Natural Alder (Saunawood) Bench Boards – 70×27 mm – 2400 mm (8 ft.)

Natural Alder (Saunawood) Bench Boards

The bench is the one surface in a sauna your skin never leaves, so it’s the one place you can’t compromise — and Natural Alder is the timber that gets it right. Because alder carries heat poorly, these boards stay comfortable to sit on even when the stove has the room at full temperature, so you settle in rather than perch on the edge. They’re milled from A-grade, knot-free alder that’s specifically low-splinter, FSC-certified, and stocked in our warehouse for delivery across Ireland.

Why Alder?

European alder (Alnus glutinosa) is the traditional Nordic bench timber for two reasons that matter most exactly where you sit. First, it’s effectively resin-free, so it won’t weep sticky pitch or spit hot droplets onto bare skin as the room heats — the failing that rules out ordinary pine and spruce for benching. Second, its fine, even grain and A-grade selection mean a genuinely low risk of splinters on the surface you’re in direct contact with.

Add alder’s low density, which keeps the seat gentle rather than scorching, and a warm honey tone that deepens with every session, and you have a bench that’s as kind to sit on as it is good to look at.

Installation guidance

Building a sauna bench is more approachable than it looks, because the boards do the hard part: their rounded, knot-free faces give you a comfortable seat with no edges to dress. Run the boards along the bench frame and fix them with a small, even gap between each one — around 5 mm — so air moves freely and water drains rather than pooling on the seat.

Fix from underneath with stainless steel screws wherever you can, keeping fixings out of direct skin contact; if you must fix from above, counterbore and plug so no hot metal sits proud of the surface. Order your bench boards and wall cladding together so they come from the same batch, since alder colour varies between batches, and allow around 15% for cutting waste.

Finishing & maintenance

Alder benching is best left bare, which is how most Finnish saunas finish their benches. Untreated boards breathe, stay comfortable against your skin and mellow gently with steam and time. Never use varnish, lacquer, paint or any exterior wood finish on a sauna bench: these seal the surface, grow uncomfortably hot and release fumes when warmed. To keep the seat fresh, sit on a towel, wipe the boards with a damp cloth and mild soap after use, and ventilate the room so the bench dries fully between sessions.

Compare all our sauna bench boards, from 70 mm to 120 mm wide.