Raimo built a glass sauna from 60 glass doors for next to nothing—“The building inspector was a bit skeptical if the cabin could even stand upright”

You rarely see anything like this: perched on a rocky shore, there is a sauna whose walls are mostly made of dark glass. These are actually sauna doors, whose glass windowpanes are designed to keep outsiders from peeking in. But from the inside, you can see out just as clearly as through ordinary windows.

The primary material of this sauna cabin, called Rampela, was selected in a surprising way.

“I got a tip that a nearby carpentry factory had a batch of glass doors that had surface flaws and couldn’t be used. So I decided to go all in and buy a hundred of them, Raimo Koikkalainen says.

First, Raimo used these doors to build glazed terraces in both the front and back garden of his home. Even after that, he had glass left over.

“I still have fifteen doors left.”

Standing on the shore of the island, you can see the broad waters of Lake Saimaa, Finland. Raimo Koikkalainen has kept part of the cottage shoreline nearly untouched, as the property covers three hectares.

Sheepskins and vintage lace cloths add softness to Rampela’s dark interior. The glazed terrace has also been built out of sauna doors.

Retirees Raimo Koikkalainen and Vesa Itkonen frequently zip over to the cottage island from the mainland by boat in just fifteen minutes. Vikke the dog often comes along.

Raimo and his wife Pirkko own a summer cottage on an island on Lake Unnukka, part of the large Lake Saimaa, in the Finnish countryside. The island cottage was built in 1991, and they started building the sauna cabin about ten years ago.

“I drew Rampela on graph paper. The building inspector was a bit skeptical if the glass cabin could even stand upright. I told him not to worry—that was my problem.”

Each glass door weighs roughly twenty kilograms, and Raimo needed sixty of them on the island for the sauna. The cargo was ferried over Lake Saimaa’s waves by a small motorboat, which took six trips altogether. The boards and the sand needed for the concrete base were transported in winter over an ice road on the frozen lake.

To build the sauna cabin, Raimo got wood from a local sawmill. Rampela’s wooden sections are live-sawn, untreated pine.

“My friend, Vesa Itkonen, and I cut the boards ourselves at the sawmill, which is why we got them at a good price. The building costs for the cabin were so low that I’m almost ashamed to mention them,” Raimo says.

The sauna cabin’s terrace is almost as large as the cabin itself, and Jarmo and Pirkko sometimes dance on it. She and their friend Vesa Itkonen are enjoying a summer day on the terrace while Raimo stands by the ATV.

These old bricks were buried at the site of a former brick factory, where Raimo and Vesa salvaged them for the sauna cabin. The glow of the lanterns is beautifully reflected off the red brick surfaces. Sitting on the sauna benches, you can see Lake Unnukka through the changing room and across two terraces. You can also see the lake through the side wall.

The bricks needed for the walls were also cheap. The two friends dug up 800 old bricks from the site of a former brick factory. They brought them back by trailer and chipped away the concrete with a hammer and pick.

“Some of the bricks are so crooked and warped they might be a hundred years old. They were just the right rustic fit for this place,” Raimo says.

Eleven men took part in the cottage concrete-pouring session, and a mason was called to construct the brick walls and chimney.

“The three of us—Pirkko, Vesa, and I—handled everything else ourselves. Pirkko was initially against the idea, but in the end she was the one pushing us to the worksite every morning before seven.”

Once everything was ready, the three of them assembled the sauna cabin like Lego bricks. Pirkko washed the windows, Vesa handed them to Raimo, and he secured the glass in place. The sauna cabin was finished in under a month.

Pirkko designed and created the lovely interior.

You can look out through the dark windows, but no one can see in from outside.

The surfaces of the Rampela sauna are made of live-sawn pine, and some of the bricks in the walls are a century old.

Raimo still remembers a shocking incident that happened during the sauna’s construction. The last boatload of the building season carried the roofing sheets, terrace railing boards, and stair planks. The men loaded them onto the boat and departed. The sun was shining in a clear blue sky, and the lake was calm. Sepi the dog was on board.

Then, out of the blue, a motorboat larger than the Koikkalinens’ Flipper appeared. It zoomed past, churning up waves that caused the Koikkalinens’ boat to capsize and sink.

“Our dog Sepi couldn’t escape, so I tried breaking the window. My hands were covered in blood.”

The roofing sheets vanished to the bottom of the lake, but the lumber was saved because the men had strapped it to the boat. A local newspaper reporter and photographer out on the water rescued them.

The rescue department towed the boat ashore. Sepi’s body was there too.

The men returned to the worksite the very next day by Vesa’s boat.

“We had to, or we’d never get over it,” Raimo says.

After Sepi’s loss, the Koikkalinens got a new dog only a month later. Victoria, known as Vikke, is a Japanese Spitz, the same breed Sepi had been.

Vikke the dog always wears a life jacket on boat trips to the cottage.

Rampela’s surfaces are made of live-sawn pine, and some bricks in the wall are a hundred years old. Thanks to the glass walls, there’s plenty of natural light.

Vesa, who helped build the sauna, taking a dip in Lake Unnukka.

The Koikkalainens’ cottage lot spans three hectares in total. They don't plan to build anything else there.

"I think this will be enough for me, Pirkko, and Vesa," Raimo chuckles.

They now spend nearly every summer weekend at their cottage and often come just to enjoy Rampela’s steam and the scenery. From the sauna benches behind the dark glass, and from the terrace, they can see Lake Unnukka stretching in two directions.

“I really love these shoreline rocks. You can see the most beautiful sunset in the world from the grilling spot in front of Rampela,” Raimo says.

“The best thing about this place is the nature,” says Raimo. Raimo and Pirkko built Rampela in under a month together with their family friend, Vesa Itkonen.

The surrounding nature is beautifully reflected in the sauna door windows. The concrete slab on the exterior wall of the terrace shows the year Rampela was built.

Rampela’s outhouse has real character.

The summer cottage nestles on an island on Lake Unnukka. Rampela is powered by a small solar panel.

Vesa, who helped the couple build the sauna, visits frequently. The Koikkalinens’ adult daughters and their families also come to the island from time to time. During those stays, Rampela’s living room is used for guest accommodations.

“The best thing here is the nature. It’s so relaxing to listen to the birds and the lapping water. In the best fishing summers, I’ve caught more than a hundred zander here.”