Western Red Cedar Saunas

Western red cedar is the wood we build saunas from, and for good reason. It resists rot without any chemical treatment, it stays comfortable to the touch even when the room is hot, and it holds its shape season after season. If you are choosing a wood for a sauna that lives outside through a Canadian winter, cedar is hard to beat.

Why Western red cedar

Cedar earns its place in a sauna for a handful of plain reasons.

• It resists decay on its own. Western red cedar is full of natural oils and extractives that fungus and insects do not like. It holds up to damp and heat without pressure treatment or preservatives, which matters in a room that goes from cold to hot and back again every time you use it.
• It stays cool to the touch. Cedar is a light, low-density wood, so it does not soak up and throw back heat the way a dense hardwood does. You can lean against a cedar bench at full temperature without getting burned.
• The smell. Warm cedar has a clean, soft aroma that most people know the moment they walk in. It is one of the first things owners mention.
• It looks the part. Straight grain, warm reddish-brown tones, and very few knots in the better grades. Cedar reads as a real sauna, not a closet.
• It holds its shape. Cedar is dimensionally stable, which means it lies flat and resists warping, cupping, and twisting as the humidity swings. Boards that stay flat mean tight joints and a bench that does not rack loose over the years.
• It lasts outdoors. Because it fights rot naturally and moves very little, cedar is a sound choice for an outdoor sauna that has to take rain, snow, and sun.

How cedar ages

Left unfinished outdoors, cedar slowly turns a soft silver-grey as the surface weathers. That colour change is only skin deep and does not weaken the wood. If you prefer to keep the warm brown tone, a suitable exterior finish on the outside faces will slow the greying. Inside the sauna, cedar is normally left bare so it can breathe and keep its aroma.

Checking and cracking is normal

Real wood moves. As cedar gives up and takes on moisture, you will sometimes see fine surface cracks running along the grain. These are called checks, and they are a normal part of a solid-wood sauna. They do not mean the wood is failing and they do not affect how the sauna performs. It is the trade-off for building from a natural material instead of a man-made board.

Maintenance

Cedar asks very little. Keep the inside clean, let the room dry out fully after each use, and wipe the benches down now and then. A sauna that is allowed to breathe and dry between sessions will stay fresh for a very long time. There is a full guide in our learning centre on keeping a cedar sauna in good shape.

Cedar compared with other woods

Cedar vs spruce

Spruce is cheaper and you will see it in budget saunas. It is a paler wood with more knots, it is not naturally rot-resistant, and softwoods like spruce and pine can weep resin when they get hot. Cedar has no pitch to bleed, resists rot on its own, and holds a nicer appearance over time. Spruce can work for a low-cost indoor room. For anything outdoors, cedar is the safer wood.

Cedar vs hemlock

Hemlock is a clean, pale, nearly odourless wood that is stable and pleasant inside a sauna, and it is common on interior benches and walls. Where it falls short is rot resistance, so hemlock is better kept for indoor rooms. Cedar carries the aroma hemlock lacks and stands up to the weather, which is why cedar is the wood of choice for outdoor saunas.

Cedar vs thermowood

Thermowood is ordinary softwood that has been heat-treated in a kiln to make it more stable and more rot-resistant. It comes out darker and very steady, and it is a fine material. What it gives up is the natural aroma and the character of real cedar. If the cedar smell and look matter to you, cedar wins. If you want a darker tone and do not mind less aroma, thermowood is a reasonable alternative.

See our heaters

A cedar sauna needs the right heat behind it. We build our saunas around Procraft CSA-approved electric heaters, sized from 4.5kW for a small indoor room up to 9kW for a large outdoor room in a cold climate. You can compare all four on our sauna heaters page, or read what size sauna heater you need before you choose.

Every Procraft electric sauna heater is CSA approved, designed in Canada, and covered by a 5-year limited warranty. Always follow the heater manual and use a licensed electrician for the wiring.

Where to buy a cedar sauna

This store sells the heaters. The cedar saunas themselves, indoor and outdoor, handcrafted in Listowel, are on our other site at procraftsauna.ca.