Nordic Spruce is the traditional choice for wood in sauna worldwide. Around 90% of all sauna built use Nordic Spruce, the majority of these being in Finland. Western Red Cedar is popular in America. Both cedar and Nordic Spruce are popular wood types used for saunas around the world, but they do not come without their differences.
There are two major differences between Nordic Spruce and Cedar when used in a sauna. The first is in cost, with Nordic Spruce being much more affordable than Cedar. The most obvious difference between the two is in their coloring. Nordic Spruce is lighter in color than Cedar, which creates a more open feel inside a sauna, particularly smaller saunas.
About the Nordic Spruce We Use In Our Saunas
It’s generally not recommended that you roll up to the local building center for your sauna wood. While it is possible, much of the wood you’ll find here will be warped, bent, or chipped. This is a result of the handling of the material. If you’ve built a sauna before, or even worked with wood on a smaller project, you may have found that after unpacking the wood material, it has begun to warp.
As a Finnleo Sauna Dealer, the Nordic Spruce sauna building material we use is 100% from Finland.
Finnleo Nordic Spruce wood comes from responsibly-sourced forests in Northern Finnish forests. Finnleo’s Nordic White Spruce is grown north of 60° latitude (In Finland, near the Artic circle).
What does Nordic Spruce look like?
Spruce is naturally lighter in color. It presents a soft, almost whitish yellow glow when used inside any building space. In a sauna, one of the most desirable characteristics of Nordic Spruce is that it appears to make even a tiny room look large and spacious while inside. This also helps with the lighting effects inside the room, making it easier for less light sources to create light in the sauna.
The “Nordic” look is comprised of light colors, clean lines and natural materials. Spruce is known for small knots in the wood (more on the knots below) and paired with the white colors – it makes a small space feel larger and helps to the overall relaxing and tranquil environment of a sauna.
- Nordic Spruce shown in a small “under the staircase” sauna to showcase how the light wood makes the room feel more spacious.
What makes Nordic Spruce a good wood in a hot Sauna Environment?
Nordic Spruce is an unusual softwood that doesn’t have the typical porous characteristics of other whitewood tongue and groove material. Nordic Spruce holds up better in sauna environment because sweat and moisture doesn’t impregnate it as it can with other woods.
Due to the smaller knots in Nordic Spruce, there is less concern with over-heating and “popping” of the knots. These smaller knots provide a true aesthetic of the traditional Finnish sauna.
What grade is the Nordic Spruce we use for building our saunas?
Finnleo uses European Grade A wood (German grading rules) in its saunas. The Grade A wood comes from the tops of trees around 80 years old, and has only small, tight, “living” knots.
Where is Nordic Spruce wood used in the Sauna?
Nordic Spruce is only used on walls and ceiling (T&G) in a Finnleo Sauna. We use Abachi or clear Aspen on all surfaces that touch the skin. This includes the benching, backrest, bench skirts (if applicable), duckboard flooring, and heater guard. Both Abachi and Clear Aspen do not have knots in the wood. Any knots in wood are known to get hot to the touch, so it is best avoided in a sauna.
- Nordic Spruce T&G on walls and ceiling, Abaching benching
Other Reasons To Use Nordic Spruce In Sauna Building
Nordic Spruce Is Stain Resistant
Nordic Spruce is known for stain-resistance. Occasionally wipe the wood down with a mild detergent and water. Nordic Spruce will very consistent in its original color and condition. The Abachi wood used in benching has similar stain-resistant qualities.
Makes Smaller Spaces Feel Larger
Aside from the fact that it is the top wood choice of Finns in the traditional sauna, because of it’s natural soft white wood color, Nordic Spruce makes even the smallest of sauna rooms appear larger than they actually are. This provides a cozy, soothing sauna experience no matter which size sauna you choose to build.
Provides Unique Traditional Finnish Sauna Experience
Finland is known as the birthplace of sauna. In Finland, the vast majority of saunas are built using Nordic Spruce from the country itself. As part of our commitment to the true, traditional Finnish Sauna, we proudly construct many of our saunas using Nordic White Spruce sourced only from Finland.
Shop Nordic Spruce Sauna Wood
Sauna Supply Company is a Finnleo Sauna Dealer that offers Nordic Spruce sourced only from Finland for the use of building a sauna. We offer pre-cut DIY sauna kits, as well as panel built saunas, and custom built saunas constructed of Nordic Spruce. No project is too large or too small, contact us by calling (612)309-9700 for a quote on your sauna build!
