Russian bath is not only a place where you can wash yourself. For many, this is the best vacation after working days, here you can relax and chat. Everyone knows about the benefits of bath procedures since childhood, scientific studies have long proven their positive effect on the body as a whole, as well as their benefits for the prevention of various diseases. Now many are building baths on their own, and not only in the villages. But many people who are starting the construction of the bath for the first time, especially young people, do not know where to start.
Consider the basic rules of construction and the standard size of the bath, starting with the choice of site.
Site selection
It is believed that the best place to build a bath will be the shore of a river, lake or pond. But to prevent troubles during the spring flood, you should not place the bath closer than 15 meters from the shore of the water, and place it so that dirty water does not flow into the body of water.
Select a site located on a small hill. Thanks to this, you don’t have to do water disposal, the water will drain itself. For example, you can place it on a hill or a steep slope, in the form of a dugout with a terrace or porch, which will become a resting place, a natural solarium and a playground for children's games. And do not forget about modesty, it is better that the bathhouse is fenced off from prying eyes by large trees or a decorative fence.
If you are a lover of the sauna “in the black”, you must consider that the distance from it to other buildings should be at least 12 meters. And if you decide to build a bathhouse in a living room, you should give preference to a sauna, in it, under the influence of high temperature, the tree will dry out and will not undergo decay.
Orientation
So, the site was chosen, now we need to figure out how to put the bath. Where to install the door, what are the dimensions of the doors in the bath, where will the windows go? If there is a terrace, the entrance is best done from the south side, it is warmer. And in winter, with such an arrangement, there will be less snowdrifts and they will melt faster in the spring. And the windows are arranged so that the setting sun falls, because the bath is often drowned in the late afternoon. You also need to take into account the slope of slanting rains - if you can’t make the entrance from the opposite side, then it is more expedient to rebuild the vestibule to protect the door from getting wet.
Bath: dimensions, layout
The standard bath is divided into a steam room, a washing room and a dressing room, their ratio should be - 1: 1,5: 2.
The smallest one is a warm "closet" where no more than two people are seated. Such saunas are heated with an electric stove and it is possible to integrate them even in the bathroom of a standard city apartment. The minimum parameters of a standard bath for one family are 1.8: 2 meters, at least one bench should be located there, where a person can sit in a prone position. In the bath with parameters 2.5: 2.4, to save space, benches are made in the shape of the letter G, and in even larger ones - a parallel or U-shaped bench.
The height of the ceilings in the bath should also be minimal, because the larger the parameters of the room, the more fuel is needed to heat it. If we take into account that the upper tier of the stone stove is located at a height of about 1 meter from the floor, and the upper shelf is placed on a par with it, then, for the convenience of a person soaring while sitting, the ceiling height should be at least 2.1 meters.
And if you like to go to the bathhouse with a big company, the steam room and the washroom should be separated, and the bath should be at least 12 square meters. meters.
Internal arrangement of the bath. Steam room
The steam room is the main room, not a single Russian bath is complete without it. The size of the steam room can be any, it depends on which stove you choose and how many people will wash at the same time, and on how you like to bathe, lying or sitting. Usually 1.5 square meters is taken per person. meter.
The basis of the steam room is shelves or a bench, its size depends on your preferences and the area of the bath. If you prefer to steam while sitting, then the width should vary between 40-45 cm, lying - at least 95 cm.
To warm the steam room, use stone stoves or electric stoves. The main advantage of heaters is that they heat the steam room faster and more strongly and subsequently the temperature can be adjusted. But they hardly maintain the necessary temperature and humidity.
Washing
Washing - directly the room where we wash. There are tanks with cold and hot water, benches for sitting, possibly a shower or a small font. The size of the wash is calculated based on the parameters - not less than 1 square. meters per person.
Dressing room
The direct purpose of this room is the locker room in front of the washing or steam room. But nowadays, when the bath is used not only for washing, it has become a relaxation room. Ideally, this should be a separate room. Here, visitors to the bath will be able to undress, relax after the steam room, dry out after washing, and generally tidy themselves up. For convenience, in the dressing room you can arrange benches, chairs, hang a mirror, put hangers for clothes and towels or even put a small pool to alternate hot and cold procedures. Massage lovers can set up a special sunbed. Also in the dressing room you need to select the corner under the bucket of water, coal or firewood and for other necessary utensils.
The arrangement of the dressing room depends on its size and your preferences. If the size of the bath is small, the dressing room can be replaced by a large hallway with a hanger and a shelf for shoes. Large saunas make a separate dressing room and a relaxation room, and if you use the bathhouse only in the warm season, you can even replace it with a terrace.
The dimensions of the doors in the bath should be small, and the doors themselves should be single-leaf, this will allow to keep the heat longer. Their width should not exceed 0.7 m and a height of 1.7 m.
Construction of the bath
If you decide to build a bathhouse by your own efforts, you need to carefully consider everything: choose a suitable place, decide what size the bathhouse will be, how many rooms it will consist of, decide on the material from which you will build it. Especially if you are going to do everything from drawings to yourself.
For example, if you build from a log, you need to remember that they are usually made about 4.5 meters long, and a beam - 5.5 meters. You can also use building blocks to build a bath. When using them there are no restrictions, it all depends on the plan of your future bath.
Approach the construction of the bath with all responsibility and then everything will surely work out for you.
Baths size 4/4
Baths 4 by 4 meters are very popular now - this is a wonderful, low-budget option.
The layout can be in two versions of the structure: one-story and attic type.
The classic layout of the rooms: in a one-story bath, a relaxation room and a locker room are combined. Sizes 2 by 4 meters. If the sauna is an attic type of building, in such a room only a locker room can be located, because the main part is occupied by a staircase to the second floor. Next is the washing compartment and steam room, the size of which is 2 by 2 meters. In a 4 by 4 meter bath, it is recommended to put a small metal furnace, since a large stove-heater takes up a lot of space and it will not be possible to separate the steam room and the washing room. The front part of the stove with the furnace is displayed in the rest room, and the stove itself is installed in the steam room. If you wish, you can attach a terrace and convert the attic into a summer lounge.