Hi JB,
Sorry, I read your post and meant to answer your queries but then got distracted. Oh well, I remembered eventually, so here goes:.
are those slats stuck in place, or removable for cleaning. We, of course, have sand, etc. and have to hose and sweep. I'm looking for the best way to attache seats, with the greatest diversity of use. Wide seat for yoga, lounging. Wide and tall enough configuration for massage.
The horizontal slats are fixed to one another as seat panels and are screwed to the structure. They sit on rails on the walls and have supporting leg frames s the screws to the walls are more about me making the whole structure as stiff and secure as I can. It would have been perfectly OK to leave the benches loos for easy removal and I am sure a clip arrangement could be devised fairly simply to allow the legs to be removed easily.
The vertical (“infill” panels are assembled as a panel and held in place with two screws each into the bench support legs. I am going to find a simple clip system to allow for their easy removal to allow me to mop under the benches without having to find a screw driver. The problem here is not sand or dust but sweat on a vinyl floor designed to keep the moisture away from the wooden sub-floor. A difference in what needs to be cleaned up but the same issue of facilitating easy regular cleaning.
The seat configuration I have allows for three people to lie down at one time, one at high level and two lower down. It would accommodate six or seven seated people without being uncomfortably tight or requiring anyone to sit on the heater
.
What's the square footage, and what kind of a heater is that? I see the electric cord. Are those some kind of rocks? Glass doors! Does the heat escape and make distribution vary from the glass? Are you using brushes or twigs?
The cabin is nominally 2170mm wide x 1660mm deep and 1950mm high (85.4” x 65.4” x 76.8”) those are external dimensions, as the wall panels are 40mm thick the internal space is 80mm less in each direction. So the internal area is approximately 36 square feet and the volume approximately 220 cubic feet.
The heater is 6Kw electric heater with three elements. Typically it uses one element to sustain the temperature with a top up from the other two elements when required. The rocks act as a heat storage mechanism and allow perfumed water splashed onto the heater to boil off quickly, releasing the chosen aroma into the atmosphere. I have four fragrances at present, eucalyptus, rosemary & thyme, orange and lavender and am still experimenting with the best way to use them to “flavour” the air. Mixing them with water to splash on the rocks is effective for a short time, adding them to the water in the steam generator when we use it should be effective and more sustained, but seems to cause too much frothing in the steamer and being splashed with boiling water tends to destroy the moment. I am planning on trying a soapstone jar that can be placed in the stones on the heater and filled with an aroma solution that boils away over time. I just need to find the right sized jar, as the one I have found is too large to sit between the heater elements.
The duty cycle on the heater is such that I would guess that the system runs at around 2Kw averaged over an hour, so a three hour run (an hour to heat up and 2 hours use) costs me about 35p (roughly 45 cents). I don’t worry much about the running costs
. In winter, when it is colder outside resulting in more heat loss, I would expect it to run closer to 4KWH per hour, roughly double the cost I have seen at present and more consistent with the manufacturers estimate.
The glass door is pretty standard in most Finnish saunas. The reason is that people outside can see if anyone inside faints and needs assistance (the same considerations mean that sauna doors should always open outwards). I can’t say I have noticed any drop in temperature around the door.
I have to confess that I have not experimented with twigs / brushes or any other form of self-flagellation and do not find the idea very appealing. Perhaps I should try it before I write the concept off.
I like an outdoor shower of about ground temperature to rinse and cool in. It seals the pores and exercises the skin's natural functions.
I have considered an outside shower, possibly solar heated. However, it is about 10 feet to the back door of the house and just inside is the downstairs bathroom and shower, so there is no real need to do anything else. An outside shower would also require a drain to be sensible in our moist climate and it adds up to rather a lot of work for little return. We also have to consider the risk of freeze up during the winter; frost can do nasty things to plumbing if it is allowed to. On balance, using the shower in the house seems the best option for us.
If you massage the shoulders, a loving touch with therapy, she will relax in comfort and follow you, eventually, to the outside for more. As long as she feels comfortable out there.
John asked what else we were doing with the shed. The mid section, inside the glazed area, is laid out with a couple of soft upholstered reclining garden chairs and foot stools. There is a low table between the chairs with drinking water and glasses (both for drinking from and mine for seeing through). The end remote from the sauna has an overflow deepfreeze and a fridge. (The fridge is slightly unusual as it is fitted with a heater and a microprocessor based temperature control which allows me to regulate the temperature to +/-0.5C anywhere between about 1C and 35C. I use it to control the temperature at which my beer brews
).
The plan was to allow us to chill out inside the summerhouse when we get too hot without going out into the garden, which could be rather unpleasant in winter drizzle, fog and wind. The reclining chairs go flat and, when used with the foot stools, make effective, if low, massage beds. Given that the cushions were designed for garden use, they are easy to wash and largely unharmed by getting wet. So, massage has already been discovered as a bonding tool, but usually happens just outside the sauna. The downside is that, because the summerhouse is so comfortable, there is less incentive to go into the garden. If it is warm and dry next time we sauna, I may just move the chairs and stools out onto the patio before we start. I guess I will have to play that by ear, it may be better to get Carole totally comfortable inside the summerhouse before pushing too hard to get her outside.
I love your observation of just talking. We sing, too.
Talking works. Had you heard either of us sing, you would understand why I tend to use recorded music instead of making my own. I do have some respect for the neighbour's sensibilities…
Have fun,
Ian.
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