Sauna or bath is a place where you can relax, relax. Such procedures, which are carried out regularly, restore physical and moral strength, strengthen the immune system. It is very convenient if the bath is equipped in a private bathroom. You can carry out construction and repair work yourself. How to create a sauna in the bathroom will be described next.
The advantages of baths, their microclimate
Sauna in the bathroom (photo below) may be different. Regardless of the choice, a bath in your own bathroom has a number of advantages. Procedures can be carried out at any convenient time. This is a great advantage for those who cannot spare a few free hours in their busy schedule for visiting the bathhouse.
The preparatory work and the warming up of the small sauna are quite fast. This will keep energy costs to a minimum. Build a spacious bath in an apartment or your housedifficult, but here's a mini-version would be acceptable. It is worth considering that building a sauna in the bathroom of your home is relatively inexpensive. There is no better place for this in an apartment.
Before starting construction work, you need to determine what microclimate in the steam room will be acceptable for the owners of the house. There are three main options. If desired, you can create a steam room, where you can choose the microclimate in accordance with the wishes and mood at a particular moment. There are the following varieties of it:
- Dry (Finnish) sauna. The air here is heated to record levels. The temperature is 90-110ºС. In this case, the humidity will be very low. It does not exceed 10%. This microclimate causes the body to intensively produce sweat. Very deep layers of the epithelium warm up, metabolic processes are accelerated. In this case, increased burning of body fat occurs, toxins are removed from the body.
- Wet sauna. Here the air is heated to a temperature of 70-90ºС, but the humidity will be higher. It is 25-40%. To ensure the desired level of humidity, hot stones are poured with water, which are located in a special compartment of the furnace.
- Steam sauna (hammam). This is the bath with the lowest temperature, which is up to 60 ºС. The air must be saturated with water vapor. To do this, you will need to use a special steam generator. You can add not only water, but also herbal infusions to it. This will allow you to take inhalations directly in the sauna. The microclimate in such a sauna is comfortable for almost everyone, including children and the elderly. Practicallyeveryone feels very good at a temperature of 40 ºС and humidity of 100%. With such a microclimate, there is no load on the body. Therefore, you can visit such procedures at least every day, the procedure has practically no contraindications.
When creating a microclimate in a steam room, you must adhere to the “rule 110”. This means that the total humidity and temperature must not exceed 110. This is true for dry and wet saunas. So, for example, if the temperature in the steam room is 90 ºС, then the humidity should be 20%.
Custom project or turnkey solution?
The sauna in the bathroom in the photo below looks very harmonious. Before starting construction and repair work, the owners must decide which version of the steam room would be preferable. You can build a sauna according to a special project. In this case, you need to purchase the appropriate building materials and make a bathhouse from scratch in the bathroom.
Today there is an opportunity to take a simpler path. In specialized hypermarkets, you can buy a ready-made booth. It provides a heating element (most often an infrared fireplace). You can choose a booth with the appropriate dimensions. They are made from boards or more budget building materials. A ready-made steam room will be easy to install at home on your own. It's even easier than installing a shower stall.
It is worth considering one nuance. The legislation of the Russian Federation provides that before building a sauna in an apartment in the bathroom, you need to obtain permission for this. ForTo do this, you need to prepare a project that meets all construction requirements, and then coordinate it with the State Fire Service.
To obtain a permit, you will need to change the wiring if it does not meet the requirements of the heater, as well as provide certificates for building materials. After that, the project must be approved by the Housing Inspectorate. If the home is managed by a Homeowners Association, management will need to be informed of future construction.
Next, you need to obtain permission from the sanitary station, whose representatives will check whether the norms and requirements of the sanitary and hygienic direction are met. This authority also provides project documentation, quality certificates.
After that, you need to contact the Office of Rospotrebnadzor. The house or apartment will be visited by a commission consisting of representatives of the Inspectorate for State Architectural and Construction Supervision. They inspect the finished sauna, and then give a conclusion on the possibility of its operation. The arrangement of a mini-sauna is a housing renovation procedure, so it must be carried out in accordance with established requirements.
Infrared sauna
One of the best solutions for a small space is an infrared sauna in the bathroom. These cabinets are sold ready to use. Do not confuse them with panel or film varieties. This is due to the characteristics of the heating element. In the presented saunas, special panels or film produce thermal energy of the infrared spectrum. Suchbooths are able to pump the temperature up to 70ºС. Heat transfer occurs by means of convection. Infrared rays are used to a lesser extent.
Real infrared saunas in the bathroom have a lot of advantages over film or panel types of cabins. In the latter, it is impossible to change the level of humidity. In this case, the heating level will be low. In this infrared bath, efficient, high-temperature heaters are installed. They radiate much more heat. So, infrared heaters in the sauna produce heat at the level of 230-290 ºС. This creates a special microclimate in the steam room. Moreover, the temperature here is provided to a greater extent by infrared rays, and not by convection.
Experts say that the healing effect in panel and film booths is minimal. In real infrared saunas, it is achieved by maintaining high temperatures. Thermal cabins are not able to provide the desired level of heating. Therefore, they are not recommended for installation in the bathroom. It is better to install a real infrared sauna or build a sauna with a heater.
Such varieties of baths allow you to carry out procedures with maximum benefit for the body. In this case, the metabolism is accelerated, many chronic ailments are cured.
Size & Design
The interior of a bathroom with a sauna must be carefully planned. To do this, you need to create a preliminary sketch and drawing, according to which the reconstruction will be carried out. Please note that the size of the booth may be different. The smallest saunas are single-seat saunas where you can only sit. Similar double cabins also have small dimensions.
According to experts, it is much more comfortable to take bath procedures in a sauna, the size of which is 200x160 cm or 200x200 cm. Here you can lie down on a shelf, take procedures with the whole family. The height inside the cabin should be 200 cm. In such a cabin, you can install a stove-heater, install wooden shelves. They can be located in two or even three levels.
When choosing materials, it is important to listen to the advice of experts. Interior decoration is best done from natural wood. When heated, it will release substances into the air that have a therapeutic effect on the respiratory system and heal the body.
It is best to take care of the arrangement of the sauna at the stage of building a house. In this case, the bathroom should have significant dimensions. You need to consider what plumbing fixtures should be installed in the room. Perhaps, here, in addition to the sauna, it will be necessary to install a bath or a jacuzzi. They need enough space. If you plan to install a shower cabin, you can provide a smaller area for the bathroom.
In an apartment, one of the best options would be to equip a ready-made sauna with a shower. For a bathroom with small dimensions, this solution allows you to use the space rationally. In this case, you do not need to select a shower cabin for the style of the sauna. They willmatch perfectly.
Cabins equipped with rectangular glass doors are very popular. The walls can also be glass. But from the side of the sauna, they must be made of heat-resistant glass. Such a design solution is suitable for decorating a modern interior style.
However, it is more comfortable to take procedures in a booth made of natural wood. In this case, you need to harmoniously fit it into the existing interior. The design of a bathroom with a sauna needs to be thought out to the smallest detail before the renovation begins. Wood is suitable for eco-style. If you plan to equip the bathroom with a sauna, you need to plan the entire interior in advance.
Construction work order
To make a sauna in the bathroom with your own hands, it will take a lot of time and effort. But the result, if all the work is done correctly, will exceed all expectations. When the project is drawn up, a building permit is received, it is necessary to purchase the necessary materials.
The walls that will separate the steam room from other rooms are assembled using frame technology. The ceiling should not be higher than 2 m. Otherwise, more energy will be required for heating. Be sure to use thermal insulation during construction work. It is best to use mineral wool in such conditions. Its thickness should be between 5 and 10 cm.
You also need to purchase steam and waterproofing. The first of these materials will protect the insulation from getting wet. Waterproofing is used in the arrangementgender. This is especially important if the sauna is set up in an apartment on the second or higher floors. The canvases will need to be laid without stretch, fastening them with construction tape.
The finish inside the booth will look harmonious if you use lining for this. Sheathing should be 10-12 mm thick. Wood without fail will need to be treated with an antiseptic and fire retardant. You also need to use a heat-resistant varnish. This will significantly increase the life of the finish.
Sauna in a small bathroom will require a minimum amount of building materials. They are purchased with a small margin in accordance with the prepared plan. There must be a distance of at least 2 cm between the film and the lining.
From the outside, the frame can be covered with wood. But in the bathroom you need to think over the design to the smallest detail. Instead of finishing the outer walls with clapboard, it is possible to sheathe them with moisture-resistant drywall. Subsequently, ceramic tiles are laid on it. You can pick up any material that decorates the walls in the bathroom.
Choice of heat and vapor barrier
Sauna in the bathroom in a house or apartment requires the use of insulation. Otherwise, the heat will quickly leave the cabin, so you will need to spend more energy. As a heater, it is best to use mineral wool. It is a non-combustible material that does not release harmful, toxic substances into the environment. Cotton wool should be purchased not in rolls, but in slabs. They are stiffer, so it is more convenient to work with them. It is also worth noting that dense plates hold their shape better, they will nottime to slide down.
Professionals do not recommend using foam plastic or polystyrene foam when arranging a mini-sauna in the bathroom. These are synthetic materials that can burn. At the same time, they release toxins into the environment when heated. It is forbidden to use this kind of insulation for the sauna, since the maximum ambient temperature level should not exceed 75ºС.
Also, do not use glass wool when arranging a sauna. It is impossible to completely remove small pieces of glass fiber after repair. It will come into contact with the skin, eyes and respiratory tract, causing irritation and burning.
Vapor barrier should have a foil layer. It will reflect heat, returning it back to the steam room. This shortens the warm-up time of the sauna. It is worth considering that the foil is torn, so it is more convenient to use a two-layer film for this purpose, the basis of which is craft paper. You can also use foil, which is covered with a layer of special insulation. In this case, the vapor barrier can be normal. The metal side should face inwards.
Finishing the floor
Considering how to make a sauna in the bathroom, you need to pay attention to the flooring technology. It will also need to be insulated (like walls and ceiling). Mineral wool is not suitable for floors. This material will compress under load. Therefore, it is necessary to use expanded polystyrene for these purposes. It is covered with a 3 cm screed layer, and then the finish is performedtiles. In this case, the material will not be exposed to high temperatures.
First you need to completely remove the old flooring up to the ceiling. Expanded polystyrene sheets are laid out on the surface cleared of construction debris. They are placed close to each other. Gaps and joints are blown with mounting foam. If a sauna is being installed in the bathroom in the apartment, it is necessary to cover the floor with waterproofing before pouring the screed. Otherwise, you can ruin the decoration of the neighbors' bathroom.
Further, a cement-sand mortar is prepared, in which it is desirable to add a plasticizer. The concrete must be properly cured. To do this, it is covered with a film and periodically watered the surface. So the screed layer will not crack.
The drying process of the screed takes approximately 3-4 weeks. It is impossible to start finishing earlier. A few days after the concrete is poured, it will be possible to walk on it, as the top layer will become strong enough. Embossed ceramic tiles should be laid on the floor. You can also use a deck board for these purposes.
When arranging the floor, it is necessary to provide for a drain. In his direction make a slight slope of the floor. A ladder is installed on the drain hole. On the floor you need to lay wooden gratings. This will protect against injury during the operation of the sauna.
Shelves
During the construction of a sauna in the bathroom with your own hands, you need to pay attention to creating shelves inside the steam room. They are made from naturalhardwood wood. If you purchase boards made of pine or spruce for these purposes, you can get burns during the operation of the premises. At high temperatures, resin will be released from them. When in contact with the skin, it leaves burns.
It is best to use linden, aspen wood to create shelves. They do not get too hot, so they are comfortable to sit or lie on.
Most often they make two tiers of shelves. The first of them should be at a height of 50-60 cm. The second tier should be 40 cm higher than the first. The lower shelf should be wider than the second. This will allow, if desired, not only to lie down, but also to sit down. If the space in the steam room is small, the top shelf can be made foldable or removable.
Door
Sauna in the bathroom must have a door. In an open booth, the temperature will not be able to hold for a long time. One of the best options is to use a glass door. This material must withstand high heat. If you have a glass door, you can do without installing additional lighting.
It is worth noting that ready-made glass doors are on sale, which can have different fittings and shades. This allows you to choose the best option in accordance with the interior design features in the bathroom.
The door can be wooden. In this case, you need to hold the light in the booth. The door must open outwards. It should not interfere with leaving the premises.
Door handles should not be metal. They areshould not get hot. If it is impossible to install a conventional swing door due to lack of space, you can choose a booth with sliding doors. If there is not enough space inside the sauna in the bathroom, you need to protect the heater with a special ledge. Otherwise, if you accidentally touch it, you can get a serious burn.
Ventilation
Sauna in the bathroom should have good ventilation. Air is supplied through a duct at the bottom of the room. It is best to place its hole (diameter about 5-6 cm) near the stove. Outflow will be made in the upper part of the room. The exhaust opening must be at least 2 times larger than the inlet. Therefore, at the top of the room, you need to make a channel with a diameter of 10 cm. This is the best option, since the temperature in such a room will decrease slowly.
