The Finnmark story starts over 10 years ago when our founders Jake and Max first discovered the joy of traditional Finnish sauna. They had spent time in Finland and came to love the steamy, relaxing and healing sauna experiences they had found commonplace there. Sauna is something that is enjoyed over the course of several hours and not simply tolerated for 10 minutes after a workout. They wondered why so few saunas in the UK gave credence to this, why so many here were such poor appropriations of the real deal! Over the years our team have invested tirelessly into researching the key facets of ‘the perfect sauna design’ and ensuring all of our sauna installations remain true to the principles and mechanics of Finnish sauna construction.

In our research we came to find that in the UK, sauna building is a concerningly underregulated industry, especially given that it is a highly specialist space. There is very little to prevent materials that are not safe for use in a sauna, being fitted by inexperienced builders or generic pool and spa companies. Many of whom are completely unaware of the serious safety issues using these materials causes.

We have sadly seen companies using materials that will break down and are hazardous to your health at temperature such as regular PIR insulation foams, that off-gas toxic fumes at high temperatures, instead of specialist ones designed for sauna temperatures. Too often we see  unventilated saunas with insufficient air turns per hour that makes for stuffy and unpleasant usage. We have also seen installations with serious fire risks caused by poor design consideration for things like minimum safety distances to combustible materials from heaters. All this, coupled with a troubling rise in the use of poorly built equipment from the Far East. It’s sad to say, we get a steady stream of work replacing saunas that weren’t built right the first time – so why not do it once and do it right, the Finnmark way.

We distinguish ourselves by welcoming and campaigning for greater regulation in our sector. We pride ourselves on working to the strictest standards in the world, the Finnish building regulations, we do this out of choice, as it creates a much safer, more enjoyable and far more durable product. We are the only RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Certified CPD providers for sauna construction and installation, which means we are the ones that architects turn to in order to learn how it should be done.

We are the first international members approved by Sauna From Finland, and have won awards and been featured in the press for our commitment to quality and design.