Sauna builder in the East Bay

YOURSAUNAS does: a licensed California general contractor (CSLB #1150020, Class B), based in Mill Valley and working across the bridge in Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville, Orinda, Lafayette and Danville. The same crew handles the carpentry, the ventilation and the 240V circuit, so a sauna project here is one job with one phone number, not a builder, an electrician and a permit runner you coordinate yourself.

The work comes in three shapes: a kit that needs assembling and wiring, a custom room or cabin designed for the house, and an existing sauna that has stopped heating, needs a new heater or has to move. The jobs below include examples of the first and the last.

The rule that holds everywhere: a new 240V circuit needs an electrical permit. Whether the structure itself needs a building permit depends on its size and placement, and each city decides. Three we checked on the cities' own sites:

In Oakland, the Bureau of Building, part of the Planning and Building Department, oversees the permit process for construction in the city, and its One-Stop Permit Center offers in-person and online services.

Berkeley's Permit Service Center describes itself as a one-stop shop for building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire and some public works permits, and applications and inspection requests can go through Permits Online.

Danville's Permit Center lists projects that involve electrical work among those that need a permit, and takes applications through its Online Permit Center Portal.

Elsewhere we confirm the path with that city's building department before work starts. The Bay Area permit guide explains the two permits people mix up.

Across the bridges: San Francisco, Marin County and our base in Mill Valley, the Peninsula, San Jose and the South Bay. Inland and north: Sacramento and the North Bay.