Sauna and even a bath can be arranged right in the house. It is easier to do this in a country cottage or in the country. The sauna can act as an extension and represent a full-fledged bath complex or be part of a building.
The device and features of the sauna
There are 3 types of sauna in the house.
- Built-in - is a separate room in a residential building, formed by wooden insulated walls and specially equipped. Usually built-in models are made according to individual projects and are quite expensive.
- Prefabricated - a structure made according to standard dimensions. Collect independently in any suitable place. The design is collapsible. Distinguish between panel board and timber options. In the first case, the steam room is assembled from ready-made ceiling and wall sections. Timber sauna is assembled from timber. The whole set, together with the fasteners, is provided by the manufacturer.
- Infrared - small booth for 1 to 3 people. In such a "steam room" the high temperature is obtained by means of an infrared heater. In terms of its effect, the model is comparable to a sauna based on an electric furnace.
The sizes of built-in home steam rooms in a private house vary within a small range. Infrared can be installed even in a fairly spacious corridor.
It is forbidden to install a sauna for 10 or more people in a private country house.
Choosing a place for a sauna
It is possible to place a steam room only with a number of requirements. Ideally, this should be a separate room on the ground floor, equipped with its own ventilation and well insulated. The location is chosen for the following reasons:
- Only an infrared sauna can be installed anywhere, the rest must be "tied" to the washing - bath, shower and toilet.
- The Finnish ones are advised to be placed as close to the outer walls as possible to ensure good ventilation.
- It is important to ensure air exchange in the steam room, so the room must be equipped with forced-air forced ventilation.
- In a wooden house or a log house, the room is separated from other rooms by fire partitions. The same goes for cottages with hardwood floors.
- The heating oven can only be factory-supplied.
- An obligatory element of fire safety is dry pipes. Perforated water pipes are connected to the public water supply. Their task is to extinguish the fire.
Before you start designing a steam room, you need to make sure that the electrical wiring in the house will withstand the connection of the equipment.
It is allowed to place a built-in or prefabricated sauna with your own hands in the house only next to non-residential premises: kitchen, bathroom, swimming pool, utility room. Often, a private house project involves a steam room in the basement.
How to start arranging a sauna in a private house or apartment
A sauna project in a house starts with a layout. A drawing is required: the place of installation of the stove, ventilation, shelves is marked on it. The dimensions of the room and all structures are indicated here, which allows you to "fit" the building into the existing premises.
- The sauna in the house should be as compact as possible. This is achieved by correctly placing the shelves and installing multi-tiered structures.
- Convenient ceiling height in the steam room - 2.1 meters.If in the basement, for example, the ceilings are lower, it is better not to do a bath here.
- The sauna is more compact than the steam room, so it is preferable in the house.
- The place for the stove is carefully determined. Install it so that it does not touch the walls, the floor and ceiling above it are covered with asbestos sheets. If it is wood-burning, provide a place for firewood.
Preparatory work includes ventilation planning. In the simplest case, the extractor hood from the bath is brought out to the general ventilation and to the roof. The supply must be separate.
Arrangement of walls
The built-in do-it-yourself steam room involves only one material - wood. Since the structure is located inside the building, there is no need to insulate the walls. Wood of sufficient thickness provides good thermal insulation. This parameter is calculated during planning.
The tree is chosen in the same way as for finishing a regular bath - only deciduous species. Linden, aspen, alder are preferable, as they are slightly heated.
The sauna for relaxation can be made as a large shower cabin. In this case, part of the bathroom is separated by glass or plastic panels from an aluminum or composite frame.
Floor installation
With the small size of the home steam room, the slope of the floor to remove moisture is no longer necessary. However, in the steam room it is necessary. If it is a Russian bathhouse that is equipped in the cottage, you will have to dismantle the old floors, make a new concrete screed at a slope and lay the sewer pipe.
In simpler cases, the booth is made without a floor and is simply installed on the existing one. This is less costly.
Arrangement of ventilation, lighting
Sauna in a private house is equipped with its own switchboard and RCD. This is mandatory, since the structure is fire hazardous. Each element - lamp, hair dryer, electric oven - is connected to the shield with a separate cable.
For ventilation of a small built-in room, it is enough to equip ordinary ventilation openings: an inflow at a distance of 25 cm from the floor, an exhaust hood as close to the ceiling as possible. In the built-in steam room, forced ventilation is required, since the humidity is too high here, and it is impossible to release vapors into the house.
Sauna door
When installing steam rooms or saunas, wooden doors are usually installed. The minimum width is 85–90 cm so as not to let out warm air. They also make special doors for saunas made of tempered glass.
Do not put sliding doors in the steam room. They look impressive, but they do not provide thermal insulation.
