Steam & Oak Saaren 400 Panorama Barrel Sauna — 4–6 Person Thermowood, Glass Back Wall

The back wall is a half-moon of tempered bronze glass. You sit on the upper bench, facing down the length of the barrel, and look straight out at whatever is behind it — trees, a field, a garden at dusk. It is the difference between being inside a wooden tube and being inside a view.

This is the flagship of the Saaren range and the only one built in thermowood only. At 4 m long and 2.35 m across it is wider and taller than the standard 400, with a 15.7 m³ hot room, a separate changing room behind a glass door, and a covered terrace at the entrance. Three spaces, and the largest sauna we list that still arrives on a single pallet.

Why thermowood, and why only thermowood

A cabin with this much glass and this much surface area is exposed to more weather than a small barrel, and INMEDIAS build it accordingly. Thermowood is timber kiln-treated at 180–220°C in a low-oxygen chamber — not a surface coating, but a change to the wood itself. The cells close, so it takes on far less moisture, and that is what stops outdoor timber cupping, twisting and splitting through a British winter.

No chemical preservatives are involved. It arrives a deep honey-brown and weathers to a stable silver. The front wall is 42 mm here rather than the 28 mm used on the smaller barrels — more mass where the door and glazing are.

Specification

What is in the box

Everything structural, including the glass back wall, both doors and the terrace. No hidden extras to buy before you can build it:

• Thermowood barrel staves and 42 mm front wall
• Half-moon back wall in 8 mm tempered bronze glass
• Wooden entrance door and internal glass door
• Terrace with its own benches and floor
• Two-level thermo-aspen sauna benches
• Two front windows
• Floor
• Bitumen roof shingles and fascia boards
• Foundation cradles
• Heater guard
• Stainless steel barrel bands and complete fixing kit
• Ventilation grids
• Step-by-step assembly instructions

Run it on gas — no electrician, no cable across the garden

This is the option almost nobody else offers, and for a lot of gardens it is the one that makes a sauna possible at all.

A FinSteam gas heater runs on a standard propane bottle — the same sort you would use for a patio heater or a barbecue. No armoured cable, no trench across the lawn, no electrician quote you had not budgeted for. On a sauna at the far end of a garden, that saving is often substantial.

Pick a gas option above and we fit the flue and commission the heater on installation day. You do not need to arrange anything with anyone.

Which gas option?

And then: safety pack, or without?

Every gas option includes the heater, the Orbis stone cage, and our fitting and commissioning. See the full gas heater range →

Or go wood-fired — the traditional barrel

There is a reason barrel saunas have chimneys. A wood stove gives you the crackle, the smell and the slow build that no electric element reproduces, and it needs no power at all. In a two-room barrel it also keeps the changing room comfortable rather than cold, because the flue runs through it.

Our Harvia M series wood-burning set comes complete with the chimney and stones included — nothing else to source. Our fitters install it and check the flue on the day.

Or choose an electric heater — read this first

At 15.7 m³ with a full glass back wall, this is the most demanding room in the range to heat. Glass loses heat faster than 42 mm timber, and there is a lot of it.

We would rather tell you this up front than sell you an under-powered heater. If you want electric on the 400 Panorama, choose cabin only and talk to us — we can source a correctly sized unit for a room this big. Gas and wood-fired both suit it well as listed.

All electric heaters must be installed and connected by a qualified electrician. We confirm the exact supply requirement with you before installation.

2-year warranty

The Saaren 400 Panorama carries a 2-year warranty on the barrel structure, and the heaters carry their own manufacturer warranty.

Thermowood is stable and rot-resistant by nature, but like any outdoor timber it lasts longest if you treat the exterior and keep it treated. We will tell you exactly what to use and when. Look after it and this is a sauna that will outlast the warranty by a wide margin.

Lead time — please ask before you order

Lead time depends on stock and specification, and it moves. Depending on what is already built and how the factories are running, it can be anywhere from a couple of weeks to around four months.

Ask us and we will give you the real date for your build before you commit — we would rather tell you the honest timescale up front than quote a comfortable number and disappoint you later.

Getting it into your garden

• Base: level and well-drained — a slab, paving or compacted gravel all work. Allow 400 × 235 cm plus room to walk around it. This is the widest barrel we list; measure the run before you commit.
• Access: delivered flat-packed on one pallet 4 m long. The parts go through a standard side gate, but the pallet needs a clear drop point — worth confirming with us.
• Glass: the half-moon back wall is the heaviest single component. Two people minimum for that panel, or leave the whole build to our installation team.
• Orientation: point the glass wall at the view. It sounds obvious, but it is the one decision you cannot change afterwards without dismantling the barrel.

Options

• Shingle colour — black, red, green or brown
• Exterior timber-protection finishes
• Sauna accessory sets