The dream of most owners of private and country houses is their own sauna. Building a home bath is easier than it seems, but there are also some nuances in this matter. How to create a sauna project and build it on your own site? Important points, materials and construction stages are presented in the article.
Popular projects
The classic steam room consists of two rooms, but there are projects that include several more rooms that can make spending time more comfortable. Among the owners of private houses, the most popular are the following sauna projects:
- A bathhouse attached to a residential building allows you to significantly save space on the site. Its convenience lies in the fact that you do not need to leave the house in order to get inside the steam room, as its door opens into the corridor.
- A bathhouse with a pool, although it seems like an expensive project, there are actually many bowls for an artificial reservoir at a budget cost. The nuance of such a structure is a more thoughtful sewerage system, because the pool,like the steam room, the shower room must have a drain.
- A free-standing bath can be made in almost any size. The 2x2 sauna layout is the most common option as it takes up the least amount of space on the site.
The bath project, first of all, should be convenient for the owner of the site, since he will have to use this room in the future.
Location on site
An important point before starting the construction of a sauna is the choice of a place in the summer cottage. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the following factors:
- If there is a lowland on the land, then it is better to equip the sauna there. This is due to the fact that when laying communications in pipes, stagnant water will not form.
- A free-standing sauna should be located at a distance of about 15 meters from the house, as required by fire safety regulations.
- For personal convenience, it is recommended to place the sauna away from neighbors, if possible.
It is very important to consider the location of the bath on the land before starting construction. You should also outline on the plan a scheme for laying sewers, which the sauna must be equipped with.
Materials
Building and planning a sauna is impossible without choosing the right materials. They must be moisture resistant, meet fire safety requirements, and also be durable and inexpensive. Among the most popular building materials for the construction of saunas arethe following:
Tree in the form of timber or rounded wood. The most popular varieties are oak, maple, linden, alder. The material must be pre-treated with fire-fighting and antiseptic agents. Only then can construction begin
- Red brick is the second most popular because of its relatively low cost and good thermal conductivity. A separate factor is that brick buildings do not require additional external finishing.
- Foam block, cinder block and aerated concrete are also used in the construction of saunas. This is due to the fact that the construction of a sauna from such materials takes much less time.
For the construction of the roof, you can use almost any material suitable for this. Most often, preference is given to slate or metal tiles.
Design Features
Sauna is a room with high humidity and temperature, which in the steam room can reach 80-120 degrees. There are such design features of the steam room that you need to know about before construction begins:
- The height of the shelves in the sauna must be at least 40 cm from the floor. At the same time, if it is planned to install shelves in several tiers, then the distance between them should also be about 40 cm.
- Light fixtures should be located in the corners and be moisture resistant.
- Wood is recommended for interior walls and floors as it does not heat up or burn.
- Oventraditionally placed against the wall next to the door. It is recommended to make a low protective barrier around it. It is also recommended to place a small firewood nearby so that there is no need to leave the steam room for a new portion of firewood. You also need to make sure that there is water if you plan to build a wet bath.
- Entrance and interior doors should be made of wood. The important point is that their handles must also be wooden.
If you need a window in the sauna, it is recommended to give preference to double heat-resistant double-glazed windows and a wooden frame.
Space zoning
Planning a sauna in a private house or standing separately from it begins with determining the size and number of rooms. A small bath may have only two rooms - a steam room and a dressing room. However, buildings with a large number of rooms are most often erected, among which may be the following purpose:
- direct steam room;
- waiting room;
- rest room with table and benches;
- toilet;
- shower room.
If there is a second floor, then it traditionally has a seating area with a sofa, bed and other attributes.
Size of rooms
The main thing when planning a sauna is the size of the rooms. In addition to the presence of one or other rooms, you also need to decide on their size:
- The steam room has shelves that can accommodate one or more people. In addition, it is important that there is a little space for the passage and the oven. For sitting bathenough about 1 m per 1 person, in order to have a place to lie down - 2 m per 1 person. The height of the ceiling in such a room should be about 2.3 m.
- The shower room is basically a small room where the shower is bolted to a bracket on the wall and has a drain hole at the bottom. Most often, such a room is designed for one person. Its minimum dimensions should be 1.5 by 1.5 m or more, taking into account the fact that shelves for bath accessories will also be located there.
The size of the rest room can be unlimited. It is important that all the people who plan to visit the bathhouse fit comfortably there.
The dimensions of the toilet can be modest - 1 by 1 m. This is enough to place a toilet bowl there. If you plan to install a bidet or washstand, then it is recommended to increase the size of the room.
It is important that there is no feeling of crowding in the rooms. This factor must be taken into account when planning a sauna. Therefore, at this stage it is important to determine how many people can use the bath at the same time.
Finishing the floor
After the construction of the sauna has been completed, the interior decoration should begin. It always starts from the floor. It can be wood or tile. In the first case, special attention should be paid to the treatment of the floor from excess moisture.
Tile is the most common option, as its cost is relatively low, and the material itself is practical. In this caseit is recommended to choose a tile with a rough surface so that it does not become slippery during operation. Since tiles can get hot, wooden foot ladders should be placed on them.
Moisture-resistant and heat-resistant mixtures should be used as glue. It is recommended to choose those that are designed for saunas or for laying tiles on top of a warm floor.
Stove selection
A free-standing sauna is most often built of wood. In this case, the best solution is to use a brick stove "kamenka". It must be laid at the sauna planning stage.
In order to properly build a furnace, you need to draw up its drawing. To build a good oven, you need to use a brick of the M150 brand. Its amount depends on the desired thermal conductivity of the walls, as well as on the size of the furnace. On average, about 40 bricks are needed for 1 m2. A good oven should be lined with bricks on all sides.
There are also two types of firewood - open and closed. This directly affects the quality of the smoke. In addition, you should take care of the chimney. In order for the draft in the furnace to be good and the smoke to easily go up, it is recommended to build a chimney 0.5 m higher than the roof level.
Instead of the classic brick oven, you can use a compact metal oven. It can be purchased ready-made. Such an oven will need to be installed in a pre-prepared place.
Ventilation
When planning a wooden house with a sauna orfree-standing baths, special attention should be paid to ventilation. The simplest and most understandable for the construction is the following scheme:
- For supply air, it is necessary to make a hole at the bottom of the wall near the stove.
- On the opposite wall, near the ceiling, it is also necessary to make a hole, which is necessary for air to escape.
In the absence of the possibility of building natural ventilation, it is important to make forced ventilation using a compressor.
Corrugation can be used as ventilation ducts. It has the ability to stretch and bend in the right places. Also an important factor is the installation of valves on the ventilation ducts. They must be made of wood, like all the interior decoration of the bath.
Power supply
Lighting in the sauna plays an important role, since all gatherings are held mainly in the evening, and the building is equipped with a small number of small windows. For the arrangement of electrical wiring in the sauna, it is recommended to refuse to use any internal boxes made of plastic or metal. Instead, you need to pay attention to the wires in a heat-resistant braid, which can withstand temperatures up to 180 degrees.
Luminaires are also recommended to use heat-resistant. It is desirable to place them no higher than 35 cm from the ceiling. An interesting option is to place lighting fixtures under the shelves.
All electrical equipment must be connected exclusively through circuit breakers that protect circuits from short circuits. They must be placed in a separate shield on the outer wall of the sauna.
Insulation
In the construction of a sauna, thermal insulation deserves special attention. It is needed so that heat is well preserved inside the steam room and it would be possible to save on fuel for the stove. For the construction of thermal insulation, bas alt mineral wool is used, which is laid between the walls. Mineral wool is also used to insulate the ceiling, which is then covered with a layer of foil paper.
Fastening is done with self-tapping screws with large caps. The foil is also nailed to the frame with nails. It is important to fix it with the paper side to the mineral wool, and the reflective side out. It is important to glue the joints with foil tape.
Interior decoration
When planning a sauna in a country house, it is important to think over the interior decoration well. Most often, rooms are simply upholstered with a polished clapboard. It is recommended to choose wood of the highest grade, as it is quite even and has no knots. It is also important to treat it with fire-fighting and antiseptic agents.
To obtain a flat surface, it is recommended to make grooves on the boards, which will include subsequent wooden elements. Also, do not drive nails into wood, because when the air is heated, the metal will also heat up, and this is fraught with burns if accidentally touched.
Conclusion
Planning a sauna before building is easy to do on your own. To do this, draw a rough plan on paper.saunas with rooms and an indication of their size. Before you build a steam room, you must also calculate the amount of building material and make a detailed list.
