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Build a bathhouse from a ready-made log house with your own hands. How to properly cut down a bath from a bar with your own hands

Chopped baths, built of environmentally friendly wood, are much superior to buildings made of other building materials in terms of their microclimate and comfort. They retain heat well and are highly durable. A log sauna is made of two types of wood: beams or logs. You can build it yourself. The main thing is to correctly follow the instructions for the construction of the structure.

Is it worth building a log sauna yourself

A log house is a wooden structure assembled from specially processed logs or beams. One closed row of logs is called a crown. Currently, a bathhouse can be built in several ways.

  1. Contact a specialist company. Taking into account the requirements of SNiP, specialists will correctly calculate the load on the supporting elements, take into account the shrinkage of the logs, etc.
  2. Hire shabashniki - an independent team of carpenters. But this can add to the problems, since they usually build the bath according to the sketches proposed by the owner, and not according to the project. As a result, mistakes are made in the choice of the foundation and in the calculations of structures.
  3. Erect with your own hands. We'll have to study a lot of relevant literature, delving into a lot of subtleties. But the bathhouse from the log house will turn out to be of high quality and will cost much less.

Before proceeding with the construction of a chopped bath, it is necessary to master the technology of work and choose a material: timber, wild or rounded log. It is important to know: a log house is cut with an ax. When processing a log with this tool, the capillary fibers can no longer absorb moisture, as they become clogged. Consequently, the chopped bath does not get wet, which means it perfectly retains heat and does not undergo putrefactive processes. This is how our ancestors processed the tree, thanks to which the log cabins stood for more than a century. And this is how real masters work today.

Recently, however, log cabins have been sawing with a chainsaw. That is, using an analogy, they construct a building called "saw cut". At the same time, the wood fibers remain open and constantly absorb moisture. As a result, the moisture content of such a log is higher than that of a tree processed with an ax. Consequently, wood is more exposed to fungal infection, which significantly reduces the life of the bath, and its thermal conductivity increases.

To save time and facilitate work, you can use a chainsaw without cutting a few millimeters before marking, and make the final cut with an ax.

Preparatory work before construction

The construction of a bathhouse from a log house is carried out in several stages:

  • material selection and tool preparation;
  • construction of a foundation for a log house;
  • cutting and assembly of walls;
  • Finishing work.

Before starting work, you need to decide on a construction project from a log house and the choice of a place for a bath on your land plot. The bathhouse should be located not far from the house, preferably next to a reservoir. It is not recommended to build it next to a road.

Choosing a material for a log house

Specifications Log

Beams
Peculiarities. Hand-hewn logs are durable as they do not change the fiber structure. When a rounded log is received, part of the trunk is cut off, as a result of which the integrity of the fibers is broken in places. At the same time, a rounded log is considered more durable than a bar. Humidity is an important property. A timber with natural moisture has an affordable price, but it causes a lot of trouble in construction: as a result of uneven shrinkage, it can deform. Profiled timber (dried in chambers) as a result of shrinkage does not change the geometry of the walls, you can avoid the caulking of the log house. Glued laminated timber is the most expensive one; problems rarely arise when using it.
Environmental friendliness. Environmentally friendly material. The ecological qualities of laminated veneer lumber depend on the adhesive composition.
Construction time and complexity of the work. The construction of a log house takes from 3 weeks to 2 months. But you need to wait for shrinkage at least 6 months. It is not recommended to build a log bath on your own without sufficient experience. It is built within 2-6 weeks and depends on the moisture content of the timber. A log house from a bar can be built independently.
Shrinkage of the log house. Shrinkage up to 10%. A bath made of laminated veneer lumber gives a minimum shrinkage (up to 2%), from profiled - up to 5%; from a bar with natural drying - 10%.
Finishing work. Repeated caulking, sanding, etc. is required. No finishing is needed. From ordinary timber - caulking and finishing are required.

Having low thermal conductivity, chopped baths keep heat well. Therefore, there is no need for additional insulation. Correctly prepared materials for the log house will allow the bathhouse to serve for more than a dozen years without reconstruction and repair.

Advantages and disadvantages of chopped logs

The advantages of this material include resistance to biological corrosion and strength. It also has high heat-shielding properties due to the presence of natural layers in the trunk. Logs after felling are weakly susceptible to cracking and moisture absorption.

The disadvantages include:

  • high cost of manual work;
  • increased complexity of work during construction;
  • the diameter of the log decreases from the butt part to the top, as a result of which it becomes difficult to join the crowns;
  • long shrinkage.

For the preparation of chopped logs, a pine or spruce is taken. Larch is used for the lower rims. The standard length of a chopped log is usually 6 m, although larger sizes can be found - up to 12 m. Logs are 24–26 cm in diameter and larger. The best quality tree is considered to be pine, felled in winter, since then it has low humidity and is less infected with bugs. Processing a log consists in removing knots and removing the bark with an ax and a scraper.

Advantages and disadvantages of rounded logs

Currently, they began to use elements that are identical in cross-section. The pluses of this log include such indicators.

  1. An ideal and beautiful surface with a natural wood color.
  2. Elements can be easily and quickly folded into a sturdy structure.
  3. There are practically no gaps between the crowns due to the tight fit.
  4. The diameter of the logs is the same along the entire length.

The disadvantages include the need to use impregnations, shrinkage throughout the year, flammability and high cost. Even such a log can become cracked.

To obtain rounded logs, larch is used. Other coniferous tree varieties are also used. The diameter of the logs ranges from 160–320 mm.

Advantages and disadvantages of timber

The following types of timber are used in construction: profiled, glued and non-profiled. In order to choose a good timber for the construction of a bath, it is necessary to take into account such features of the material as moisture and uniformity. Due to the processing, the timber lacks natural protection. That is why cracks can appear on it in the most unexpected places.

The length of the elements can reach 6 m. They are convenient in construction, do not require a strong foundation. The advantages of the timber include its low price, the possibility of self-production from logs using a band saw.

How to calculate the material correctly

When calculating the material for a log house, it is necessary to take into account some points: the dimensions of the bath, the number of future rooms, the number of storeys, the dimensions of the material itself - a bar or a log. Calculations are made according to two formulas: according to the first, the amount of material is calculated, and according to the second, the volume is determined. You need to choose the one that best suits your situation. You can also use an online calculator.

  • the height of the bath must be divided by the thickness of the material = a;
  • the length of the perimeter of the log house is divided by the length of the bar = b;
  • a x b x number of load-bearing walls = number of beams for construction (in pieces).

To determine the volume of wood for the construction of a bath, you need to multiply the length of the perimeter of the building (P) by the height (H) of the structure and the thickness of the timber (D):

P x N x D = volume of material in cubic meters.

It is necessary to take into account the perimeter (the sum of the lengths of all walls) of the bath, and not its area. Otherwise, you will have to buy additional material, which will lead to unnecessary spending on transportation costs.

Selection of tools for making a log house

For felling, you need to acquire a tool: both manual and electric, which will facilitate the work and significantly speed up the process.

  1. Carpenter's ax.
  2. Drill.
  3. Electric planer.
  4. Square.
  5. Chisel.
  6. Hacksaw.
  7. Plumb line, level, tape measure, marker.
  8. Chainsaw.
  9. Scriber.
  10. Mallet.
  11. A special compass is a carpentry trait.
  12. Non-stretch cord.

After the selection of the tool and preparation, they proceed to the construction of a bath from a bar or log. There are Russian, Canadian and Norwegian felling options.

Technology for the construction of a log, or timber, bath

Usually log-house steam rooms are erected on one floor, but there are two-story buildings. The bathhouse has now ceased to be a place only for taking water procedures. Increasingly, it is used for recreation with family or friends. In this case, the attic will be the best solution for organizing leisure activities.

Choosing a foundation

When choosing a foundation for a log house, it is necessary to take into account many factors, such as the area and weight of the bath, the characteristics of the soil, the region of residence. There are the following types of foundations.

  1. Columnar. For a wooden bath, you will need strong pillars made of reinforced concrete or brick. They are placed in the corners of the building at intervals of 2.5 m. It is mainly used for small baths.
  2. Tape. It deepens by a different amount depending on the type of soil. Only suitable for stable soils. A tape recessed foundation is built mainly for massive baths, but a shallow foundation is suitable for medium-sized buildings. It is more popular due to its strength and ease of construction.
  3. Pile. Such bases can be wooden, reinforced concrete and steel (screw). Sometimes a tape or slab grillage is erected on the piles. It is erected on any soil.
  4. Monolithic. Very durable and expensive. You can refuse it due to the insignificant weight of the future bath.

A separate foundation is built under the stove in the steam room, which should be at least 10 cm from the base of the log house.

We put the first (lower) crown

He is constantly exposed to destructive influences. Proximity to the soil, water rolling down the walls, contact with the foundation, precipitation - all this does not add to the longevity of the flap. Therefore, special attention is paid to it.

The first crown should be made from the thickest logs, preferably from larch or oak (their wood is the most resistant to decay). It is important to remember that in order to avoid wetting the walls from the base, it is necessary to lay 2-3 layers of waterproofing on the foundation. Also, the crowns need to be treated with antiseptics several times to prevent destructive decay processes.

There are two ways to lay the bottom rims. According to the first, the side lying on the foundation is trimmed 4–5 cm for a snug fit. The crowns fit into the "bowl" option. A log house with such a felling turns out to be reliable, the protruding ends of the logs protect the corner from precipitation (but this method is less economical). Do not forget to lay a seal between the waterproofing and the wood (this is moss, tow, jute, etc.).

The disadvantage of this method is that gaps are formed between the foundation and the logs, which must be sealed with halves of the logs. You can get rid of the cracks by pouring the foundation with different levels of opposite sides. Such a cap is more reliable due to the fact that the logs will undergo minimal processing.

Second way. Two opposite logs are cut in half, while the other two crowns are only 4–5 cm. They are joined together by an angular cut “ochryap” or “in a paw”. This method is much more complicated than cutting "into a bowl", therefore it is not recommended to use this option without a carpenter with extensive experience. The articulation of the crowns "in the paw" requires careful execution, otherwise the corners of the log house will turn out to be "cold" and no amount of their insulation will help you. There are no slots with this method of laying the crowns.

Experts recommend using backing boards (20–30 cm wide and 5–8 cm thick), which are placed between the foundation and the lower log, to prevent decay of the flap rims. It is much easier to change them when decaying: in this case, the frame is raised with jacks. Before laying, the boards are soaked in used engine oil or treated with antiseptic agents. Due to the threat of rapid decay, it is not recommended to cover them with bitumen or wrap them in roofing material. Between the waterproofing of the foundation, backing boards and the first crown, an inter-row seal is placed.

The first crown must be erected immediately around the entire perimeter of the bath.

Arrangement of door and window openings

In a chopped bath, openings for windows and doors are made in two ways. The first one is at the end of the construction of the bathhouse. After shrinking the structure in the right places with the help of a chainsaw, the necessary openings are cut out in size. The first and last log is cut by 1⁄2, which will subsequently facilitate the mowing process. This method is applicable to simple and rounded logs. If the bath is made of laminated veneer lumber, then be careful because of the possible chipping and peeling of the glued boards.

Second option. Openings for windows and doors are cut out in the log during the set of bath crowns, with a periodicity of 3-4 crowns. This is done to prevent possible extrusion of the rims. After the completion of the construction of the log house, these "beams" are removed.

The first method does not require any special costs and is simple in the device, therefore it is most often used in practice. When making window and door openings in a chopped bath, do not forget to make a window to protect them from skewing. The upsetting is carried out in the form of a prefabricated frame.

Caulking the log house

Caulking (or caulking) is called the sealing of cracks and grooves between the crowns of a log house with special materials. Caulking a bath can be done in several ways.

  1. Stretching. The gap is tightly filled with insulation, the remnants of which should stick out 5–6 cm from the gap. A dense roller is rolled up from the protruding fibers and pushed into the groove using a tool. After this procedure, the material should not protrude from the logs by more than 1 cm.
  2. Into the set. It is used for large and different-width slots. Loops are made from strands of a sealant with a thickness of 2 mm, which are pushed into the groove until the gap is completely filled. With this method, residual fibers do not stick out of the cracks.

Caulking should not be done only on one wall, as this will lead to a distortion of the log house and its subsequent disassembly. Therefore, it is only necessary to caulk the structure from the bottom up along the entire perimeter of the log house.

After carrying out the external caulking work, they proceed to the inner caulking of the walls of the bath. These actions must be carried out twice: immediately after the construction of the log house and after the complete shrinkage of the bath.

We treat the log house with impregnations and antiseptics

The main enemies of the building, in addition to fire, are fungi, lichens, and woodworm beetles. If you do not process the wood of the bathhouse with special means, you can lose the frame. Antiseptics are transparent (glazing) and opaque. Glazing compounds are washed out over time by precipitation, so they should be reapplied periodically. There are also these types of antiseptics.

  1. Impregnating. They penetrate deeply into the wood. Allows wood to breathe, odorless. They are carried out on the basis of organic substances.
  2. Film-forming compositions. They form a protective film on the tree. Antiseptics based on alkyd resins are not washed out by sediments and completely paint over the texture of the wood.

It is not allowed to apply the first layer of film-forming antiseptics, as deep cracks may appear (it is possible only after the impregnating composition).

Log houses are processed only in the warm season. After protection with antiseptic agents, it is necessary to treat the bath with a fire-fighting compound. It is possible to cover the log cabin with protective equipment in two ways:

  • brush - this method is laborious, but it allows you to process the entire frame;
  • spray - speeds up the processing process, but does not guarantee that the entire log will be covered with an antiseptic, since only visible surfaces are available.

We erect the roof of the bath

The last crown of a log house made of a bar or log is a support for the roofing system. Therefore, its construction must be treated with particular attention. You can also install a mortgage beam - Mauerlat. It is made of material with a cross section of at least 150x150 mm and is fixed on the upper crown.

The roof of a chopped bath can be pitched and gable. A pitched roof has low thermal insulation characteristics, but is quickly erected. It is created with a slope of 5 degrees so that moisture can flow freely from the roof surface. The gable roof allows you to create an attic for drying brooms and storing items, or a living room for relaxation.

The construction of the roof begins immediately after the construction of the log house. Before its creation, the elements of the upper crown are checked with a building level for horizontalness. The roof truss structure of the bathhouse consists of crossbars, struts, braces, struts and lintels. Thanks to them, you can strengthen the rafter system and increase its rigidity.

There are the following types of rafters.

  1. Sliding - withstand the shrinkage of the log house up to 15%. Due to the shrinkage of the structure, significant distortions of the bath are possible. The floating rafters made with sliding supports solve this problem.
  2. Forced - suitable for construction with a slight shrinkage. Usually used in the construction of pitched roofs, however, gable roofs of a bath with a small angle of inclination can also be equipped with similar rafters.
  3. Hanging - represent a triangular truss, the beams of which go through the entire structure.

Bath floor beams can be laid in the following ways: fix the ends of the beams on the upper rim; laid on top of walls with an exit beyond them; roof rafters tightening act as overlaps.

Roof trusses for the bathhouse roof can be assembled on the ground, and then ready-made to be lifted and installed on the Mauerlat. The outer farms are mounted first, the rest are between them. The lathing is attached to the entire roof truss structure. The last step is the installation of the roofing material.

Features of the shrinkage of the log house

Shrinkage of a log house is called a decrease in the height of the walls of a building due to shrinkage of wood. This process ends no earlier than 1.5 years after the construction of the box. You can start finishing work in six months or a year, since during this time the walls are mostly shrinking. It is impossible to predict the exact time, since it depends on many factors: material - shrinkage from logs is higher than shrinkage of a bar; seasons - a tree cut down in winter is denser and more reliable; the size of the logs or timber; moisture content of the tree; blowing the area with the wind; wood varieties - cedar and larch are the most durable and dense, and the shrinkage of the log house is the smallest in comparison with other types of wood.

Since the tree easily accepts and gives up moisture, and also narrows or expands when the temperature changes, it is categorically impossible to use fixed fasteners during the construction of a log house. The shrinkage of the bath is mechanical and natural. In the first case, the upper rims press on the lower ones. The shrinkage of the bath can be reduced in this way.

  1. Using jute insulation that softens the pressure of the structure.
  2. Using square pins, staggering them. They are able to stick tightly in the hole, thereby turning the frame into a single whole.
  3. Shrinking jacks, which are installed under the crowns of a log house in problem areas.
  4. Spring expansion joints consisting of a long self-tapping screw with a steel spring. They are installed in pre-drilled holes. Their main task is to ensure a strong connection of the crowns to each other without the formation of large gaps, to accelerate and facilitate the process of shrinkage of the log house.

Natural shrinkage cannot be reduced, since this is a natural phenomenon. The complete end of the bath shrinkage occurs in 5-10 years from the date of construction of the structure. During this time, the dimensions of the bath can be reduced by 5-10%. That is, for example, if the ceiling height was initially 2.5 m, then after wood shrinkage it can drop to 2.25 m.

Each stage of the construction of a bath must be carefully thought out and analyzed. Strict adherence to technology will allow you to build a high-quality and durable bath with your own hands. A bathhouse made of a log or a bar looks attractive and does not need additional finishing of the facade.

Not everyone has the desire and ability to invest a lot in the construction of a bath. And in most of our country, sometimes it is simply necessary to warm up. The only way out is to build a bathhouse inexpensively, with your own hands. There is a sufficient amount of building materials and technologies that can be called budgetary.

If we talk about the construction of full-fledged, albeit small, but free-standing baths, then the most budgetary technologies are frame and monolithic ones. Cheap saunas are often made on a wooden frame, sheathed with plywood, OSB, boards - whoever has what. Insulation is laid inside, between the two skins.

One of the options for the frame structure - with board sheathing

In monolithic construction, the most popular for the construction of baths is arbolite - a mixture of cement with sawdust. Sawdust can be generally free or cost very little. Little cement is required in wood concrete, so this type of construction is unlikely to hit hard. A removable formwork is placed along the perimeter of the building, the mixture is loaded into it, and rammed. The next batch is mixed. It's that simple. The disadvantage of this material is considered flammability, but after all, wooden and frame baths are also flammable. So this is not an argument.


Sawdust concrete or wood concrete is a warm, natural material that consists of sawdust, sand, cement and water

Polystyrene concrete is not much more expensive (granular foam mixed with cement and water), but not everyone likes the use of "chemistry" - foam - in the construction of a bath. However, by itself, this material allows you to get a cheap and light construction, which, if properly finished, will only delight the owners.

All three technologies provide a combination of low prices and good thermal performance, that is, heating such buildings requires a little fuel, which is the main indicator of efficiency in baths.


There are regions where timber is still the cheapest material. It may be the cheapest place to put a chopped bath in them. From round timber or from a bar - this is optional. The plus of such a solution is a natural material (although it must be impregnated with chemistry in order to maintain its appearance and protect it from diseases and insects). But chopped baths have their drawbacks - you can start steaming no earlier than a year after the walls have been erected and the roof installed. It is necessary to wait until the main shrinkage has passed and only then begin insulation and finishing work. The second disadvantage is that it is necessary to regularly update the protective coating, otherwise the building will become gray and unsightly. But the wooden baths themselves are very good for their special atmosphere.

Inexpensive foundations

Inexpensive wall technology is not all. Sometimes, almost half of the funds required for the construction of the building as a whole are spent on the construction of the foundation. The technologies listed above are good in that lightweight foundations can be made for them. Somewhere it is enough columnar, somewhere pile or pile-grillage. Any of the walls listed above can coexist quite normally with them, leveling their shortcomings (possible uneven shrinkage of different support points).


The foundations listed above may not be implemented on all soils. Sometimes a shallow or normal strip foundation may be required, and on particularly heaving or unstable soils, a monolithic slab may be needed. On such grounds, to the above technologies for the construction of walls, you can add building blocks - foam concrete, cinder block, expanded clay concrete. All of them have their own characteristics (mainly, careful protection from high humidity is required), but the construction technology is also inexpensive, although more solid foundations are required.

Compact or temporary

If at the dacha you want to build a mini-bath, a very small booth, then you need to take a closer look at the construction technology or. If desired, even an ordinary construction trailer, shed or shed can be turned into a more or less normal steam room. It is only important to insulate well and put the correct stove. Everything else is not so important.

Cheap frame bath in stages - photo report

The initial data are as follows: a bathhouse in terms of no more than 4 * 5 meters, the budget is small - no more than $ 200-300 per month. From the initial data - heaving clay soil, 4 meters from the fence - a cliff. Putting it all together, it was decided to build a frame bath on a columnar foundation.


The bath itself turned out to be 5 * 3 m, plus a 1 meter wide terrace on the long side. It was decided to make the pillars under the bath from asbestos-cement pipes 34 cm in diameter, under the terrace of 15 cm. In the center of the plan, 4 additional pillars are marked - this is the foundation for a brick oven.


We bury ourselves below the freezing depth - 140 cm for this region. By the way, we cut the pipes by 20 cm more - the total length is 160 cm, so that the bath is 20 cm above the ground.



A frame made of reinforcement 12 mm in diameter is installed inside each pillar. 4 rods are connected, the release from the post is 10-15 cm, so that you can then weld the strapping calmly.


Ready-made concrete was ordered, grade M250. A formwork was placed along the perimeter between the pillars and a boat was immediately poured in, which will close the gap between the bathhouse floor and the ground.

A week later, the concrete gained enough strength, and the work continued. A harness was welded from a 70 * 70 mm corner with a wall thickness of 6 mm (the corner was on the farm). To connect the pillars and metal, we weld the reinforcement outlets to the corner shelves.


It must be said right away that this foundation is redundant in terms of bearing capacity. A two-story heavy building can be built on it, and not a light one-story frame. But, since they did it "for themselves", and there is also a clay cliff nearby, it was decided to play it safe.

In the washing room and the rest room, it was decided to make warm floors - sometimes you just need to wash, without steaming, and doing this on a warm floor is much more pleasant.


Therefore, insulation (expanded polystyrene) is laid on the subfloor, waterproofing, reinforcing mesh on top, pipes are tied to it, and the whole economy is filled with concrete. Naturally, the warm floor was not poured under the stove.


A week later, when the concrete gained enough strength (it was not covered, but watered regularly), work began on the construction of the frame. For the racks, a bar of 150 * 150 mm was used, the spacers were a board of 50 * 150 mm (again, a solid margin of safety, but this is out of the desire to build a good bath).


The bathhouse was built mostly alone, therefore a sequential installation method was chosen - the racks are placed first in the corners, then in those places where door-windows will be installed or adjacent walls. If, as a result, somewhere there are gaps of more than 1 meter, additional racks are placed. But in this case, since all the racks were made of a very powerful bar, intermediate ones were not set, and the rigidity of the structure was given by bevels.

Further, so that when the floor was laid, it would not drip on the head, they began to manufacture the roof of the bath. It is made the most budgetary - single-slope, with a minimum rise of 15 °. To ensure this slope, the racks were made in different lengths in advance.

A board of the upper strapping is nailed to the racks at one level, the ceiling beams are attached to it. Rafters with the required slope are attached to the same racks. A continuous lathing under the roofing material is stuffed on top.


The shed roof rafter system is very easy to manufacture

After the roof was ready, the walls of the OSB were sheathed, and then the floor was laid on the rest of the bath.


The next stage is laying the stove. This is a long-term affair - it took a whole month. The stove is folded with a closed stove. A cast-iron box is built into the chimney formation zone, in which stones are placed. A door leads into the stove, which leads to the steam room.

The stove also has a built-in register that heats the water for the warm floor (outlets on the side of the stove). It is not always necessary to heat the floor, therefore there are two modes of operation - summer without floor heating, and winter, with "turning on" register heating. Transfer from one mode to another - by means of a latch.

This is followed by finishing work, and they will be different in different cases. The only thing that will be more or less general is insulation. Mineral wool was used to insulate the walls and ceiling. The thickness of the layer on the walls in "cold rooms" is 100 mm, in the steam room and on the ceiling - 150 mm. The steam room on top of the insulation is sheathed with foil on kraft paper.


After the insulation, a vapor barrier is attached. In the rest room, the walls are sheathed with OSB, a cork is glued on top. In the shower room, tiles are glued to the OSB, the "dry" part is upholstered with clapboard (horizontally).


Washing room - dry area and shower

In the steam room, first the lathing is filled with clapboard lining, then a wide lining. The steam room turned out to be quite small, and the stove also takes up a lot of space. Two are accommodated comfortably, three are more difficult, but also quite convenient. To regulate the number of seats in the steam room, the shelves were made retractable.


The whole construction process took two years, the work was carried out mainly "in one hand". The assistants were only at the stage of pouring the foundation, and then at the stage of installing the frame - to set the racks (they must be 100% vertical).


Video example of the construction of a bath from monolithic arbolite

Inexpensive bath 3 * 6 with your own hands - step by step photos

The log for the future bath was prepared and sanded in advance; it was covered from the rains and dried for about 5 months. The building will consist of two halves: a steam room and a sink made of logs, and a relaxation room on a wooden frame. It turns out two rooms 3 * 3 m.Construction began with the markup: in the plan 6 * 3.


The soil is sandy, so we make it shallow. We dig a trench 60 cm deep, expose the formwork. The width of the tape is taken with a good margin - 35 cm.



We make doors - from a frame, on which OSB is stuffed on one side, and lining on the other. How to do


We leave it in this form for the winter - the blockhouse should "sit down". In the spring, we insulate the frame part of the building, we cover the insulation with a vapor barrier membrane.


Let's start finishing the ceiling. It was decided to make a budget filing of the ceiling - to fill short boards between the rafters. They can be bought very inexpensively. We process, cut into the desired length. We stuff support bars onto the rafters, to which we knock boards cut to size from below.




Outside, the yuan was sheathed with siding - both the frame part and the log house. It turned out to be far from perfect. And there is a ventilation gap between the siding and the wall, so there are no problems with moisture removal.


Do-it-yourself budget bath - another inexpensive solution - siding

We proceeded to the cladding of the interior. We fill the crate, lining on it.


Inside the rest room was lined with clapboard

Moving on to finishing the steam room. First, they covered everything with foil. The room itself will consist of a steam room area, separated by a glass door, and a "sink" area. In the washing wall, we will surround with moisture-resistant plasterboard, on which we will then glue the tiles, and in the steam room - with clapboard.




We cover the steam room area with clapboard and

Cut out an opening in the wall for installing the stove. She will be drowned from the rest room, and her "body" will be in the steam room. We lay a brick base under the stove, install it. We cover the fuel removal with fireclay bricks.



We decorate the sink with tiles.




For the main work, that's all, the decor and all sorts of things remained - buckets, ladles, thermometers and the rest of the "filling.

It is not an easy task to build a bathhouse from a log house, however, the construction technology, the choice of materials and even the exact sequence of actions have long been known and worked out by many craftsmen. This material explains all the key points that will help in the construction of a log bath: from laying the foundation to interior decoration.

The steam bath has been known since the times of the Scythians, who carried with them special bath tents and camp stoves. And in the 21st century, the Russian bath did not become a kind of archaism, having successfully withstood the age-old competition with bathrooms and showers. Get rid of many ailments, remove from the body harmful substances accumulated in urban everyday life, give the body a good rest - all this is achieved when visiting the bath for more than one and a half thousand years.

Which construction is preferable, how to choose a place for its placement, how it generally works - you will find answers to many "bath" questions in this article.

Place and layout of the bath

One of the important additions to the bath itself at all times was a reservoir with fresh water located nearby - in the absence of another source of water supply, water was taken from it. A special charm in the proximity of such a reservoir lies in the possibility of contrasting ablution - after steaming in a Russian bathhouse, run out of it and plunge into the cool water of the reservoir. In addition, the natural reservoir made it possible to quickly cope with the fire of the bath, which occurred quite often due to violations during the construction of the stove.

Today, there is no special need to link a summer cottage bath to a natural reservoir, but it is still convenient if it is located near, say, an artificial reservoir - the final decision always remains with the owner of the summer cottage.

The main criteria for choosing a place for a bath: distance from the road, the presence of natural or artificial fencing from outside spectators (dense bushes, tree crowns, a fence, outbuildings), a fire distance from the main residential building of at least 15 meters.

The main premises of the bath are the dressing room, washing room and steam room (the last two rooms can be combined into one). The size of the dressing room is determined at the rate of 1.4 m 2 for each bather, the size of the washing room is 1.2 m 2 per person. In addition, the dressing room should have a place for furniture (locker for clothes, bench for sitting) and for storing fuel (box for coal or firewood). The washing room will need a place for containers with hot and cold water, a stove and a place for sun loungers.

For example, for a small family (no more than 4 people), a bath of the following sizes is suitable: external size - 4x4 m; dressing room - 1.5x2.4 m; washing room - 2x2 m; Steam room - 2x1.5 m

In general, the size of the bath is directly related to the size of the area that can be allocated for it. If the site is significant, then the bathhouse can be expanded by adding a shower cabin, recreation rooms, etc.

In temperate and cold climatic zones, it will be correct if the entrance to the bath is located in the south, and the window openings are on the west (south-west) side of it. This location of the entrance will greatly simplify the use of the bathhouse in the winter season, since the snowdrifts on the south side melt faster, and the direction of the windows will allow illuminating its premises with sunlight for a longer time.

Bath construction - stages

There are several of them:

  1. Procurement of basic materials.
  2. Selection and laying of the foundation.
  3. Creation of the foundation for the heater-stove (if necessary).
  4. Creation of the floor and sewerage system of the bath.
  5. Assembly of the bathhouse.
  6. Roof construction.
  7. Formation of a blind area along the perimeter.
  8. Caulking the walls of the bath.
  9. Masonry or installation of a stove, installation of a chimney.
  10. Bath electrics and water supply.
  11. Installation of doors and installation of shelves.

Preparation of basic materials for the bath

The classic and most successful constructional material for a Russian bath was and will be wood - wood easily copes with waterlogging of bath rooms, removing excess moisture to the outside.

What kind of wood is suitable for building a bath? As a rule, saunas are built from round timber of pine or spruce with a diameter of no more than 250 mm - only wood will create an indescribable inner atmosphere in the steam room. However, in some places it is better to include wood of other species in the design of the bathhouse - oak, larch and linden. For example, the bottom rims and logs for flooring, made of oak, will allow you to get a truly durable bath. Nuance - the oak must be cut down "in the juice itself" (that is, not dead wood) and dried under a canopy. The lower crowns (no more than 4), following the first oak, are best made of larch. The final crowns, elements of interior decoration and cladding should be made of linden or white spruce - their wood removes moisture better than others.

When do you need to store wood for the construction of a bath? Round timber, wood for interior decoration must be cut down in winter, when the tree trunks contain the least amount of moisture, it is easier to dry. In addition, not the entire tree trunk is suitable for building a bathhouse - only the middle part of the trunk will do, that is, the top and butt are not suitable.

An important criterion in the selection of wood will be the absence of cavities and streaks of resin on the round timber of conifers, dryness, sanded surface, the absence of decayed areas and places of damage by the woodworm beetle.

Bath foundation

The main types of foundations for the construction of baths are strip and columnar, depending on the local soil. Regardless of the type of foundation chosen, it is necessary to lay them with maximum accuracy - it is better if to the depth of soil freezing. Preliminary work before laying any type of foundation: cleaning the site from debris, completely removing the topsoil to a depth of 200 mm (removing the fertile layer).

To choose the right foundation, you need to determine the type of local soil, which can belong to one of three main groups:

  1. Weak soil consists of peat, silt, silty sand (contains a lot of water), fluid or fluid-plastic clay.
  2. Heavily soil (subject to seasonal swelling) consists of sand (silty or fine), clay components (clay, loam and sandy loam).
  3. Slightly heaving soil is formed by rocks, medium and coarse sand grains.

Column (pile) foundation for a bath

They are arranged on slightly weeping soils: it consists of pillars laid in the corners of the bath, as well as at the junction of the internal and external walls. If the distance between two adjacent foundation pillars is more than 2 m, another pillar is laid between them. The depth of the pillar foundation is at least 1.5 m.

Pillars for such a foundation can be easily made directly at the construction site of the bath, the material for them can be red brick, rubble stone, connected with concrete mortar. The main (corner) brick pillars for a columnar foundation are usually square, with a side of 380 mm, the auxiliary ones are rectangular, with a section of 380x250 mm. If necessary, the main pillars are made in two bricks - with a section of 510x510 mm. Saving rubble stone and brick during the construction of a columnar foundation is achieved by filling the foundation pits with sand - half their depth, coarse sand is laid in layers (each layer is 100-150 mm), filled with water and rammed.

The foundation pillars when building a bath with your own hands can also be made independently. This will require a demountable formwork made of boards, coated from the inside with non-hardening grease such as "Emulsol". Inside the assembled formwork, you need to place iron reinforcement, then pour the concrete mixture.

For the casting of foundation pillars inside the pits opened for them, a sliding formwork made of roofing iron, plastic, tar paper or thick cardboard is used. From the material selected for the sliding formwork, a pipe with a diameter of 200 mm or more is created, which is placed in a foundation pit of a larger diameter - from 300 mm. The free space around the formwork is filled with sand - it will act as a lubricant and prevent the concrete column from rising when the soil swells. Reinforcement tied with thick wire is inserted inside the formwork, then a concrete mixture is poured, which must be carefully compacted. For the wire handles, previously fixed on the sliding formwork, it is raised by swinging it by 400 mm, sand is poured on the outside and a new batch of concrete is poured.

As a columnar foundation, asbestos-cement pipes can be used, they are durable, not subject to decay, and their outer surface is sufficiently smooth, which allows them not to change their position when the soil swells. Asbestos-cement pipes are also filled with concrete, their underground part must be coated with mineral-based construction grease to reduce the threat of freezing to the ground.

In the intervals between the foundation pillars of the outer walls of the bath and the inner walls of the steam room, brick walls are laid out, their sufficient thickness is brick and even half a brick. Such brick walls must be buried 250 mm into the ground.

Foundation pillars and brick walls between them are brought out to a height of 300-400 mm from the ground level, they must be leveled with cement mortar and covered with roofing material for waterproofing. During casting, the pillars of the required shape are made of metal into the ends of the pillars - they are intended for fastening the frame of the bath to the foundation.

When building a bath on heaving soils, it will be necessary to create a strip monolithic foundation.

Sequence of work:

  1. Marking the construction site with twine stretched between the pegs.
  2. Digging a trench of the required depth (its size is related to the characteristics of local soils, not less than 400 mm) and 300 mm wide.
  3. Adding a layer of sand to the bottom of the trench, then gravel (70-100 mm each).
  4. Formwork installation.
  5. Reinforcement tab.
  6. Pouring concrete mix.

The reinforcement, laid on the bottom of the foundation trenches, must have a cross section of at least 12 mm, it is laid along each of the two sides of the trench and knitted into a frame, lifting it to its middle with the help of brick fragments.

The composition of the concrete mixture is calculated in a ratio of 5: 3: 1 (crushed stone: sand: cement), the sand used must be dry and clean (washed). Calculating the volume of concrete required for pouring a strip foundation is quite simple, you just need to measure the width, depth and total length of the foundation. For example, with a width of 0.3 m, a depth of 0.4 m and a total length of 22 m, the following volume of concrete mixture will be required:

  • 0.3 x 0.4 x 22 = 2.64 m 3

One of the difficulties in preparing a dry mix of concrete is the lack of weights on construction sites. Therefore, this method of calculating dry components for concrete will come in handy: one 10-liter bucket holds from 15 to 17 kg of crushed stone, sand - from 14 to 17 kg, cement - from 13 to 14 kg.

The formwork is placed in such a way that the concrete foundation poured into it protrudes 100 mm above the ground level. As the concrete mixture is poured into the prepared formwork, its mass must be repeatedly pierced with a bayonet shovel or a wire probe, hit with a hammer on the outer side of the formwork (we eliminate the air pockets). Then you need to wait for the foundation to completely harden, about 5 to 7 days. When carrying out foundation work in the cold season, after pouring the concrete, the formwork must be covered with PVC film and covered with sawdust or other insulation on top.

After the expiration of the time allotted for drying the cast foundation, we proceed to its waterproofing and lifting with brick rows (if lifting the bath is not required, then after waterproofing we go to the cement screed). You will need the following materials:

  1. Roofing material.
  2. Pipe about 2 m (plastic or metal), cross-section from 32 to 57 mm.
  3. Masonry mesh.
  4. Red brick.
  5. Masonry mortar.

Roofing material (roofing felt) is cut into strips sufficient for laying on a concrete foundation, then laid on top of the foundation on bituminous mastic (for roofing tar mastic). The brick is laid in a single-row method of dressing: a masonry mortar is laid out on a layer of roofing material, on it - the first brick row "in a poke" (across the foundation axis), then a masonry mesh is laid, the mortar and the next brick row are put, but already "in a spoon" (along the axis foundation). Each new row of brickwork is accompanied by a laying of masonry mesh, laying "in a spoon" and "in a poke" alternate with each other. In the 3rd or 5th stitch rows of masonry, it is necessary to install ventilation ducts from pipe scraps - 5-7 ducts are enough for the entire foundation. The number of brick rows depends on the desired foundation height.

The last row of brickwork is covered with a cement screed (the composition of the mortar is sand: cement as 1: 2 or 1: 3), with a 20 mm layer.

Independent heater base and sauna floor

We create the foundation for the stove-heater and assemble the sauna blockhouse. If the main masonry of the heater is supposed, it needs an independent foundation, that is, not connected with the main foundation.

The floor in the bath can be clay, earthen, wood or concrete. By and large, it does not need thermal insulation, since the temperature at its level is practically not higher than 30 ° C. A wooden grate, cork mats or mats are usually laid on the surface of the sauna floor - their task is to relieve the visitors of the bath from the sharp feeling of cold caused by touching the floor at the exit from the steam room. For self-drying, the flooring is raised above the level of the main floor.

The main disadvantage of the wooden floor of the bath is its frequent waterlogging - water, penetrating through the cracks between the boards, will accumulate in them, causing rotting and the appearance of an unpleasant odor. The wooden floor covering wears out quickly, acquiring an unsightly appearance; after 6-8 years, it may require replacement. Tile will be more practical for a bath floor covering - it is easier to care for it, it is not susceptible to the effects of moisture easily flowing down its surface.

The floors in the bath rooms must be placed at different levels: the floor of the steam room is 150 mm higher than the floor of the washing room (we keep the heat), the floor of the washing room is 30 mm below the floor in the dressing room (we protect against water ingress).

Since the installation of a concrete floor with ceramic tiles in a washing and steam room is more profitable than a wooden floor, we will consider this option.

There are several ways to arrange a concrete floor in a bath. First of all, we prepare the base for the formation of a warm floor - it consists of a 100 mm layer of sand and 100 mm of a layer of crushed stone of the middle fraction, laid sequentially. Each layer should be well tamped and leveled. Then lay roofing material on top, covering the walls with it to the height of the future floor.

Next steps:

  1. First option- flooring of a 50 mm layer of felt, expanded clay or slag, on top of a 50 mm layer of concrete with the formation of a slope to the drain hole. After the concrete has set, it must be leveled with a cement mortar, after which you can start tiling.
  2. Second option- 50 mm cement screed containing perlite (expanded sand). The composition of the mixture: perlite: cement: water as 5: 1: 3. After a full week has passed since the installation of perlite concrete, we apply a 30 mm layer of concrete on top with a slope under the drain. When dealing with perlite, you need to be especially careful - this material is extremely light, even a slight breeze blows it away, so you need to work with it indoors without drafts. Observe the exact proportion of water!

With a significant rise in the basement of the bathhouse above the ground level (from 300 mm), wooden logs of square section (side 150 mm) will be required for flooring. If the dimensions of the premises of the bath do not exceed 2000x3000 mm, then the logs of the frame will be the supports for the logs. For large sizes, additional supports for floor logs will be required, they are pillars of concrete or brick (250x250 mm) and are placed at a distance of 700-800 mm. The support posts for the lags must be placed on a multi-layer base of sand, crushed stone and concrete - each 100 mm.

Important! Before forming the base for the support of the lag, it is necessary to make the foundation for the stove-heater and build a sewage system.

Wood for logs can be oak, larch or conifers, logs should be treated with tar or antiseptic before installation.

The solution to the flooring in this case is as follows: the concreted space between the foundation is covered with roofing material with an overlap of walls to the height of the floor, covered with slag or expanded clay (a layer of 200 mm of foam can be laid between the layer of roofing material and bulk insulation), a rough floor of 29 mm is attached to the lower side of the logs edged boards. Then a PVC film is laid, foil-clad mineral insulation, again a layer of film - for vapor barrier. On top, pour a 5 mm layer of concrete with a fine filler, create a slope under the drain hole - after 3-4 days we put ceramic tiles.

Do not forget to bring the stove foundation to floor level.

The floor in the dressing room is made of 19-29 mm softwood grooved planks.

An important point: when finishing the clean floor, and indeed the entire room of the steam room and the washing room, do not use synthetic building materials - this condition is especially important for the room of the steam room!

Bath sewerage system

To drain waste water from the bath, you will need: a sump with a water seal, a sewage well and pipes that drain dirty water into the sump and then into the sewer.

The pit comes off outside the basement of the bath, from the premises of the steam room and the washing room, gravity pipes made of plastic, cast iron or ceramics are brought into it (metal pipes will quickly rust).

The pit must be 500 mm apart from the foundation, its depth is 700 mm, and the section is 500x500 mm. The walls of the pit are covered with a 100 mm layer of concrete, and a 110 mm drain pipe (s) from the bath is inserted into it under the foundation. The main drainage well, containing at least 2 m 3, must be dug at a distance of at least 2.5 m from the pit - the further the better. A pipe is brought to it from the pit, laid down a slope at a depth of 1.5 m (below the freezing depth), its outlet from the pit must be located 100 mm from its bottom. After entering the drain pipe, the main drainage well is filled with gravel or sand 1 m from the bottom, and soil is poured over it - with a layer of at least 500 mm. Tamp each layer thoroughly when laying.

Before the outlet of the drain pipe into the pit, a galvanized water seal is installed, located at an obtuse angle to the drain pipe from the bath. Its edges and upper side are hermetically attached to the walls of the pit, the distance from its lower edge to the bottom should be no more than 50 mm - thanks to this design, unpleasant odors and cold air will not penetrate into the steam room (washing room) through the weir opening.

To prevent freezing in winter, the pit must be closed with two covers of the appropriate size (wooden or metal), between them to lay felt, and the top cover must be covered with expanded clay, slag or sawdust on top.

Log house, roof and blind area

It is better to make a log house for a bath to order from professional performers, its manufacture is rather difficult. The disassembled finished log house must be brought to the construction site and assembled according to the numbering of the logs. The crowns are fastened with steel 25 mm spike staples with a total length of up to 150 mm, a tooth length of up to 70 mm.

The roof structure of the bathhouse includes rafters, the sheathing is attached to them, then the roofing material. The choice of the final roof structure depends on the roof covering with which it will be covered. The rafters are attached to the last crown of the log house (preferably to the penultimate one) using spike staples. As a rule, the construction of baths involves the arrangement of a single or gable roof, the slope angle (from 10 ° to 60 °) of which depends on the abundance and amount of precipitation in a given area. Please note - the steeper the roof, the more material is required to create it.

Angled single-pitch rafters are attached with two external or internal and external supports. If the length of the span of the rafters exceeds 5 m, they are propped up with additional struts. The rafters of the gable roof rest on the lower ends on the walls, the upper ends are connected to each other, forming a ridge.

The roof of the bath can be covered with any material (slate, tiles, roofing material, galvanized, etc.), with an overlap of at least 500 mm on the walls.

The attic space must be ventilated, i.e. equipped with two doors at opposite ends of the roof.

We carry out a blind area along the perimeter of the foundation: we completely remove the top layer of soil, go deep 200 mm at a distance of 600-800 mm from the bath base, lay a 100 mm layer of gravel (crushed stone, expanded clay) with its subsequent leveling. We lay expansion joints (19 mm board, covered with resin or bitumen, with a step of 2-2.5 m perpendicular to the foundation), fill in with a 100 mm layer of concrete. Before the concrete sets, its surface must be ironed - covered with dry cement with a layer of 3-5 mm. After 3 days, the line of contact between the blind area and the basement of the bath must be covered with bitumen to waterproof it.

Sauna log caulking

It is carried out to insulate a log house - to seal the gaps between its logs, linen tow, red moss, hemp hemp, woolen felt are traditionally used for caulking. Natural materials for caulking can be replaced with factory-made materials made from jute and flax fibers: flax and felt - jute and flax. The advantage of factory-made materials for caulking over natural ones is resistance to damage by moths and fungi, and it is easier to work with factory-made materials, since it is produced in the form of a continuous tape of a given thickness and width.

The caulking of a log house is carried out during its assembly - caulking material is laid between the logs during their laying. After the roof is built, full caulking is performed - from the outside and inside of the log house, after a year - repeated caulking (the log house is upset - the logs dry).

The main tools for caulking are a spatula and a beater, you can make them yourself or purchase ready-made ones. Both of these tools are made from wood (ash, oak or beech). The caulking blade looks like a wedge with a 200 mm long handle and a 100 mm pointed blade, 30 mm thick handle, 65 mm blade width at the base, 30 mm at the end. The wooden mallet has a rounded shape: the handle diameter is 40 mm, its length is 250 mm, the diameter of the striking part is 70 mm, and the length is 100 mm.

Caulking is done in two ways - "in a set" or "in a stretch". In the second way, we caulk as follows: we collect caulking material into a strand, lay it in the gap between the logs and push it there with a spatula, filling the gap completely, without gaps. Then we collect the tow with a roller, apply it to the buried groove, take out small strands of material from it, wrap the roller with them and drive it into the groove using a spatula and a roller - with force, until we are fully confident that the groove (gap) is filled.

The first method of caulking log cabins is designed to cover large grooves (slots). We twist the material for caulking in 2 mm strands, from which we form several loops and drive them into the slot. The loops are collected in a quantity sufficient to completely fill the gap.

Caulking rules:

  • first, the material is hammered along the upper edge of the log and only after - along the lower;
  • We begin the caulking work with the slots of the lower crown, on both sides of it. Then we move on to the lower rim of the adjacent wall and so on. Having finished caulking the slots of the lower rims, we begin work on the next one in height, moving from this rim to the adjacent one in the nearest wall (from right to left or from left to right, it doesn't matter).

Do not under any circumstances caulk only one wall - it will rise and cause the frame to be skewed, you will have to disassemble / assemble it again. Let us remind you once again: caulking is carried out in the "bottom-up" direction along the perimeter of the log house.

We put the stove-heater

There are many design options for stoves for baths, they can be heated with wood, gas, liquid fuel or use built-in heating elements and be heated from electricity, they can be brick, cast iron or metal. Brick stoves in baths are made with a wall thickness of "half a brick" or "a whole brick", masonry joints must be tied up especially carefully, striving for their smallest thickness to achieve the highest efficiency of the stove. Only red bricks are used for laying the stoves. The furnace firebox is taken out into the dressing room, its remaining three walls are in the washing (steam room), while the distance from them to the walls of the washing room should be at least 250 mm - in this case, the heat will not go “into the walls”.

For a cast iron or metal furnace, the formation of an independent foundation is not required - only for a brick one.

The heaters, installed for lovers of steam, are equipped with a chamber containing stones of various weights (from 1 to 5 kg). For filling the stove chamber, rubble, pebbles, boulders and granite are suitable. The design of these stoves is extremely simple - similar to kitchen stoves, stoves differ from them with a larger pipe or the presence of a chamber with stones.

To obtain the highest temperature in the steam room, cast iron ingots must be added to the stones in a percentage ratio of 80:20 (stones: ingots). For every 1 m 3 of the steam room, at least 6 kg of stones and cast iron ingots will be required.

Observing a 40-50 mm distance in the furnace between its walls and the water-heating boiler, the effect of all-round blowing of the boiler with hot gases and the fastest heating of water is achieved.

For better draft, you need to bring the chimney as close to the roof ridge as possible. When passing the chimney through the attic room, be sure to fluff up the chimney 380 mm. Remember that the pipe should not run closer than 150 mm near the roof sheathing and rafters (fire regulations).

Electricity and water supply of the bath

To wash one user of the bath, at least 8 liters of hot water are required. This amount can be provided in several ways: heat a container with water on a stove, use a gas water heater, install an electric heater - boiler. If there is a central water supply, the pipeline to the bath is led from the main house - water from such a pipeline system must be drained in the winter, otherwise it will freeze and burst the pipes.

Water can be taken from a well or well by installing a submersible pump for pumping it and providing such a water supply system with purification filters. And in this case, in winter, the water must either be drained after each use of the bath, or the supply pipes must be insulated.

You need to extend an independent line to the bathhouse to supply electricity and the easiest way is to do it by air (air). For air, you need a special cable - we sweep away the "bare" aluminum immediately, stopping at two options: self-supporting insulated wire (self-supporting insulated wire) and VVGng. The first type of cable is very good, it has a long service life (over 30 years), it is strong and does not need to be supported on a supporting cable. But it is extremely difficult to carry out installation work with it, since it is too thick (the minimum section is 16 mm 2). The aluminum self-supporting insulated wire cannot be pulled through the attic of the bathhouse according to fire safety standards, it is required to fasten it to special anchor clamps - in terms of the amount of costs and hassle with its installation, its cost will be expensive.

A simpler solution is an air duct with a VVGng copper cable fixed to a supporting steel cable. The cable is suspended from a cable on an insulated plastic wire, its service life is up to 10 years, after which it must be replaced (!). For a single-core cable VVGng (of course, there must be two cores - each of them must be in an independent double braid), stretched through the air to the bath, the optimal section will be 2.5 mm 2 - it is not known exactly what electrical equipment the owner of the cottage will want to supply from it to the future.

All tuso-junction boxes, sockets and switches, electrical panel should be outdoor installation only. According to fire safety rules, it is forbidden to install junction boxes, switches and sockets in the washing / steam room - only in the dressing room. Do not joke with the possibility of a short circuit in a wooden structure - all the internal wiring of the bath should be made only in a non-combustible corrugated hose, fixed on special clips, the passage of the cable through the partitions - only through a steel pipe.

Try to arrange the cables in a junction box, socket or lamp so that they go there from the bottom or from the side, but not from the top - a drop of condensation, sliding along the braid, can cause a short circuit.

All electrical appliances must have a moisture resistance class of at least IP44 (better than the maximum - IP54). Install simple lamps - a metal body, only a glass shade. All connections of the internal cable routing - only on the terminal block, no twists. And install an RCD in the shield, setting it to 30 mA.

For work in the electrical panel and installation of the RCD, be sure to invite a qualified electrician, if you are not one yourself!

Installation of partitions, ceilings, interior decoration, installation of windows and doors

Internal partitions in the bath can be brick or wooden, followed by heat and moisture insulation in both cases. The partition between the washing room and the dressing room, in which the stove is installed, must be brick, or brick inserts are made in it by laying in one brick - on the sides in contact with the stove body.

Interior decoration is usually performed in cases where the bath itself is built of brick, stone or timber - here the finishing scheme is classic: insulation, vapor barrier film and lining. In addition, when performing external and internal decoration, you will have to rebuild the ventilation system of the bath, because the log logs will be covered with casing and will not be able to carry out full ventilation.

The ceiling is formed in two layers - rough and finishing. The draft ceiling is attached to the horizontal roof joists, if necessary reinforced with intermediate beams. Its area is covered with insulation - expanded clay or slag. From inside the washing / steam room, a heater and a vapor barrier film are attached to the rough ceiling, after which the ceiling is covered with a fine finish - linden, pine grooved board (from 20 mm thick - the thicker the board, the longer it will retain the woody smell).

In the bath, you need to arrange windows of a small size (on average 500x700 mm) and cut them in low - enough so that through them you can look out to the person sitting on the bench. The windows in the bathhouse are always made with double glazing, depending on the size - with a vent or fully hinged - for quick ventilation.

Doors in the premises of the bath must be installed so that they open outward - for reasons of fire safety. The material for the door leaves is a tongue-and-groove board (40-50 mm) or a board with a selected quarter, the boards are fastened with dowels. The size of the flaps must be deliberately reduced by 5 mm - more than is necessary for the actual distance between the quarters of the jambs - otherwise, when the humidity rises, the flap will swell and it will be difficult to open (close) it. The optimal size of the door in the washing section of the bath is 600x1600 mm, in the steam room - 800x1500 mm, with a threshold height of about 300 mm above the floor level (it is inconvenient to walk, but it will keep the heat). Hinges for hanging door leaves - brass, going into the dressing room (washing room) and into the washing room (steam room). The door handles are wooden (especially in the steam room).

The material for the shelves is linden, pine, poplar or aspen. The minimum length of the shelves is 1800 mm, the width is 500-800 mm. The distance between the "floors" of two-row shelves must be at least 350 mm, the minimum distance from the second row to the ceiling covering is 1100 mm.

The surface for lying is formed by a board with a width of 80 mm and a thickness of 40 mm; a gap of 15 mm in width is formed between the boards. A distance of 10 mm is maintained from the wall to the shelf. Shelving boards for shelves are attached to a frame made of timber with a section of 50x70 mm in two ways: from above - with the help of nails, the heads of which are sunk into the wood; from below - with screws. For fastening, nails and screws from stainless steel or copper are chosen.

All corners in the structure of the shelves are rounded, the surfaces are carefully cleaned with zero emery paper.

For greater convenience, the shelves in the steam room are equipped with a headboard: the height at the beginning of the rise is 30 mm, the length of the headboard is 460 mm, the final maximum height is 190 mm.

When choosing a material for creating shelves, be careful - it is believed that knotty areas are more dense and can lead to skin burns. Therefore, try to pick up boards and beams without knotty areas at all or with a minimum number of them.

Fire-fighting measures

Protect the bathhouse from the threat of fire - lay a steel sheet in front of the furnace firebox, make sure that the oven doors are securely fastened, install fire extinguishing equipment nearby (a container with water, sand and fire extinguishers). Make sure you can freely open the steam room and washroom doors when firing up the sauna. Do not obstruct passages, spaces in front of doors and windows.

A log bath has both pros and cons. The process of its construction has a certain specificity: there are characteristic stages of construction, which are not so obvious at first glance. In order for a log bath to be built correctly, the builder needs to familiarize himself with some theoretical information.

Peculiarities

A log bathhouse is a traditionally Russian building. Such baths were built in Ancient Russia, but since then the technology has been somewhat changed and improved. In particular, this is due to the fact that the technology for making logs has changed a lot. The requirements for bath buildings have also changed. So, now it is necessary that the bath was equipped not only with a dressing room and a steam room, but also with a shower, a bathroom, a recreation room, and a billiard room. The size of the bath and, accordingly, the amount of material depends on how many rooms will be equipped.

Wooden baths differ from their brick counterparts in a number of advantages.

  • Wood has a wonderful effect on human health. The healing steam in such steam rooms improves mood and improves overall well-being. Depending on which wood is chosen, the effects produced differ. For example, if you choose to build coniferous logs (spruce, pine), then you can be sure that after visiting the bath, your mood will increase, insomnia will disappear. In addition, the evaporation of the resin released by these rocks has the ability to kill viruses in the human body.

  • The timber is an environmentally friendly material, so that even in the process of destroying the bath, the environment will not be harmed. Recycling logs is also very easy: you just need to unload them somewhere in the forest. This will turn your trash into useful fertilizer.
  • Ventilation in wooden buildings at a height. This is due to the fact that the timber by nature has excellent ventilation properties, so that there will be no problems with stagnant humid air. Thanks to this feature, during bathing procedures, a microclimate is formed that is most suitable and comfortable for vaping in principle, and as a result, the best results are achieved.

  • Wooden baths keep warm well, do not cool down quickly. Wood has a low thermal conductivity, which cannot be said about brick. Low thermal conductivity gives another advantage: in winter, a log-house bath will warm up several times faster than a brick one.
  • Thanks to natural ventilation and low thermal conductivity, it will not be necessary to spend additional financial resources on equipping a wooden bath with ventilation, and it is also not necessary to additionally insulate it. As a result, this will save much more money than was spent on the purchase of logs.
  • The surface of the wood is attractive in itself, so no additional cladding or interior decoration is required. If a profiled beam was chosen for the construction, then the building will look neat and tidy, it will not "sit down" or warp. In addition, the soundproofing qualities of the tree are excellent.

  • A wooden bathhouse on the site is evidence of the high status of the owner. It can even be called a status thing. In addition to the fact that it is convenient and beautiful, a bath from a bar makes it possible to get together with a company or a family and have a good time with sincere conversations in between procedures in the steam room.

Materials (edit)

When deciding to build a log bath, several factors must be taken into account, the first of which is the difference in materials.

Chopped or planed logs(they are also called debarked) are an ordinary oval-shaped log house, all processing work was carried out manually. The top layer of wood, called sapwood, is carefully removed. As a result, logs of different sizes are obtained, slightly knotty and rough to the touch. Due to the fact that the tree is not polished and, roughly speaking, remains in its original form, it retains the ability to resist all kinds of negative influences that can be exerted on it not only from the inside of the bath, but also by the external environment. Since the logs have different diameters, it is quite difficult to achieve good thermal insulation: it is necessary to have experience with this material. In addition, chopped logs are cheaper.

Galvanized or calibrated log has a high cost and a completely different appearance. The logs are processed here on a special machine, which makes them all equally round, even and beautiful. The result is a smooth surface without uniform roughness. However, along with the original appearance, the tree loses a good half of all its qualities with such processing. The forest becomes more sensitive to external influences as it loses most of its stability. However, the craftsmen found a solution to this problem: they repeatedly process the wood with various impregnations and antiseptics, and as a result, galvanized wood becomes more stable.

Solid block buildings are popular, but you need to know which array to choose.

The following breeds are optimal:

  • Pine;
  • larch;
  • birch and others.

All of these options are dense and solid enough to withstand constant exposure to hot temperatures and steam. It is best to buy timber brought from the northern regions. Wood from the Pskov region is in the greatest respect and demand. You also need to pay attention to the time of purchase: it is best if the wood was harvested in winter. Try not to select logs that are too thick, as they will crack faster than others. It is worth giving preference to young trees of medium diameter.

After purchasing timber, you need to carefully consider the preparation for subsequent construction. It is necessary to let the log house “lie down” for at least a month. Logs are stacked. It is necessary to leave a ventilation gap of 5 cm between them so that the material can "breathe". Only after the blockhouse is "laid back", you can start construction.

The choice and preparation of material is an important step towards building a bath. You should not try to save money by choosing low quality wood. The walls of the bathhouse may crack and the thermal insulation properties may be below average. In order not to take risks, buy high-quality timber, cut down in winter and supplied from the northern regions.

Project

Going directly to the planning of the bath building itself, it is worth deciding on its specific appearance and layout. There are two ways: either you can choose a ready-made project, or create your own individual one that meets all the requirements and wishes of future owners. The first way is simpler. Examples of projects with their brief description will be offered below.

If you are planning to build a small bathhouse, for example, 6x3 m in size, then it is worth taking a closer look at the minimalistic options with a small number of rooms. In this project, only the essentials have been left: a shower, a steam room and a spacious dressing room. This is enough for a comfortable sauna rest.

Such a bath is more like a whole house, especially given its impressive dimensions. Here the rest room can no longer be called a dressing room due to its large area and high functionality. If desired, the recreation room could be supplemented with a TV or converted into an indoor pool.

Small wooden sauna 6x6 m equipped with everything you need, including a bathroom. Even a small building can provide sufficient functionality. The only thing that is inconvenient in this project is that the stove used here is not equipped with a remote firebox.

The bathhouse can become a full-fledged resting place, especially if we supplement it with several functional areas: equip a barbecue on the terrace, equip the recreation room with a TV, or come up with something else. The limitation is imposed only by the design area.

A really large sauna, equipped with a special room for the pool. As can be understood from the plan, this building is two-story, but it is not necessary to equip the second floor or the attic: the building is good anyway.

A good example of what a project shouldn't be. Please note that there is no access to the rest of the premises, except for the vestibule. Be extremely careful when drawing up project plans and do not make such elementary mistakes.

In which case, in such a building it will even be possible to live in the summer. In the kitchen, you will need to make a hood, because if the smells from it reach the steam room (which is unlikely), then the tree will absorb all unnecessary aromas, and you will not be able to get rid of them.

As for individual sketches, they can be drawn up independently or commissioned by a professional. The main thing is that your bath is of the right size and contains all the rooms, in your opinion, necessary. Despite the fact that one-story buildings are more popular than two-story buildings, in some cases two floors can save the area of ​​the site, while creating additional space in the bath building. Please note that the steam room is always located on the floor, as a reinforced foundation is required under the stove.

Foundation

In order to make a foundation, no special knowledge and experience is required. All you need is to arm yourself with materials and tools and be ready to spend a sufficient amount of time on construction.

You will need the following materials and tools:

  • fittings;
  • lumber;
  • nails;

  • a pair of rolls of roofing material for waterproofing;
  • plastic air vents;
  • wooden stakes;
  • rope;
  • hammer;
  • shovel;
  • level.

Pay attention to the condition of the soil. If it is heaving, then it will be necessary to additionally strengthen the foundation with reinforced belts.

Now you can start building the foundation from scratch. Below is a list of steps to be followed in stages.

  • Delineate the area for building a bath with stakes and a rope. Install the stakes at the assumed corners of the future bath, and pull the rope between them.

Keep in mind that the foundation should be 45 cm high. This is quite enough for a log bath. If you make the foundation lower, then it may not be possible to arrange all communications, and a higher foundation is an extra waste of money.

  • The shovel should be well sharpened before you start digging the trench. Use a grinder for sharpening.
  • Dig trenches 50 cm deep, strictly observing the boundaries marked in the first step.
  • The walls of the trench should not crumble; for this, the shovel was sharpened. If you are building a bathhouse on a site with loose soil and there is no way to fix the situation, then protect the walls from shattering with wooden panels.

  • In the corner, dig a section for the future boiler. Its size depends on the dimensions of the boiler you have chosen.
  • Check how high-quality lumber was delivered to you. It is extremely important that it is truly of high quality: then the base will not crack or fall apart. The lumber should not have any knots or breaks.
  • Place the box along the edges of the trench without submerging it. The lumber box should be slightly larger than the width of the trench. Every meter on the walls of the box made of longitudinal boards, one transverse bar must be installed. Fasten the wooden "walls" on the sides with self-tapping screws.

  • Reinforce the trench by installing metal rods in it. They should be 10 cm distant from the wall and protrude 1.5 cm up.
  • Check the width of the box in several places. The distance between the walls must be the same everywhere, otherwise the foundation will not be perfectly flat. Cover the inner walls made of wood with roofing material.
  • Install the vents by placing them across the borders of the duct above the trench. Thanks to them, the air will constantly and freely circulate under the bath.

  • Fill the foundation. You can use a special machine for this, or you can simply throw concrete into the trench and box with a shovel. In the process of laying the mortar, be sure to level the places in which the concrete has already "grabbed" and went bumps. This is done in order to completely level the foundation.
  • Leave the foundation to dry for 30 days. If there is a concern that precipitation will fall, then cover the structure with polyethylene, otherwise just leave it to dry in the open air.

How to build?

After the foundation has been erected and dried, it is time to build the bathhouse itself. Note that it will take some time after the logs are felled. Only then will they be as well suited for construction as possible.

To build a bathhouse with your own hands and at the same time do everything right, use the following instructions.

  • One row of logs in a building erected from a log house is called a crown. The first crown should be as strong and evenly laid as possible, since it bears the rest of the load. Therefore, a blockhouse is chosen from hard species: oak or larch. Only such rocks have a sufficient margin of safety to withstand the weight of the entire structure and heat and moisture loads, while not cracking. For the first crown, it is permissible to use large diameter logs.

  • The first crown is laid on a foundation equipped with waterproofing. It is extremely important to pay special attention to the treatment of logs with all kinds of antiseptics and moisture-repellent impregnations. The lower part must be cut to ensure maximum adherence of the log house to the foundation. When laying, you can use the method "in the bowl" or in the paw, as well as "in the field". The marking process and manual felling technology are shown in the following pictures. The depth of the groove depends on the ambient temperature in winter: the colder it is in the region in which you live, the deeper the groove must be.

  • When laying, keep in mind which side the log is located on. So, its north side should be located outside, and the south - inside. The side is determined by the growth rings on the cut: they are thinner on the north side. This feature is due to the fact that the tree on the north side is more resistant to negative influences and less prone to warping, so the likelihood that the log will crack or rot is minimized. A bathhouse built in this way will be able to stand many times longer - from 50 years.

  • Since the timber cannot be of the same thickness on both sides, it is placed with the thinner side in one direction or the other. This helps keep the top edge horizontal. After the walls are laid out, it is necessary to dig them in - to plug up all the cracks and gaps. Caulking can only be done with some suitable materials: hemp fiber, dried moss, linen tow, felt. These materials will perfectly withstand the shrinkage process, while they will not lose their properties over time. The bath is caulked in a circle, "passing" gradually along all the seams from top to bottom. If the caulking is carried out first on one wall, then on the other, and so on, then the bathhouse can "lead".

  • The top crown, also called the mauerlat, must be chosen as carefully as the first. Mauerlat will continue to hold the roof, ceiling and, in general, the entire rafter system.

Roof

The roof is being built over the log bath in the same year. It can be both temporary and permanent, but it is extremely important to build it within this time frame. It is best to choose a roof of a simple structure, for example, a gable. Superfluous delights will be useless. A small attic must be left under the roof, but it is important to ensure that it is well ventilated.

Depending on the snow load, the distance is determined, on which the rafters are located from each other. Usually the step is 1-, 15 m. If you plan to equip the attic for a room or you just want to insulate it, then select the distance between the rafters depending on how wide the insulation slabs will be.

To install the rafters, it is necessary to cut from into the upper crown - the Mauerlat. It turns out that the upper crown, as it were, serves as a support for the rafters.

The rafters are connected to each other at the top. Then you can start forming the roof itself. First you need to make a crate for a gable roof. An example of how she looks is shown in the photo below.

Any waterproofing material, for example, roofing felt, is placed on the crate. It will protect the tree that has not yet had time to properly sit down from getting wet.

Only after the construction of the waterproofing layer can the topcoat be laid. It depends on the project and is usually chosen for aesthetic reasons. Ondulin, slate, metal tiles, corrugated board and others can be cited as examples.

Since the main functions of the roof are protective, then after its equipment, you can safely proceed to finishing work, including making floors.

While gable roofs are usually chosen, there are cases where a pitched roof structure is more acceptable.

The choice of this or that option depends on a number of factors.

  • The location of the bath. The wooden structure can be either freestanding or attached. In the second case, the option with a pitched roof is more relevant.
  • Finance. The construction of a gable roof is much cheaper than a gable roof, and many choose this option in order to save money, even though it does not look so attractive outwardly.
  • The presence of an attic. So, if its equipment is planned, then it is best to make a gable roof, otherwise you can successfully do with a gable structure.

Gable roofs with a high ridge look most attractive on log baths. Having insulated such a roof, you can make an additional room: a recreation area, a billiard room, a room for storing towels and other bath accessories. If you do not insulate the space, you can also use it, adapting it for storing brooms, for example. Shed roofs are usually made almost flat, practically without a slope, which fundamentally affects the fact that no room can be equipped under them.

Insulation

A log bath is insulated both from the inside and outside. In theory, a variety of synthetic materials can be used for insulation, most of all resembling foam. However, it should be borne in mind that during the construction of insulation, the lion's share of the beneficial qualities of bath procedures is lost. This is due to the fact that the vapor barrier does not allow the walls to "breathe", so that the microclimate created in the steam room cannot be called useful.

Among the materials for insulation there are those that should not be used. One of them is waterproof foam, which contributes to the creation of a greenhouse effect in the steam room. This also includes synthetic polystyrene: during the heating process, it evaporates highly toxic substances that are dangerous to humans. Mineral wool is also a bad option as it cannot withstand high humidity. Plastic-based materials, when heated over 60 degrees, quickly collapse. It can be concluded that synthetic compounds are not suitable for insulating a log bath.

It is necessary to use only natural insulation.

  • Tow. This material is used for insulation quite often. This is due to its excellent thermal insulation properties, low price, as well as a convenient form of sale in rolls. It is very easy to lay tow between logs. The insulation procedure with this material takes a little time, and the result exceeds all expectations.
  • Ecowool. The advantage of the material is that it can be used to regulate the humidity level in the steam room. This environmentally friendly material is able to absorb excess moisture when there is too much of it, and give it away when there is not enough. Thus, the most comfortable microclimate is guaranteed. Among other things, ecowool perfectly insulates, "locking" the heat in the room.

  • Jute. Another name for jute is felt or linen. The material consists of a mixture of linen and jute fibers. It has increased strength characteristics, is denser, which makes it an excellent choice for insulating a log bath. Felt does not rot, insects grow in it, and the material is also heat-resistant.
  • Moss. Since moss is difficult to work with, it is rarely chosen. Only a professional is able to carry out work on insulation with moss correctly and quickly. Nevertheless, moss perfectly protects against heat loss, it is completely natural, environmentally friendly, so some people still prefer it.

The bath must be insulated. This is done in order to keep heat loss to a minimum, otherwise you will have to constantly turn on the oven at full power. It will quickly fail and you will have to make repairs. It is much more correct and cheaper to immediately properly insulate a wooden bath, thereby reducing all possible negative consequences.

Finishing

By and large, finishing the bath from logs is not required. This is due to the fact that she already looks aesthetically attractive and neat. Nevertheless, many ordinary log walls seem boring and they think about how to update the interior design.

Any work on the design of the bath should be postponed until the moment when the structure completely shrinks. The interior decoration of the steam room, if it is planned, must be carried out only with the help of environmentally friendly and natural materials. Also, do not use metal parts, as they will become scalding hot when heated. This will increase the risk of injury. This partially applies to fasteners, but if it is not possible to use wooden ones, then galvanized metal must be buried.

For interior decoration of a bath from a bar, a lining is perfect. It needs to be subjected to additional processing, well impregnated with antiseptic compounds. As for wood, linden and larch are optimal for a steam room. They do not heat up, so even if the temperature is very high in the steam room, you will not get burned. Coniferous lining cannot be used: when warming up, the tree gives a resin that can severely burn the skin. Alternatively, you can combine wood species, but this option is only appropriate for horizontal installation and is done for smell, and not for practical reasons.

Most often, the vertical method of placing the lining is used to cover the steam room from the inside. To begin with, they make a special marking, the walls are covered with waterproofing, and only after that the lining is installed.

You can also use a cladding board for interior decoration. It is a versatile material, moreover, it is extremely resistant to all "bath" negative influences: high temperatures and humidity. The tiles are easy to maintain and durable, besides, by laying out the bath with tiles, you will get the most unusual structure of all.

The walls must first be insulated from moisture, and then a special plaster mesh must be attached to them. Next, you need to plaster everything. The tile is laid on the glue mortar. Be sure to wipe the seams with a water-repellent and antiseptic compound in order to achieve a presentable look for many years.

Outside, timber baths are usually sheathed with siding. So they are protected from many climatic influences, including rain and frost. Siding will definitely need to be left for a couple of days, having previously spread it on a flat surface. So they get rid of kinks and bends. It's important to keep an eye on which siding you choose: you need a moisture resistant option.

To lay the siding, the walls are grounded, crate is made. It is also necessary to make additional insulation. Waterproofing is done with a special film. After that, the elements are attached, leaving a small gap between the insulation and the finishing cladding itself. All work is carried out from the bottom up. At the end, platbands are installed.

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