Small cottage lots in Cottagewood and Deephaven Park
Deephaven's comprehensive plan says it plainly: in Cottagewood and Deephaven Park, many of the original lots were platted small, and the city sees frequent variance requests because of lot widths and setbacks. Cottagewood is the neighborhood around the old general store and Deephaven Beach.
On a lot like that, a 6x8 Kota is often the right answer, and where it sits matters as much as its size. Check with the city before you get attached to a location. We would much sooner design to what the lot allows than redraw later.
Slopes behind Carsons Bay, St. Louis Bay and Robinsons Bay
The same plan lists where the steepest ground in town is: around Lake Louise and Northome Parkway in the northwest, the Heathcote area, the land south of Carsons Bay, and the stretch running inland from Carsons, St. Louis and Robinsons bays.
A slope can be a fine place for a sauna with a view. It also asks more of the site: a level base cut in or built up, and a way to get the building there. We sort those out before we talk about finishes.
Dead-end streets, tree cover and delivery day
Deephaven's streets follow the hills and the shoreline. A number of them dead-end, most have no curb and gutter, and the city does not expect that pattern to change. Add mature trees over the road and the driveway, and the route for a finished sauna deserves a careful look.
We walk it at the site visit: the turn off Minnetonka Boulevard or Vine Hill Road, the width of the drive, low limbs, wires, and the last stretch across the yard.
Which sauna fits a Deephaven lot
On the small original lots in Cottagewood and Deephaven Park, the Kota (6x8, 4 to 6 bathers) is usually the one that fits. Where the lot is larger, the Tuli (8x12, 6 to 8 bathers) is the common pick and the Superior (8x16, 8 or more bathers) seats a bigger group. A Custom build makes sense when a slope or a view calls for a layout of its own.
More on how we build them: custom outdoor saunas. What they cost: pricing.
Delivery and site prep in Deephaven
Steep ground and dead-end streets make delivery the first thing we study in Deephaven. We look at access during the site visit and plan the set around it. The sauna needs a level, solid base, which on a slope means site work before delivery day, and an electric heater needs power run to the site by an electrician we can coordinate with.
Deephaven's Planning and Zoning staff at City Hall answer questions on setbacks, accessory structures and tree removal. Part of the city is in the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and part is in the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District, so ask which one, if either, applies to your lot.
We can also handle the site work: the gravel pad or piers, the electrical trench and hookup, and building on site where a finished sauna will not fit through. The full rundown is on our site work, delivery and installation page.
Around Deephaven
- Cottagewood
- Deephaven Park
- Chowen's Corner
- Northome
- Heathcote
- Lake Louise
- Carsons Bay
- St. Louis Bay
- Robinsons Bay
Questions from Deephaven
Saunas in Deephaven, answered
Can you get a finished sauna onto a steep or wooded Deephaven lot?
Often, but we do not say yes until we have walked it. The sauna arrives finished, so the street, the driveway, overhead limbs and the slope of the yard all matter. We look at access during the site visit and plan the set around it. If the first spot you had in mind will not work, we tell you and look for one that does.
Have you built a sauna in Deephaven?
Not one we have published yet. The nearest is in Minnetonka, which borders Deephaven: a Tuli with an IKI electric heater in a wooded backyard. We have also built in Chanhassen, Mound and Minnetrista. Deephaven is about 20 minutes from our shop in St. Bonifacius, where every sauna is built by our own crew.
Can a sauna go near the water on Carsons Bay or St. Louis Bay?
It depends on your lot. Deephaven has shoreland rules for land near the lake, and slopes add another layer on some shoreline properties. Ask the city's Planning and Zoning staff what your parcel allows, and bring us the answer along with a survey if you have one. We plan the size and position from there.
What size sauna works on a small Cottagewood lot?
Usually the Kota. It is 6x8 and seats 4 to 6, which suits the small original lots in Cottagewood and Deephaven Park. Setbacks on narrow lots are the limiting factor, so confirm with the city where an accessory building can go. If the lot has room, the 8x12 Tuli is the next size up.
Nearby
We also build for Minnetonka. See everywhere we work, or the project map.