“We go on cottage visits with our own sauna”—This barrel sauna on wheels travels wherever the sunset is the prettiest

The sauna building process is closely guarded by the carpenter. Janne suspects he used a curved plywood mold for assembling the wall frame. The sauna has 2.6 square meters of space, while the dressing room covers 1.3 square meters.

The cute barrel sauna resembles a wagon, and it can’t help but bring a smile to your face. Before stepping inside, visitors must bow deeply. At the most, four adults can fit on the benches, but then there might not be enough room to swing a sauna whisk. Even though the sauna is small, the atmosphere is always at its height—literally, as the ceiling is quite close to a tall man.

For years, our family had dreamed of having the ambiance of a barrel sauna. We just couldn’t find space for one in our old cottage garden, since there was already a sauna there.

Back when we gave up our summer cottage, it left a void in our lives. We filled that gap by getting a round little speedster. Admittedly, our barrel sauna only speeds down the roads with the help of our car’s tow bar.

The sauna is heated to about 60 degrees Celsius before it’s time to take a seat on the benches. Heating the barrel sauna is quick, and it also cools down rapidly. The sauna-goer must add firewood every 15 minutes. Here, Janne is enjoying the sauna with his friend Jukka.

There is no electricity or running water in the sauna. Battery-powered lanterns light up the space when it’s darker. Water has to be fetched from outside.

The sauna was built by an older carpenter in his workshop in Central Finland. He started by constructing the floor on runners, then built the walls under sturdy iron hoops. Each plank was carved to fit into its place. The carpenter made the windows, door, benches, and the endearingly curved roof by hand. He prefers to keep the hours spent on the gingerbread-style trim of the eaves a secret.

We discovered the barrel sauna on the bulletin board of our local grocery store. The first time my husband Janne and I saw the ad was ten years ago, but in the meantime, the carpenter built a few other saunas before making ours.

We set out to pick up the sauna with a crane truck at the crack of dawn. Although a group of burly men could also have moved it, loading it on the truck bed was easier. The barrel was strapped to the lifting hook, and the short flight onto the truck went smoothly. Once we arrived, the 900-kilo sauna was lowered onto a trailer with a 1,500-kilo capacity, and after bolting it down, the wagon was ready for a test drive.

At home, a simple sand surface was enough to support the sauna, making it easy to hook the trailer back up to the car.

Janne, an enthusiastic sauna-goer, installed the stove. We had the chimney made at a local sheet-metal shop. Fire safety is ensured with metal sheets installed beside the stove. They also help level off the heat to the person seated closest.

Myrsky the Australian shepherd keeps watch from the sauna’s porch. The most fascinating sight of all is a dog passing by.

We tackled the surface treatments of the sauna together as a family. I painted the interior of the sauna, and in the meantime, Pietu—our son—handled painting the outside. Janne jokes that it was just as well he was busy installing the stove at the time, safe from any splashes.

We can enjoy the sauna wherever the sunset is at its finest, because it can be hitched to the car just like a trailer. Taking it with us to our friends’ cottages is part of our summer routine.

Even in winter, there is smoke puffing out of the chimney. That’s when our sauna days are closer to home. Our barrel sauna sees over a hundred heating days a year.

If the sauna ever finds a permanent spot, it’s easy to lower it off its wheels. Then we can sell the trailer. Because the ground doesn’t freeze, it’s enough to place lightweight concrete blocks under the runners.

One load of firewood is more than enough to heat the barrel. When the first ladle of water is sizzling on the stones, the warmth radiates through the barrel. In that moment, you understand the magic of the barrel sauna.

The stove is surrounded by sheets and Harvia’s side guards to ensure fire safety.

Naturally, an unconventional sauna has to have playful details, such as this deer coat rack.

Today, four men will climb onto the benches of this petite sauna. Between rounds, they try to swing the sauna whisk as well. Our dog Myrsky takes its guarding responsibilities seriously, waiting outside while the bathers enjoy the heat.

You can sit on the benches for quite a while thanks to the moist steam. Air moves evenly through the gaps in the floor, which freshens up the space. The colder it is, the fresher and richer in oxygen the experience.

Water has to be carried in, and it drains out through the gaps in the floor. Usually, we wash off in the lake. When we have the sauna wagon parked in the garden, there’s usually a lot going on by our outside fireplace. That’s the most likely spot to find everyone cooling off.

A mobile sauna works perfectly for us at this stage. We can set off on a cottage visit with our own sauna. Perhaps next we’ll consider getting a towable cabin. We would just need two cars to tow both from one place to another.

In good weather, we cook our sauna snacks over an open fire. When it’s raining, sausage on the sauna stove is the best.

We chose a water-based paint for the sauna’s exterior. The most time-consuming task was painting the gingerbread-style trims of the eaves. Painting the areas where the white and black paints met required twice the painting effort.