If you turn to history and look at the development of the construction of baths, you can see that, despite all the internal differences, most often the building was erected from a wooden beam. From it, the structures are solid and warm.
The advantages of frame structures
Today, the construction of frame baths is not affordable for everyone because of the price of wood. There is another nuance in the operation of such wooden structures: the timber warms up relative to other materials for a long time, which is why in severe frost it may be necessary to heat the bath for up to 6 hours in a row.
Modern technologies allow the production of building materials that will be a great alternative to more expensive counterparts. And most often, one of those materials is the one that represents the most budgetary solution.
One of the popular alternatives for a beam bath is a frame bath, which is easy to build with your own hands. Other common options, such as cinder block, are inferior in performance data to such a design as a frame bath. Reviews, as a rule, are only positive about her.
Variety of projects
Today, a huge number of projects have been developed and implemented. Frame bath projects occupy a special place, which amaze not only with quality, but also with variety. The design of the frame bath can be selected for any area, layout and configuration, which makes it easy to adapt the building to the existing land. You can even choose a 2-story bathhouse project . A frame sauna with an attic will decorate any yard or garden plot.
Design Nuances
Before you build a frame bath, you need to do a lot of preliminary things. It is worth making sure that all the details of the future construction are provided, that enough material has been bought for the construction, etc. For this, we need a project carefully developed by professionals in the construction industry.
Correct calculations
Incorrect calculations in the layout of the bath can lead to the fact that the bath will become not a pleasure and a guarantee of health, but a complete torment when the most important elements begin to fail prematurely, for example, the battens of the floor will rot and it will become cold.
This can be not only unpleasant, but also dangerous to health, because the same drafts can lead to colds. If the frame bath receives negative reviews, then due to a violation of construction technology.
When a decision is made to eliminate these shortcomings, the price of work can easily exceed the costs of a project that was previously abandoned.
Design stages
The design of the bathhouse is divided into clearly defined stages corresponding to one or another of its functional parts. The most important points are as follows:
- drawing up a heat flow distribution scheme inside the bathhouse, ventilation, location of the washing compartment and steam room;
- preparation of the bathhouse for operation at any time of the year (warming of the frame bathhouse deserves special attention here).
In addition to the above, the project separately considers the issue of pouring the foundation.
It is important to very accurately calculate its depth, width and other parameters in order to make the bath durable and comfortable.
Distribution of elements
The first thing that is done is a sketch of the future bath is drawn, on the basis of which an experienced architect will be able to depict the layout of all the elements and ultimately compile project documentation.
Looking at the stacks of building materials, this is impossible. After all, take measurements if the bathhouse with the attic is frame, it’s too late even after sawing or pouring, you may have to change something in the future bathhouse, buy building materials, and deal with constant alterations and adjustments.
Any project has certain strengths and weaknesses, and for frame baths there are characteristics that need to be paid attention in the first place. Even the famous log baths have disadvantages, so this question is extremely important.
Vapor barrier
Warming of a frame bath implies the use of such materials so that it does not have condensation at any time of the year, even in winter. Condensation harms the entire structure. All wood materials rot and begin to emit unpleasant odors, and become slippery.
If it is planned to build such an object as a frame bath, reviews must be read. From them you can find out that for vapor barrier of such baths, glassine, ruberoid, and also special films are often used. These materials are placed between the inner lining and the insulation layer.
Thermal insulation
Frame baths must be very well insulated. Then the heat loss will be minimized, high tightness will be ensured, normal air exchange with the street will not be interrupted.
Compared to a brick wall, frame ones have significantly lower thermal conductivity and retain much more heat, and they do this for a longer time.
Wall material
It is best to use well-dried wood. Of the varieties, linden, aspen, and larch have the best characteristics, they perfectly retain heat and for a long time allow to preserve the original form of the building.
For sheathing the walls of the frame bath, boards with a thickness of 20-30 mm are used. Outside, it is better to use larch and pine boards, they are more resistant to atmospheric precipitation. Inside the building, you can use any available wood. Lining for internal cladding also requires attention to its quality.
Before you start stuffing the inner lining, you need to take care of creating high-quality vapor barrier. It is better to use glassine, aluminum foil or a special vapor barrier film. Habitual materials, such as roofing material, roofing, can produce a specific smell when heated. Because of this, they have been used less and less recently.
It is important to take into account that the lining should be placed vertically during lining, fitting individual planks tightly together.
Floor material
Very important operational parameter. Poor flooring in the frame bath will be a real headache, especially when using the bath in winter. The most common problem is a large temperature difference inside the steam room, when it is hot at the level of the head or chest, and the legs can even freeze.
This feature is characteristic of a low-budget option with the organization of leaking wooden floors (without an insulated concrete frame). The fact is that the flowing water permeates the ground under the floor and freezes. During the heating of the bath, all the heat accumulates on top. To warm the floor to the base, you will need a huge amount of fuel and time.
General principles of construction
To build a frame bath yourself, it is enough to order a quality project and do everything according to the instructions. In the process of construction, we can distinguish a number of the most significant stages that each developer who has started such a construction will have to go through one after another.
Details of the work:
- Lay the foundation of. Most often this is a tape monolithic. It should be coated on all accessible sides (top and sides) with a waterproofing material, for example, Hydroizol polymer-bitumen grease. On top of this layer, logs (beams) of the subfloor are laid and strapping is made of timber for the subsequent installation of wall panels.
- The bath frame is assembled: all beams and bars are securely fastened. Now the design begins to resemble the original sketch, which created the subsequent project.
- OSB sandwich panels with 100 mm expanded polystyrene plates are attached to the strapping elements. The panels are fastened with self-tapping screws with a hexagonal head with diameters of 6-8 mm (they are also called "capercaillie"). The joints between the plates are filled with foam. It is thanks to this simplicity of design that the frame bath receives the most flattering reviews.
- On the resulting structure, it is necessary to fix the rafter system. On top of the finished crate, it is necessary to put the same insulation plates from which the walls were made, and on top of them lay any roofing material, for example, ondulin.
- While the bathhouse is not covered by a roof, at the stage of installation of the rafter crate, it is better to immediately mount the frames of all internal partitions. Everything, the bath frame is ready. Now you can proceed to the final stages of insulation and interior decoration.
- The first thing we do is an insulated floor. Why it will be necessary to lay a layer of polystyrene foam or mineral wool on a rough concrete surface. The exception is the twin compartment, where it will be necessary to leave a free flow of water directly into the ground. And already on top of the insulation, another layer of concrete is poured - fine, on which then it will be necessary to install a crate of a wooden floor. Sometimes the logs under the finishing floor are mounted inside a new layer, that is, the logs are first fixed, the insulation layer is poured with concrete between them, leaving only a small gap between the concrete coating and the future wooden flooring.
- The external walls of the steam room must be insulated with a double layer of glassine or mineral wool, covering them on top with aluminum foil with the obligatory sizing of all joints, since the steam room is a particularly wet room of the bathhouse.
- It is enough to warm the dressing room with expanded polystyrene plates, without vapor barrier.
- From above, all the insulation on the inner walls of the bath is upholstered with a lining. The inner walls are also sheathed with the same material on both sides without insulation.
- Near the wall where the stove will be placed, it is imperative to lay out a brick screen so that there is no fire from the stove heat. Bath stoves, like the buildings themselves, can differ in design, efficiency, price.
- Outside, the frame bath should be insulated with a roll of waterproofing material from basalt mineral wool.
When installing the furnace, all elements of wooden structures are carefully insulated with non-combustible materials. To enhance fire control, the entire frame and walls are impregnated with a special mixture that helps prevent fire during heating.
The best bath can only be done by professionals
The technology for quickly building a bathhouse is relatively simple, and you can build a frame bath with your own hands, but it can be difficult for a person without experience to calculate everything without the help of a professional. For example, for inexperienced builders, concepts such as “dew point” may not be understood. Although its displacement inside the room will lead to an increase in the rate of destruction of the frame due to accumulated moisture inside.
But a professional builder, who has extensive experience in the production of baths, will easily make it so that the construction will delight the owner with its qualities for a long time. Its services will be especially useful when a bathhouse with an attic frame is conceived. Such structures are more complicated in construction. In general, frame bath prices are much lower than analogues from other materials.