ALMOST HEAVEN BARREL SAUNA

By Darryl Garvey | Garvey Media (August 2026)

This summer, we partnered with Almost Heaven Saunas on a project that I was particularly excited about. Almost Heaven provided us with their Princeton 6-Person Barrel Sauna in exchange for producing the full build video featured above. We will also be working with them throughout the summer, fall, and winter to film additional advertising content featuring the sauna in different seasons.

Rather than simply assembling the sauna next to our house, Vanessa and I decided to turn the installation into a much bigger project.

We live on a wooded property in rural Michigan, and I had an untouched area of the woods that I thought would be the perfect setting for it. That meant clearing and preparing the site, pouring a concrete slab, getting power out to the location, assembling the sauna, and having the heater and electrical components installed. It was quite a bit more work than what would normally be required to set up one of these saunas, but I think the finished location made it worthwhile.

The video above follows that entire process from start to finish.

We've now been using the sauna consistently for nearly two months, so I also wanted to put together some thoughts on the sauna itself, the assembly process, and the Harvia equipment that came with our setup.

For some context, I'm certainly not a sauna expert. Before owning this one, most of my experience with saunas came from using them at hotels and resorts while traveling for video work over the years. That said, I've used enough of them to have a decent point of comparison, and after a couple months with the Princeton, I've been extremely happy with our setup.

Our Sauna Setup

We went with the Almost Heaven Princeton 6-Person Barrel Sauna, which is one of their larger barrel models.

The Princeton measures approximately 78 inches wide, 94 inches deep, and 81 1/2 inches tall. Two long benches run along the sides of the sauna, each measuring a little over 86 inches long.

Our setup includes:

Almost Heaven Princeton 6-Person Barrel Sauna
1⅜-inch-thick ball-and-socket lumber
Tempered glass door
Stainless steel bands, hinges, and fasteners
Interior LED lighting
Harvia Spirit SP80E 8kW electric heater
Harvia sauna stones
Harvia Fenix Wi-Fi control system
MyHarvia 2 remote app control

The sauna itself is made in the USA, while our Harvia Spirit heater is manufactured in Finland.

Assembly Was Much Easier Than the Project Looked

If you watched our video, you probably noticed there was quite a bit of work involved in this project—but most of that wasn't actually assembling the sauna.

That was my own doing.

I wanted to put the sauna in a previously untouched section of our woods, so before we could even start building, I had to clear the area, prepare the site, pour two concrete slabs, and get electrical service out there.

Most people probably aren't going to go quite that far. If you're putting one of these on an existing concrete patio, slab, deck, paver area, or another solid and level surface, the project becomes much simpler.

The actual sauna assembly was surprisingly easy.

Vanessa and I assembled it ourselves while also filming the entire process and taking care of our four-month-old son on site. Even with all of that going on, it took us only a little over five hours to put the sauna together.

The instructions were excellent. Everything was laid out clearly, and we didn't run into any major points where we were confused about what came next.

That's one of the things I really like about the barrel design. The structure itself essentially creates its own walls and roof. There is no traditional wall framing or roof structure to build. Once the supports are in place, the barrel staves fit together and are held tightly by the steel bands.

For a DIY project, it is a very approachable design.

Electrical Installation

We hired an electrician to handle the final electrical connections.

Our sauna uses a Harvia Spirit SP80E 8kW heater, which runs on 240V power. The Princeton calls for a 40-amp heater circuit.

Our electrician had never installed a sauna before, but the wiring diagrams and documentation were clear enough that he had no trouble completing the installation.

The Spirit itself is a fairly serious heater for its compact size. It is designed for sauna rooms between approximately 177 and 431 cubic feet and holds around 110 pounds of sauna stones.

It also has integrated safety systems, including sensors designed to prevent the heater from operating if something has been placed on top of it. That is particularly important with a remotely controlled heater like ours.

The Harvia Spirit 8kW Heater Is Impressive

The heater is one of my favorite parts of the entire setup.

This thing gets hot.

I typically use the sauna somewhere around 160–170°F, and depending on the day, I normally stay inside for around 15–30 minutes. That's plenty hot for me, but our Harvia Fenix controller can actually be set as high as 194°F.

In my experience, there is certainly no shortage of heat. This has been a noticeably hotter sauna experience than most of the commercial saunas I've used over the years while traveling for video work.

For comparison, my brother has a well-insulated indoor sauna in his basement with a smaller 110V heater. His is still enjoyable to use, but it generally tops out somewhere around 140–150°F.

The Spirit also holds a large amount of sauna stones, giving you plenty of hot surface area for pouring water and creating steam. Between the heat, steam, smell of the cedar, and being surrounded by the woods outside, it has turned into a really enjoyable place to unwind.

The Fenix Wi-Fi Controller Is Worth It

One feature I wasn't expecting to appreciate quite as much as I do is the Harvia Fenix Wi-Fi control system.

The Fenix includes a 4.3-inch touchscreen control panel and connects to the MyHarvia 2 app, allowing the sauna to be controlled remotely.

You can control the heater and temperature without physically walking out to the sauna, and the system can also support things like sauna lighting and ventilation depending on the installation.

For us, remote control is incredibly useful because the sauna isn't directly beside our house.

My routine is usually pretty simple: I turn the sauna on from my phone while I'm still inside the house, start exercising, and by the time I'm finished with my workout, I can head outside and the sauna is hot and ready to go.

It sounds like a small convenience, but after having it, I don't think I would want a sauna without it.

Barrel Sauna Quality and Design

After living with the Princeton for nearly two months, I've been really pleased with the overall quality.

It's also just a beautiful structure.

We get a lot of compliments on it because a large wooden barrel sitting in the middle of the woods is naturally going to catch your attention. It has turned what was basically an unused section of our property into a space that actually feels intentional.

Inside, the sauna is comfortable, spacious, and smells amazing. The Princeton is advertised as a six-person sauna. Most of the time I'm using it by myself or with my wife Vanessa, so there is plenty of room to spread out.

Another reason I like the barrel design is its simplicity. You get the feel and functionality of a traditional wood sauna without having to construct an entire framed building.

Does a Barrel Sauna Need a Roof?

This was something I wondered about before owning one.

Almost Heaven designs its outdoor barrel saunas to withstand outdoor weather and recommends protecting the exterior wood with an appropriate stain. They also offer optional rain jackets and other protection for people who want additional coverage.

Our sauna currently does not have a roof or rain jacket over it, and so far it has been completely fine.

Because the sauna is built from individual wood staves, the lumber naturally expands and contracts as weather and humidity change. You can occasionally get some moisture working through the joints during wet conditions, which is one reason additional overhead protection can make sense depending on your climate and where the sauna is installed.

Eventually, I may add some type of roof or covering to ours simply to give the wood another layer of protection from Michigan weather.

The nice thing is that you have options. Almost Heaven offers barrel sauna rain jackets, and depending on the sauna model and installation, owners can also incorporate other types of roofing or protection.

Two Months In: Would I Recommend It?

Absolutely.

Again, I want to be transparent that Almost Heaven provided this sauna to us, and we've only had it for around two months. I can't give you a five- or ten-year ownership review yet.

What I can say is that I've been extremely happy with it so far.

The assembly was much easier than I expected, the materials and overall construction feel high quality, the Harvia Spirit heater is fantastic, and the Fenix Wi-Fi controller has turned out to be one of my favorite features.

More importantly, I actually use it.

It hasn't become one of those projects that looks cool but sits untouched. Being able to turn it on from my phone, finish a workout, and walk out into the woods to a hot sauna has made it incredibly easy to incorporate into my daily routine.

Almost Heaven was also a great company to work with throughout this project. Everyone we dealt with was helpful, and after going through the complete process of receiving, assembling, installing, and actually using one of their saunas, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend their products to someone looking to build a home sauna of their own.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with how the project turned out.

And if you're considering building your own barrel sauna, hopefully our video gives you a realistic idea of what the process looks like—from an empty patch of ground to your first sauna session.