Sauna, Hammam and Steam Room Build Notes by Sauna Dekor

Short answer: a sauna room is sized from its benches, not from the floor area left over in the plan. Allow 600 mm of bench per person, keep the upper bench 1,100 to 1,200 mm below the ceiling, and hold the ceiling between 2,100 and 2,300 mm. The room volume those numbers produce is what the heater is chosen for. Updated: 29 September 2026. This note works through a sauna room for a villa or a hotel spa in the Gulf, in the order the drawing is made. Every figure is either read from a manufacturer's own document, Harvia's installation manual and bench guide and Thermory's sauna design guide, or worked out on the page. Which type of sauna to build is a separate question, covered in our guide to sauna room types ; this one is about size and layout. One long bench, lit from underneath. Its length, not the floor area, is what decides how many people the sauna room seats. How big should a sauna room be? As big as its benches plus the space to reach them. At 600 mm per pe...