes the inspectors a kind of God who can supersede it; add in a huge ego or overzealousness and the situation becomes untenable.
So, like dealing with God, you want to develop a positive relationship with your inspector so that when you have to call on them they will be your ally. During a scheduled inspection, it seems to me that they are inspecting me: if the job site appears neat and organized, my truck is nice, and I don’t ask a lot of dumb questions, then the work must be good. The truth is, there are so many small details like nail size, type, or spacing (found in the fastener schedule) that there is no way to scrutinize every detail, so best to assume all is well if the builder seems to know what they are doing. The exception is the Electrical Inspector- who, in my experience, has a much more serious job to do; the 240 volts that supply sauna heaters can be deadly in an instant and presents hazards unseen to users. Rarely do I meet them onsite, they work clandestinely and leave their approval stickers on the electrical panel box. I want the inspector to work undistracted. If you are DIYer and getting an electrical inspection, you’ll need all your t’s crossed and i’s dotted to pass. Messy wiring might still work, but it may fail If it is hard to follow the wires visually; there can be no hidden mistakes. Mostly I use licensed electricians who you can tell are good just by the way they dress: shirts tucked in, matching socks and pants pulled up.
In all of that 2 feet stack of code books, I could find the word “sauna” only 16 times, which means there is very scant instruction for both the builder and AHJ to follow.
The exception to following code is when the appliance (sauna heater) has instructions that may counter the rules or make more specific instruction. So, except for a few situations, we can rely on these manuals for not just guidance but as a fallback for when the inspector comes (you should include a copy of all manuals when you apply for a permit). In many cases the manuals are written in several languages for the European market—a fault of the European companies who supply most of the heaters available here. This turns what should be a 10 page manual into a 60 pages of mostly gibberish for American contractors. Who has time to to convert metric to English?
America is such a huge market, manuals should be edited specifically for our market— not just crudely translated but re-written to conform to our our trade practices. If the inspector has questions, be ready with those details highlighted in the manual!
There is a drawback to the manuals: the required UL (Underwriters Laboratory) listing that the heater has (currently UL875) applies to the heater as installed per the manual. So, it is not just a guide, but a definitive set of rules that you must follow in order to make UL listing valid, and thus to pass inspection. These rules can supersede the Code and follow current established guidelines. Currently UL 875 says sauna heaters installed in the US must have a device to limit the room temperature to 90° C (194°F) measured by a thermo-sensor 6” from the ceiling. The Code follows suit with the same rule. We all know that temperature is very stratified in a sauna— as much as 10°F per foot, so 194° near the ceiling will mean 154° at the top of the upper bench, which is tepid at best, to most of us. I want at least 194° where my head is, so I lower the sensor on the wall, (if you call Harvia, they will tell you to do so). So, the only way to get a decent heat in the sauna is to break the rules and Harvia agrees! (This is also a good time to point out that having the ceiling 6 “ above your head is ideal if you want your sauna hot at head level, which makes cathedral and other high ceilings pointless.) But even after moving the sensor you will hit another US UL imposed roadblock to high heat heaven: the heaters all have an internal high limit sensor set lower than their Euro cousins so that the heater body doesn’t get too hot- because God knows, we don’t want anyone burning themselves or catching things on fire, like a towel left to dry on the rocks ( the assumption is that common sense does not exist here in the US—which, looking around at things like helmetless electric scooter riders, I can understand).
But now we have a window of reprieve from all of this confusion and an acknowledgement that that some people do like it hot (and have a right to enjoy it without guilt): a new UL standard: UL 60335-2-53.
This standard allows heaters to heat saunas to 125°C and for the sensors to be placed at head level over the bench and allow the internal high limit control to be set higher. All of this was possible before by tinkering with the installation but now, in theory, we can have this new manual to back up common sense. And, it will be legal, which means my contractors liability company will back me up if things go awry.
This is great, in theory. Code defers to the manuals but the problem now is that the manufacturers have to re-write the manuals and present them with their heaters to be tested by UL and pay for this new level of certification. They are moving slowly- too slowly, perhaps because they need burn through existing inventory, or perhaps, they don’t think Americans are ready for European hotness. But we are and have been.
My wood burners get well over 100° C and people enjoy it. They tell me they have never experienced sauna like that, that it’s life-transforming. I want that possibility to be available everyone: the basement electric sauna people, and the people who feel guilty burning wood, or don’t have the yard for wood burning.
When the manufacturers move forward with by updating their heaters to the new UL, the book of Code will have to follow, and it will be declared that sauna can be hot. And then, even the suspicious bureaucrats will begin to understand and sauna inspections will fall in line with other inspections and we won’t have to hide our saunas or work under the cover of darkness. I don’t hate code, but hate how trying to work with the permitting process gives me the blues.
P.S. We build a lot of mobile saunas now, because, technically, they are a specialty trailer they do not fall under the purview of any building department. As long as they remain mobile and have a license plate there is little say most municipalities have over them.
