In matters of quality, aesthetics and durability, a bathhouse made of timber is almost no different from that built from a log. However, the construction process is much faster and easier. In addition, it does not provide for a special level of skill.
Such a bath can be called a truly Russian building. But in order for your expectations to be met, you need to seriously approach the issue of choosing a beam. This stage is one of the responsible. The operational characteristics of the steam room will depend on this. It is important to pay attention to whether there are cracks in the finished logs. Even the smallest of them will give a defect during shrinkage, expanding and causing wood to rot.
If you decide to build a bathhouse from a beam with your own hands, then the material should be selected so that there are no blue spots on its surface. They say that rot has begun or is going on intensively. It can be triggered by a fungus. It is impossible to build a bathhouse from such material. A beam is considered defective even if it has traces of the activity of bugs or wormholes.
You can recognize a good beam by a plain and smooth surface. If there are defects and distortions, all this will negatively affect the laying of crowns, and the construction will stretch for an indefinite period. On sale you can find solid and profiled timber. The latter has spikes and grooves in length that are ground. These elements are easier to connect.
The main advantage is that precipitation practically does not penetrate into such walls. Among the disadvantages, it should be noted that this material has low fire-fighting properties and poor endurance. Products are additionally processed with propylene. Used for construction and solid timber. It does not look very aesthetically pleasing, so it is often closed with a block house or siding.
Project creation
If you want to build a bathhouse from a 4x6 beam with your own hands, then first you need to draw up a project. This business is usually trusted by specialists. In this case, the total area of the building will be 24 m 2 . It may include a terrace, lounge, sink and steam room. Another room can be a corridor that will connect a relaxation room and a steam room. From the latter it will be possible to enter the sink. Its dimensions will be 2 x 2 m. The steam room will have the same parameters. As for the recreation room, its dimensions are 3 x 2.5 m. The terrace will occupy a place equal to 1.5 x 4 m.
The building may be slightly larger. If there is not so much free space on the territory, then you can build a sauna yourself from a 3x4 m beam. It will provide for the presence of three rooms:
- steam room;
- lounges;
- washing.
The steam room will occupy 3.44 m 2 , the room - 5.3 m 2 , while the sink will be 3.26 m 2 . To implement a commercial project, you can build a more spacious building. It may even include two floors. On the first level you can position:
- rest room;
- steam room;
- washing;
- the terrace.
On the attic floor there will be a large bedroom of 24 m2 and a balcony of 7.4 m2. If you decide to build your own bathhouse from a beam of 100x150 m, then the veranda can be made covered, then you can use it even in late autumn. And the balcony on the second floor can also be made part of the living space. But the steam room and washing will not be so large, the area of each of them will be 6.1 m 2 .
Foundation construction
Before you build a sauna from a beam with your own hands, you must choose the type of foundation. It can be columnar or tape. In the latter case, a formwork is being constructed around the perimeter of the future building, which is poured with concrete. The foundation is deepened to the freezing line of the soil. The height of the structure should be 0.5 m or more above the ground. So you can protect the lower crowns from moisture.
Inside the perimeter of the foundation, it will be necessary to pour sand or gravel. After 2-3 weeks, as soon as the solution hardens, you can begin to lay the first rows of the log house. In order to make a columnar base, brick pillars should be exposed. They are located at the corners, perimeter and at the locations of the internal load-bearing walls. A concrete cushion is placed under each support to prevent subsidence. Between such supports, a distance of 1.5 m must be maintained, in rare cases, the step increases to 2 m.
When constructing a bathhouse from a beam with your own hands, the foundation is necessarily reinforced, which allows to achieve the strength of the crowns. It is necessary to provide reliable waterproofing between the first crown and the plinth. To do this, molten bitumen is applied to the horizontal surface of the base, which is closed with a layer of roofing material. After solidification, the whole procedure must be repeated again.
Laying the first crowns
The assembly of the bath is quite simple, which is especially true if the work is carried out on a marked project. It is not worthwhile to fix the crowns until the horizontal level is checked by the construction level. For the first crown, the thickest bars of all available are selected. This is due to the fact that the weight of the roof, as well as the walls, will fall on these elements. Experienced craftsmen advise choosing a square beam for this. Its side is 20 cm. The side of all subsequent bars can be equal to 15 cm. These elements are the same in length.
When constructing a bathhouse from a beam with your own hands, the first crowns are stacked after installing wooden battens around the perimeter of the basement. Previously, the material is treated with an antiseptic. The thickness of the rails is 15 mm or less. The distance between them should be equal to the limit of 25 to 30 cm. This requirement is due to the fact that the lower crowns must be protected from decay and dampness. This will increase the life of the bath, and the space between the rails should be filled with insulation or foam.
Stacking too tight is not worth it. The entire structure will subsequently shrink. The lower beam, which is located on the foundation, does not need to be fixed. The pressure of the upper crowns will provide him with strength. The entire first row in this case, if necessary, can be easily replaced without disassembling the entire bath. The bars of the first row are treated with an antiseptic. You can use traditional engine oil.
Walling
We build a sauna from a beam with our own hands according to technology, which at the next stage involves the construction of walls. First, crowns are stacked, which are fastened together by wooden pins or steel pins. They are driven into pre-made holes with a diameter that matches the diameter of the mounting pins. The holes should be removed from each other at a distance of 1.5 m. The drill passes through the upper beam and half of what is located below. Then the lower beam is removed.
Nagels are selected with a length that is equal to the height of two bars. Then you can lay the insulation layer, and then mount the upper beam into place. All the crowns are stacked according to this technique until you reach the top two. There is no need to fix them, since at the last stage they are temporarily removed for the installation of ceiling beams.
An alternative way to fasten the bars - wooden dowels
We build a sauna from a bar with our own hands, choosing the suitable method for fastening the bars between you. If nevertheless you decide to use nails, then they should not have hats. Fixing elements can be done with wooden dowels.
They are square bars with a side of 18 mm. The length varies with the size of the beam, but does not exceed 25 cm. To install them, drill holes are made with a diameter of 21 mm. Fasteners are driven into dowels. They are staggered. The beam is drilled through.
Using the spring assembly
When a small bathhouse is being built from the beam with your own hands, the master quite often uses another method of fixing the elements together - a spring unit called the "Force". It looks like a screw with a compression spring. This fastening system eliminates the formation of gaps. The bars will be pressed against each other with all their strength. This method is quite expensive, but structural deformation and cracks can be avoided.
Caulking exercise
Do-it-yourself sauna bath construction does not end at the construction of the roof. It will also be necessary to carry out caulking of the cracks. Interventional thermal insulation is presented:
All of these materials equally have excellent heat-insulating properties. However, it is most convenient to work with jute. It is unwound gradually, during the shrinkage of the bars. Mounting is carried out with ordinary nails. There is no need to caulk after using jute.
Whereas if you decide to use moss or tow, then after completion of the shrinkage the bath will require additional caulking of cracks between the crowns. For this, a caulking gun, a hammer and a wooden spatula are used. The whole process is as follows: after the shrinkage of the house, the tow is tightly clogged in the gap.
Erection of a roof
If you want to build a sauna from a beam with your own hands, step-by-step instructions by you must be studied. Having familiarized yourself with it, you will be able to understand that at the final stage it will be necessary to take up the construction of the roof. The simplest solution will be a gable design, under which a heated attic with intensive ventilation is arranged.
The bathhouse usually does not have enough room to organize a guest room, a billiard room, a bedroom or a home cinema. If you do not want to lose valuable meters, it is recommended to create a broken mansard roof by arranging a living room inside.
Features of the construction of walls from profiled timber
Do-it-yourself sauna bath construction is often accompanied by the use of profiled products. In this case, pins are used, based on wood of the same species that is used in the construction of walls. Iron pins are more reliable, but they are more expensive. The cost of the house is increasing.
When a bathhouse is being built from a beam with your own hands from scratch, you should know by what principle the walls are built. The dowels are arranged on the principle of brickwork, they must be installed every two to three rows. For this, holes are pre-drilled. The plug is easily inserted into them. The distance between the fasteners is approximately 1.5 m.
It is necessary to install a sealant for insulation between rows of bars. A protrusion is cut in one bar, while in the other a groove with similar parameters is cut. Some layers of the timber alternate with spikes and grooves. This strengthens the construction and makes corners windproof. If the bath will have 2 floors, then the walls of the second level rise to a height of 1.5 m. For partitions, a beam with a section of 100 x 150 is used. Installation is carried out only after creating the log house.
If you are faced with the question of how to build a sauna from a beam with your own hands, you must remember that in the process of these works the dimensions of the building are taken into account. If they are more than 6 x 6 m, then one partition or more is installed on the first floor, which provides support for the floor on the second floor.
If necessary, reduce the cost of the house, the internal walls are made frame. To do this, a structure is made of square bars with a side of 50 mm. It is sheathed with lining or other material. In order to make the floor fireproof, its parts are treated with flame retardant. It is also applied to the walls with a paint brush, as well as a spray gun.
Guidelines for installing rafters
Before you start building a bathhouse out of timber with your own hands, it is necessary to study the instructions in stages. Having become acquainted with it, you can understand that the rafters are called rafters. They act as a component of the truss truss. The latter rests on the upper crown or logs. The legs of the truss structure work not only on compression, but also on bending.
For the rafter farm, you can purchase ready-made rafters or use 12-cm logs. An alternative solution is a beam, the cross-sectional area of which is 60 cm 2 or more. Boards with minimum side sizes in sections 4 and 15 cm are also great.
Before you build a sauna from a bar with your own hands, you will need to make or purchase a rafter. Better if they are factory. Working with them is much easier. The elements are interconnected by nails or screws. Bars are made at reference points. Rafters are layered and hanging. The latter rest against each other. A farm with such legs is distinguished by the creation of horizontal pressure. Due to significant loads, all joints of the truss truss must be rigid.
To protect against wind loads, the design is equipped with diagonal ties. A bathhouse from a profiled beam with your own hands is often built with the help of layered rafters. They are used in the construction of pent roofs. Puffs for laying such rafters are not required. They are installed along a single ramp supported by Mauerlat. It is mounted on opposite load-bearing walls. The Mauerlat is fixed to the walls through the beam with steel studs, thick wire or wood grouse screws.
Reviews about saunas from planed timber
Before you start building a bathhouse out of timber with your own hands, step-by-step instructions and reviews should be studied. Having got acquainted with the opinions of consumers, you can find out that planed timber has many advantages. Among the advantages, buyers distinguish:
- availability;
- ability to keep fit;
- high thermal insulation qualities;
- environmental friendliness;
- speed of construction;
- resistance to temperature fluctuations;
- reliability;
- strength.
Home masters emphasize that such baths sit evenly throughout the entire crown. However, such buildings have their drawbacks. They are expressed in the fact that cracks may appear on the visible surface of the beam during operation. Quite often, consumers are also repelled by the fact that the planed beam provides for the need for internal and external wall cladding to create an attractive appearance of the building.
An alternative solution is a bath from a profiled beam. Among its advantages should be highlighted:
- construction speed;
- excellent appearance;
- saving on decoration;
- environmental friendliness;
- durability.
According to consumers, such baths have their drawbacks, they are that during the construction process it is necessary to give time for shrinkage. The beam has natural moisture and must dry, so you need to wait about a year before finishing. Cracks may appear on the surface over time. This distinguishes a profiled beam, as well as a solid mass of wood.
Finally
Almost every home master today can do the construction of a sauna with his own hands. Drawing a bath from a bar will help in this. You can borrow one of them from the article. Some craftsmen plan the space of the building on their own. If the building is one-story, then you can arrange in it a steam room, relaxation room, shower and terrace.
Do not save space on the place to relax. There you can gather as a family and pass the evening with a cup of tea. But showers and steam rooms are usually not made too big. In the case of the latter, this is impractical, because air heating will take much longer, which will entail unjustified fuel consumption. In the described project, the steam room occupies only 5 m 2 , like the shower room. But the rest room is 7.6 m 2 . The terrace has the largest area - 22 m2.
Using the finished project reduces the cost of construction. It is better to use just such an option. And if you purchase a ready-made kit and assemble it on the site yourself, then do not spend more on labor. Home craftsmen argue that such kits require the presence of numbered logs, which are assembled according to the principle of the designer.