Infrared and Outdoor Saunas in Hamilton
Long lower-city winters, Mountain wind and shift-work recovery make Hamilton a natural sauna market, and the two routes are simple: a Clearlight infrared cabin in the basement of a century home, or a Serenity cedar sauna on a Flamborough or Ancaster lot.
From $10,495 or from $21.09 bi-weekly at 0% for 12 months OAC*. Every price below is the current sale price at the Hamilton showroom. Floor model and in-store offers are on the specials page.
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Sanctuary 1
Sanctuary 2
Sanctuary 3
Sanctuary 5
Sanctuary Y
Sanctuary C
Sanctuary Retreat
Serenity Mini
Serenity Sauna
*0% interest for 12 months bi-weekly finance payment, on approved credit. Amortization period varies by product. Other financing options are available. Prices in CAD at the Hamilton showroom and subject to change.
Older Hamilton homes were built before anyone imagined a sauna in the basement, so ceiling height and the width of the stairs decide the cabin. Clearlight Sanctuary cabins arrive in flat panels and go together in a couple of hours, and the Sanctuary 1 at $10,495 and Sanctuary 2 at $11,795 fit under the low joists common in North End and Westdale semis. They plug into a standard outlet, which matters in a house with a 100 amp panel already carrying a dryer and an air conditioner. Newer builds in Waterdown or Binbrook with nine foot basements can take the four-person Sanctuary Y at $13,995.
Outdoor cedar saunas belong on the rural and estate lots: Flamborough, the Ancaster side roads, Mount Hope, the farm properties around Caledonia and the bench above Grimsby. A Serenity Sauna at $17,495 or the smaller Serenity Mini at $14,995 sits on a gravel pad or deck footings, the heater is chosen separately, and a wood-burning option suits properties where running a new 240V circuit out to the back of the lot would cost more than the sauna. Western red cedar weathers grey on the windward side over a few winters, and most owners like it that way.
The buyers we see most are people whose bodies take a beating: nurses and paramedics coming off nights, ironworkers and millwrights, hockey parents who spent the weekend in a cold arena, and McMaster staff who read about heat therapy and want to try it before they buy. Both cabin types are set up on our Ancaster floor and running, so you can sit in each for ten minutes and feel the difference between infrared warmth and a hot cedar room before deciding which one goes home.
Saunas Questions
Will an infrared cabin fit in the basement of a century home in the lower city?
Usually. The one and two person Sanctuary cabins are built for low ceilings and tight stairs, and the panels come in through a standard door. Measure the lowest beam or duct on the path and tell us, and we will confirm the fit before it ships. A dehumidifier in the room helps in an old fieldstone basement.
Can an outdoor Serenity sauna sit on a sloped Dundas or escarpment lot?
Yes, on a level platform. We recommend a small deck on adjustable footings or a poured pad cut into the grade rather than trying to level a slope with gravel alone, because frost heave on the escarpment will move anything that is not footed. Put the door on the uphill side so meltwater runs away from the threshold.
How do people here pair a sauna with a cold plunge?
The routine is heat, cold, rest, repeated two or three times, and it is popular with shift workers and athletes recovering after a night or a game. The Sanctuary 2, 3 and Y pair naturally with a Chill Tubs Essential, and we can deliver and set up both together. Most owners put the plunge just outside the sauna door so the walk between the two is a few steps in bare feet, even in January.
Does the cedar need finishing for Hamilton weather?
Leave the inside bare, always, because finishes off-gas in a hot room. On the outside you can let the Western red cedar weather naturally or apply a clear penetrating oil every couple of years to hold the colour. On the Mountain and in Flamborough the windward wall greys faster, so some owners oil that side alone.
How long does an infrared sauna take to warm up in an unheated garage?
Longer than in a basement. Infrared heats your body more than the air, so you can step in after ten or fifteen minutes even when the cabin has not reached its set point, but a garage that sits near freezing in January slows things considerably. Most Hamilton owners put the cabin in a basement, a spare room or a corner of a detached garage that has some heat.