How Much Does a Custom Sauna Cost in New Zealand?

A custom sauna in New Zealand is priced the way a small building is priced, from the ground it stands on to the timber on its benches. The figure below comes from the saunas we design and build, and the sections after it explain what moves a project within it.

How much does a custom sauna cost in New Zealand?

A Heritage sauna costs between $45,000 and $90,000 + GST. Where a project sits in that range depends on the materials, the design and how the sauna is shaped to its space, and the free site visit confirms the final figure.

A two person garden sauna with a straightforward site and a compact electric heater sits toward the lower end. A larger room lined in hinoki, clad to match a stone or shingled house and set on a sloping section with difficult access moves toward the upper end. All prices are in New Zealand dollars and exclude GST.

What makes one sauna cost more than another?

Size, interior timber, cladding, the heater and the site have the most effect on price. Additions such as an outdoor shower, a cold plunge or a deck add to the figure as well.

Size is the most direct lever. A room long enough to lie down in, with an interior of around 2100 x 1800 mm, uses less material and less heater output than a four or six person room with two tiers of bench. Our piece on sauna sizes sets out how the number of people changes the proportions.

Interior timber comes next. Japanese hinoki is the timber we recommend for the inside of a sauna, and sugi comes second. Both are left uncoated and are shipped from plantation forests in Japan. New Zealand-grown redwood is an alternative, and the case for redwood is set out in its own piece.

The exterior is clad to match the house it sits beside. Board and batten, weatherboard, corrugated iron and stone each carry a different material and labour cost, and matching an existing home detail for detail takes more time than a plain finish. The roof is Colorsteel in a Eurospan profile, a standing seam with no exposed fixings, made at Glenbrook in Auckland.

How much does the heater add?

The heater is a smaller share of the total than most people expect. HUUM heaters are listed in our shop from $3,471 for the wall-mounted DROP, and the HIVE, with 250 kg of stone, is listed from $7,565.

Every electric HUUM heater comes with its sauna stones, a safety rail and a UKU Glass control panel, and a registered electrician wires and commissions it. A wood-fired heater such as the HIVE Wood needs a flue and no wiring. As the official New Zealand distributor of HUUM we specify HUUM as standard, and we'll fit another brand if a client prefers one.

Do additions and site conditions change the price?

Yes. An outdoor shower, a cold plunge, a changing room, a deck, lighting and extra glazing can all be designed in, and each one is priced with the sauna. A site that is steep, tight or reachable only by crane adds cost through foundations and handling.

Every Heritage sauna is prefabricated in parts in our workshops in Auckland and Queenstown, then delivered and assembled on site by our own team. Building in parts keeps time on the property short and lets a sauna reach places a single unit couldn't. On tricky ground we often set the sauna on screw piles, and on a roof terrace we review the building's plans with our architect to confirm it can carry the load. A level lawn with truck access beside it costs less to build on than a cliff-top garden reached by a narrow path. If a property sits close to the sea, building a sauna by the sea covers the extra detailing a coastal site asks for.

Why does a custom sauna cost more than a kitset?

A kitset or barrel sauna is a standard product made to one set of dimensions, and kitsets sold in New Zealand start from around $10,000. A custom sauna is a small building designed for one property, with its foundations, cladding, interior and heater chosen for that site.

The difference shows in the detail. A Heritage sauna is clad to sit with the house beside it, so a board and batten home gets board and batten, matched detail for detail. The interior is solid hinoki or sugi, left uncoated, with wool insulation behind it. The heater is sized to the room's volume, and the floor level is set to meet the deck at the threshold. A kitset arrives with none of those decisions made for the place it will stand, and the work of fitting it to a sloping coastal section or a tight city courtyard is left to the buyer. For a client who wants the sauna to look as though it was drawn with the house, that work is what the price pays for.

How are payments staged?

Payment is made in three stages. A 5% design deposit covers the design work, 50% is due before fabrication to order materials and start the build, and the final 45% is due on completion, once the sauna is built and working on your property.

The design deposit buys a drawn sauna: its cladding, interior timber, heater, glazing and any additions specified for one address. When the proposal is signed, the build takes its place in our schedule, which runs in the order proposals are signed. Design changes are best made in the weeks before fabrication begins, since changes after that point affect materials already ordered and cut.

What does the site visit confirm?

The site visit confirms the final specification and the price. It is free anywhere in New Zealand, and it happens before anything is drawn.

On the visit we look at how the ground falls and drains, which way the prevailing wind blows, where the sun sits through the day and how easily the build team can reach the spot. We also locate power and water, and check the consent position. Our guide to building consent for a sauna explains why a garden sauna under 10 m² needs no building consent under Schedule 1.

How long does it take, and what does it cost to keep?

From a signed proposal to handover takes 10 to 16 weeks. Once built, a Heritage sauna needs very little spent on it, because the timbers are naturally durable and never need refinishing.

Care is a wipe with a soft cloth and water, with a mild detergent if needed. The interior is left uncoated, so there is no oil or sealer to reapply, and the timber shouldn't be sanded, since it is finished with a blade in our workshop and sanding opens the fibres to moisture. Wool insulation, made in Onehunga or Christchurch from recycled carpet yarn, sits behind the lining and copes with the heat and moisture of a working sauna.

The custom sauna page shows the options and the price guide, and our design guide walks through the choices that come first. When you're ready, send us your address and Hunter replies within one business day to arrange the site visit, where a tape measure goes down on the ground before any figure is written.