Floor arrangement in a wooden steam bath. DIY sauna floors

After assembling the log house and installing doors and windows, you need to think about installing the floor covering. How to make the floor in the bath in various ways, we will tell you in this article. Observing all the stages, you can complete the work without errors and with high quality.

Planning or choosing the type of flooring for the bath

Before installing the floor in the bath, you need to decide what it will be: wooden or screed. Several factors influence the choice:

1. The type of material from which the floor joists are made.
2. The material from which the bath is built.
3. What is the planned drain system.
4. The purpose of the premises (steam room and washing room combined or separate, use dry steam or wet, etc.)
5. The material side.

Wooden floor - features and purpose

The wooden floor in saunas is used in most cases. Such popularity is associated with the availability of material and the speed of installation (no need to take technical breaks in work). You can buy pre-treated and dried floorboards or logs. And the installation process is simple, and even a beginner, after reading the step-by-step instructions, will be able to lay the floor. Of course, mistakes are made in any work, but if you watch a thematic video and read the article to the end, you can handle it. It is difficult to carry out the flooring alone, so it is better to look for 1-2 assistants.

For a bath, there are several ways of laying floors, but the simplest:

• "Cold" flowing;
• "Warm" not leaking.

Let's consider each in more detail.

Cold floor - design features

Boards of "cold" coating are laid with a gap of 4–5 mm. It is necessary so that moisture does not accumulate in the baths, but flows into the underground. Since the floor of such a structure is always cold, it is recommended to use it only in the southern regions of the country or for a bath at a summer cottage.

The structure cannot be insulated, so it will not be comfortable to use the bath in cold weather. Of course, there is an option when the flooring is raised above the level of the cushion under the stove, and special ventilation is made. So the floor heats up during the heating and dries quickly. We will talk in more detail about how to do this with your own hands in one of the following articles.

"Warm" floor - design features

The warm version is mounted from boards tightly adjacent to each other, which have a slight slope. The slope is mounted to a special drain, which, in turn, is mounted in a collection where all moisture accumulates. From there, water flows out by gravity through inclined pipes, outside the bath. This construction resembles a "pie". The upper boards are laid on the rough bottom boards, insulation is placed between them. It is hidden from moisture and steam is made into insulation.

The main advantages of this design:

1. moisture does not accumulate near the foundation;
2. the floor is additionally insulated, which means it will warm up;
3. due to the special drainage system, the floorboards will last longer.

Concrete screed in a bath-features and purpose

Screed floors in a bath is a more laborious process that requires some skill and theoretical knowledge. Concrete screed for the bath floor can be done in several ways: pouring directly onto the ground, screed on the subfloor. It is easier to perform the first method on your own.

Screed on the ground - features

A concrete screed is performed on previously removed soil and a sand cushion (similar to that shown in the photo). After drying, the coating looks unsightly and needs a finish. Of course, you can simply paint the floor with paint, but since the bath will be constantly heated to high temperatures, the chemical compounds in the use of the bath are undesirable. The easiest way is to install ceramic tiles or natural stone. But both options are costly and time consuming.

Recently, the know-how of “warm floor” has been used in concrete screed. It comes in infrared, water and cable. But laying in damp rooms requires special knowledge, therefore it is not recommended to do it yourself.

When using a concrete screed in a bath, it is important to properly waterproof and insulate the floor. Insulation is made of polymeric material, for example PSB-S-35. Material price from 70 rubles.

Installation of flooring in baths and saunas

Any of the options under consideration is suitable for a bath in a private house or summer cottage. And how to make the coating correctly, observing the basic rules and features of the technology, we will tell you in more detail.

Installation of a "cold" leaking floor

As lags for a leaking floor, you can use metal or wooden sticks of rectangular or rounded cross-section. You need to choose depending on the material from which the log house was built. So, for a bath from a bar, it is better to use a tree with a cross section of at least 100 mm.

Before laying, the logs must be treated with antiseptics and impregnations. Used machine oil is used as an economy. Antiseptics take any, but it is better for direct use "for baths."

Before laying the wood, it is dried to a moisture content of less than 12–10%, or it is purchased ready-made, chamber drying.

Laying the base under the floor

The installation of the lag must be carried out parallel to the wall, which has a shorter length. To give rigidity, reinforced concrete columns are poured under them, the distance between them should not be more than 1 m.They are laid out in the following stages:

• at the installation sites, the top layer of soil is removed and a cushion of crushed stone and sand (10-15 cm) and reinforced mesh is filled;
• columns of red brick are laid out or pieces of reinforced concrete slab are laid;
• the structure is waterproofed with bitumen mastic.

If the foundation for the bath was columnar, then the level of the lag should be parallel and equal in level to the embedded log. With a strip - the top of the foundation.

On top of the pillars, waterproofing is laid in 2 layers and logs are mounted. They need to be placed leaving a distance of at least 4-5 cm from the main walls, from all sides, these gaps are needed for ventilation.

Installation of a drain in the underground

It is necessary to implement a system that will quickly remove excess water, and will not allow it to accumulate near the foundation. To do this, you need to study the soil, since the design will depend on the absorption of moisture:

• With well-absorbed soil, the top layer is removed along the entire perimeter of the bath and a cushion of crushed stone with a minimum thickness of 250 mm is poured. It is used as a filter. Moisture will pass through the filter and be absorbed into the soil. This is the easiest way.
• With poorly absorbing soil, a 10 ° slope is made towards a specially prepared drain (a hole at least 30–40 cm deep, in which a PVC pipe for drainage with a diameter of 15 cm, covered with crushed stone, is laid). In order for the water to drain more evenly, the soil can be covered with clay and tamped.

Laying floorboards

Floor boards can be used even not edged, the main thing is to level and trim them. Laying begins from the wall, stepping back 2 cm. In relation to the lags, the laying is perpendicular.

You can fasten boards to the logs with self-tapping screws or nails at an angle of 45 °. To make the gaps between the boards the same, use pieces of plywood 3-5 mm thick.

Installation of a "warm" non-leaking floor

Lags under the structure are laid in the same way as in the first case. To organize the slope of the floor, you need to make cuts of 2-4 mm in each log, except for those located near the walls.

Installation of the drain system

A pit of 400x400 mm and a depth of 300 mm is used as a water intake (the design diagram is in the photo above). You need to dig it between the two supports. For waterproofing, a “clay castle” is made in the reservoir, or the walls are poured with concrete and coated with bitumen.

At the bottom, stepping back 2 cm, a drain pipe is mounted, which must be laid at an angle. A PVC pipe with a cross section of at least 15 cm is suitable for this.

Laying floorboards

The installation of the floor begins with a rough bottom layer. To fix it on the beams, 50x50 mm bars are attached on both sides along the entire length. Rough boards are laid on these bars; you can use any remaining after construction, even a small round timber. From the top of the beam, you need to retreat at least 60 mm, it depends on the thickness of the proposed insulation, it should not overlap the upper part of the log.

Waterproofing is spread on top of the subfloor. it must be laid with an overlap, and the joints must be fastened with bitumen mastic or adhesive tape (depending on the type of waterproofing). Insulation is placed on top of the waterproofing (mineral wool, ecowool, expanded clay, sawdust with PVA, etc.). The insulation must be protected by covering it with a layer of vapor barrier.

The vapor barrier is laid with an overlap of 15 cm, attached to the logs with a construction stapler.

A finishing board is mounted on top. it is better to use tongue and groove with tongue and groove. This will prevent water from getting between the boards. It is better to mount the boards by putting each subsequent one on a spike, so there is less chance of spoiling the lock connection. A pipe is mounted in an inclined drain, the end of which will go into the catchment.

It is important to leave a ventilated gap of at least 10 - 15 mm between the main coating and the insulation, where an additional exhaust pipe is brought out.

It is better to use products that are resistant to water as floorboards for a bath, for example, larch, aspen. Otherwise, the floor will quickly rot, which will never happen with a concrete screed.

Installation of a concrete screed - features of installation in a bath

The top layer of soil is removed along the entire inner perimeter, at least 30-40 cm. The soil is rammed. 100 mm of coarse sand is placed on top. Then a layer of crushed stone 200 mm and two layers of roofing material. At the same time, it is important to leave a place for future acceptance before filling the sand.

The next step is to dig out a place for acceptance, its walls must be concreted to a thickness of at least 50 mm. From above it is covered with rubble and a drain pipe is removed. Only then can you start screed.

Pouring screed on the floor of the bath

The screed is installed in the following stages:

1. The first layer is poured with concrete to a height of 5 - 6 cm, it is allowed to dry out (but not completely dry);
2. A layer of PSB-S-35 thermal insulation is spread (you can take any thickness, standard 5 and 10 cm);
3. To give rigidity, a reinforced mesh is laid;
4. A 6 - 9 cm finishing layer of concrete is poured. To harden it, the finishing layer should be poured at an angle of 10 - 15 ° towards the drain where the pipe is mounted.

From above, the concrete screed is decorated with tiles, there are many of them in construction centers, the price starts from 210 rubles / m2. You can think over your own design and choose a coating for it. All depending on the size of the wallet and imagination.

How to make a floor in a bath with your own hands photos and videos

How to make a floor in a bathhouse, detailed instructions and a description of all work with photos and videos, features of various structures made of wood and concrete screed

Bath floor: 3 materials and DIY work

The floors deserve special attention in the process of arranging the baths. There are a lot of pleasures outside the city: fishing, summer cottages, hiking with tents and picking mushrooms with berries and, of course, a bathhouse. When building a bath, it is important to take into account its huge difference from, for example, a country house and other premises. The bath requires a large margin of safety and the ability to remove moisture. From a large steam exposure, not only the walls, but also the floor of the bath can rot and become unusable, thereby creating a danger to others. Therefore, it is necessary to consider many options for the correct construction of a floor that will not rot, but provide water drainage. Before making the floor in the bath with your own hands, it is better to study the step-by-step guide in order to avoid wrong actions and costly consequences.

What is better to make a floor in a bath

The main and most important requirement for the bath floor is warmth. The floor needs to be made very warm, because after steam procedures, and even on time, no one will like to step on a cold floor. The warm floor will not cause any unpleasant sensation, therefore, the choice of material is treated with great demands, it should easily conduct heat. Concrete floors are best covered with decking, other materials have their own characteristics.

Laying floors is the most critical stage in the construction of any building

What materials are used to make the floor in the bath:

1. The flooring is made of wood. Pines, fir, spruce or larch are selected. The high quality of coniferous trees is especially noted. Because of the resin, they last longer than others. Coniferous wood floors do not slip at all, have healing properties and a great smell.
2. Ceramic floor. This floor, unlike wooden planks, lasts a long time and does not rot. But it gets very hot. In order not to get hit by heat, wooden grates are placed on the tiles, which can be easily removed and dried. Tiled floors are preferred in the house, but they are also suitable for a bath. The scheme of their installation is simple, and if the heat comes from the stove, then you can successfully beat the interior. This is a very practical material.
3. Concrete floors. To lay the concrete floor correctly, you need to be very careful. It is not recommended to lay a concrete floor in a regular bath room, where, for example, it is customary to drink tea.

But in the steam room, it can be quite acceptable. The construction of a concrete floor begins after the floor has been compacted with rubble and sand. Insulation comes from thermal insulation with felt or expanded clay. Observe the slope to collect water and waste it. The floorboard is interchangeable and can be easily removed and reworked. Concrete pavement will be more difficult to clean and make mistakes. Concrete floor structures should have a small ventilation opening.

This will save the floor from rotting, and the bath from the terrible smell. For a warmer floor, concrete is laid in several layers.

The floors in the bath are distinguished according to the place of their use. In the steam room, shower and other rooms. In the shower, it is more common to make a tile floor with water insulation. It is not profitable to make wooden floors in a shower room because high humidity will quickly ruin the material. The floors in a sauna or steam room are more suitable for wood and tiles, and in other rooms, which are drier, you can also lay a laminate, as long as the room is not very humid. Therefore, which floors are needed for the room are selected depending on its purpose.

Concrete floor in a wooden bath and its advantages

The floor in the bath practically does not heat up above 35 degrees. Therefore, it is not recommended to get up on the concrete floor after the steam room, you can get heatstroke. That is why wooden gratings are laid on the concrete floor. They do not require much maintenance and are easy to clean, and safety is paramount.

The most important thing is that your floor is always warm, because when using water treatments, I think you will not like to step barefoot on a cold flooring

What are the advantages of a concrete floor:

• Absolute resistance to damp air and sudden temperature changes;
• Weakly prone to decay;
• Moisture does not destroy concrete;
• Easy care;
• Concrete can be beautifully beaten in the interior.

Making a concrete floor in a wooden bath is quite simple. Concrete floors are placed on logs on top of the ground. Logs are best made of wood. The timber is fixed to the lag, making a kind of strip. After treating logs and other wooden materials with an antiseptic, they put a rough floor (use a board). A hole is made in this floor to drain the water. The subfloor is finished with waterproofing, then with insulation, then again with waterproofing. A mesh of reinforcement is placed on top of it, the slope is set towards the drain and the concrete screed is poured with concrete, observing the angle of inclination. For a wooden bath, a larger amount of insulation is needed, so in this case there are two of them.

Regular floor in a bathhouse made of boards: which type of wood is most suitable

By making wooden floors in the bath, you can quite successfully create the atmosphere of a country house for steam procedures and meeting with friends over a cup of tea after the good and healing effects of a broom in the steam room. The smell of the bathhouse, the smell of wood and leaves, floors with wood ornaments and their naturalness have a particularly positive effect on those around them.

In the bath, it is best to make the floor from such tree species as fir, pine, larch or spruce.

1. Pine breeds. Very easy to handle and inexpensive. Deformation is eliminated by proper drying of the wood. But there is a drawback: pine boards quickly rot if exposed to moisture. Accordingly, fungi and other organisms develop at a breakneck pace. Therefore, pine is preferred to be used for logs in the construction of bath floors.
2. Aspen and linden. They are inexpensive, but darken after exposure to temperature. The healing properties have been famous for several years, and the ornament of this tree species creates a sauna atmosphere. Very frequent processing is needed.
3. Cedar tree. Solid wood. In appearance, it has a great advantage over other types of wood. There is practically no rotting. Expensive.

Also, the floors in the bath are made of larch, oak and other types of wood. The criterion for choosing boards for the floor in the bath depends not only on finances. It is very important here to take into account the peculiarities of the room where the floor is laid. It is necessary to take into account the resistance to water, density and the possibility of decay.

How to make a floor in a bath: the specifics of wood material

When installing a wooden floor, it's not just the design that needs to be considered. A beautiful interior does not always mean quality material. Therefore, a wooden floor in a bathhouse can last a long time if certain nuances are observed.

The design of the sauna floor and its implementation are of decisive importance.

Features of the wooden floor in the bath:

1. Compliance with the rules of acclimatization. Boards must "get used" to the temperature and humidity of the room where they will be installed. Therefore, they are left there for a couple of days.
2. You need to treat the boards with an antiseptic. This will exclude the formation of fungus and rotting. All wood floor elements, even logs, need to be processed.
3. Compliance with the rules for installing the floor. The technological difference between leaking and non-leaking floors has long been known. The floor is laid in the bath in compliance with the installation scheme. It is important to remember to observe the angle of inclination for non-leaking floors or gaps for leaking ones.

If you treat things carefully and carefully, take care of their appearance in a timely manner and observe safety rules, then they can serve a long and long service, especially if it is such a pleasant thing as a bathhouse.

Warm floor in the bath from the stove: water heating scheme

Bath floors can be heated not only with insulation. They can be heated with a stove.

Don't rush to buy an electric underfloor heating system if you have a stove in the facility. You can make a water floor heating

Scheme of heating floors in a bath using a stove:

• The first rough screed is placed to exclude curvature and distortions;
• The second layer is laid with a waterproofing sheet, which helps to exclude the possibility of condensation;
• The third step is to lay a reinforcing mesh over the heat insulation material;
• A substrate is installed for the desired heat reflection;
• The location of the heating main itself;

Pouring the entire screed with a slight angle of inclination of the surface and laying the coating for a perfect interior.

Choosing the floor for the bath, installing it, observing all the installation rules and taking care of the material, the consumer not only gets an additional corner in the fresh air, but also new leisure time. A large number of gatherings with loved ones can be in such a bath, with a warm floor.

DIY bath floor design (interior photo)

Bath floor: how to do it yourself, step-by-step guide, which is better, the floor from the stove, concrete scheme

The floor in the bath will help direct the bath procedures in the right direction. But how to choose the most rational material for the floor and what is more reliable: concrete or wood.

Bath floor - different options for arranging a quality base

Special attention should be paid to the arrangement of the floor in a private steam room. The level of comfort during use and the functionality of the bath directly depends on how competently its design will be thought out and implemented.

Materials for arranging floors in the steam room - what to use?

The floor base in the bath performs several important functions at once. It not only ensures the safety of a person's movement while taking water procedures, but also is part of the water removal system. A properly constructed floor in the bath does not wear out prematurely, does not rot due to high humidity, effectively retains heat in the room. In private steam rooms, the bases of interest to us are most often made of wood and concrete. Brick coatings are used much less often. They are expensive and quite difficult to arrange with your own hands.

If you want to build a capital bathhouse of stone or brick with a rest room, a separate steam room, a washing room, a dressing room and use it all year round, experts advise you to opt for a concrete base. It must be equipped with a well-thought-out water drainage system and effective waterproofing. But for small banks, operated exclusively in the summer, simpler wooden floors are suitable. They are built much faster and easier, are environmentally friendly, and have a very presentable appearance.

Bath wood floors are short-lived

Wood bases have been used for a very long time. They create special comfort in the steam room, saturate the room with pleasant natural aromas, make each bath procedure a small holiday for the true Russian soul. True, there are many disadvantages of wooden floors. The durability of such structures is poor. No matter how hard you try to protect wood from the harmful effects of water, it will quickly lose its initial performance characteristics. Therefore, be prepared for the fact that after a while you will have to remodel the wooden floors in the steam room.

Concrete structures are much more preferable in terms of durability. They are not afraid of water and steam, temperature drops.

Concrete products withstand even the most challenging operating conditions. On average, such bases are used for 40–45 years without additional repairs. Immediately, we note the obvious disadvantages of concrete coatings. They are very cold (for this reason, a suitable finishing material, for example, tiles, is laid on top of them), laborious to install with their own hands, require a serious investment of time and financial resources.

Concrete base - we build for centuries!

The floor for a concrete bath is, in fact, an ordinary screed. It is made from a solution in which there is sand, cement and some special fillers (crushed stone, natural marble chips, gravel and others). We advise you not to bother mixing the required ingredients to obtain a concrete composition, but immediately purchase the ready-made mixture at the nearest building store. Factory-made sand-cement compositions in dry form are completely ready for use. They only need to be diluted with plain water in the recommended volume, thoroughly mixed with a perforator with a nozzle, and then used as directed.

If the screed will serve as a finishing floor covering, or a simple flooring of boards will be mounted on it, there is no need to add any special components to the purchased mixture. For cases when it is planned to lay tiles on top of the concrete pavement, it is advisable to add a little anhydrite with gypsum to the cement-sand composition. It's even easier to buy a self-leveling compound created specifically for such cases.

The concrete base for the bath can be mounted on logs or directly on the ground. The first stage of work is the arrangement of an elementary system for water removal. It consists of an intermediate tank (this role is usually played by a small pit 0.4x0.4x0.3 m, dug in the ground) and two pipes. The walls and bottom of the pit should be concreted and a pipe product with a section of 20 cm should be brought to it. Its other end is taken out into an autonomous septic tank on the site or into a gutter. We put another pipe from the pit into the bath. It is advisable to equip this part of the system with a valve that prevents the penetration of unpleasant odors into the steam room.

Next, we prepare the platform for the screed. We remove the upper layer of soil, pour sand into the resulting pit, ram it, pour brick or gravel on top. We should have a layer of about 0.25 m. Add 10 cm of crushed stone on top. Once again we ram the whole cake and fill it with a sand-cement mixture (about 5-6 cm thick). An important nuance! The concrete layer must have a slight slope towards the pit-reservoir.

When the solution hardens, lay mineral wool or polystyrene on it (you can pour a layer of expanded clay, perlite). These materials play the role of an effective insulation. Be sure to put waterproofing under the foam and cotton wool (it is most reasonable to use roofing material). We cover the thermal insulation with the same material. Then we mount the metal mesh (wire). It makes it possible to perform high-quality reinforcement.

Concrete can also be used as a top floor covering

The main screed can now be poured. We serve the solution from the far corner and gradually approach the exit from the steam room. When pouring, the composition is necessarily leveled (you need to work with an assistant). We perform this operation with a trowel. And to tighten the concrete in a circular motion, we use the rule. After 2-3 days, the screed will harden. Planks or tiles can be laid on it. We mount the finishing with a two-centimeter slope towards the drain. If concrete is planned to be used as a topcoat (you can do that), just carefully level and grind its surface. But remember that such a floor in a private bath will be cold. In winter, it is problematic to use a steam room with it.

Leaking wood floor - acceptable quality with minimal labor

You can make a floor in a bathhouse made of wood using two technologies. The first involves the construction of leaking foundations, the second - non-leaking. Advice. If you have little experience in performing construction work, it is better to erect leaking floors. They are made in the form of a flooring made of boards, between which gaps are specially left. Through them, the used water goes into the ground. Thermal insulation of such structures is not performed, the sewer system is not being built. Instead of the latter, a simple drainage pit is used. It is being dug under the bathhouse.

You can make a floor in a bath of this type according to the following algorithm:

1. 1. Level the plot of land, fill it with a layer of gravel, which should be well tamped.
2. 2. We prepare wooden logs (cut to the required size, apply an antiseptic composition) and support pillars for them.
3. 3. We mount the processed logs on the supports, keeping the distance between the individual elements at the level of 0.5 m.
4. 4. Laying the boardwalk. We leave 2–3 mm gaps between the bathhouse wall, the floor and the boards to be installed.

Leaking subfloors imply gaps between planks

It is not necessary to fix the flooring elements to the joists. The described coating is recommended to be regularly removed and taken out in the sun to dry. If necessary, it is possible to replace rotten boards at any time. The service life of the described floor structure is 4–6 years. Then you have to build a new one. Such leaking floors are best used in the country, where you visit from time to time and rarely use the steam room.

There is another way to arrange simple plank coverings. It is less difficult to execute. After preparing a plot of land, beams with a cross section of 10x10 to 15x15 cm should be placed around the perimeter of the foundation. Be sure to apply an antiseptic on them! We install logs on the beams, fix them, and mount the flooring from the boards on top.

Both types of leaking floors can be constructed from hardwood and softwood. It is not recommended to lay oak boards. They become very slippery when wet. It is better to opt for products made from pine, linden or larch. The last option is considered the most optimal. One more nuance. The flooring is made of planed edged boards 4–5 cm thick. Thinner products will not last long in high humidity conditions.

Non-leaking wood floor - environmentally friendly and reliable enough

Now we will try to make a non-leaking base correctly. It will take more time to build such a structure. But the result of the work will also be of higher quality. Leak-proof wooden floors are suitable for year-round steam rooms. The design of such bases requires the arrangement of a rough intermediate coating and the mandatory installation of a heat-insulating layer. Due to this, the service life of such structures reaches 10–12 years.

We build a non-leaking floor in the bath according to the step-by-step guide given below:

1. 1. We make a pit-reservoir, we lay pipes for drains by analogy with the arrangement of drainage for concrete pavements.
2. 2. Preparing the site. We remove the layer of earth, cover the cleaned area with sand and gravel. We ram each layer of material. If desired, fill in a concrete screed (5–6 cm). This part of the operation is optional. If you want to save time and money, skip it.
3. 3. Cover the floor base with a waterproofing layer. In this case, roofing material will be the best protector against moisture.
4. 4. We carry out insulation using polystyrene or expanded clay. Mineral wool is not used for thermal insulation of non-leaking bases.
5. 5. We install the logs with a step of 0.5 m on the pre-assembled beams. For the manufacture of the latter, you need to use bars 10x20 cm. The fastening of these supports, as you remember, is carried out along the perimeter of the foundation.

Then we mount the intermediate base. We fix the rough floor from the bottom of the beams. We cover it with an additional heat-insulating layer (mounted on roofing felt). On top of the insulation, we lay another layer of waterproofing material. The last stage of work is the installation of a finished floor. We install it with a slope, lay the boards close to each other. The finishing coating is attached to the logs with nails or self-tapping screws.

We take boards for non-leaking floors grooved, 3-5 cm thick. We make the logs from wooden bars with dimensions of 5x7 cm. Pay attention! The lower edge of the floor base made of wood must rise 10–20 cm above the level of the base (its upper edge) of the bath. We hope our instructions will help you build a truly durable steam room floor.

How to make a bath floor with your own hands: a step-by-step guide

Bath floor - different options for arranging a high-quality base Floor arrangement in a private steam room should be given special attention. From how competently it will be thought out and implemented

How to make the correct floor in the bath with your own hands: instructions

The floor in the bath is distinguished by its structure only in the steam room and the washing room. The rest of the bath rooms are operated in the usual humidity regime. In the article, we will take a closer look at the device of floors in the steam room and talk about how to lay them with your own hands.

The choice of floor design for the steam room and sink

Wooden floors are the usual solution. Their main advantage is the healthy properties of wood, environmental friendliness and practicality. Despite the relatively low service life of wooden floors in a steam room, they are not so difficult to change, and the total costs will still be lower than the arrangement of a concrete floor.

In the steam room and the washing room, a fair amount of water is constantly on the floor, which should be discharged into a pit, a drainage system, or simply into the ground under the bath. Structurally, to solve this problem, wood floors are divided into leaking and non-leaking.

The leaking floor provides for a gap between the boards. Water seeps freely into the underground space. Further, it is absorbed into the soil, if its filtering capacity allows it, or it is diverted into a pit, for which a clay castle or a concrete base is formed with a slope to one side.

The second option is a non-leaking floor in wet areas of the bath. Such a floor is made with a non-removable covering and is replaced only at the end of its service life. The slope for collecting and draining water is provided here along the surface of the floor covering towards the tray or funnel.

The floor with a removable covering can and even should be dried regularly, by disassembling it, while the bath is not in use. Fixed floors, due to their susceptibility to rotting at high humidity, are completely replaced approximately once every 7–8 years.

The concrete base under the leaking wooden floor in the bath significantly increases the durability of the structure, and also affects the comfort - even after many years there will be no musty smell from under the floor. However, the arrangement of a concrete base significantly increases the cost of arranging a bath, so if the parent soil under the building has a high drainage capacity, then it is easier to get by with the preparation of the filter layer.

Materials and tools

To cover the floor in the steam room and washing room, wooden elements made of deciduous (linden, aspen) and coniferous (pine, larch, cedar) wood are used. All wooden floor structures must be treated with antiseptics.

For the floor device you will need:

• wooden beam for logs 50 (100) x100 mm;
• floorboard 35 mm thick;
• cement M300, M400;
• medium fraction sand;
• expanded clay for the thermal insulation layer;
• ordinary clay brick for posts for logs;
• waterproofing (roofing material).

It is important to choose the right wood protection impregnation. It should be suitable specifically for baths because of the high temperature and humidity. The easiest way to treat wood is to impregnate it with sunflower oil in two steps.

Tool

The floors in the steam room are arranged using a tool for laying the concrete base on the ground and the wooden floor covering of the bath.

Tools for working with concrete. 1. Rake-trowel. 2. Grater for cement. 3. Trowel. 4. Ironer. 5. The flat iron is angular. 6. Rule. 7. Bubble level. 8. Pendulum profile

Woodworking tools. 1. Building corner. 2. Brace. 3. Hammer. 4. Electric plane. 5. Clamps. 6. Hacksaw for wood. 7. Bubble level. 8. Screwdriver. 9. Drill. 10. Circular saw machine

Leaky floor made of individual bevelled planks

To prepare the subgrade for the floor structure, it is imperative to remove the fertile layer, no matter how thick it is.

Leaking floor on top of a concrete base. 1. Ground. 2. Expanded clay concrete. 3. Cement screed. 4. Chute. 5. Brick column. 6. Waterproofing. 7. Lags. 8. Floor board

Leaking floor on the ground with filtering capacity. 1. Ground. 2. Sand pillow. 3. Gravel. 4. The foundation of the support pillar. 5. Brick post. 6. Waterproofing. 7. Lags. 8. Floor board

It is important at this stage to decide how and where the water will be drained outside the building. For this, a tray (200x150h mm) is provided in the concrete base, into which water flows. The bottom of the tray is made with a slope towards the drain pit (30x30x25h). It is better to locate the sump closer to the place of the external water collection. From the sump, water flows through a drain pipe into a water collector.

The slope of the surface for water drainage is 2–3 cm per meter towards the tray. It is created either by leveling the ground under the floor, or by filling (sand and gravel) under the concrete base. The overall floor level in the steam room and the washing room is reduced by 30 mm than in adjacent rooms with normal humidity.

A sand and gravel pad 10-15 cm thick is laid on the tamped soil. It is necessary to fill and tamp the sand in layers of no more than 5 cm, wetting it with water. Next, a heat-insulating layer of expanded clay concrete is laid. Roughly the consumption of raw materials per 1 m 3 of concrete is:

It is best to prepare a concrete solution in a concrete mixer or order

It is permissible to use another light filler (shungizite, perlite, expanded vermiculite, crushed stone of porous rocks, etc.). The thickness of the expanded clay concrete layer can be taken as 150 mm. Concrete is laid in strips no more than 2.5 m wide on a base moistened with water. To limit the stripes, slats are installed, they also serve as beacons to determine the thickness of the layer. The thicker the insulation layer, the warmer the floor.

The slope towards the gutter or funnel for collecting and draining water must be observed

A cement-sand screed 40 mm thick is laid on a layer of expanded clay concrete. The composition of the mortar (M100) cement / sand: one to three. Before the mortar sets, it is necessary to iron the surface with cement milk. Cement is mixed with water to form a liquid sour cream. The surface is covered with an even thin layer of the mixture. This is done to increase the waterproofing of the concrete base.

Under the logs, brick posts made of solid clay ordinary bricks (250x250 mm) on a cement-sand mortar are installed. The distance between the posts is 0.8–1.0 m in the center. 2 layers of roofing material are laid on their surface. Next, logs are laid. The floorboards of the leaking floor are chamfered at the edges for water drainage. The gap between the boards is 5–6 mm.

Important! Do not use silicate bricks, hollow stones, silicate blocks in damp and wet rooms.

This floor is made removable in order to be able to dry the floorboard to increase its lifespan. Boards can move when walking on them, they are often grabbed with nails, planting nests up to 5 mm deep are prepared in logs for them, or spacer strips are stuffed on the boards along the edges.

Leaky floor made of removable shields

Steam and soap room flooring can be made of removable wooden panels. Shield boards are laid with a gap on transverse bars of 50x50 mm. The size of the boards is taken for ease of removal and drying.

The floor structure is the same: compacted soil, compacted sand and gravel mixture, insulation - expanded clay concrete 150 mm thick. Ceramic floor tiles are laid on a cement-sand mortar 10-15 mm thick. The floor has a slope that is directed towards the drain pan. Removable shields are installed on the tiles so that the lower bars are located along the water drain.

Sequence of works for non-leaking floor

A non-leaking wooden floor assumes a continuous flooring of grooved boards along the joists. First, the location of the support posts is determined. They are located at a distance of 0.8–1.0 m from each other, measuring the distances along the centers. A concrete pillow 100 mm thick and 70 mm wider than the size of the column is prepared for each post.

Solid, leak-proof floor on top of the ground. 1. Ground. 2. Sand pillow. 3. Expanded clay or other bulk insulation material. 4. The foundation of the support pillar. 5. Brick column. 6. Waterproofing. 7. Lags. 8. Floor board

A continuous non-leaking floor must be installed with a slope. The gutter can be placed in one of the logs located close to the wall. 1. Ground. 2. Sand pillow. 3. Expanded clay or other bulk insulation material. 4. Brick post on a concrete base. 5. Chute. 6. Floor board

Supports for logs are made of concrete or ordinary clay brick on a cement-sand mortar. The size of the posts is 250x250 mm. The height of the supports should correspond to the upper edge of the embedded beam (columnar foundation), or to the top of the strip foundation.

The direction of laying the logs should be perpendicular to the direction of the water flow. Wooden elements are necessarily insulated from concrete or brick with two layers of waterproofing (roofing material). Expanded clay bedding with a thickness of 15 cm is made on the compacted soil.

A variant of the non-insulated floor is shown in the figure. In this case, the boards rest on one side of the wall log, on the other - on the log-groove. The top of the tray is covered with a wooden ladder.

The insulated floor assumes logs with cranial bars, to which the subfloor is attached. Next, a vapor barrier is laid (membrane, polyethylene, polypropylene film), a layer of heat insulator (mineral wool plate, foam plastic) is laid on it. Roll waterproofing (roofing felt) is laid along the heat-insulating layer.

Insulated non-leaking floor. 1. Soil, sand cushion and bulk insulation. 2. Brick post. 3. Logs and rough wood floor. 4. Insulation. 5. Logs and finishing floor, laid with a slope towards the gutter. 6. Chute. 7. A vapor-permeable membrane is laid on top of the subfloor, waterproofing is lined on top of the thermal insulation layer

There should be at least 3 cm clearance between the clean floor and the waterproofing. The size of the lag in this case is 100x170 mm. Skull block - 40x40 mm. For lags, only a solid bar must be used.

Grooved boards are laid on the logs. Boards are sewn with nails or self-tapping screws to the logs through the tongue. This method of joining the boards together is called "parquet". Its advantage is the absence of hats on the surface of the board.

Each board is attached to all logs. They should fit snugly against one another. The gap between the boards should not exceed 1 mm. Staples or clamps are used to rally the boards. Fastening nails are used 2–2.5 times longer than the thickness of the boards. The end of the plank floor does not reach the wall by 10–20 mm. In the future, the gap is covered with a plinth.

Water is drained from the floor surface due to the floor slope in two directions. A hole is made at the drain and a siphon is installed. The slope of the floor can be made by adjusting the height of the log.

How to make the correct floor in the bath with your own hands: instructions

The floor in the bath is distinguished by its structure only in the steam room and the washing room. The rest of the bath rooms are operated in the usual humidity regime. In the article, we will consider in detail the device of floors in the steam room and talk about

The bath belongs to "wet" rooms and all its structural elements should be built with this feature in mind. First of all, this applies to the floor in the steam room and the washing section, because it is he who is responsible for the drainage. Our conversation will focus on the types of floors for baths and on the technology of their construction with our own hands.

Types of floors for a bath

First of all, bath floors differ in material. As in living quarters, they can be:

The construction of a concrete floor is an expensive, lengthy and time-consuming process, but this option is also more durable: the service life is about 50 years. With a floor made of planks, the opposite is true: it is cheap, and you have to tinker less, but it will only last for 7–8 years. After this period, the wood will need to be replaced.

There are no outsiders among the specified types, and both are in high demand, so we will consider both options in detail.

Plank floor

Floors of this type are divided into two more types:

In the first case, the floor looks like a grate through which water flows directly onto the ground below it. This is the easiest and cheapest option. It is clear that with cracks in the floor, the bathhouse can only be operated in summer, that is, this design is most suitable for summer residents.

The non-leaking plank floor is continuous. They give it a slope towards one of the walls, along which a plastic gutter is installed to collect water. The gutter, in turn, has a slope towards the drain hole. Since wetting of the underground space with proper installation is excluded, insulation can be placed here, due to which this type of floor can be considered acceptable for baths operated all year round.

Selection of materials and calculation of their quantity

Both the leaking and non-leaking floor is a covering of boards laid on beams called logs. Lags, in turn, rest on a foundation or grillage (if the foundation is columnar), and, if necessary, also on intermediate posts. Before starting work on arranging a plank floor, you need to determine a number of parameters.

Section lag

The dimensions of the cross-section of the lag are selected taking into account the estimated distance between the supports. With a standard floor load (up to 300 kg / sq. M), the following relationship takes place:

• with a distance between the supports of 2 m: section dimensions - 110x60 mm;
• at 3 m: 150x80 mm;
• at 4 m: 180x100 mm;
• at 5 m: 200x150 mm;
• at 6 m: 220x180 mm.

If the distance between the walls exceeds the bearing capacity of the available timber, in the middle of the span, one or more intermediate supports, the so-called chairs, must be installed on the subgrade. Usually they are brick pillars with dimensions in the plan 250x250 mm, installed on a low concrete foundation with dimensions in terms of 350x350 mm.

There is also a simpler version of the "chair": an asbestos-cement pipe of sufficient diameter is driven into the ground, and then concrete or cement mortar is poured into it.

If a timber of a suitable thickness is not available, the logs can be made composite by installing several thinner boards next to it, which in total will give the required thickness. Since such a structure, unlike a solid bar, is not monolithic, its height should be taken 10–20 mm more than indicated in the list just given.

Step between lags

Knowing the step of installing the lag, the builder will be able to calculate the amount of timber for their manufacture and the amount of materials for the support posts.

The pitch will depend on the thickness of the finishing boards. You should be guided by this dependence:

For the manufacture of the flooring, a smoothly planed board of the 1st or 2nd grade should be used. Aspen is considered the most preferred species - it is resistant to moisture and is warm to the touch. Oak also tolerates high humidity, but it is colder.

You can also use conifers, but you need to be prepared for the fact that the resin protruding from them can appear in the form of ugly stains and even cause allergies in some users.

When calculating the number of boards for a leaking floor, you should take into account the width of the gap between them - 5-7 mm.

Do-it-yourself leaking plank floor for a sauna or bath: a step-by-step guide

The technology includes the following stages: preparation of the base, laying the logs and installation of the flooring.

Substrate preparation

The preparation method depends on what type of soil under the bath belongs to and how it was decided to dispose of the wastewater. There are two options:

• the soil has good drainage properties (sandy or stony);
• the soil passes water poorly (clay, loam, sandy loam).

In the first case, it is enough to arrange a filter of crushed stone or gravel under the floor, covered with a layer of 25 cm.The excavation should be carried out to such a depth that there is a distance of at least 10 cm from the top of the filter to the bottom of the log.

If the soil does not absorb water, do the following:

On the ground under the floor, they arrange a crushed stone pillow with a 10-degree slope towards the pit, and on top of it - one of two things:

• waterproof pallet made of roofing material, the sheets of which are welded or glued with bitumen mastic;
• clay castle 80–100 mm thick.

For the construction of the castle, you need to soak the clay with water and make a thick solution out of it. When laying, it must be carefully leveled, and then, when the coating dries slightly, iron it, slightly moistened with water.

Important! Before backfilling the rubble, do not forget to install support posts for the logs, if necessary, and the foundation for the stove.

Laying lag

The logs should be laid so that the long side of the cross-section is vertical. When installing a leaking floor, they are laid parallel to the shortest wall of the room. The lags should not touch directly the foundation or support posts. It is necessary to lay them on gaskets of 2 or 3 layers of roofing material coated with dissolved in diesel fuel or molten bitumen.

Advice. Anyone who is ready to spend a little more can be advised to use a modern waterproofing agent - eurobitum, as it is more effective.

Installation of flooring

As already mentioned, the boards of the final flooring are laid with a gap of 5–7 mm. It is advisable not to nail the flooring to the joists, but to make it in the form of several removable shields, nailing several boards to two crossbars. The latter are located so that when laying the shield, they are between the lags. The removable floor can be taken outside for drying, which will significantly extend its service life.

Important! The boards should not come close to the walls - there should be a gap of 20 mm around the perimeter of the flooring.

Note! It is important to provide in the basement of the bath, if it is continuous, holes (air vents) through which the underfloor space will be ventilated.

Leak-proof plank flooring

The flooring of a non-leaking floor is made of a grooved board, that is, one that has a groove at the edges and a corresponding ridge for a lock connection. Thanks to the lock, the coating is waterproof.

The step-by-step instructions are as follows:

1. As in the case of a non-leaking floor, a bedding 25 cm thick is arranged over the rammed soil, but since the non-leaking floor is insulated, it is better to use expanded clay instead of rubble. The soil must be removed to such a depth that a distance of at least 150 mm remains from the top of the backfill to the bottom of the wooden structures. Although the penetration of water into the underground space is excluded, in this case it must also be well ventilated, for which air vents must be arranged in the foundation. This will prevent the wood from rotting underneath.
2. We lay logs on the foundation and support posts. When installing a non-leaking floor, they should be directed across the water drain. With this design, moisture will flow along the boards along the wood fibers, that is, with minimal resistance.
3. Having exposed the lags, the so-called rough floor is nailed to them from below - a filing made of the cheapest, waste material, for example, a cut slab. In the future, a heat insulator will fit onto this structural element. It should also be pretreated with an antiseptic.
4. Further, the logs with a rough floor must be covered with a vapor barrier film. It is pressed into the gaps between the beams, as a result of which it fits both them and the hem. The edges of the foil should overlap the walls by about 100 mm.
5. Insulation is laid between the lags. In this case, it is better to use mineral wool in this capacity, since it is not of interest to rodents. If the foam is laid and the mice manage to get to it, which is very likely in a suburban area, they will gnaw out whole holes in this material.
6. From above, the insulation is covered with a film with hydro-vapor barrier properties. It also needs to be fired onto the wall.
7. On top of the log we fill a continuous flooring from a grooved board. Do not forget that a gap of 20 mm should be left around the entire perimeter. Each board is nailed to the logs with two nails, and they should be driven in at an angle of 45 degrees - then the boards will be pressed against each other as tightly as possible. At first, it is recommended to simply "grab" the boards, but the final fit and fixation is best done after finishing work is completed and the bathhouse is dried.

Note! Before laying the logs, you need to prepare in a special way, because it is with their help that a slope towards the gutter is formed. In the course of water movement, the wood is cut off from the beams, decreasing their height more and more, and in addition, the felling on one side is increased by 2-3 mm, so that the logs lie with some inclination. The slope should be 10 degrees. In addition, the wood must be impregnated with an antiseptic. Only an environmentally friendly antiseptic, for example, "Neomid 200", should be used to treat the boards of the bath floor.

After installing the final floor covering, you need to cut the film sticking out from under it and sew it to the walls.

Note! The wall cladding should lie on top of the plinth so that moisture flowing down them does not penetrate under it.

It remains to install an inclined gutter along one of the walls with a drain hole connected to the sewer.

Please note that a conventional odor trap is not suitable for a bath drain - it will dry out during long periods of inactivity. A so-called dry shutter should be used, the main element of which is a hollow light ball or a shutter made of floating material. Water entering the drain will cause the ball or flap to float, opening the drain hole. When the flow dries up, the shut-off element will lower under its own weight and close the hole, thus preventing the penetration of odors from the sewer.

Concrete base device

If you prefer a concrete floor, you need to do the following:

1. Thoroughly compact the soil base.
2. Top up and tamp a layer of expanded clay 150 mm thick.
3. Pour a concrete preparation with a thickness of 50 mm, having previously laid a mesh of thin reinforcement on the expanded clay.
4. Treat the corners between the walls and the floor with waterproofing mastic or lay a strip of roofing material in this place, so that 500 mm of its width falls on the wall, and 200 mm - on the floor. It is recommended to apply such protection after each layer - it will not allow moisture to penetrate into the layers below, which could cause the development of mold and mildew in them.
5. Reinstall and connect to the sewerage system the lower part of the drain.

The ladder consists of two parts, each with a flange. The part with the upper flange must be temporarily disconnected, and the lower one, which we will now install, must be closed with tape or plastic wrap so that the solution does not get into it.

Further actions depend on the place of installation of the ladder. The ruled ladder (looks like a long tray) just needs to be installed against the wall and connected to the sewer, having well lubricated the junction with sealant.

It is not worth saving sealant: the pipe joint, being filled with a screed, will be completely inaccessible, so the likelihood of leakage should be minimized. Moreover, the rubber sealing ring will dry out over time (natural aging of rubber) and will not be able to ensure tightness. We remind you that the drain must be equipped with a dry valve, and not a conventional water seal.

Similarly, you need to do with a point ladder if it is installed in a corner.

If you want to install a point ladder in the middle of the room, you need to calculate its location and installation height.

Location

This item is relevant if the concrete floor is supposed to be pasted over with ceramic tiles. From the point of view of aesthetics, it is important that the drain is in harmony with such a covering. To do this, you need to calculate its location so that it:

• for small tile sizes: installed instead of one of the tiles;
• for large tiles: installed at the junction of two or four tiles symmetrically with respect to them.

Installation height

Having determined the location, the ladder must be raised to such a height so that the pipe connecting it to the sewer has the correct slope. Its value depends on the diameter of this pipe:

• with a diameter of 30 mm: the slope is 1:20 (5 cm per 1 m);
• at 50 mm: 0.02–0.03 (2–3 cm per 1 m).

To set the pipe and ladder to the desired height, you need to put wooden lining or insulation under them.

Good to know: floor drains are available with adjustable height.

Further actions

The next stage is the installation of the heat insulator. In this case, a material that can withstand loads should be used as a heater. The cheapest way is to use expanded clay, but it must be taken into account that its thermal conductivity is not the lowest. A more effective option is extruded polystyrene foam, which costs a little more.

Granular polystyrene foam, which in everyday life we ​​call polystyrene, cannot be used, since it will doubt under the influence of load. Extruded, on the other hand, can withstand loads up to 50 t / sq. m. You can recognize it by its structure: it is homogeneous, while granular polystyrene foam consists of many glued granules of different sizes.

The thickness of the insulation should be such that a distance of about 35–40 mm remains from the top to the bottom of the ladder flange. If expanded polystyrene is used, then grooves for the ladder and sewer pipe must be cut out in its sheets.

1. We install a damper tape around the perimeter of the room immediately above the insulation. It will allow the screed to expand freely when heated. Such a tape should be installed both in the steam room and in the washing compartment, where the floor will be heated by the hot water pouring onto it.
2. We lay a cement-sand screed over the heat insulator. It fits under the very flange of the ladder, that is, its thickness is the same 35–40 mm. For reliability, this layer can be reinforced with wire. The solution is smoothed with a rule, and then left to ripen.
3. We lay waterproofing: a reliable waterproofing material, for example, roofing felt or Isoplast membrane, is laid over the entire screed with an outlet on the walls, while a hole is cut out in it at the place where the drain is installed, corresponding to the inner diameter of the drain device. Thus, the flange of the drain is covered with waterproofing.
4. For greater reliability, one or two more fragments of waterproofing material, approximately 1x1 m in size, can be laid on top of the ladder, cutting holes in them in the same way. Also in the waterproofing, it is necessary to make small holes above the fastening holes of the flange.
5. We screw the upper part of the drain into place: first, the O-ring supplied with the drain is placed on the flange, then the upper part is installed and screwed tightly with screws. The next step will be to fill the screed again, so the ladder must again be closed with a film from the solution.
6. Fill in another layer of screed, forming a slope towards the ladder.

The required slope for the floor is 1 cm per 1 m of length, that is, 1: 100. The shape of the surface will depend on the type and location of the drain:

1. If it is a long tray and is installed along the wall, the floor is given the appearance of a single inclined plane.
2. If the ladder is point-like and stands in the corner, the floor is divided diagonally into two parts and each of them is given the desired slope.
3. When installing a point ladder in the center of the room, the floor is divided by diagonals into 4 isosceles triangles with a slope towards the drain.

The slope of the screed is formed using plastic beacons - long slats, in which one of the edges is located at the desired angle. Often such beacons are even included in the ladder kit.

The thickness of the screed is selected so that near the ladder it is below its grating by the thickness of the finish coating.

Finally, we lay the topcoat. The concrete floor is quite cold to the touch, so in the bathhouse, wooden grates are usually laid out on it. But even in this case, you should not limit yourself to processing the screed with deep penetration waterproofing impregnation, but lay a waterproof coating on it, smooth, but not slippery. Thanks to it, the floor will be much easier to keep clean.

As a finish, you can use liquid glass or liquid rubber, but most often the floor is covered with waterproof ceramic tiles with an anti-slip effect. The grout should also be waterproof, and it is highly desirable to add an antifungal additive to it and to the tile adhesive.

The work on laying the tiles should start from the ladder and if its location was calculated correctly, the tiles near the walls either do not have to be cut at all, or they will be cut equally at each wall.

Seams are made with a width of no more than 3 mm, grouting should be carried out one day after laying the tiles.

Video: installation of wooden logs and insulation of the bath floor

From the masters you can often hear: "Water will always find its way." This means that the construction of the floor in the bath, even the simplest flowing one, must be approached very thoughtfully. Using our advice, you will be able to build a reliable structure that will serve you for many years.

The peculiarities of the processes taking place in the bath require a drainage system in the floor. For this purpose, two variants of the constructive solution of the wooden floor in this structure are used: leaking and non-leaking. The first option is suitable for seasonal baths located in areas with a warm climate. To correctly make such a floor with your own hands, it is necessary to take into account the basic rules of the device, provide for drainage and drainage, and also choose the right materials.

Features of the pouring floor

The leaked wooden floor in the bath is one of the simplest and most inexpensive structures. The boardwalk is made of 1 or 2 grade sawn timber. It fits along the lags. In this case, the flooring device is made in such a way that large gaps (not less than 0.5 cm) remain between the boards for water drainage. Through these slots, water flows freely to the base under the structure.

If the soil allows, then a sewer system is not needed. This is usually possible on loose sandy soils that absorb water well. On dense or clayey bases, you will need to build a simple water drainage system.

The construction of wooden pouring floors on logs is best done in a bathhouse on piles. This will allow good ventilation of the water outlet. Although if you arrange air vents in the basement of the strip foundation, then the logs can be laid on the strapping of the basement, and the air vents will provide effective ventilation of the underground.

The advantages of pouring floors:

• low cost of the materials used;
• simple installation that you can do yourself;
• the floor is easy to repair;
• it is pleasant to walk barefoot on a wooden deck.

The disadvantages include the fragility of wooden flooring. Even with high-quality waterproofing and proper ventilation, the flooring will begin to rot, and after 6-7 years it will have to be replaced. However, this is not difficult to do, so this disadvantage can be ignored. It is also considered a disadvantage that such a floor is cold, that is, it can be arranged only in southern regions with a warm climate.

Arrangement of the underground

If you decide to make a leaking floor, then regardless of the construction of the foundation (on piles, tape or slab), you need to take care of the underground in the case of construction on soils with sandy loam, clay or loam. Such bases do not absorb water, so a hole must be dug outside the foundation. It is necessary to lay pipes into it to drain water from under the floors of the bath. At the base of one of the walls of the washing room, a clay key is made - a tray with a slope of the underground surface. Sometimes it is made of concrete, but it will turn out to be more expensive.

If the bathhouse on piles or a strip foundation stands on sandy or sandy loam soils, a pit can be made right under the structure. Usually, you will need a pit device with a depth of at least 40 cm. Its bottom is filled with a mixture of crushed stone and sand to a height of at least 25 cm. The crushed stone filler will well break water flows, and sand, being a good filter, will absorb and remove moisture into the soil.

Attention: when building a bath on piles or a strip foundation, at least 10 cm should remain from the lower surface of the log to the level of the backfill of the pit.

Sometimes, instead of a pit under the floors of the bathhouse, where washing will take place, you can install a special pallet. Water will enter it and be discharged through pipes into a gutter, septic tank, pit or sewage system.

Construction of a leaked floor

When installing wooden pouring floors with your own hands, keep in mind that you do not need to nail the flooring to the logs. Fastening is carried out along the perimeter of the room with the help of cranial bars. This way you can ventilate the wooden floors (flooring) by taking them outside after wet procedures.

According to the photo, it is very difficult to carry out the flooring in the bath correctly. To do this, it is worth knowing some of the nuances:

• For flooring, be sure to use moisture resistant wood, such as larch or oak.
• Lags are also best made from larch and must be treated with antiseptic impregnations and compounds that protect them from moisture. For these purposes, you can use ordinary bitumen, liquid rubber or penetrating waterproofing.

Arrangement of support posts for logs

Depending on the length of the lags, additional support posts may be needed for them. They are usually made of bricks and measure 250x250 mm. The posts are installed on a concrete or sand cushion. The step of the posts is 80-100 cm. The supports are protected with plaster mortar. Waterproofing from two layers of roofing material must be laid under the lags on the posts.

The height of the posts depends on how far from the ground level is the top of the piles or strip foundation. Taking into account the height of the log, the distance from the surface of the leaking floor to the ground should be at least 30 cm.

Laying lag

Before laying the logs, you need to prepare a place for them. For this, the base of the strip foundation or piles is protected with two layers of waterproofing material. Then a horizontal bar is laid on top of it, to which the logs will be attached.

If you will be making a concrete or wood impervious floor, you need to make a slight slope of the floor to drain the water. To do this, lay the logs correctly with a slight slope in the desired direction. To do this, small indentations are cut out in the logs at the place of their laying on the horizontal strapping beam. The depth of the excavation in each subsequent element is gradually increased to obtain a slope of the floors. As a result, the logs will lie horizontally, and the floor in the bath will turn out with a slight slope. Usually a slope of 10 degrees is sufficient.

In the case of a leaking floor, there is no need to give a slope to the lags, because water will seep into the cracks between the boards anyway.

Tip: laying the foundation for the stove is done after installing the log before laying the floor. This will allow the stove to be positioned on the front surface of the floor.

Waterproofing works

Liquid bitumen can be used to waterproof the underground. Every surface of the underground is treated with it. This will protect the structures not only from moisture, but also from contamination with soap flakes. Even if the surface treated with bitumen becomes dirty, it can be washed down during the sanitation of the underground. To do this, use a hose and a strong pressure of water.

Installing a leaking floor

To make the flooring of a leaking floor, it is better to use a 4 cm thick edged board made from solid larch or oak. It is not worth using pine boards for floors in the bath because of the increased resinousness of the wood.

Before laying the floor, all boards must be carefully trimmed from all sides. This will avoid stagnation of moisture in the fibers of the material. After that, the boards are laid on the logs. In this case, no fastening with nails needs to be done. Leave a gap of at least 0.5 cm between the boards. Periodically, you need to clean the underground from debris. To do this, you can remove the floorboards above the drain and clean the space from any debris that has accidentally got there.

Drain device

When installing floors in a bath, it is very important to correctly build a drainage system - a drain. The easiest way is to use a drain pipe. It is laid at the stage of building the foundation under the washing room. The pipe is laid at an angle towards a drain pit or other drainage system.

Important: the drain pipe must not have bends or bends. It is better to choose a sewer pipe with a diameter of 150 mm.

It is worth digging a drain hole at a distance of at least 3-5 m from the structure. So that it does not sag over time and is not covered with soil, its walls need to be additionally strengthened. For these purposes, you can use any reinforced concrete structures, brick or an ordinary iron barrel without a bottom. We make the floor of the pit uncovered. To ensure drainage of the liquid, we pour gravel at the bottom of the pit. Above the pit is covered with a lid with a ventilation hole.

1. Digging a hole, we immediately make a trench under the pipe from the bathhouse to the hole. In this case, the trench should go with a slope towards the pit.
2. Next, a sewer pipe is laid in the trench. One end of the pipe connects to an underground drain under the washroom. The other end of the pipe is discharged into a drain pit. If a concrete floor is being built, then it needs a slope towards the drain hole. With leaking floors, the slope is done underground on an earthen castle.
3. To prevent debris from entering the room from clogging the drain pipe, the drain hole is equipped with a mesh. Otherwise it could lead to jam.

Drain tray underground

Since in the case of arranging a leaking floor in a bathhouse with your own hands, it makes no sense to do the slope of the flooring, it is necessary to organize the slope of the soil to drain water into the catchment tray. From there, the liquid flows through the drain into the pipe and the drain pit.

Serves several important functions. First of all, it ensures the safe movement of people. The steam room is always humid. Therefore, the floor must be non-slip so that visitors are not injured. Also, under the base of the premises there are sewer communications. The floor should be equipped so that water is drained as efficiently as possible. In this case, the coating and all finishing materials inside the steam room will last much longer.

To equip the floor in the bath room correctly, you need to read the recommendations of experienced builders. In this case, you will be able to do all the work yourself.

Materials (edit)

Considering, how to make a floor in a steam room, you should start with the choice of material. There are two main options. In the first case, the floor is made of wood, and in the second, it is made of concrete. Everyone chooses the best type of material for themselves.

A concrete floor will take more time and effort. It is also a more expensive type of material. However, the lifespan of a concrete floor is over 50 years. It is believed that it is easier to equip a wood floor. Such material is cheaper. In this case, the work is done faster and easier.

Operated for 7-8 years. Despite such a short service life of the material, in most cases, craftsmen prefer this particular option. It is quite possible to mount a wooden covering yourself.

Choice of wood

The quality finish of the steam room depends on the correct choice of wood. This material must be well dried. Boards should not have defects, cracks or chips. The presence of traces of decay is also not allowed.

Hardwood is preferable to use for a steam room. It is believed that such a material has a different effect on the human body. For example, birch can energize bath visitors, while aspen, on the contrary, removes negative emotions.

Birch is considered one of the best materials for decorating a steam room. It works well with protective compounds. Larch is also considered one of the best options for a bath. It is a durable material. It tolerates temperature drops, high humidity well.

With proper processing, it can be used for decoration and linden. Shelves in the steam room are also made from the listed materials, they are used to decorate the ceiling and walls.

Leaking floor

Which is finished with wood, can be of two types. The first option assumes the presence of gaps between the boards. The accumulated moisture will simply flow downward. The second version of the floor in the steam room is called leakproof. He settles in a little more difficult.

A leaking floor is the simplest finish. There are slots in the decking through which water seeps into the soil. In this case, the sewage system is not equipped. Only in the underground space is a drainage pit created. Sometimes it is replaced with a special container that communicates with sewer communications. Insulation of the floor in the steam room also don't.

The presented floor option is suitable only for the southern regions and buildings that are used exclusively in the summer. In this case, the boards are not nailed to the logs. They are periodically removed and taken out into the street. Here they are dried and returned to their original place.

Leakproof floor

The bathhouse, the steam room of which is created in accordance with all building codes, must be leakproof. When creating its floor, the boards are laid in two rows. First, a rough flooring is installed on the logs. On top of it are laid out hardwood grooved wood.

In this case, there are no gaps between the boards. A layer of insulation is laid under the floor. The finishing surface should have a slight slope towards the drainage point. A hole with a siphon is set up here to drain water into the sewer.

In order to exclude the appearance of deflections in the wooden covering over time, supports are installed in the middle of the lag system. They can be brick, concrete. The use of wood for such purposes is also allowed.

Arrangement of the underground

Needs the correct arrangement of the space under it. If a leaking floor is created, the filtration properties of the soil are evaluated first. If there is sand under the base of the bath, it will be enough to fill it with gravel. The layer should be about 25 cm. The gravel will clean the drains before they enter directly into the ground. There must be a distance of at least 10 cm between the backfill and the lags.

If under the flowing bath there are loamy soils, clay, you will need to install a tray to drain the water into the sewer. For this, a clay castle is created under the floor. It must have a slope towards the sewer.

If the bath is non-leaking, the base is covered with expanded clay. There should be a distance of at least 15 cm between him and the lags. This is necessary to create full ventilation.

Beginning of work

The device of the floor in the steam room involves the installation of a log. They rest on the foundation. This design is typical for almost everyone.Creation of the foundation and sewage system under the floor allows you to meet the requirements of sanitary and hygienic standards. Otherwise, an unpleasant odor appears in the room over time, and the wooden covering collapses.

After arranging the foundation, it is necessary to install logs on it. If the area of ​​the steam room is large, you will need to build additional bedside tables. They will help to reduce the gaps between lags.

For the arrangement of the subfloor, hardwood is chosen. It is also allowed to use a slab or thick boards for these purposes. Using self-tapping screws or tongue-and-groove method, the rough flooring is attached to the beams. Further, a heat-insulating layer is necessarily equipped.

Insulation installation

In the steam room, it is necessary to have thermal insulation. In this case, the room will warm up faster. Heat loss is significantly reduced. This saves on energy resources.

The modern insulation market offers many varieties of materials. They differ in cost and technical characteristics. Mineral wool is best suited for arranging the floor in the bath. It is an environmentally friendly material. He is able to reliably insulate the room, not letting heat outside.

In order for the thermal insulation and the entire structure of the wooden floor to serve for a long time, it is necessary to lay a layer of waterproofing on top of the insulation. To do this, you can purchase glassine, roofing felt or a polymer membrane.

Laying the finished floor

The floor in the steam room is equipped immediately after the installation of the rough base, mineral wool and waterproofing. For this, grooved boards should be prepared. Their thickness should not be less than 3 cm.

The boards should not be stacked too tightly. If moisture gets on them, the material will swell. If there is not enough room for linear expansion, the wood will lead. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to leave small gaps between the boards on the finishing coating.

It is also important to consider the direction of the tree rings. For adjacent boards, they should look in different directions. With this installation technique, it is possible to achieve a high level of evenness of the coating.

All trim elements must be installed with the convex side up. In this case, the floor will be durable and reliable.

The final stage

At the final stage, wood is processed with special solutions. There are many options for such funds on sale. the master decides on his own. It should be an antiseptic that will prevent fungus and rotting on the floor surface. This solution is also used to treat the two side and bottom sides of the boards.

When laying the finishing coat, it is important to slope towards the drain hole. After that, you can carry out the scraping and installation of the skirting boards. You can manually remove irregularities on the surface of the coating. However, it is more expedient to use electric planers for these purposes. Before starting such work, it is necessary to check whether nails are sticking out on the floor surface.

Wall and ceiling decoration

After arranging the floor, finishing work on the walls and ceiling is carried out, a door to the steam room and shelves are installed. In this case, it is also allowed to use wood, lining. The ceiling and walls are trimmed with it. A layer of insulation and waterproofing is also installed under the front cover. You should not purchase polystyrene or expanded polystyrene for such purposes. In a steam room, such heaters will release substances that are unsafe for the human body.

It should be remembered that it is impossible to decorate the ceiling and walls in the steam room with plastic, wood panels, chipboard, plywood, etc. Conifers are also not suitable for these purposes. They will release resin when heated. This will result in burns.

It is not recommended to cover the lining in the bath with special means. Varnish, stain or other similar coatings, when heated, will emit harmful substances, an unpleasant odor will appear. It will be simply unbearable to be in such a room.

Interior arrangement

After finishing the ceiling and walls, it is necessary to install a door to the steam room. It can be made of special heat-resistant glass or wood. The first option is preferable. Glass allows for a stylish look inside the steam room.

Should be arranged in several rows. For their creation, deciduous woods are used. The surface of the material must be well sanded. There should be no defects or chips on it. It is also unacceptable for metal heads of studs to protrude on the surface of the shelves. At elevated temperatures, this can cause burns.

An important element is the oven. There are many different models on sale. The stove can be wood-fired or have an electric heating element. Each owner chooses the best option for himself. Some owners prefer to build it from bricks on the spot. Others find it easier to purchase ready-made furnaces made of steel or cast iron. The electric heating element does not imply the ability to pour water over the hot stones. If the owners like a high humidity bath, they should opt for a traditional stone stove.

Room decoration options

Experts recommend not to use too much wood when decorating the interior of the bath. The steam room looks original, in which the lining is combined with tiles, plexiglass, natural stone. If you wish, you can ask for help from a professional designer. He will develop an original interior design. All visitors will be pleased to be in such a room.

Must be done tastefully. You should also pay attention to the choice of fixtures. There should be enough light in the steam room. Shades can be made of natural wood or other heat-resistant materials.

It is very important to provide a ventilation hole inside the bath. Airing will avoid the appearance of dampness, pathogens. However, it is useless to make a ventilation window inside the steam room. It is best to equip it in a dressing room or washing room. The steam room is ventilated when the door is opened.

After considering the technology, how the floor in the steam room is arranged, finishing and interior decoration takes place, each owner of a country house will be able to independently equip the bath correctly.

We have already considered various options for installing floors, including wooden ones. If you haven't read the article yet, you can do it right now.

In this publication, let's find out how to prepare the foundation for the construction of a leaking and non-leaking wooden floor, how to correctly make supports for the logs, what to make the logs from, what height to make the supports and consider other issues related to the construction of the wooden floor foundations in the bathhouse.

How to make logs for the floor in the bath

In order for the wooden floor in the bath to withstand a sufficient load, it is laid on logs - thick beams or logs installed at a certain distance depending on the thickness of the boards from which the floor will be laid.

For the lag device, larch or pine wood is best suited, which is not afraid of moisture and has sufficient strength.

As you know, the floor in the bath should have a slight slope towards the water collection pit. Therefore, the logs are also performed not at the same level, but with a slight difference in height, so that the boards to be laid go with a slight slope.

Before laying the logs, you need to decide on the direction of the water flow, so that you do not redo the floor later. But this applies mainly to non-leaking floors, from which water is completely collected and discharged into the sewer. The direction of laying the lag should be perpendicular to the direction of the water flow.

If the floor is planned to be leaking, then the slope can be omitted and the floors can be laid without a slope.

What is the section to make the lags?

In order for the logs to withstand the weight of the washable, their cross section is selected depending on the distance between the supports on which they will fit. The greater this distance, the thicker the logs will be. The ratio of the height of the log to the width is usually 1.5-2 (that is, the height is 1.5-2 times the width).

The main dimensions of the lag, depending on the distance between the supports, are shown in the table below:

As you can see, with a small distance between the supports, you can save on buying a thick bar or logs.

You can save even more on the timber by installing columnar supports under the logs. So, with a log length of 6 meters, only one support in the middle will reduce the cross-section of the log from 220 x 80 mm to 150 x 80 mm. And if the supports are put after 1 m, then you can use a bar with a section of 80 x 50 mm. The difference is visible to the naked eye.

When selecting the section of the lag, do not forget to take into account the required mark of the finished floor, which will depend on the mark of the top of the supports, the thickness of the floorboard, the mark of the flange or strip foundation.

How far are lags placed?

The distance between the lags (lag step) is selected depending on the thickness of the boards from which the floor will be laid. The thicker the board, the greater the distance between adjacent lags and vice versa.

The distance between the joists, depending on the thickness of the floorboards, is shown in the table:

Support for logs

Columnar supports for logs can be made from various materials - from wood, brick or from monolithic concrete. If the supports are made of brick or wood, a small concrete platform 200 mm thick should be made as a base, protruding at least 50 mm in each direction from under the support that will be made on this platform.

In general, the columnar support will have the following structure:

• 10 cm of sand bed;
• 15 cm of crushed stone or gravel;
• 20 cm of concrete base;
• Supporting structure made of brick (wood).

Under each support, you should dig a hole 40 cm deep, make a sand bed, ram in gravel or crushed stone from above, then set the formwork 200 mm high and fill the concrete base of the support. After the concrete has hardened, lay a piece of roofing material on the concrete base, having previously lubricated the top of the base with hot bitumen.

The concrete mixture for pouring the base can be prepared in the following proportion - 1 part of cement, 3 parts of sand, 5 parts of crushed stone (gravel).

Underfloor space arrangement

After the supports are placed, you can take up the space that will be under the floor.

If you have good soils (sand) on your site, then you can make a leaking floor, and put 250 mm of gravel on the ground under the floor. Through the gravel, the water will go into the sand and the device of drainage pipelines will not be needed.

If on the construction site of the bath there are soils that do not absorb water well, then a non-leaking floor should be made with water collection into a pit and its subsequent drainage outside the bath into a collection well or onto the relief.

If you want to make a leaking floor, and the soil is bad, then you can use the old folk method. From above, gravel is rammed into the soil, it is good to tamp it, and on top lay a layer of oily clay 10-15 cm thick with a slope towards the drainage pit, from which water will subsequently be discharged through the pipe outside the bath.

In the figure, the numbers indicate: 1 - gravel preparation; 2 - clay; 3 - drainage flume (pit); 4 - walls of the pit made of clay; 5 - drainage pipe.

Non-leaking floors can be insulated with expanded clay bedding. In this case, a layer of expanded clay should be chosen so thick that there is free space to the lags, laid on supports at least 10-15 cm for ventilation of the underground space. Otherwise, the floor will quickly rot.

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Now you know how to choose the cross-section of the logs and the thickness of the boards for the wooden floor in the bath, how to determine the number of columnar supports for the logs, and also equip the underground space depending on the type of bath floor.

In the following articles, we will learn how to lay logs on supports, how to make a subfloor and how to lay insulation in leak-proof floors.