Shelves are the most important elements of the bath environment. Of course, it is not worth violating the established technologies in the manufacture of such benches. Otherwise, it will be inconvenient to use the steam room and the washing room later. The height of the shelves in the bath, as well as their width and length should be selected correctly.
Varieties of shops
Shelves of several types can be installed in saunas:
In the first case, the shelves is a step structure of 2-3 tiers. L-shaped benches occupy the space at two adjacent walls. Such shelves can be either single- or 2-3-level. The design of the compartment resembles the shelves in the train. In this case, the tiers are not installed by steps, but directly one above the other. The upper shelf is made folding.
All the above options shelves in the baths are used quite often. But the most popular variety of such shops are still L-shaped. In structures of this type, one of the halves is most often assembled in a stepped two-tier. The second at the same time is an ordinary bench, designed to install water tanks, basins, etc.
What should be the height of the shelf in the bath
The sizes of bathhouses are determined primarily by the area of the steam room and washing, as well as the growth of those people who will use them in the future. No special standards are provided for structures of this type. However, it is still considered that the most convenient are shelves with a tier height of 40-60 cm. Most often, structures with distances between the horizontal surfaces of tiers of 45 cm are collected in the baths. It is on such benches that it is most comfortable to take water procedures.
The seat of the correct shelf in the bath, among other things, never settles closer than 30 cm to the floor. On a too low shelf, it will simply be uncomfortable to sit. In addition, it will be uncomfortable to take water procedures on such a bench, since next to the floor the air temperature in the bath is usually not too high.
Also, experienced builders do not recommend placing the upper shelf closer than 1 m to the ceiling. Strict standards in this case are not provided. If people of small stature are washed in the bath, this indicator can be reduced if desired. But still, the optimal distance from the surface of the upper shelf to the ceiling is 1.1-1.2 m.
Length and width
What should be the height of the shelves in the bath, therefore, is understandable. Guided in this case should be the growth of the owners of the structure and the size of the latter. The length and width of the shelves is also usually determined by the area of the steam room and washing.
The width of the tiers of the stepped structures can vary between 30-60 cm. The only exception is the upper shelf, on which people usually don’t sit and take water baths when taking water procedures. It is believed that the width of this tier should be at least 60 cm. But it is still better to increase this parameter to 90 cm. In this case, steaming in the bath will be as convenient as possible.
When choosing the width of the shelf should be guided, of course, first of all, it is comfort. In addition to this design, there should be enough free space in the steam room to accommodate the stove and people. When designing a 6 by 6 meter bath, for example, it is worthwhile to provide for the width of the upper tier of the main shelf not more than 60 cm. Otherwise, it will most likely be crowded in the steam room later.
The length of the shelves in the bath can be any. However, traditionally, benches in the steam room and the sink are made no shorter than 1.5 m. Longline structures usually occupy space from one wall to another. For example, when designing a 6 by 6 m bathhouse, with two rooms, the main shelf in the steam room is usually 3 m long.
What material to choose for manufacturing
They collect bath benches, of course, exclusively from lumber. At the same time, wood species that meet the following requirements are selected:
Most often, shelves in baths are made of aspen. Also linden and abashi can be used for this purpose.
Advantages and disadvantages of the most popular materials
Aspen is very suitable for the manufacture of bath shelves primarily because it conducts heat poorly. Moreover, wood of this kind, among other things, is still very inexpensive. The only drawback of aspen is that in damp, it can begin to rot from the inside. In this case, the appearance of the board will look quite high quality.
Bath linden is appreciated primarily by the fact that even at very strong temperatures it emits a not too intrusive and delicate pleasant aroma. Such a board for a shelf in a bath is also suitable because, like aspen, it has low thermal conductivity. Steaming on linden boards in the future will be comfortable.
Abashi wood is the most suitable material for making shelves. Even in hot air, such boards remain cool to the touch. In this case, after contact with the body, the Abashi instantly warms up to its temperature. In addition, such boards still do not change their pleasant cream color even after prolonged use in a bathhouse.
Can I use a pine
Aspen, linden and abashi are the most suitable materials for the manufacture of shelves in the bathhouse. However, hardwood is still quite expensive. Therefore, many bath owners are interested in whether it is possible to use cheap "coniferous" boards for the manufacture of shelves.
In principle, the use of such material for the assembly of shops is allowed. However, experienced attendants still advise using pine and spruce for this purpose only in the most extreme case.
The fact is that such wood can release a lot of ethereal resins into the air. In a small amount, such pairs are even healthy. However, an "overdose" of them can cause unpredictable consequences. In large quantities, some substances released by coniferous wood can even be hazardous to health.
In addition, many resin pockets are usually present in conifer boards. At elevated temperatures, their contents begin to melt and flow out. If the resin gets on the skin, it will be very difficult to wash it off.
Thus, you can use pine or spruce for the manufacture of shops. But it’s better to spend money and buy hardwood for this purpose. The material for the manufacture of shelves usually does not take too much. So it’s very affordable for owners of a bath to buy aspen or linden, most likely, it still won’t hit.
What kind of wood can not be used for shelves
For the manufacture of bath benches, lumber of most hardwoods can be used. However, some types of wood in steam rooms and washing never used. It is impossible to make bath shelves from:
The boards of both of these varieties start to smell very unpleasant when heated. White fir will exhale a sour smell in the bath, and cypress - musty.
Useful advice
In most cases, the shelves in the bath are made from the same variety of lumber. But to increase the comfort of using benches and at the same time reduce their final cost, wood can be combined during their assembly. For example, a very good solution would be to make the frame of shelves from inexpensive aspen, and their upper surfaces from abacha. You can also include in the design of each tier one cedar board for smell and beauty.
Wood quality
To use for the manufacture of bath benches is, of course, only good lumber. Otherwise, even with the right length, width and height, shelves in the bath will be uncomfortable and unsafe to use.
There should not be any chips on the boards purchased for shelves. Otherwise, the shops will turn ugly. In addition, it will be possible to get injured later on using such boards. Of course, only polished wood is suitable for the manufacture of shelves.
Also on the boards and bars of the shops should be as few knots as possible. Shelves are operated in very unfavorable humidity conditions for wood. The knots in the bath from the boards are likely to fall out very quickly. And the shops, again, will become ugly.
Dimensions of materials for assembly
The frame of the bath shelves is usually assembled from a bar 40 x 40 or 50 x 50 cm. Boards for the upper surfaces of the benches are better not to use too wide. This will give scope in choosing the width of the shelves in the bath and will make designs more aesthetic. In any case, such a board is usually used to assemble the shelves, the width of which exceeds the thickness by no more than 4 times.
Design features of the shelf
So, what should be the shelves in the bath, we found out. But how to make such a design? To assemble bath shelves with your own hands is not difficult. Such designs are made according to the principle of ordinary benches on a block frame. The assembly of the L-shaped shelves begins with the most complex two-tier part.
In this case, the extreme supports of the frame are first collected:
a quadrangular frame is brought down from the beam along the height of the upper shelf;
set it close to the side and back walls;
fasten the frame with screws to the walls;
make a frame for the height of the lower tier;
also fasten it to the wall next to the upper tier frame.
In exactly the same way, the second end and intermediate supports are made for a multi-tiered structure. In order to give rigidity to the frame, use transverse jumpers.
When stuffing boards on the frame leave small gaps of several millimeters. Such gaps are necessary for the flow of water from the shops when taking water procedures. In order for the gaps to be equal in width, a piece of a rail of the corresponding thickness is used as a guide.
About the same technology, at the final stage, the second part of the L-shaped structure for the adjacent wall is assembled.
Additional items
To make the upper tier more attractive, its front vertical surface is also worth planking. In this case, gaps should be left between the individual elements. A pair of boards can be filled on the front surface of the lower tier. However, to completely close the space between the floor and this shop, of course, is not worth it. Otherwise, under the canopy in the future it will be impossible to carry out cleaning.
How to make shops safe
Shelves are usually assembled using self-tapping screws or nails. However, such fasteners in the bath in the future, of course, will be very hot. And when in contact with the head of a self-tapping screw or nail, the person taking the water procedures can simply get burned.
In order to avoid injuries, the heads of self-tapping screws or nails when assembling the shelves must be recessed into the wood by 0.5 mm. You can also hammer fasteners from below, that is, where contact with them will be impossible.
How to process the shelves in the bath
Serve wood in the steam room and washing can be long enough. But in order to extend its service life even more, at the final stage the shelves need to be treated with some kind of moisture-proofing compound. It is not possible to use film forming agents for dressing shops. Otherwise, it will be possible to get burned on the board of the shelf in the future.
Most often, special impregnating oils are used to process bath benches. To purchase shelves should be the means of this variety, designed specifically for baths and saunas.