Russian bathhouse is the historical name of a bathhouse, the heating of which is based on direct steam coming from a stove heated with wood. The average air temperature in such a steam room is 60–80 degrees. But for each person you can choose the most comfortable vaping mode. A Russian wood-fired bathhouse is considered very useful for various diseases, and is simply designed to bring joy and pleasure to a person.
Interior design option for a Russian bath
Main differences from other baths:
- Temperature conditions. For Turkish it is 40-60 degrees, Finnish - more than 80, for Russian - 60-80;
- Type of steam. Dry or wet;
- Soaring culture. With brooms, a massage scrub, or just sweat and take a shower;
- Design. With heated floors, with stoves made of wood and brick or metal.
When building a Russian bathhouse, it is important not only the stove itself, but the entire structure of the building as a whole. The best option is to build a room from solid logs. Ideally from the so-called wild. There are other types of bathhouse designs, classified based on the materials from which they are constructed.
Frame baths
It is believed that frame baths are the easiest to build. You can even build a structure according to such a project with your own hands.
Project of a Russian bathhouse built using frame construction technology
The technology is based on connected frame panels, which, when installed on a prepared foundation, form load-bearing walls. Next, a ball of insulation is laid. Boards are laid on it. If you do everything according to the drawings, then this construction method will not take much time and labor.
What tool will you need?
To build a bathhouse with your own hands you need:
- electric saw;
- grinder with a set of discs;
- drill with various drills and grinding attachments;
- planer, jointer (or electric analogues);
- axes;
- crowbar, mount;
- pliers, nail puller;
- bayonet and shovel;
- hydraulic level;
- hammers;
- mallet;
- bit;
- set of chisels;
- files;
- caulk tool;
- tape measure and carpenter's meter;
- buckets;
- wheelbarrow;
- stairs;
- construction trestles;
- container for concrete or construction mixer.
Now you can proceed directly to construction.
Aerated concrete baths
Baths made of aerated concrete or foam concrete allow you to save firewood for heating and have high thermal insulation properties.
Example of aerated concrete bath
It is convenient to cover walls made of these materials with self-adhesive foil. Thanks to this, the room quickly warms up and maintains the desired temperature for a long time.
But most often baths are built of wood. These are both cobblestone and log structures. Let's take a closer look at the process of building paired rooms from these materials.
Bathhouse project
Based on the area, steam rooms can be divided into small, medium and large. The layout of the bathhouse will differ depending on its size.
Little ones
Small bathhouse projects are usually designed for small families and for personal use. Such bathhouses have an average of 16 m2. Their drawing provides for combining a locker room with a rest room. Small buildings are most often built by people with their own hands.
Project of a small bathhouse for a couple of people
Average
The design of such a structure is on average 20 m2. The drawing provides for a steam room, a shower room, a relaxation room, which is also a dressing room, and possibly a small veranda. In a typical project, these rooms are located sequentially next to each other.
Large
The area of large baths varies between 30–40 m2. Here the locker room and rest room are located separately from each other. There is also a spacious veranda. The listed bathhouse projects are usually ordered by people of average income.
For wealthier people, as well as for commercial use, there are designs for more spacious and varied buildings.
For example, with large or small swimming pools, with several relaxation rooms and steam rooms. Such baths can accommodate a large number of vacationers at the same time.
Where to build a bathhouse on the site
When choosing a bathhouse project, you should also take into account the location of construction. An excellent option if there is a natural pond nearby. You can also make an artificial lake or pool. Of course, there is such a way out as putting a font or a bucket of cold water, but this will not replace complete immersion after a hot steam room. The soil and surface of the site are of no small importance for construction. Based on these factors, it is determined which foundation and structure is best to use for a Russian wood-burning bathhouse.
Features of operation
Only a steam room provides the healthiest and only correct ratio of humidity and heat. But even there there are extreme values. This is also confirmed scientifically. The best state of health at a certain combination of humidity and temperature is graphically expressed by a homeothermal curve. Below the first curve is the optimal combination of temperature up to 90° and humidity up to 80%, which is what the Russian steam bath provides.
Homeothermal curves can be considered an indicator of well-being in the bath
While in the steam room, the body is washed with hot, humid air, especially when exposed to it with a broom, due to which everything warms up. In this case, there is a constant flow of oxygen to the tissues.
Air circulation in the steam room provides a healing effect
After being in the steam room, you need to plunge into the ice plunge pool.
Fonts in a washing Russian bath should be filled with cool water
Material selection
The construction of a Russian bathhouse from logs or beams requires the choice of high-quality material. So, the most suitable would be larch, spruce, and pine. All this wood is characterized by longevity and ease of processing.
- Larch. A very hard wood. It can last up to 300–400 years. When constructing baths, it is often used only in the lower balls due to the fact that it is quite difficult to process. Bathhouses made from larch logs do not require special protection with antiseptics. Since this breed is quite expensive, it has not been used very often lately;
- Pine. A Russian wood-burning bathhouse is most often built from this type of wood. Pine logs are mostly straight, hard and easy to process: trimming, planing, making the necessary notches. The resinous species of this tree have a natural barrier against water;
Pine bathhouse project - Spruce. In the construction of wooden structures it is used less frequently than pine, but is also quite common. It has a slightly loose structure, which has a more favorable effect on thermal insulation. A little more difficult to process than pine;
- Other types of wood. When building a bathhouse from logs or timber, you can also use less common wood materials, aspen, for example. The main thing is that the tree is alive and healthy.
Typical mistakes during construction
To avoid problems with the performance of the bathhouse, it is worth considering the most common errors:
- Carefully calculate the size of the premises based on the number of people.
- Correct ceiling height. You should not make ceilings lower than 2 meters, since it is not comfortable to be in such a room. In a room with ceilings higher than 2.4 m, there is an overconsumption of coolants.
- The southern and western walls are allocated for windows, and the southern one for the door.
- The windows are not too large - this will help avoid excessive heat loss.
- Use energy-saving materials.
- Choose quality equipment.
Foundation for a bathhouse
The main task of the foundation is to take the loads of the walls and protect them from excess moisture. A Russian wood-burning bathhouse is often built near a reservoir, so when creating a bathhouse project, you need to calculate a foundation that will be protected from landslides and subsidence.
- Strip foundation. It is considered the most universal type of base for a bath. Can be built on most soils.
When drawing up drawings of such a foundation, the dimensions of the building, slopes, possible subsidence, and water depth are taken into account. - Columnar foundations. Since we are building a Russian bathhouse with our own hands, this is an ideal option for us. It will save money on the purchase of materials. A columnar foundation is ideal for structures made of logs and timber. Rarely used when using heavy materials for construction. Pillars made of metal and concrete are placed at the corners of the building and at the intersections of walls. For small bathhouses, you can also use wooden columns - the so-called chairs. Pile foundations are usually used on loose and flooded soils.
- Monolithic foundations. A continuous layer of cement with crushed stone is laid under the area of the entire building. Excellent protection from excess moisture, subsidence, and has high reliability.
- Foundation for the stove. We should not forget about the base for our stove. Since it is the basis of a good bathhouse, all elements must be carefully thought out and reliable. Typically, brick and sheet steel are used to build a stove. Depending on this, the foundation for it will be selected. It is preferable to fill the pit under a brick oven with sand, fine gravel, a metal frame and fill it with concrete. The top edges are treated with several layers of tar. If the furnace is metal, then the pit is filled with crushed stone, then there is cement and a ball of roofing felt or other waterproofing material and a concrete pad on top.
Finishing
Finishing work begins after the structure has settled. First of all, all surfaces inside the bathhouse are coated with an antiseptic composition.
Interior finishing involves performing tasks such as:
- installation of sheathing directly on walls and ceilings;
- laying insulation and vapor barrier material into the gaps of the sheathing;
- flooring of lining or other facing material.
Lining is laid on the ceiling and wall
If the most popular construction raw material for the interior decoration of a bathhouse has become only lining, then many materials are in demand for cladding the external walls of a building:
- vinyl or metal siding;
- plastic lining;
- block house imitating the appearance of a log house;
- edged or unedged boards, characterized by a low price.
The material extends the service life of the structure
Finding stones for a sauna room
It is customary to use igneous rocks in the steam room. Formed during a volcanic eruption, they are resistant to extreme heat. Igneous rocks that have a positive effect on human energy include:
- polished or chipped jadeite, the main feature of which is beauty;
- talc chloride, capable of absorbing moisture and, evaporating it, creating the desired steam in the bath;
- basalt that can withstand high temperatures.
In addition to benefits, this stone gives aesthetic pleasure
Metamorphic rocks can be placed on the stove, which tend to normalize blood composition and improve well-being. We are talking about stones such as:
- white quartz, called hot ice, which releases ozone when cooled rapidly;
- crimson quartzite, the second name of which is the royal stone.
This stone goes perfectly with brickwork
To create steam in a bathhouse, you can use fully crystalline rocks, for example:
- dunit;
- serpentinite
These stones are able to regenerate cells of the nervous system, increase immune strength and have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the thyroid gland.
The length of such a stone is about 20 cm
If you want to break away from tradition, then it is better to use cast iron stones - balls produced by industry - as steam generators in the bathhouse. They instantly heat the room and retain heat for many hours. True, cast iron stones are subject to rust after a short service life and carry no useful properties for humans.
You definitely cannot place sedimentary and siliceous rocks on the stove. Their structure is porous, which means that when they cool sharply, they become covered with cracks and small particles scatter in an area of one meter.
Exploitation
The main requirement for using a bath concerns the creation of the desired temperature. In the steam room, this physical quantity should be within 55–77 degrees. The temperature indicator is selected individually, that is, it depends on the preferences of the bathhouse owner. It is customary to heat the washing room to 40°, and the rest room to 20°.
In order for the bathhouse to serve for a long time and properly, you need to use it according to the rules:
- put exclusively any dry fuel into the firebox, except for firewood made from coniferous wood;
- keep the combustion chamber door closed, thereby avoiding the escape of hot sparks;
- do not let the chimney heat up until it turns red;
- do not touch hot surfaces, including the walls of the water heating tank;
- monitor the cleanliness of bathhouses;
- ventilate the sauna sectors after each fire for four hours;
- try not to splash water on glass surfaces indoors (windows and doors);
- Clean and inspect the chimney for holes at least once a quarter.
The owner of the bathhouse will have to carefully care for wooden surfaces. Elements inside the bathhouse made of wood should be coated with special products twice a year to protect against fungi and rot. External treatment of the wooden walls of a building is recommended after two years of operation. To do this, it is better to use antiseptics that contain wax.
Wood deteriorates over time and therefore needs careful care
In order for a Russian bathhouse stove to provide the required amount of heat, you must be able to regulate the draft force. To do this, open the chamber door more or less to accumulate ash. Excessive draft will cause the furnace to heat up too much, and this will speed up the time of equipment failure. If the force forcing air into the firebox is normalized, then the stones in the bathhouse warm up to a standard temperature.
When firing the stove, you should monitor the operation of the chimney. The consumption of firewood can be minimized, and the efficiency of heat supply can be increased, just by not completely covering the chimney damper. But this is allowed to be done only after the ash chamber is completely closed.
Video: building a bathhouse from scratch
You can get true joy from building a Russian bathhouse. It is clear that this work is impossible without skills and labor, but the result evokes pride. This feeling is even stronger if the object was built on its own.
- Author: Ksenia Zubkova
My father is a builder. Therefore, I have something to tell home craftsmen. Rate this article:
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Walls
For the construction of a Russian bathhouse from logs or beams, as mentioned above in the article, coniferous types of wood are best suited. Usually they take logs from 200 to 220 mm. The dimensions of the timber are 150 by 150 mm.
This is what a beam for building a bathhouse looks like
It can be edged, glued or profiled.
The Russian wood-burning bathhouse was originally built from chopped logs. Now this material is used either by villagers or by those who strive for everything natural. If you are building a bathhouse with your own hands, then it is most economical to cut down the necessary trees. Or you can order a log house project with installation, and then complete the further details yourself.
The process of building a bathhouse from logs and from timber is somewhat different. It is easier to build a bathhouse yourself using the last mentioned material. The construction of a building from logs requires a lot of knowledge and skill.
Bathhouse made of logs
Initially, you need to select the required material. The lower and upper diameters should not differ by more than three centimeters. The wood should not have any cracks, large knots, or blue stains.
Log sauna project
The construction process itself involves laying logs on logs, with notches made at the ends to fit tightly. This design is called a crown. Where the window is planned, five crowns are made at the bottom and two at the top. On the door sections there are two at the bottom, five at the top. The crowns are fastened together with wooden brackets approximately every 1.5 meters. The bottom ball of the logs is called the frame. The hardest and best types of wood are chosen for it.
Often, to protect against getting wet, a gasket is made from a board, which is treated with various antiseptics or wrapped in several layers of roofing felt.
A trim crown is placed on the gasket, which is pressed together from below to make the fit tighter. Crushed stone or bricks are placed under another log, which naturally stands a little higher, thereby eliminating the gap above the ground. Next, the crowns are laid one after another. On the upper logs the joints are made oblique.
An example of laying logs for a bathhouse
After the walls are erected, they are caulked. This can be done in two stages. The first time was when the frame was built, and the second time after drying and shrinking the logs - about a year and a half later. Caulking a house is laying insulation made of fibrous material - tow, moss - between round pieces. The insulation is driven in using special tools so that its edges protrude at least 50 mm on both sides of the wall.
Step-by-step construction of an object with your own hands
Construction is taking place in stages:
Before pouring concrete, formwork is constructed from boards
The corners are connected in 4 steps, and the ends are connected in 3 steps
Wooden sheathing on the floor prevents your feet from touching the cold floor
Bathhouse made of beams
Again, we initially select good material. The timber should not have wormholes or traces of being eaten by beetles, it should look perfectly even and smooth. The easiest way to build is to order a ready-made project with detailed drawings and numbered beams. It will be a little harder to do it with your own hands, but the joy from constructing the structure will be greater. The foundation, as in the version with logs, must be finished with various waterproofing materials.
Slats are laid on it, the purpose of which is to protect the base from subsidence and the timber from rotting. The space between the foundation and the tree is filled with foam. After this, the first crown is laid. For it you need to choose the thickest and most reliable materials. So, if our main beam measures 150 mm by 150 mm, then it is better to take 200 x 200 mm for the lining. The following crowns are stacked one on top of the other, strictly maintaining a horizontal level. There are three ways to fasten the beams together:
- Nails without heads;
- Wooden quarter-deck;
- A spring unit called “Strength”.
The top balls of the crowns are not attached, since they will need to be removed to lay the floor. If desired, each level can be caulked for better heat retention.
