Site preparation & install.

A Rooster arrives finished. The chamber is built, the cedar is oiled, the heater is mounted, the wiring is run to a single junction box. On delivery day a flatbed pulls into your driveway, the room comes off, and it sits on the slab you've prepared — your electrician runs the dedicated 240V circuit to the junction box and you're ready to fire.

For that to go cleanly, three things need to be ready before we leave the workshop: a level concrete pad, a clear path from driveway to pad, and any local permits in hand. This guide walks you through each of them.

Most clients can do this themselves with a contractor for the slab pour. Plan for two to four weeks of prep — concrete needs time to cure, and permits move at municipal speed.

The right spot is the one you'll walk to before sunrise. Practical things matter — slope, trees, drainage — but so does ritual. Pick a place you'd want to sit for an hour with the door cracked open.

We recommend at least ten feet from any inhabited building, with the door facing toward the route you'll walk in the morning. South or southeast exposure gives you the morning light through the picture window. Site within reach of your electrical panel — every foot of trench is a foot the electrician bills you for.

If you have a slope, locate the pad on the higher edge so water drains away from the door. Don't site over septic fields, propane lines, or buried fiber.

We deliver onto a reinforced concrete pad. The pad must be level to within ¼″ across the full footprint (we measure on delivery day with a laser), and oversized by 6″ on each side beyond the room itself.

Pad thickness depends on local frost line. In Kentucky, four inches is enough for a Hot Box or Cottage and six for the Miller. North of the Mason-Dixon, increase to six and eight respectively, with the pad bottom below frost line — check your local code.

Use 3,000 psi concrete with #4 rebar laid in a grid. A vapor barrier under the pad is recommended in damp climates. Slope the pad away from the door at a gentle ⅛″ per foot for drainage.

Most local concrete contractors can pour to these specs in a day. We'll review your contractor's spec sheet during the design phase if you'd like a second pair of eyes.

The room arrives on a 26-foot flatbed and comes off via crane or tilt-bed. We need a clear corridor from the curb to the slab, wide enough for the room and tall enough to clear any overhanging branches. If your driveway is gravel, soft, or seasonally muddy, plan for plywood mats.

Most properties don't need anything dramatic — a quick walk-through during the design phase tells us if any tree limbs need to be trimmed or a gate widened. We share the delivery walk notes a week before dispatch.

For tight urban sites, we can sometimes deliver chamber-only and field-attach the porch on-site. This is the only time we send a builder out for installation; surcharge applies.

• Trim limbs below 12 ft along the delivery path.
• Move vehicles the night before — we need the driveway clear at 7am.
• Mark utilities with 811 (free) at least 5 business days ahead.
• Photograph any pre-existing landscaping issues so we don't get blamed for them.

A Rooster runs on a dedicated 240V circuit sized to the heater: about 30 A for a Hot Box (6 kW), 40 A for a Cottage (9 kW), 60 A for a Miller (15 kW). Your electrician runs the home-run to a single junction box at the porch corner — we wire from there to the heater inside.

Most clients also run a separate 20 A 120V circuit for interior dimmable LED lighting and an exterior porch light. Optional add-ons (audio, USB outlets) come off the lighting circuit.

Plumbing is not required and not recommended inside the chamber — humidity and copper don't mix well over decades. If you want a cold-rinse hookup, we recommend an exterior frost-free hose bib on the porch column.

Trench depth, conduit, and fixtures are your electrician's call. We hand off a single stub-up location on the design plans.

Electric heat means no chimney, no embers, no spark arrestor — and far less restrictive clearance than a wood-fired sauna. The cedar exterior still wants a little room to breathe, and the chamber needs daylight access for the picture window.

Maintain a comfortable three feet from any combustible structure (fence, deck, neighboring shed) so siding can dry after rain. Two feet is the practical minimum for swing-door clearance and roof drainage. Stone or concrete wall? Six inches is fine.

Property-line setbacks vary by jurisdiction — your local zoning desk will tell you what's required. We can adjust the design to drop under the 200 sq ft accessory-structure threshold if it helps.

A Rooster is a permanent accessory structure. Most jurisdictions require a building permit; some classify it as a "shed" under 200 sq ft and waive permitting. A few HOA-governed areas require architectural review.

Pull permits before you pour the slab. We provide a stamped engineering packet (foundation plan, structural details, heater wiring diagram) that satisfies most municipal reviews. If your city needs a wet stamp from a local engineer, we can connect you with one we've worked with in 19 states.

We don't pull permits on your behalf. You or your contractor own this step — but we'll answer questions for your inspector at no charge.

• Check zoning — accessory structure rules vary by parcel.
• Pull building permit with our stamped packet.
• Pull electrical permit if running the optional circuit.
• HOA review if applicable — we provide rendering on request.
• Septic/utility check via your county before the dig.

Delivery is one day, start to finish. We arrive with two builders and a driver. The room comes off the truck, gets set, gets leveled, gets walked through with you, and we're back on the road by lunch.

You don't need to do anything except be present for the walk-through. Wear shoes. Have a cup of coffee for the driver — they've been up since 4am.

The first heat is short and low. Do it the day after delivery, with the door cracked open, set to 130°F for thirty minutes. This bakes off any manufacturing residue from the heater and stones, and lets the cedar take its first heat slowly.

Day two, run a normal session — set the Huum controller to 180°F, door closed. The room may smell intensely of cedar for the first dozen sessions; this is the wood off-gassing its aromatics, and it fades to a softer background note over six months.

We send a written care card with your delivery covering the first month, the first year, and ongoing maintenance.

• Day 1 — short fire, door cracked, 30 minutes.
• Day 2 — full session, normal use.
• Week 2 — first sweep of the chamber floor.
• Month 6 — first oiling of interior benches.
• Year 1 — inspect and rotate the heater stones; replace any that have cracked badly.