Russian banya is not only a place where you can wash yourself. For many, this is the best rest after working days, here you can relax and chat. Everyone knows about the benefits of bath procedures since childhood, scientific studies have long proven their positive effect on the body as a whole, as well as the benefits for the prevention of various diseases. Now many build baths on their own, and not only in the villages. But many who start building a bathhouse for the first time, especially young people, do not know where to start.
Let's consider the basic building rules and the standard size of the bath, starting with the selection of the site.
Select site
It is believed that the best place to build a bath will be the bank of a river, lake or pond. But to prevent trouble during the spring flood, you should not place the bathhouse closer than 15 meters from the water shore, and it should be positioned so thatso that dirty water does not flow into the pond.
Choose a site that is on a slight rise. Thanks to this, you do not have to do drainage, the water will drain itself. For example, you can place it on a hill or a steep slope, in the form of a dugout with a terrace or veranda, which will become a resting place, a natural solarium and a playground for children. And do not forget about modesty, it is better that the bath is fenced off from prying eyes by large trees or a decorative fence.
If you are a lover of a black sauna, you need to consider that the distance from it to other buildings should be at least 12 meters. And if you decide to rebuild a bathhouse in a residential area, preference should be given to a sauna, in which, under the influence of high temperature, the wood will dry out and will not rot.
Orientation
So, the site was chosen, now we need to figure out how to put the bath. Where to install the door, what sizes of doors to make in the bath, where will the windows go? If there is a terrace, it is better to enter from the south side, it is warmer. And in winter, with this arrangement, there will be fewer snowdrifts and they will melt faster in the spring. And the windows are positioned so that the setting sun gets in, because the bathhouse is often heated in the late afternoon. You also need to take into account the slope of slanting rains - if you can’t make an entrance from the opposite side, then it’s better to build a vestibule to protect the door from getting wet.
Bath: dimensions, layout
Standard bath is divided intosteam room, washing room and dressing room, their ratio should be - 1:1, 5:2.
The smallest is a warm "wardrobe" where no more than two people can fit in a sitting position. Such saunas are heated by an electric stove and it is possible to build them even in the bathroom of a standard city apartment. The minimum parameters of a standard bath for one family are 1.8:2 meters, at least one bench should fit there, where a person can sit in a lying position. In a bathhouse with parameters 2, 5:2, 4, to save space, benches are made in the shape of the letter G, and in even larger ones, a parallel or U-shaped bench.
The height of the ceilings in the bath should also be minimal, because the larger the parameters of the room, the more fuel is needed to heat it. Considering that the upper tier of the stone stove is located at a height of about 1 meter from the floor, and the upper shelf is made on a par with it, it means that for the convenience of a person steaming while sitting, the ceiling height should be at least 2.1 meters.
And if you like to go to the bathhouse with a large company, the steam room and washing room should be separated, and the size of the bathhouse should be at least 12 square meters. meters.
Internal arrangement of the bath. Steam room
The steam room is the main room, not a single Russian bath can do without it. The size of the steam room can be any, it depends on which stove you choose and how many people will wash at the same time, and on how you like to steam more, lying down or sitting. Usually 1.5 square meters is taken per person. meters.
Steam base- shelves or a bench, its size depends on your preferences and the area of \u200b\u200bthe bath. If you like to bathe sitting more, then the width should vary between 40-45 cm, lying down - at least 95 cm.
To warm up the steam room, stone stoves or electric heaters are used. The main advantage of heaters is that they warm up the steam room faster and stronger and subsequently the temperature can be adjusted. But they struggle to maintain the right temperature and humidity.
Washing Room
Washing room - directly the room where we wash. There are reservoirs with cold and hot water, benches for sitting, perhaps a shower or a small font. The size of the washing room is calculated based on the parameters - at least 1 sq. meters per person.
Waiting Room
The direct purpose of this room is the dressing room before entering the washing or steam room. But nowadays, when the bath is used not only for washing, it has turned into a rest room. Ideally, this should be a separate room. Here, visitors to the bath will be able to undress, relax after the steam room, dry after washing, and generally put themselves in order. For convenience, in the dressing room you can place benches, chairs, hang a mirror, place hangers for clothes and towels, or even put a small pool to alternate between hot and cold treatments. Massage lovers can install a special lounger. Also in the dressing room you need to allocate a corner for buckets of water, coal or firewood and for other necessary utensils.
The arrangement of the dressing room depends on its size and your preferences. If the size of the bath is small, the dressing room can be replaced with a large hallway with a hanger and a shoe rack. In large baths, a separate dressing room and a relaxation room are made, and if you use the bath only in the warm season, it can generally be replaced with a terrace.
The dimensions of the doors in the bath should be small, and the doors themselves should be single-leaf, this will keep the heat longer. Their width must not exceed 0.7 m and height 1.7 m.
Construction of a bathhouse
If you decide to build a bathhouse on your own, you need to think carefully: choose a suitable place, decide what size the bathhouse will be, how many rooms it will consist of, decide on the material from which you will build it. Especially if you are going to do everything from blueprints yourself.
For example, if you build from logs, you need to remember that they are usually made about 4.5 meters long, and timber - 5.5 meters. You can also use building blocks to build a bath. When using them, there are no restrictions, it all depends on the plan of your future bath.
Approach the construction of the bath with all responsibility and then everything will definitely work out for you.
Baths size 4 /4
Now 4 by 4 meter baths are very popular - this is a great, low-budget option.
The layout can be in two building options: one-story and attic type.
Classic layout of rooms: in a one-story bath roomrest and dressing room combined. Dimensions 2 by 4 meters. If the bath is an attic type of building, only a dressing room can be located in such a room, because the main part is occupied by a staircase to the second floor. Further there is a washing department and a steam room, the size of which is 2 by 2 meters. In a 4 by 4 meter bath, it is recommended to install a small metal stove, since a large stove-heater takes up a lot of space and it will not be possible to separate the steam room and the washing room. The front part of the stove with a firebox is displayed in the rest room, and the stove itself is installed in the steam room. If you wish, you can attach a terrace and convert the attic into a summer lounge.
