Learn how to build saunas and gain expert knowledge from master builder Rob Licht in an intensive 4-day class experience
Dates:
May 1-4, 2025 (CHECK AVAILABILITY>)
OCTober 2-5, 2025 (enroll >)
This is a comprehensive sauna building class and workshop with demonstrations, lectures and some hands-on experience. We will cover many aspects of building saunas including:
- Design and layout of saunas: freestanding & electric saunas
- Selection of the proper wood and other materials
- Insulation principles
- Interior wood paneling
- The kiuas or sauna stove (emphasis on wood burning)
- Safe clearances and chimney installation
- Floor and stove wall masonry construction.
- Mobile saunas
- Benches, doors, windows and other sauna details
- Using the sauna: usage, custom and etiquette
- sauna culture, business, construction challenges and more… !
Total Class Fee:
$900 individual / $1700 couples rate
A $100 non-refundable deposit (for each person) is due at registration and applied to the class fee. The balance is $800 indiv./$1500 couple and due at least a month before class in order to attend.
Location:
At the Shop of Rob Licht Custom Saunas
8 Verizon Lane, Unit 1, Lansing, NY 14882
Class size will be limited to 12. Please email us at contact@roblichtcustomsaunas.com to get on the early registration list for future classes or the waitlists.
Class Schedule:
Thursday: 10AM to 5PM
Friday: 9AM to 5PM
Saturday: 9AM to 5PM
Sunday: 9AM to 1PM
Lunches will be provided every day. Throughout the intensive days we will have break-out work sessions, time to answer questions, and coffee breaks. There will be opportunities for socializing after class and the option to take sauna at the shop and by the lake. One evening, we will sauna and picnic at a local park on Cayuga Lake. Significant others are welcome to join us for this event.
Recommended prerequisite: We’re not covering basic carpentry (exterior framing), and basic metal working. If you lack these skills it is advised that you take a hands-on carpentry class.
About the Teacher: Rob Licht has been taking sauna for 50 years and has built and designed hundreds of custom saunas. Rob readily dispenses his knowledge to students and hopes to share his enthusiasm and expert knowledge of sauna with you.
Rob Licht grew up near Ithaca, N.Y., inspired by the bucolic landscape of the Finger Lakes region. He fell in love with sauna and Finnish culture as a teenager at a local cross-country ski center run by a Finnish family. He has a Master of Fine Arts Degree from Cornell University and has been a practicing artist and teacher for over 30 years. He taught art at Ithaca College for 12 years and has also taught adult education classes in welding, art, and design. He began combining his love of sauna, his practice as an artist, and his skills acquired from working in the building trades into a sauna building business in 1995. Today sauna building is his primary focus and he is one of the leading east coast sauna builders and sauna building educator offering a plethora of information to his clients, and now students, from around the world.
Terms & Info: A $100 non refundable deposit is due at registration payable paypal/venmo and applied to total class fee. Your balance is due (via mailed check) at least 45 days before class in order to attend. We realize that check writing may be a thing of the past, so are other options via paypal but ask that you cover the 3% paypal fee. We will also accept cash for the balance when you arrive, just let us know if you are planning on that so we can plan for your attendance. In the event the class is under enrolled (6 or less), you will be informed and your deposit of $100 will be refunded. In the case the class is over enrolled (12+) we will put you on a waitlist and we will let you know asap if you can attend. Because of the overwhelming popularity of the class, there is a waitlist, so if you do need to cancel please keep that in mind so we have time to fulfill your spot. Class size will be limited to 12. Class attendees will have the opportunity to buy our sauna building plans at 50% off.
About the Shop: 3000 sq ft with 16 ft ceilings and two large overhead doors and outdoor spaces to ensure good air quality.
Lunches are included: Family-style lunches will be delivered to the shop by a local caterer/grocer everyday. We will accommodate basic dietary restrictions with options (whole-foods/Paleo/GF/Veg). Coffee will be available in the mornings.
Sauna Etiquette: We allow about 4 people at a time in the sauna. Bathing suits are required; please bring 2 towels (free from perfumed detergents) to sit on in the sauna. Towels will also be provided everyday. Everyone will get a chance to sauna most days after class.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING…
“This was the best weekend. I learned so much and left feeling full of inspiration and conviction. We can do this y’all- the revolution is happening! I am so grateful to you, Rob and Scarlet, for working so hard to put together such a clear and digestible roadmap for all of us. And I am so grateful for having four days with the loveliest people to talk sauna. What a dream.” —Erin, NC
“I had the pleasure of taking Rob Licht’s sauna building class a month ago, and it was a truly fantastic experience! This 4-day intensive course was packed with invaluable learning, hands-on work, and a unique blend of camaraderie and relaxation. Rob’s spacious workshop, set in the scenic beauty of Ithaca, NY, provided the perfect backdrop for the class. The program was well-organized, thoughtfully prepared, and incredibly informative. Rob is a gifted teacher—knowledgeable, detail-oriented, and patient. His attention to every small detail and his dedication to quality truly stood out. One of the highlights was our after-class sauna sessions in Rob’s custom mobile saunas. One night, we took the sauna down to the lake—an unforgettable, magical experience. If you’re passionate about saunas or looking to gain hands-on skills in a unique, beautiful setting, I highly recommend Rob Licht’s class! —Howie, NJ
“What an amazing weekend of sauna immersion. It was something special to be in an intimate group of like-minded folk focused on something that brings us such joy. Rob and Scarlet so well prepared and so packed with knowledge and hands-on experience! I was so impressed with the smooth and thoughtful delivery of information. Possibly the biggest take away I got was that there are many right and not so right ways to do things, in the end sauna building is an art as much as it is a science, which is why my sauna is so authentic in the experience.” —Mark, MA
Rob and Scarlet are the real deal! I’m a professional carpenter and builder. I bought and adapted Rob’s mobile sauna plans, and I also did a consult with him. Two years later, and I’ve just had the pleasure of spending 4 days in the shop with Rob, Scarlet, and about a dozen other students, drinking from the firehose of knowledge and experience. They make a great team, both as builders and educators, and they’re just great people to be around. I couldn’t be more pleased and impressed with the experience, and I’m eager to get back to building saunas back on the west coast with my business, Sauna Väki.
—Josiah, OR
