The Sauna: A Complete Guide to the Construction, Use, and Benefits of the Finnish Bath [Paperback]

Rob Roy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 2004

With a history going back at least one thousand years, the sauna is ready for a new generation of enthusiasts seeking health, pleasure, and peace of mind, and Rob Roy is ready to recruit! "If the sauna is just a bath, then Buckingham Palace is just a house." So writes sauna expert and intrepid do-it-yourselfer Roy in this new, updated version of The Sauna. This completely revised and expanded edition of The Sauna contains everything you ever wanted to know about the famous "Finnish bath." In this inviting book, Roy shares his infectious enthusiasm for the sauna and provides a complete, detailed guide to sauna building, along with resources for equipment and supplies. The Sauna is replete with history, tradition, health benefits, instructions for proper use and maintenance, as well as step-by-step instructions for building a variety of cordwood masonry saunas and, new to this edition, conventionally wood-framed saunas. The beautiful colour photographs, also new to this edition, will inspire you to create your own sauna haven.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rob Roy is the author of twelve books, including Stone Circles and Mortgage-FREE! With his wife Jaki, he founded the Earthwood Building School, where they teach cordwood masonry construction, timber framing, earth-sheltered housing, and stone circle building.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing; Rev. and Expanded Ed edition (November 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931498636
• ISBN-13: 978-1931498630
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #750,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rob Roy knows what it means to live
mortgage free. As director of Earthwood
Building School since 1981, he has
instructed many in the arts of natural
building, and renewable energy. He is
also the author of Earth-Sheltered Houses,
Cordwood Building, Timber Framing for
the Rest of Us, The Sauna, and Stone
Circles. Rob and his family live in West
Chazy, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Rob Roy is a great builder (of cordwood masonry), February 19, 2006

By 

Zachary Nowak "Green Door Publishing" (Perugia, ITALY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sauna: A Complete Guide to the Construction, Use, and Benefits of the Finnish Bath (Paperback)

It's important to know before you buy this book, or his book about Underground Homes, that they use the cordwood masonry building technique, more or less to exclusion. Roy has saved this technique from oblivion but he tries to pass off his books as "complete" in the sense of including various techniques. They don't. I'm not saying not to get them, but remember that caveat.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat of a Disappointment, December 5, 2007

By 

A. Iovino (IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sauna: A Complete Guide to the Construction, Use, and Benefits of the Finnish Bath (Paperback)

When I decided that an outdoor wood-burning sauna was in my future I sought a book that would contain detailed information on sauna construction, stove usage and evaluation, and the like. Instead, Roy's book, though enjoyable, was far less than a "..complete guide.."

An enormous amount of time is spent on cordwood construction (inappropriate for us living in hardwood areas) and virtually little or no space devoted to selecting, evaluating and using the many stove options that are available on the market.

I am certain that Mr. Roy could write such a book. His passion for and knowledge of the sauna is apparent throughout the book. It's a disappointment that this "complete guide" fell short of my expectations.

Though I don't feel that I wasted the book's purchase price (I am now more enthusiastic about my yet-to-be-built sauna than ever), I wish that Roy's book would have imparted more of his obvious knowledge about those matters that are of interest to us non-cordwood oriented neophytes.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine book, April 18, 2007

By 

Marshall Glickman "Author of Beyond the Breat... (Vermont, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sauna: A Complete Guide to the Construction, Use, and Benefits of the Finnish Bath (Paperback)

I wouldn't feel compelled to write a review of this book, except for the low star rating of the only other reviewer of this book [at this writing anyhow]. This is an excellent book for building a free-standing sauna--as long as cordwood masonry building style works for you. Rob Roy is the master of this technique and written much about it in a number of books. He has an easy style and knows his material. But yes, if you're looking to build a wood-only sauna, look elsewhere.