Can the possibility of arranging a steam room in an apartment be called a fairy tale? In Finland, for example, every third family uses saunas at home. This is due to the fact that the mini-sauna takes up little space, and it is quite simple to equip it with your own hands. The main thing is to know the technology and follow a few rules. For example, it is better to prefer the sauna, since the temperature in it is not as high as in the bath during the procedures. In addition, ventilation and waterproofing will make everything much easier.
Project work
Before you make a steam room in the apartment, you must choose a suitable place for it. To do this, you can combine a bathroom and give a small corridor to the kitchen for this business, due to which free space is taken away. In the resulting space, it will be possible to make a sauna, especially if you put a shower stall instead of a bath, because it saves space.
If with the legalization of redevelopmentnothing came of the apartment, the installation can also be done in the pantry, if you remove the existing rubbish from there. Some equip a steam room on the balcony, installing infrared heaters there. It is also important to decide what size the sauna will have. The calculation is carried out taking into account how many people will steam at the same time. Each guest will need 2m3 while the ceiling height should not be less than 2m.
The dimensions of the steam room for the apartment
If you want to build a steam room in an apartment with your own hands, refusing to purchase a finished one, you won’t need to change the floor, because tiles will do. It will be necessary to allocate an area of \u200b\u200bapproximately 1.8 x 2 m in order to place one couch inside such a space. As for the legal side, the construction of this kind in the apartment is officially allowed, but the house must be new. It is impossible to do something like this in living rooms and basements because of the risk of fire. Redevelopment in the bathroom for a sauna should be formalized legally, all this is not difficult, there would be a desire.
Legal niceties
Before you equip the steam room in the apartment, you must meet a number of requirements. For example, air heating is possible only from a furnace installed by the manufacturer. Such equipment provides auto switches under conditions when the temperature reaches a level of + 130 ˚С, as well as during continuous 8-hour operation.
You will need a drencher or a perforated pipe to spray water. It is important to ensure a connection to the water supply andsewers outside the sauna. The average floor area is 24 m2.
To protect against fire and rotting, wood that has undergone special treatment should be used. The steam room in the bathroom must be coordinated with the housing inspection, the sanitary and epidemiological station, the HOA and the fire service. In different regions of Russia, the number of instances may differ, so everything should be clarified.
The pleasure of steaming in your own sauna is available to residents of apartments of houses of the first category. It is not allowed to install steam rooms in kitchens, rooms and basements of city houses. Before you make a steam room inside the apartment, converting it for this room, you should legalize everything, demolish the walls and make additional doorways for this, they are unlikely to be allowed. However, you can try to coordinate the redevelopment in the BTI, but, according to experience, this will be very problematic.
Resolving the issue
If you still want to enjoy all the benefits of a Russian steam room at home, it is better to purchase a prefabricated sauna, and if necessary, it can be disassembled and transported to another place. When equipping a mini-steam room, it should be borne in mind that, according to fire safety requirements, the power of the furnace should not exceed 4.5 kW. This also suggests that the size of the sauna should be small, for only 2 people or less.
To heat up a 2 m sauna3 you will need a 2 kW stove, and for a family sauna, the volume of which can reach 12 m3, you need an 8 kW unit. When purchasing a stove over 6 kW, you will need to connect it to the network380 V, and in apartments only 220 V.
If you chose pine or Scandinavian spruce for your home sauna, you should know that this wood is not yet recognized by Russian regulations. In this regard, the requirements of the fire inspection to protect the house and sauna from fire must be strictly observed.
Equipment
Start the interior with heat generators. In Finnish saunas, they are electric heaters. To connect the heater in the bathroom, you do not need to install a socket, the cable is pulled along the floor. A special tray is usually installed for it. The cable in the booth must be secured with a thermostatic hose so that it can withstand the temperature.
Electricity will be consumed approximately like a washing machine. A heat-insulating support is placed under the oven. Installing the heater near the bath or on the same level with it is not worth it. When equipping a Russian steam room, it is not recommended to use heating installations made by oneself.
This is especially true for open coil devices. In the role of a heating device, it is better to purchase an industrial oven. If you live in a house with a gas stove, the situation is somewhat more complicated. To power the heater, it will be necessary to run a special cable from the meter.
Creating a frame
For a sauna, it is better to use panels that are interconnected with spikes and grooves, without glue. Such a structure can be disassembled andmove to another location. The first step is to take measurements of the room. You can use an ordinary beam to make a frame. Its height should not exceed 2 m.
It is sheathed with clapboard, insulation is laid with reflective foil, which is wrapped inside the sauna. Frame bars must be pressed against the wall and strapped in 5 levels. Five horizontal lines should be drawn on the foil. The first mark is located at a height of 3 cm from the floor, the second must be removed by 60 cm. The third will be located 5 cm from the ceiling, the fourth - in the middle, between the third and fifth.
When installing a steam room, the frame is attached through special holes along the lines. The drilling step is 60 cm, the holes should be closed with wooden plugs and nylon dowels. At the next stage, you need to prepare a shield, which is well polished with sandpaper and fits on three sides of the frame. Rubber is laid between the shields, fastening is carried out with furniture corners, which are then covered with a plinth.
Work methodology
After that, the front shield is attached where the doorway will be located. An electric cable is laid for internal lighting. In order to decorate the gaps between the wall and the shield, a platband should be made around the circle of the front shield. Mineral wool can act as a heater, the foil should be glued with an overlap, it will provide infrared radiation. The seams are closed with a special sealant tape made of aluminized material.
Insulation should be laid on the ceiling double ortriple layer. Upholstery with clapboard is carried out horizontally so that the interior space visually seems larger.
Interior decoration
Wood works best for this, for example:
- abashi;
- aspen;
- linden.
Mixing wood species is not worth it. You can choose the material for this, taking into account the characteristics. Scandinavian pine, for example, has a pink hue with an interesting ring pattern that could be suitable for exterior cladding. Scandinavian spruce is the most affordable wood of all conifers. Lumber may contain many knots, has a light yellowish tint.
Which lumber to choose
Without resin and knots linden, but it is quite expensive. Aspen has a light beige color. It does not emit resin, does not rot and is affordable. African oak is distinguished by its even structure and density. Abashi retains heat well and is distinguished in appearance by dark decorative speckles on a light brown background.
Sauna shelves
The strength of the structure and its durability will depend on the method of fixing the boards. Shelves in the steam room can be fastened with self-tapping screws that are recessed into the lumber: oak wedges or self-tapping screws from the outside. The first way is the most popular. This option is more often used in the construction of benches for a bath. Wedges are recommended by experts, as this approach is the most environmentally friendly. The technology provides for the organization of holes where they are cloggedwedges.
The backrest is fastened in the same way as the frame sheathing. The difference is only in the gap between the elements. To carry out the work, you should prepare:
- construction mallet;
- hacksaw;
- measuring tape;
- hammer;
- screwdriver;
- chisel;
- self-tapping screws.
Before starting work, you must determine where the reference elements will be located. This parameter is determined taking into account the thickness. If you want to use 22 cm products, then the distance between them should be 60 cm, this will allow you to distribute the load. The thickness of boards for sheathing can be selected individually. When choosing this indicator, you need to pay attention to the width of the product. As this parameter increases, the board becomes thicker, as thin and wide boards may not support the weight of a person.
When planning a steam room, you should consider that the frame of the shelves is the basis of this type of construction. Before assembling the benches, calculations should be made. For mounting the frame, wooden bars are purchased. In order for the construction to be rigid, five boards should be prepared, which will act as racks.
Support elements are joined by transverse wooden products, which act as lintels. This will give the building strength. When fixing the shelf to the wall, it is important to ensure air flow by providing a gap of 10 cm. The frame for the upper tier is assembled first if the structure is two-story. The next step is to mountbearing racks to the wall. The distance between them will depend on the size of the structure and ranges from 60 to 85 cm.
Lighting in the bathhouse
When choosing a lamp for the steam room, you must consider that such equipment must meet certain requirements. First, the case must be resistant to water splashes and high humidity, as well as temperature. Secondly, there must be reliable electrical insulation. Thirdly, the lamp should be quite powerful, it should shine brightly.
Such devices can be halogen. They have a power ranging from 20 to 35 W, they are completely safe, not afraid of high temperature and humidity. Even if splashes fall on the lamp, this will not lead to dangerous consequences. Such lamps give the most natural light. Such lamps in the steam room are good because they allow you to adjust the brightness of the light. Such partings should be selected taking into account the presence of an electromagnetic choke. Such lamps cannot be used for unheated rooms, as they do not tolerate negative temperatures.
If you care about functionality and love the unusual appearance of the room, you should choose fiber optic lights. They are the safest, they work smoothly even at a temperature of + 300 ˚С, and the moisture resistance is so good that such devices can even be placed at the bottom of the pool. The main feature is the need for proper connection.
Alternative
LEDs are also a great option. Their main advantage is a wide range of colors. They can be used to createunusual atmosphere. The weakness of LEDs is high temperature, so it is better to install such a device closer to the floor. Incandescent lamps are not the best choice, but there is no categorical ban on their use in such conditions. Lamp power should not exceed 60 kW. During installation, it is necessary to install a sealed cover.
In conclusion
Legitimizing the redevelopment of an apartment for a sauna can be accompanied by difficulties. Where the best solution would be to install a ready-made version of the steam room, which, if necessary, can be disassembled, rearranged to another place, or even taken away from the apartment. In addition, the ready-made solution already has all the necessary fire protection, and you don’t have to deal with insulation and finishing.
