Having your own bathhouse on site is the dream of many. It’s nice to come at any time and take a steam bath with a broom, then drink tea on the veranda, without having to time it, because every hour of visiting is paid. In addition, today the choice of building materials is rich and varied, so building a bathhouse yourself is not so expensive.
The bathhouse can have different sizes; you should choose based on the size of the area, budget and the number of people who will go to take a steam bath. The 4x5 m bathhouse project is one of the most popular options, which is close to the ideal - the 6x4 m bathhouse project.
What you should immediately consider
Everyone’s needs are different, so it’s worth starting to design a bathhouse with a steam room, sink, relaxation room, bathroom, terrace, swimming pool, etc., with how exactly you are going to use this bathhouse in the future.
The second point is what
the climatic conditions are like where your bathhouse will be - there are specifics for areas with particularly harsh winters, for example.
The third point is what opportunities you have, from budget to the geology of the site.
And if there is certainty at least on the points:
- number of persons;
- frequency and seasonality of use;
- type of bath (Russian or Finnish, iron or brick stove);
- wall material (logs, beams, bricks, blocks, frame);
- dimensions of a geologically suitable area;
- allowable costs,
- then you can start designing.
We will show you options for what a bathhouse can look like given certain given dimensions - these are not the only options for plans, you can build on them and make any necessary adjustments.
Let's put it this way: our article is for those who have already figured out in their minds what size of bath they are expecting and would like to get acquainted with ready-made plans so that in the end they can either choose a ready-made one or make their own based on the existing ones.
IMPORTANT! When looking at the plans, take into account the fact that we did not take into account the thickness of the walls and insulation, and this can significantly reduce the area of the room from the inside.
Therefore, calculate in advance the thickness of the walls and the insulation cake, and then subtract it from your plan (or, conversely, add it if you want to maintain the dimension inside). You will learn how to calculate the power of the stove for a given cubic capacity of a steam room here, and you will learn the dependence of the size of the steam room on the number of people here; we will calculate the optimal size of the steam room in this article.
How can you decorate the outer walls of a 4x4 bath?
Typically, external walls are treated by mechanical action or, to put it simply, sanded. After that, to give the walls a wonderful look, they are treated with a special solution that can resist insects, protects against instantaneous ignition, and also gives the logs a wonderful look, emphasizing their structure.
After sanding the logs, they are caulked. This is done in order to seal the gaps that appear between the logs.
At this stage, the exterior decoration of the walls of our 4x4 bathhouse is completed. If everything is done correctly, then the wood, sanded and treated with a special compound, will serve for many more years and will delight the owners with its magnificent appearance.
If the owners want to give this building a modern and beautiful look, then the outer walls can be covered with horizontal siding . One of the options would be to decorate the walls with panels for facades, block houses or bricks.
If you want to save on wall decoration, you can do it using a more budget-friendly material - vinyl siding. It looks great, protects from snow and rain and withstands solar radiation well.
There is another option for finishing the external walls of a 4x4 bath. It is performed using natural stone or torn brick. This finish will look simply amazing, but, however, it is quite expensive.
Layout of a small bathhouse with sink and steam room
That’s right, a cleverly designed small bathhouse is in no way inferior in comfort to larger ones. 1-2 people will be able to steam in it at the same time . But sometimes that's exactly what you need.
When the size of the room is small, the question arises as to whether it would be cost-effective to divide it additionally with a partition, making a separate bathhouse with steam room and sink. But even for the smallest options, there are also bathhouses with a washing room and a steam room, both together and separately. Therefore, we will give both options.
3x3, sink and steam room together
Here you need to decide how you plan to use the second room, which is a natural “vestibule” between the combined washing room and steam room, and the street. If you want to put some kind of sofa and table, then it is better to divide the total area equally (see plan). And if it is just a dressing room, something like a hallway where you can undress, then its size can be reduced to an acceptable minimum.
Layout (plan) of a 3x3 bathhouse, sink and steam room together.
Please note that the stove in such a small steam room must be of appropriate power so as not to overheat it. And then a rather intractable contradiction awaits you.
The fact is that a sauna, also known as “dry air”, as those who have a negative attitude towards it like to call it, requires low humidity - no more than 15% . In the washing room, the humidity is usually higher. The temperature in the sauna is from 70 to 90 degrees (this is in the humane version). This temperature will not be comfortable for washing.
You may argue that you didn’t intend to build a sauna, but the problem is that with such dimensions you simply do not have the opportunity to make a full-fledged Russian bathhouse, where the stove should be either brick or in a brick/stone lining, and even with an internal heater.
An option is to either at least slightly increase the area of the steam room in order to make a brick lining, even for a minimal homemade metal stove, or use a steam generator to steam like in a normal Russian bath, or somehow adapt to control the stove so that you have the right temperature while washing .
3x4 sink and steam room separately
What will happen if the previous plan is increased literally by a meter? You will have the opportunity to divide a single bath and washing space into two separate rooms.
Layout (plan) of a 3x4 bathhouse, washing and steam room separately.
As you can see, in this case, no more than a meter is allocated for washing (and you remember, yes, that we do not take into account the thickness of the walls), but the steam room acquires normal dimensions, which, even with large areas of the entire bathhouse, rarely increase much .
Again, note that if you wish, you can easily increase the size of the steam room due to the width of the relaxation room. If it is nothing more than a dressing room, feel free to reduce its size in order to gain in the dimensions of the steam room and washing room.
ATTENTION! Remember, yes, that the door from the steam room always opens outward so that it can be knocked down if necessary. And always, if possible, the door from the steam room leads to the washroom, and not to other rooms.
The main advantages of 4x4 baths
The most important advantage is the environmental friendliness of the material from which the baths are built. If the design of a 4x4 bathhouse includes its construction from coniferous trees, then such wood also has medicinal properties.
If the project plans to hire a special team to build a bathhouse, then using tongue-and-groove technology they will build you a beautiful structure that will last for decades.
If the design of a 4x4 bathhouse involves its construction from timber, then this material will cost you much less than, for example, from brick or planed profiled timber.
Construction of a 4x4 m bathhouse does not require large financial costs and will not take up much space on your site. You will only happily relax in it and gain health.
3x5
Since people are interested in washing and steam room options for these dimensions, separately and together, we will present both options, and then you can decide which one you prefer, but everything that was said about the possibilities of reproducing the conditions of a Russian bathhouse in a building with an area of 3 by 3 meters - remains valid even when increased to 5. Make a stove in a surround, use steam generators if it is not possible to make a full-fledged closed heater.
Washing and steam room separately
Let us say right away that this option cannot be called the only possible one. Moreover, for those who are not inclined to receive guests and drink libations, the design of a bathhouse with a steam room and a sink of such dimensions may seem unsuccessful. But you can always start from what you have and reshape everything in your own way
