The moment the air starts to chill in Minnesota, something predictable happens: our phone starts ringing. It’s not really a coincidence. That first cold snap is usually what turns “we should really get a sauna” into “let’s actually do this.” We’re already booking builds for January, and if the last few years are anything to go by, that list only gets longer the further we get into fall.
If a sauna has been on your mind, here’s the thing worth knowing: now, not January, is the time to get on the list.
The Lead Time Nobody Thinks About Until It’s Too Late
We’ll be upfront: our lead times are real. That’s because Stoke Sauna is still just two people — Jedd and Jake — building every sauna ourselves, one at a time. We’re not a warehouse cutting kits for whoever’s on shift that day. That’s exactly the point. The wait is what it takes to get an intentional build, made with the same care start to finish, instead of something a beginner slammed together.
That queue fills up fast once the weather turns, because everyone tends to have the same idea at the same time — the moment it’s cold enough to want a sauna is the moment everyone else wants one too.
Right now we’re taking orders for January delivery. Wait to book in January, and spring delivery becomes the realistic timeline.
What It Takes to Get on the List
Reserving your spot isn’t complicated: a signed contract and a 10% deposit hold your build date. From there, you don’t need to have everything figured out. Final details and tweaks to your quote can still be made right up until a month before your build start date, when we sit down and lock everything in.
In other words, you don’t have to arrive with every decision made to get on the calendar — you just have to get on the calendar. The deciding can happen over the fall, while your spot is already secured.
What Booking Now Actually Buys You
Getting on the schedule early isn’t only about beating the rush — it buys you time to handle two things that are a lot easier to deal with in October than they are once the ground’s frozen solid.
- Time to prep your pad. Whether you’re planning a compacted gravel pad or pouring a concrete slab, that work needs workable ground and decent weather. Fall gives you both. Wait too long, and you’ll be trying to grade a site through frost. (We’ve written a full guide on preparing your site if you want the specifics.)
- Time to line up your electrician. This one’s easy to overlook, and it’s worth its own section.
Pro Tip: Get Your Electrical Set Up Before Winter
Here’s the detail that catches people off guard. If you’re going with an electric heater and your delivery is going to land in the middle of winter, you don’t want to be starting the electrical work then.
Get your electrician out this fall to run service to your sauna’s future spot. When delivery day comes, hooking up the heater becomes a simple, same-day connection instead of a project that has to wait for spring thaw. We’ve seen it happen — a sauna arrives fully built and ready to go, and then sits unused for months because the power isn’t in place yet. A little planning this fall means you’re not the one staring at a sauna you can’t use until May.
Fall Is the Sweet Spot
Summer feels too early to think about it. Deep winter is too late to do anything about the ground. Fall is the window where you can still prep a site, still get an electrician out before their schedules fill up too, and still land a spot in our build queue before it’s gone.
The Short Version
Getting your sauna built right takes a little planning, not just a spot in line. Get your pad prepped while the ground’s still workable, get your electrician scheduled so delivery day is just a hookup, and get on our list while fall gives you the time to do both before winter sets in.
And that wait is still just Jedd and Jake, building one sauna at a time, the same way we always have. Getting on the list early doesn’t just get you a spot in line — it’s how you get a true craftsman, artisanal build, built right and made to last the long haul.
Ready When You Are
We’re currently booking for January delivery, with earlier dates going fast. Based in Delano, just 30 miles west of the Twin Cities, we deliver free within 50 miles and can help you think through timing, site prep, and electrical needs before you even place your order. Reach out today and let’s get your project on the calendar before the queue fills up without you.