Straight answers, including the unhelpful ones.
Everything people ask us before they spend real money. Where the honest answer is that it depends, we say what it depends on.
Before you buy.
Why is your range so small?
Because every product passes three gates before it is listed: we have to understand how it is built and what fails first, test the claims against British conditions rather than a Nordic summer, and agree proper warranty, parts and lead time terms with the maker in writing. Products fail those gates regularly.
The range grows as partnerships complete. It grows slowly on purpose.
Can I see one before I buy?
Where a manufacturer has a UK showroom we will tell you where it is, even when that means you buy nothing from us today. If there is no showroom for the model you are looking at, we will say so rather than imply otherwise.
Wood fired or electric?
Both are good, at different things. The short version: if you will use it two or three times a week and spontaneously, electric wins on sheer usage. If it is a deliberate weekly occasion and you have the space, wood is very hard to beat.
One thing catches people out: in a smoke control area a wood stove in a roofed garden structure is subject to the same rules as your house chimney. Check with your council before you buy.
How do you make money?
We buy from manufacturers and sell to you. There are no commissions, no referral fees and no payment from anyone for placement or for a favourable mention. If a product appears here it is because we think it is good.
Are your prices negotiable?
No, and we would rather say that than run a permanent discount that makes the listed price meaningless. What we will do is tell you honestly when a cheaper product in the range suits you better than the one you were looking at.
Do you offer finance?
No. Consumer credit is a regulated activity and we would rather stay out of it entirely than be in it badly. Prices are in sterling, payable at checkout.
Getting it into your garden.
What does delivery cost?
Nothing, to mainland Britain, on everything we sell. The Highlands and Islands, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are quoted individually because the cost genuinely differs.
How do I know it will fit through my gate?
Measure the narrowest point along the whole route, not the gate. The gate is rarely the problem. The pinch point three metres past it usually is: a drainpipe, a meter box, a corner where a fence stops you swinging wide.
Send us photographs of the route and we will tell you before you order, not on the day.
What base do I need?
A sauna wants a level, free draining base with air able to move underneath. A plunge wants a base rated for the filled weight, which is much more than the empty weight: water is a kilogram a litre.
The base should be finished and cured before delivery. It is the least glamorous line in any specification and the one that decides whether you still own this in ten years.
Will I need an electrician?
For an electric heater above a certain rating, and for any chiller unit, yes. It needs a suitable outdoor supply installed by a qualified electrician, and that job has a lead time of its own. Get a rough figure early, because a long cable run through an established garden is a real cost and it belongs in your budget rather than in a surprise.
Do I need planning permission?
Usually not, as most garden buildings of this size fall under permitted development, but there are real exceptions: listed buildings, conservation areas, land in front of the principal elevation, and height limits near a boundary. We are not planning consultants. Your local authority will answer definitively and it costs nothing to ask.
Living with it.
What will it cost to run?
For an electric sauna you can calculate it: heater rating in kilowatts, times hours, times your unit rate. A typical session lands somewhere between one and two pounds of electricity.
For a cold plunge, insulation decides the bill far more than chiller size does. A well insulated plunge costs less to hold in January than in July, because the ambient air is helping rather than fighting.
How much upkeep is a plunge, really?
More than nothing and less than a hot tub. Expect a short weekly routine of checking and dosing, a filter change on the manufacturer's schedule, and a full drain and refill periodically. Ask any seller how many minutes a week it takes. If the answer is vague, assume more than you hope.
Can I leave it out all winter?
Everything we sell is built to live outdoors in Britain, which is the whole point of the range. Check the rated ambient range at both ends though, because some chillers are specified down to five degrees and not below, and ask what the unit does on its own if pipework approaches freezing.
Who fixes it in year three?
We do. One email to us and we handle the manufacturer for the life of the warranty, and we will still source the part and make the call after it ends.
Does cold water actually do what people say?
Some of it, and less than the loudest claims suggest. There is a real and growing body of research worth taking seriously, and a great deal of confident marketing language running well ahead of it.
We will tell you what is well supported, what is promising and what is somebody's advertising, and we would rather lose a sale than overstate the third one. No product here will fix your sleep, your mood and your marriage.
Still not answered? Ask us and we will add it here