Assembling Your Sauna

No picnic, but doable.

Packaged sauna in the back of the pickup.

Getting a package this big and heavy delivered to your home is no picnic. Crystal Saunas used Fedex Freight, which offers 'curbside dropoff'. If you have a very short driveway, this would be all you need. However, we have a long driveway, and we had to borrow a pickup truck for the last few hundred yards. Then we had to talk the Fedex driver into placing the pallet into the pickup truck instead of leaving it on the ground. We tipped him $10 dollars.

Unpacking the Sauna

Note: this is a job for at least 2 people who are reasonably strong and handy. Three people is not overkill. Assembling the sauna is easy compared to maneuvering the boxes and getting the parts into the house where you want them. Our sauna came in two large boxes wrapped together on a pallet. Larger saunas come in three or more boxes. According to FedEx, our package weighed 335 lbs. The boxes are oriented vertically on the pallet, which I suppose makes for more convenient handling and storage during shipping. However, it makes the package less stable - we were very concerned that it would fall over. The black strapping is plastic, not metal, and we were able to cut it with a knife. Then we cut through the rest of the plastic wrapping and pulled away the boards on the sides. We then pulled out the smaller package, which weighed about 100 lbs. It contained the top and bottom of the sauna, the seat, the under-seat heater, and miscellaneous hardware. Then we laid the larger package down in the bed of the pickup truck (not easy), removed the top of the box, and moved each piece individually.

The larger package laying down in the back of the pickup. The top of the box has been removed.

The larger package contains the front, back, and side panels. The side panels weigh about 40 lbs each, the back panel weighs 46 lbs, and the front panel, with the glass door, weighs 80 lbs. The front panel is non-trivial to move - heavy, fragile, plus the glass door swings open unexpectedly if you don't secure it. The other parts are not too bad. The quality of the packaging was OK, and everything arrived undamaged.

Assembling the Sauna

Attaching the back panel to the base.

General comments.

• The instructions were pretty good.
• The pieces fit together pretty well.
• You need at least two people. One will stand on the base and hold everything together. The other one, or two, will move the panels into place
• Assembly is not complicated, but the pieces are heavy and cumbersome.
• Tape the glass door shut so it doesn't swing open unexpectedly.
• Allow enough time and energy to get the back, front, and side panels in place. The sauna is not stable until all 4 panels are in place.
• This is not fine furniture. Joints, surfaces, wood quality, etc., are good but not great.

The instructions that came with the sauna were pretty good. Here's my version:

1. Set the base down. You probably want it near, but not at, the final location you have in mind. Assuming you want it along a wall or in a corner, you won't have access to the back and sides when you assemble it unless you pull it out a couple of feet or so. However, when it's completed, or nearly completed, the sauna is too heavy to move very far conveniently. We were able to slide it along a concrete floor without much difficulty. (Push the base, not the panels - the panels aren't strong enough.) Wood or vinyl flooring could scratch. Carpet would be a bear.
2. Attach the back panel to the base. This takes at least two people.
   1. Set the panel so it is just barely hanging on the edge of the base,
   2. Line up the clips.
   3. Push the panel inward so the clips engage.
   4. Getting the last inch or so of the clips engaged is not easy. Just pushing won't do it. We had to hold a block of wood behind the clip and give it a few whacks with a hammer to get the clips in all the way. Be careful - if you are too vigorous, or don't use a block of wood, you will likely ding or damage the panel.
      Use a block of wood and a hammer if necessary.
      Hit the block of wood, not the finished surface of the panel.
       
3. Attach the front panel. Three people would be good. One to stand on the base and hold the front and back panels up, two to maneuver the panel. It goes in just like the back panel, but is heavier and more fragile.
4. Attach the left (left from outside looking in, right if you are inside the sauna) side panel. Set it in place against the front and back panels, pick it up a couple of inches, and if you have it positioned correctly it will drop right into place. You may have to tap it down the last eighth of an inch or so, again with a block of wood.
5. Before you install the right panel, set the bench heater and the bench seat in place. This is easy to do now and impossible to do later, without partially disassembling the sauna. Don't forget to plug in the heater.
6. Set the right panel in place, same as the left panel.
7. At this point the sauna will stand by itself.
8. Set the top panel loosely on the top. Plug everything in and slip the top snugly over the tops of the 4 panels.
9. Plug in the sauna and make sure that the controls are working and you are getting heat out of every heater. If not, 'pop the top' and check all the connections. If that doesn't solve your problem, call the customer service number. The sooner the better.
10. Put the dust cover on top.

    Set in the lightweight panel/dustcover that lays on the top of the top.

11. Push the sauna into its final location. Push the base, not the top.