A wellness suite inside the house

The suite along one wall

A short corridor with the sauna door, the steam room door and the plunge basin off one wall, and a bench opposite. One drainage line, one plant access panel, three steps from hot to cold.

In a Cape house with a basement or a garage conversion this is straightforward. In a Highveld house on a raft slab it needs more thought about where the drain goes.

Three things you cannot retrofit cheaply

A drain with a fall. A ducted mechanical extract with a run-on timer. A cable run back to the board for the heater and the chiller, and ideally onto the backed circuit.

Put those three in the build drawing and the rest is finishes. Miss them and the project becomes demolition.

The details people remember

Warm dimmable light under the bench rather than a downlight in your eyes. A soft-close door. A heated rail so towels are dry the next evening. A shelf at the plunge. None of it costs much and nobody adds it afterwards.

In short

• Sauna, steam and plunge along one wall — one drainage line, one plant panel
• Drain, ducted extract and cable run resolved in the build drawing
• Chiller circuit onto the backed supply while the wall is open
• Under-bench light, soft-close doors, heated rail, a shelf at the plunge