How to make shelves in a bathhouse - Article

In this article, using the example of a specific object, we will tell and show the most successful arrangement of shelves in a steam room. Determine at what height and what width is it better to make a steam table. We will also demonstrate what we got in the end.

What is a shelf

In essence, this is a bench, traditionally one- or two-tier, corner (you can make a corner corner in a bathhouse) or straight. There is a shelf in the steam room - you can sit or lie on such an elevation. Usually they lie on the upper tier and sit on the lower tier. This is a simple functional attribute that seems easy to make. This is true. But there are several points where mistakes can be made. How to make shelves in a bathhouse with your own hands and not break wood - first learn more about the design of the element.

Care

Shelves require regular maintenance after each use; that's the only rule. If you neglect to wash it several times, an unpleasant odor will settle in the steam room, which will be much more difficult to remove. Proper care includes the following simple operations:

After each visit to the bathhouse, the boards are washed or wiped with a damp cotton cloth, rinsing it periodically. It is most convenient to wash the shelves when they are not completely cool.
If you are treating wood with a preservative, make sure it is completely dry. To speed up the drying process, the doors to the steam room are left open.

Steam room with a classic low ceiling Source bstatic.com

Design

The element is assembled from a frame, base and boarding, which can be stationary, removable or folding. The basis is made up of support posts (vertical), as well as jumper boards - such a frame is attached directly to the wall. But between the shelves and the wall you need space for ventilation - this is about 8-10 cm. The flooring is made of narrow planks.

Ramunas

In theory, the frame is made from racks - vertically located bars. A diffuse film (membrane) and a vapor barrier are attached exactly over them, and then along these racks (vertically) an air gap is attached, forming a lath two to two and a half cm thick. And the lining is already attached to it - let me remind you, the lining is attached HORIZONTALLY with a “folder” at the top . And the shelves are attached precisely to the racks through this entire sandwich - that is, fastening occurs only at certain points of the wall and not just anywhere.

It is important to leave a gap between the wooden planks of the shelf flooring (it is better to make it removable so that it can be washed and dried in fresh air) so that the water drains and does not remain in puddles. A suitable step is usually 1 cm - sometimes a little more.

Kern:

Kern

I left 1.5 cm gaps between the boards (ours are made of abasha) - this makes them easier to wash and sweep away leaves. The sides were not sewn up, I think there should be some ventilation there

Regiment structure

Bath shelves are distinguished by their simplicity of design. There is no decor, since decorations can injure a lying person, and are not entirely appropriate in the interior of a bathhouse. The dimensions of each bench are usually selected taking into account height and weight. The flooring should accommodate a person of any size without experiencing discomfort.

The tiered design is due to the ability to sit in the steam room at a level where it is cooler or hotter.

The shelves consist of only two elements:

Flooring is a plank base fixed to a frame. The pitch of the boards is in the range of 10-20 mm. Functionally serves as a seat or lounger. In some cases, the flooring is made removable - this makes it more convenient to ventilate, clean or dry it. This element is designed to enable a person to take a relaxed position. Therefore, floorings are complemented with backrests, armrests, and stands.
The frame is the basis for installing the flooring. Structurally, it consists of vertical supports (legs or racks) connected by horizontal jumpers.

Shelves in saunas are most often frameless. They are mounted on brackets similar to compartment structures.

Shelf location

The correct placement of the shelves is against the wall. Often the question of how to make shelves in a bathhouse or steam room is decided based on the actual area of the room and its shape: square, rectangular, etc. There are several types of bath benches that may be suitable for a steam room with certain “architecture” features.

Steps . This is the most common and convenient option. This method helps you choose a certain temperature individually - the hottest air is near the ceiling. That is, at first you can choose the lower level, and then try the upper one when the body gets used to it. If someone doesn't handle the heat very well, they can stay downstairs.

Coupe. This is when one shelf is above the other. Compartment shelves can be installed even in a very small bathhouse. The space savings are obvious. You will need a side chair to climb up. But it’s not always comfortable to know that someone is lying above you and, perhaps, heavy. And it’s quite difficult to communicate like that.

L-shaped . You can make a corner shelf in the bathhouse - it also saves space, but it’s more pleasant to talk and it’s more convenient to “use” a broom. And more “seating” places.

The distance from the ceiling surface to the upper tier (if the arrangement is stepped) should be at least 110-120 cm - otherwise only a child will be able to sit on the shelf there. Other parameters: from the floor to the lower tier - 25-40 cm, between adjacent shelves - from 50 cm.

potaskuns

I made the shelves, observing the basic requirements that were presented to them in the book about baths and saunas, namely: the distance between the top shelf and the ceiling (I don’t remember how much now) and the width of the shelves.

In addition, I made the shelves so that you could lie on the top one both against the wall farthest from the stove and with your feet towards it (199 cm in length).

Since the distance from the bottom shelf to the floor was slightly higher than what was comfortable for sitting, I made a small pad from the remains of the boards, which can be moved along the floor like a stool.

You cannot install shelves near windows - if there are openings in the steam room. Glass can easily burst during bath procedures - there is a risk of injury and even serious harm. In general, there is no need for windows, and they also cause heat to escape.

Types of bath shelves

The steam room in the bathhouse is a small room, so when arranging it you need to make it comfortable and functional. Various types of regiments will cope with this task:

Benches – suitable for steam rooms of any size.
Beds - installed in medium and spacious paired rooms.
Sun loungers are the most exotic option, reminiscent of beach furniture. Multifunctional, mobile. Suitable for both lying and sitting. Optimal for large steam rooms.

If the steam room has a window, you should not place the benches close to it. This is dictated by safety considerations: with a temperature contrast, there is a risk that the glass will crack, injuring vacationers with fragments.

Dimensions and diagrams

What shelves should be made in the bathhouse in terms of length and width? It is believed that the upper shelves, for lying on, should be slightly wider than the lower ones - on which they usually sit. And if in numbers, then for the first tier 30-40 cm is enough, and for the top - from 60 cm. It is more comfortable when the shelf is wide, 80-90 cm - especially if there are large, tall people in the family. The length should be at least 180 cm, and preferably 200 cm, so that a tall person can lie down with his arms stretched out in front of him.

Nagoa

Shelves - I have 75, I would like a little more, but it doesn’t work out, so 85 cm is excellent

But before you make shelves in the bathhouse, you should take the time to draw. You can use programs that are easy to download online and download for free, but often a piece of paper, a pencil and a ruler are enough. The steam room room is depicted, the dimensions (ceiling, floor, etc.), the location of the shelves and the sizes of the elements are indicated on the required scale - not forgetting the height of a person standing and sitting. A sketch usually helps to see how to make a corner shelf in a bathhouse, placing benches most conveniently, and whether the “compartment” location makes sense. It is important to think about where the stove will be located.

Avtomir

Then the passage will be narrow, the canopy is, for example, 90 cm, the bench is at least 30-40, if there is another 15-20 cm along the stove, there is only 50 cm left for the passage! not enough. If we are still talking about the bench to the right of the entrance, then it is there, I just didn’t draw it). There will be a supply of hot and cold water. Somehow I didn’t even think about the “danger” of the masonry; the only thing that bothered me about the entire stove was the sheet of metal, how not to touch it.

Briefly about the main thing

Shelves are part of both the Finnish sauna and the Russian bath, but in the sauna people sit more often, so there are some differences in size. For example, the length of the lounger is important in a bathhouse, but in a sauna it is not so important. Key design parameters are width, height and length; they are important for a comfortable pastime.

The choice of wood type, its quality, as well as the possibility of processing it, plays a role. When designing shelves, take into account the size of the steam room (including the distance to the ceiling) and personal tastes; You can take drawings from the Internet as a basis, adjusting them to your dimensions. Assembly is carried out in a certain sequence, not forgetting about the features of the room.

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Material selection

When purchasing beams for such shelves, they are guided by the thermal conductivity of wood - the indicator should be low. Otherwise, the bench will be very hot - it will become impossible to sit quite soon after lighting the stove. Moisture resistance and the ability to withstand temperature changes without cracking are also valued - a steam room is not the best environment for wood. It is undesirable to choose some coniferous species, because when heated, they release resins and can burn the skin. Therefore, to make a shelf for a bathhouse with your own hands , it is better to choose hardwood. But each option has advantages and disadvantages.

Larch . This wood contains gum, which makes the material durable and resistant to both high temperatures and prolonged exposure to moisture. When used, larch releases phytoncides that are beneficial to health. But the wood density is high, the material is difficult to process, has resin pockets (the de-resin process usually helps get rid of the problem), and the price is not affordable.

Linden. The material, unlike larch, is easy to process, remains smooth for a long time, smells amazing and weighs relatively little. Therefore, folding shelves are usually made from linden. Externally, the wood is aesthetically pleasing, has a pleasant shade and retains its beautiful appearance for a long time.

Alder . This is a resistant type of wood that can be black (special grade) or regular, light. Even after several years, the boards retain their color, do not deform, or crack. The thermal conductivity of alder is minimal. By the way, in Rus' this particular tree was traditionally chosen for making bathhouse shelves.

Maple. It is also a very durable wood, not very expensive and has a beautiful shade and pattern. Maple boards are easy to process, are not afraid of high humidity and last a long time.

Abash is an African oak characterized by low thermal conductivity. But experienced builders do not recommend this wood for ordinary home baths.

ZYBY

Abash is not suitable for a regiment in the Republic of Belarus. It will suck in sweat and it will stink. In Belarus, the wood of the shelves is protected from sweat by impregnation with linseed oil. Abash is loose and is used in saunas so that at 120 it doesn’t burn your butt. And buy an expensive abash. And then painting it is beyond the bounds!

Protective wood treatment

Most bathhouse owners do not treat the shelves in the steam room with anything. Since the material constantly experiences temperature changes and contact with water, it is considered the best solution not to coat it with any means.

However, this mode of operation creates favorable conditions for the appearance of fungus and mold, and wood rotting. Aspen is especially prone to this, and coniferous woods demonstrate greater resistance to microbiological damage.

If the material is impregnated with a protective composition, the risk of problems with fungal or bacterial infections can be avoided. However, it is impossible to use conventional means - varnishes or drying oils - in this case. When heated, these coatings begin to emit a strong odor, which makes staying in the steam room impossible.

The best option is to use special oils to impregnate bath shelves.

These are compounds that are absorbed into wood and give it water-repellent properties. At the same time, they do not form a film on the surface that can cause burns. This is an important point, especially for a sauna, where the temperature in the steam room can rise to 100 °C and even higher.

Processing can be done before or after assembling the shelves. The best option is to cut all the parts, treat them with oil and final assembly. With this option, there are no untreated areas or cut ends left.

Stages of work

How to make shelves in a bathhouse with your own hands if the drawing is ready and the materials have been purchased? It is better to prepare in advance a tape measure, a drill, a mallet and a wooden hammer, a chisel, a grinder and a hacksaw for wood, as well as a screwdriver. It makes sense to take wooden pins. Blanks are made according to the drawing, based on the type of shelves (corner, stepped, etc.) and dimensions (width, height) - taking into account the area of the room.

Then the boards are processed - splinters, burrs, and any imperfections are eliminated (otherwise you will have to get the splinters out later). To prevent the wood from cracking during work, screws are used, but you can pre-drill holes. All surfaces of the boards are carefully sanded, and the corners are prepared. The lumber must be coated with a special protective compound to avoid rotting and cracking. You cannot choose varnishes, paints and ordinary chemicals - when heated, substances harmful to health will be released into the air.

Next, the frame is assembled. The frame is fastened at the corners (metal corners may be suitable for this) and tightened with bolts or screws in the inside of the shelves. Then intermediate slats (transverse) are installed every 50-60 cm.

The next step is to install the support frame on the walls, securing two wooden blocks at the same height using a level. Self-tapping screws or self-tapping screws are suitable for fixing the supports - they are attached at two or three points (at a distance of up to 40 cm). There are more fasteners if the bed is long. It is important to secure the lower frames with a protrusion that matches the width of the lower shelf. The frame is installed on the frame and attached to the wall (with self-tapping screws), then the flooring is laid in steps of 1-1.5 cm. The space between the lower and upper shelves is closed. At the end, the backrest for the upper tier is assembled and secured.

Assembly

The bath shelf is assembled based on the size and configuration of the steam room. Without knowing the exact values, it is difficult to describe the process in sufficient detail. We can only outline the main stages of work. Considering that the process is not particularly complicated, it seems possible to give fairly accurate recommendations.

The assembly process begins with the manufacture of a supporting frame. These are structures in the shape of the letter “P”, one side attached to the wall (more precisely, to the sheathing). The second vertical part is connected to a similar smaller structure. The total result is supports for a low bench and a higher bench.

The dimensions of both supports are selected based on the capabilities of the room. The number of such supports is determined by the length of the shelf, as well as its configuration - for a straight product you need half as many supports as for an L-shaped one.

The supports are assembled using ordinary screws. There is an opinion that for a bathhouse, assembly should only be done using carpentry joints (tenon and groove). The problem is that this requires the appropriate machines. It is much easier to assemble the supports using ordinary screws with heads recessed into the wood.

The supports are installed in a pre-designated location and attached to the walls and floor. Then they begin to lay boards on them. In saunas, the filling of the flooring is often done in a transverse direction - this makes the surface more attractive. But this option is not suitable for a Russian bath. The end sections of the boards can cause discomfort and even splinters.

Therefore, it is recommended to lay the boards in the longitudinal direction. In addition, this position of the boards provides support against the walls, eliminating the danger of the shelf swaying.

For fastening, screws are also used, the heads of which are sunk deep into the wood. When the assembly is completed, the holes are closed with wooden plugs - this will help protect the metal fasteners from corrosion.

The flooring should not be laid close to the wall, but with a gap of about 10 mm. This will provide an opportunity to dry the edges of the boards after finishing using the steam room, and will help to avoid filling the cracks with small debris and mucus.

Manufacturing

To make shelves of the required size for a suitable number of people, you should prepare the necessary tools and materials. To work you will need:

wooden boards from the selected wood species;
wooden beam;
stand boards for fastening the structure;
self-tapping screws;
corner;
nails.

At the initial stage, the instructions provide for assembling a frame for future shelves.

Assembling the frame base and installing the flooring

The wooden frame base is assembled from 10 prepared beams with a cross-section of 5 × 7 cm and 5 rack boards for attaching shelves. The beams for the frame are mounted vertically and fastened horizontally to each other using strapping. Fixation to the racks is carried out using a paired connecting element.

To provide additional strength, the structure is additionally mounted to the wall surface.

Smooth boards pre-treated with an antiseptic are used as flooring. Installation of boards is carried out in compliance with the technological gap between them of 6 mm. For the lower shelf, 3 boards are used, for the upper bench - 7.

Next, the flooring is installed on the prepared frame with fixation using self-tapping screws, which must be recessed 5 mm deep into the wood. The fastening elements are driven in from the reverse side of the shelves. The boards are laid with a gap at a slight inclination of 2 degrees.

Fixation of the structure

The shelves are fixed to the wall while maintaining a gap of 11 cm. The bottom shelf has a movable structure mounted on special mechanisms - runners, which simplifies the process of cleaning the steam room.

The photo shows a step-by-step algorithm.

In places where the wooden frame of the shelves comes into contact with the floor surface, special rubber gaskets are installed for additional waterproofing.

Bathhouse layout

Correctly selected bath dimensions do not yet mean the proper level of comfort

It is very important to pay attention to the layout of the premises. For example, not every guest will like having a toilet in the shower room. The most rational solution would be to abandon the washbasin, toilet and shower in favor of a wall-mounted shower with shower buckets, and install a bench for greater comfort

The most rational solution would be to abandon the washbasin, toilet and shower in favor of a wall-mounted shower with shower buckets, and install a bench for greater comfort.

Bathhouse owners often use closed showers. They prevent splashing of water, which negatively affects the service life of finishing materials, in particular wooden ones.

It is recommended to insulate the floor in the washing room, using a screed to make a slight slope - for better collection and subsequent drainage of water. Non-gloss tiles are predominantly used as flooring, which reduces the likelihood of slipping on a wet floor

Small seating area in the dressing roomSource pinterest.com.au

When designing a dressing room, it is important to arrange the furniture correctly, without blocking all the necessary passages. This can be taken care of at the stage of purchasing tables and sofas.

So, a folding table and a small bench with stools will significantly save floor space.

At the design stage of the steam room, special attention is also paid to the layout of the stove - the chimney should be located next to the ridge, for ease of cleaning. For people who like to plunge into a pond or pool after a steam room, the layout is calculated in such a way that the distance from the steam room to the exit from the bathhouse is small

Optimal bath sizes for 4 people Source pinterest.com

Basic requirements for the premises

In order to correctly determine the size of the steam room, you need to clearly understand the requirements that it must meet. The main criterion for its effectiveness is the internal microclimate.

It is determined by two indicators:

temperature

air humidity

The combination of these indicators determines the overall level of comfort and the level of beneficial effect that the user can receive from visiting the bathhouse.

The basic indicators are considered to be:

temperature - 60 °C;
relative humidity - 60%.

In addition, normal air exchange is important, in which the air in the steam room must be completely renewed 4-5 times within an hour. This is a simplified approach, but for such a small room it is quite correct.

The presence of all indicators makes it possible to ensure high-quality warming of the human body.

It is produced from 3 sources:

from the heat of heated air;

from the heat emitted by the stove;

from steam interacting with human skin.

All these indicators directly depend on the size of the room.