Going to a Hybrid Steam Room

Hybrid Steam Rooms
It is human nature to solve problems. Although the problem with steam rooms may not affect the average persons daily life, it does however affect those people who bath in steam rooms or run/maintain facilities with steam rooms. Hybrid steam rooms are
a new material design approach that takes advantage of advance plastics construction that reduce porous surface area by over 90% and also incorporate new cleaning technologies that practically eliminate the need for daily chemicals and scrubbing.
The new hybrid steam rooms are brilliant white - sterile steam room environments that stay fresh and clean all day and allieve health or sanitary concerns. Gone is the need for re-grouting every 2-3 years and retiling every 5-7 years. Hybrid steam rooms are practically maintenance-free and remain fresh,clean and sterile with only once-a-week cleaning with mild (organic) soap and water. Hybrid steam rooms do not require traditionally large boilers, they heat up within five minutes and
use 30-50% less energy than traditional tile rooms. Because of their rapid heat-time and superior heat retention, many clubs opt to eliminate their 24 hour timers and switch to 60 minute timers. Therefore, the steam room only runs when members are present thus decreasing energy costs by up to 60%.

Conversion Case Study
Typical Tile Room
Boise Idaho - The West YMCA and Aquatic Center located in Boise Idaho was build in 1996. A state of the art YMCA with three swimming pools and all of the expected services of a contemporary YMCA; child care, basketball, racquetball, rock climbing, children’s and adult locker rooms… including sauna and steam rooms. Within seven years the steam rooms were literally falling apart. According to Scott Apple, Facility Director “we were doing everything we could to keep the rooms together”.
Adding further, “no matter what we did, we could not stop member complaints… the rooms were basically nasty”. According to Alfonso Castaneda, long time YMCA member “there was a large group of us that would voice our concerns to the Y on a weekly basis urging them to fix the steam room”. According to Apple, they had to move quickly as the room was leaking and the moisture was seeping into the walls and the floor. “It got to the point where the moisture was threatening the integrity of our floors and walls” claims Apple. In 2005, Apple contacted Am-Finn Sauna & Steam, a
preferred vendor for the YMCA for over 12 years, to solve the problem. The solution was to convert the traditional tile room to a new Hybrid steam room. In the summer of 2006, full conversion of both men’s and women’s steam rooms and (sauna renovations) were completed in one week.
Step 1
Removal of benches and expand door entry way to a 6ft wide by 7ft high rough opening.
Step 2
Construction of Hybrid Steam Room inside existing steam room.
Step 3
Insertion of the full glass door frame assembly with vision panel
Step 4
Sealing of panel seams and base seam.
Step 5
Exterior finish to blend with sauna creating a beautiful custom look.