Logging Out: The sauna builder's apprentice
Hey there,
I’m sitting on the floor of a busy train, travelling from London Euston to Stoke on Trent. A baby is sleeping in its mothers arms and a big dog is snoring on the floor next to me. Pleasant conversations between strangers are fading to silence as - through the rain splattered window - buildings and trees whoosh by.
My laptop is resting on my crossed legs and I’m doing my best to write to you. Sorry it’s been a little while. Things have been busy. Also, since the FT piece LOTS of new people have signed up the newsletter, and it has gone from my friends reading to lots of people reading, and I don’t know everyone and so it’s become slightly more daunting to write. So - whether you are new or old here - it would be nice to hear from you. Just reply to this email and say hello.
Also - thanks to everyone who has applied to participate in the artist retreat. If you have applied, I will respond to you as soon as possible. Forgive the delay <3
I have been busy building saunas.
I’m the apprentice to master sauna builder, Lewis Jenkinson. Lewis runs the Cedar Sauna Company and is the Technical Officer to the British Sauna Society.
Lewis is a stern, serious and precise - everything has to be to the millimetre. If something doesn’t look absolutely perfect then we have to do it again. There is no messing - we are effectively building luxury human ovens and in doing so, exposing wood (and humans) to the harshest possible conditions; extreme heat, moisture, water, and often salty sea spray.
And there’s so much to it. What wood do you use? The wood has to be lightweight, able to deal with extreme temperature, but also has to be strong and weather resistant. It can’t have sap or too many knots, because when the temperature gets over 100 degrees celsius, boiling hot sap could drip down and burn someone’s skin. The wood can’t have grown too quickly - such as trees generally do in the UK… it shouldn’t bend or warp too much… and the nails and screws holding it together have to be stainless steel, so they don’t rust.
The insulation has to be high quality and heat tested - as you don’t want dangerous chemicals to be released into the air when the sauna heats... And air quality is a hugely important, and all-too-often ignored factor in saunas. Air vents must be placed in very precise locations, in order to generate perfect convection currents, circulate stale air, and transfer heat to warm people’s whole body.
A good ventilation system looks something like this - hot air and steam rise from the stove, warm peoples bodies, and then fall while cooling, and must escape through vents, ideally placed under the benches and heater. So many saunas lack these vents, and the result is stale and potentially dangerous air, which makes one drowsy and dizzy.
The wood must be properly oiled and treated, so that it can last decades, and if the sauna is being installed into an existing space, it needs to be perfectly vapour sealed, so that hot steam doesn’t escape and rot the existing walls and building foundations.
And on top of all of that - the sauna has to be utterly beautiful. This is a luxury product that people pay a load of money for. The wood should be seamless, knot free, dead straight, and perfectly cut. The lights subtle, no screws should be visible and the benches should just appear to magically float.
When everything is perfect, you have a serene and glorious space - a peaceful haven of warmth and life. A space rich with the aroma of magnificent wood, with soft and rounded surfaces, and near complete sound insulation - which enables the gentle crackling of burning wood to command and decorate the space. Some saunas are totally dark - the only light emanating from a golden fire. Other saunas have windows. But, in my opinion, a good sauna is private, and if it must have windows, then it should be designed to look like a bird hide, with thin slit-like windows, which allow sauna goers to peer out and stare longingly at tantalising bodies of ice-cold water; fantasising while sweating and craving the sweet release of the cold.
I have learned so much from Lewis; learned about the ideal sauna, and the perfect sweat; I have learned how to work carefully and diligently in cutting and crafting spaces; learned to read and study wood, to spot clues, using smell and touch; learned the differences between species and the ideal properties for robust sauna wood; learned how to carry a ladder, how to paint, and how painting is a totally different technique from oiling or varnishing, and how to use a table saw and retain fingers. But also, I have learned about running a small business, and balancing family life, about connecting with a community on a trading estate in Stoke On Trent, about employing people and dealing with customers, and about the remarkable system of honour and loyalty between tradesmen.
And this is just the start… as I slowly become a carpenter, I find myself more in tune with my body, and my senses. My arms are getting stronger, my hands callused; I bump into less stuff and don’t need to rush - because making something beautiful is slow, and careful.
I thanked Lewis the other day, for taking me on and teaching me, and of course, paying me. He said he was happy to - he appreciated that I was spending my money well. “Some lads I take on just piss all their money away, but I can see that you are using it carefully, and so I’m happy to keep you on.” said Lewis.
And I think he is right… I have spent most of the money I have made so far on my own Makita carpentry tools (drill, impact drill, jigsaw, plunge saw, table saw, and various measuring and marking tools) and a big VW Crafter van called Gertrude… which I am currently insulating and cladding… to use for work and living when I’m building in remote places.
Love to you all.
Let me know how you are - or if you want a sauna !
Yours,
Seb