The washing room in the steam room is characterized by high humidity indicators. Therefore, the selection of building and finishing materials must be approached responsibly, taking into account the specifics of the operation of the premises. We study step-by-step instructions on the rules for arranging a washing room. Content:
- Features of the device
- Building materials
- Arrangement of drain
- Floor installation
- Walls and ceiling
- Showers and shops
- Communication in the washroom
- Heating methods
Traditionally, in addition to the steam room, a relaxation room, a dressing room and a washing room are built in the bath. The latter must meet all the requirements for maintaining temperature and humidity. If desired, you can install a shower room or wooden tubs. Also, a washing room in a bathhouse is often equipped with a small pool or an ordinary wooden trough, if the dimensions do not allow. In addition, shops are an important element here. They can be massaged, rubbed or wrapped. In small steam rooms, the washing department is combined with a bathroom.
Features of the device washing compartment in the bath
It is necessary to think over the place for the washing room even at the construction stage. The main point in the equipment is the organization of cold, hot water supply and drainage. Due to the high humidity in the air, it is important to pay attention to the arrangement of ventilation to prevent the appearance of mold and mildew.
As for the size of the washing bath, an approximate area of 1 * 1, 2 meters is calculated per person. In general, it depends on your capabilities and wishes. It is recommended to use only natural materials as finishing materials.
Ideally suited for this:
- Wood … Unlike a steam room, it is better to use conifers here. Due to the resin content, they are characterized by high moisture resistance. To increase their lifespan, they are coated with natural oils or wax.
- Ceramic tile … It is durable, environmentally friendly and does not require complex maintenance. It is offered on the market in more than 200 colors, and therefore it is used to embody non-standard design ideas for finishing. Among the disadvantages are the complexity of installation and too slippery surface. Therefore, during operation, it is recommended to lay a wooden ladder or rubber mats. With such a cladding, an overlap should be made on walls with a height of 0.4 meters.
- A natural stone … It is rarely used for a complete finish. This material is often combined with wood or tiles. It is strong, durable and environmentally friendly. At the same time, stone cladding is rather difficult to carry out on your own. Simplicity of installation and light weight, unlike natural, is characterized by artificial stone. In addition, its price is almost three times lower.
As for artificial materials, PVC panels and lining are most often used. They are cheap, moisture resistant and easy to install. However, this finish is not environmentally friendly and is easily damaged by mechanical stress. But the use of fiberboard, chipboard and impregnated wood is prohibited, since at high temperatures they emit toxic fumes.
Materials for the construction of a washing room in a bath
The high humidity and relatively small size of this room require increased attention to the choice of materials for the construction of a washing room in a bath. When starting the arrangement of the washing department, it is worth taking care not only of "working" materials, such as clay, gravel, sand, cement, crushed stone, sawdust. It is also important to choose a high-quality waterproofing agent (it can be mastic or roofing material), expanded clay, moisture-resistant drywall, insulation (the best solution is mineral wool).
During construction, you will also need various devices for equipping a drain in a washing room, shower cabins and benches for rest. The shower cubicle can be bought ready-made or made by yourself.
Extraction and ventilation should be provided for this room. To do this, purchase supply and exhaust pipes.
The last stage of construction work is the finishing of the floor, walls and ceiling. Choose a finishing material that will have increased moisture resistance (tiles, wooden lining).
Arrangement of a drain in a washing bath
Do-it-yourself construction and equipment of a washing room in a bath is carried out in several stages. Arrangement of water drainage is the first step. Keep in mind that an average of about 8 liters of hot and up to 40 liters of cold bathing water is required per person. If the bath is used actively, then the water consumption will be great. This water should be properly drained.
Features of the drain device in the washing compartment of the bath:
- At a distance of 50 cm from the foundation inside the steam room, we pull out a hole with a depth of one and a half meters. This depth is needed to prevent freezing of drainage water in winter.
- We dig a trench from the pit into the street with a length of 2 meters and make a well for draining. Its volume should be between 1.5 m3.
- We completely process the ditch and the pit with oily clay, with a layer of 10 cm.
- Inside the room, we fill the hole half with gravel and up to the top with sand or completely only with sand.
- We carry out the same with a depression for draining inside the bath.
- In the outer trench and the drain well, we make a gravel-sand cushion 1 meter in height. This mixture will provide high-quality water filtration from chemical detergents.
- You can organize drainage by equipping a concrete or steel ladder. We install a branch pipe in it at a height of 10 cm from the bottom and a steel plate at a slope at a height of 5 cm from the bottom.
- We fix the side and top sides of the plate hermetically. Cover with a lid with holes.
- We stamp the joints of drain pipes and coat them with cement mortar.
Please note: you can not place a drain pit under the room itself to avoid dampness.
Installation of the floor in the washing bath
The technology of laying the flooring in the washing section of the bath is similar to how the floor in the steam room is equipped. In the washing room, you can put tiles or ceramic tiles on the floor, and its inexpensive option, since it is recommended to cover it with wooden ladders on top. This is done in order not to slip and walk comfortably even with bare feet.
When installing the floor in the sink, follow these instructions:
- We fill the floor with concrete and make a cement-sand screed. For additional insulation, add expanded clay to the solution and fill it with layers, between which we put a heat insulator (construction felt soaked in hot bitumen). The floor should slope towards the drain. Pour bitumen at the joints with the walls to increase moisture resistance.
- We waterproof the surface. If it is planned to lay a plank floor, then we lay roofing material and mount the crate on the floor. For finishing the floor with tiles, we use waterproofing mastic.
- We lay the "finishing" coating. This process is optional as you can leave the floor concrete and place a wooden ladder on top of it. You can build such a device yourself from carefully polished strips. Remember: the ladder planks must be carefully sanded so that no chipping remains. After all, you may walk barefoot on them.
It is strictly forbidden to use linoleum as a floor covering! This material is not suitable for the specific washing conditions.
Wall and ceiling decoration in the washing room of the bath
For wall and ceiling cladding, you can use ceramic, marble tiles or wooden lining. Of the more expensive options for wall decoration, natural stone is suitable. If you want to save money, then in the washing room you can lay tiles no higher than 1, 6–1, 8 meters from the floor. The area up to the ceiling can be painted with waterproof paint.
Instructions for finishing the washing compartment in the bath:
- On the wall that borders the steam room, we immediately mount the finishing material without an additional layer of waterproofing. We firmly fix the slats of the wooden cladding to the wall and to each other.
- If tile is used as a finishing material, then it must be laid strictly in one plane. To do this, use the building level. We rub the seams between the tiles with an anti-fungal compound.
- Before finishing the wall near the shower room, it is necessary to initially carry out its thorough waterproofing. And after that, lay the finishing material.
- We trim the ceiling with wood or paint with water-repellent paint when decorating the walls with tiles.
- It must be insulated from above using foil, wax paper, soft clay, mineral wool and sawdust. On the brick ceiling, we make a cement-sand screed on top, and on the ceiling of a wooden bath we fill a boardwalk with a thickness of 6 cm.
Installation of a shower cabin and benches in a washing bath
If your bath is designed for visiting several people at the same time, it makes sense to install 2-3 shower cabins in the washing room. You can purchase and install a ready-made shower stall. It is easier to install, but more expensive.
For self-assembly of the shower stall, we construct a plasterboard or plywood wall in the corner of the washroom. We make ceramic tiles in the corners and install the pallet. We strengthen the base with a frame made of wood or concrete and connect it to the sewer drain. The door leading to the shower stall is made of a plastic or metal frame, suitable in size for the stall. We attach a sheet of plastic to the frame. It is fixed with hinges in the right places.
An important element in the washing room is the benches. There must be several of them, so that there is enough space for everyone who wants to relax after the steam room and carry out wellness procedures. We build them from bars and planks. Along with benches, it can be installed in a washing and massage trestle bed.
Communications in the washing section of the bath
For a comfortable stay in the washroom, it is necessary to ensure high-quality air circulation in it. It is necessary to create a supply and exhaust ventilation system that will reduce air humidity. Also at this stage, you should take care of the water supply of the washing room. The task will be greatly simplified if it is possible to conduct a centralized water supply system.
We mount the hood into the wall and bring it out above the roof for efficient air outlet. We install the supply pipe at a height of two meters from the ground. It is better to equip forced ventilation with an electric motor, which will be triggered when the electricity is turned on.
We bring the centralized water supply to the washing room. To supply hot water, the room is equipped with a storage water heater. We bring the metal-plastic supply pipe to the device from below, and the output pipe from above. If it is not possible to carry out a centralized water supply to the washing room, it is necessary to ensure the supply of water from the well. To do this, we dig a trench from the source to the washing room. The trench should be at a depth below the level of freezing of the earth. We put water supply pipes in the trench.
In the bath, we install a system of two pumps, a treatment structure and a tank in which water will accumulate. In this case, one pump will pump water from the well to the bath. The second is to distribute to rooms. We connect a water heater to the system.
You can do it "the old fashioned way" - install a container with water on the stove, in which it will be heated.
Heating of the washing compartment of a bath
Heating a washing room in a bath can be done in several ways:
- Heating of the washing room can be carried out in conjunction with the heating of the steam room section. The heater is used as a heat source. It should be installed in the partition between the steam room and the wash compartment. It should be noted that this type of heating does not guarantee uniform heating. In addition, after the end of the bath procedures in the winter, it is necessary to drain water from all containers and sources.
- A more practical way to heat the bath and the sink is electric. To heat the sink, it is enough to install 2-3 radiators in the room, depending on the heated area. True, the cost of such heating is not low, and in the event of a power outage, we get a “frozen” bathhouse and damaged equipment.
- It makes sense to connect the gas main and install a separate gas boiler in the bathhouse if the building is large - about 150-200 m2… Otherwise, you can install several gas convectors in the sauna premises. One device is enough for the washroom. Convectors operate on bottled gas or main gas.
- If the bathhouse is located near the house, then it can be heated by means of a heating main from the common building system. In this case, ordinary radiators are installed in the premises of the bath. For a medium-sized sink, one radiator is usually sufficient.
Features of the washing department in the bath are shown in the video:
Depending on the size of the steam room and personal wishes, the washing room can be equipped in a separate room or be combined with a steam room, being its kind of continuation. Before making a washroom in a bath, decide on its location, size and finishing material. By adhering to the instructions and performing the work in stages, a functional washing compartment can be built independently.
