The feeling of lightness in the body after a hot steam room and an ice bath cannot be compared with anything. Therefore, many contemporaries of our century of powerful stress are thinking about building, albeit small, but their own bathhouse. In our article, we suggest you build a glued laminated timber bath with your own hands. Content:
- The advantages of the timber
- Material selection
- Bath design
- Foundation device
- Walling
- Window
- Finishing
- Roof construction
- Engineering Communication
Advantages of laminated veneer lumber for the construction of a bath
If we compare the heat-shielding properties of glued and solid timber, then the former wins. This is due to the fact that the glue that connects the lamellas of the product prevents the transfer of heat between them. Therefore, a bathhouse built of laminated veneer lumber retains the temperature of its premises better. In addition to the above, this material has a number of other advantages:
- There are practically no bends, shrinkage and cracks;
- Simple and quick installation;
- Durability;
- Smooth surface;
- 100% tightness of connections;
- Resistance to mechanical stress - abrasion, shock, etc.;
- Excellent moisture resistance due to glue impregnation;
- Design that does not require additional finishing work - clapboard cladding and other things.
Unlike plain wood, glued laminated timber is not afraid of changes in moisture indicators. This is due to the technology of its production: when gluing a bar, the wood fibers of its components are directed in opposite directions in relation to each other. This greatly increases the strength of the product and guarantees the preservation of its shape.
The choice of glued laminated timber for a bath
Experts advise the following regarding the correct choice of laminated veneer lumber for building a bath:
- It is worth purchasing only the northern forest from trusted manufacturers.
- You can only cooperate with a company that guarantees the processing of the walls of the building with a special compound that counteracts the appearance of insects and rot. Such an antiseptic must be environmentally friendly itself, this is important.
- In the manufacture of timber, an adhesive composition is used to connect the lamellas. It is worth paying attention to its brand. AkzoNobel, which has an environmental certificate, has proven itself to be the best.
- A high-quality timber includes from 3 to 7 lamellas - no more, no less.
- The end part of the timber must be protected from cracking by impregnation with a special solution.
- When buying, they often prefer the Finnish glued laminated timber, which is slightly more expensive than the local analogue, but of better quality.
Designing a glued laminated timber bath
The construction methods for buildings made of laminated veneer lumber are largely the same. But the construction of a bath has a distinctive feature: the need to take into account humidity and exposure to hot air in its premises. Before starting construction, it is necessary to think over all the elements of which the building will consist, so that later the finished one will not be rebuilt.
To do this, we advise you to familiarize yourself with the information that can help you choose the right material in the best way, or consult with professionals. You can find various photographs and ready-made projects of laminated veneer lumber baths, find out how they look, choose the right dimensions, the shape of the roof and much more.
It is worth paying attention to the location of your future building. The bathhouse must be built on the leeward side relative to other buildings. Thanks to this arrangement, it will be closed from slanting rains, which adversely affect the safety of wooden structures.
At the planning stage for the upcoming construction work, it is necessary to determine:
- Types and quantity of the required tool;
- Specification and cost of materials for the bath;
- The total cost of construction.
If you find it difficult to carry out this work, you need to involve the masters of the estimated affairs. If you have a finished project, you can purchase a bath kit for it at the factory in the form of its parts. After their delivery, the bathhouse can be simply assembled. If all the materials are available, a glued laminated timber bath is erected in a month and a half.
Installation of a foundation for a bath made of laminated veneer lumber
Any structure requires the installation of a foundation. Its appearance and depth no longer depend on the purpose of the building, but on its weight, as well as on the depth of soil freezing in your region. Many builders love to erect strip foundations. There are several reasons for this: endurance, durability and simple installation of a concrete tape without the use of cranes and other construction equipment.
The work on the construction of the strip foundation can be divided into several stages:
- Planning and marking of the territory of the site for construction.
- Digging trenches with the required depth of soil freezing in the winter.
- Installation of a sand cushion at the bottom of trenches with a thickness of 150–200 mm.
- Assembly and strengthening of the formwork for the strip foundation.
- Manufacturing of reinforcing frames and linking them in the formwork.
- Pouring the resulting structure with concrete to the design level.
- Covering the foundation with waterproofing after it has hardened.
The bottom of the foundation should be located 200 mm below the freezing point of the soil in order to avoid its deformation destruction during the "winter - summer" cycles.
Less often, a pile foundation is used for the construction of a bath. Its device is advisable on soils with subsidence or in the bottom of the reservoir.
Erection of walls from laminated veneer lumber
Chopped walls are vertical structures made of wooden elements, lying on top of each other and connected at the corners by cuts. Each row of such elements is called a "crown". The frame of a house with such walls is called a “log house”. Wooden structures are interconnected in many ways: "in the paw", "in the bowl", "dovetail" and dozens of others.
To erect a wall from laminated veneer lumber, you need to cut a groove at the bottom of each element. With this part, the timber is laid on the plane of the previous element with 1 cm thick jute insulation. The lower part of the first crown is insulated from contact with the foundation by welded waterproofing.
The bathhouse can be made of solid timber. In this case, the elements are connected with dowels with a section of 25x25 mm and a length of 350 mm. They are installed with a step of 2 m. The corners and joints are often assembled "in a paw" or "in a tongue."
The length of the walls made of timber should not be more than 6.5 m, otherwise vertical clamps are installed. After the installation of the walls from the timber, all the grooves will be caulked. This procedure must be repeated a year and a half after the final settlement of the walls.
Sauna windows made of laminated veneer lumber
Bath windows can be conveniently placed on wooden slats. For this, special grooves are made at the ends of the window frames for the size of the slats. With this design, the windows move freely up and down. Then thermal insulation is laid in the grooves, and the platbands are installed. Do not use coniferous materials for the manufacture of windows in the steam room. At elevated temperatures, such wood gives off resin.
The beams of the wooden floor of the bath are attached to the wall with a reliable cut, giving rigidity to the overall structure.
Finishing of a bath from glued laminated timber
Special finishing for a glued laminated timber bath is not required, as mentioned above. But if you wish, the walls can be sanded and painted. For a therapeutic effect, the steam room is sheathed with linden, alder or aspen clapboard. When heated, these woods produce aromatic essential oils that are very beneficial to your health.
The floors in the bath can be made of wood on logs with mandatory ventilation in the underground space. Ceilings are insulated and insulated with basalt mats, plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Non-combustible materials are good for the roof: metal tiles, profiled flooring, slate or ondulin.
Construction of a roof for a bath made of laminated veneer lumber
For private baths made of wood, gable roofs are usually used. They are quite reliable and easy to manufacture. They consist of a rafter system, lathing, vapor barrier, insulation and finishing material. Roofing rafters are of two types - inclined and hanging. Inclined rafters can cover a span of up to 7 m without intermediate supports. For a larger span, hanging rafters are used. After installing the entire system, you can mount the cornice flooring and trim the gable.
Then a crate of boards is installed on the supporting structure. We will attach the roofing material to it. Each of its types has its pros and cons, consider each of them:
- Shingles, for example, while durable, are heavy. Strong rafters and lathing are needed to support it. Therefore, a tiled roof is more suitable for a home than a bath.
- A slate roof is lighter, but it will last 15 years, no more. For a bath, this is a perfectly acceptable option, because the slate can then be replaced. When installing such a roof, the overlay of one sheet on another goes along the length of one wave.
- The lightest covering is metal flooring. Its sheets are fixed on the crate with the help of special metal strips, which are located in the places where the sheet is closed and in its middle.
Remember to equip your roof with drainpipes, cornices and gutters to prevent water from running down the walls when it rains or melts.
Engineering communications in a glued laminated timber bath
A modern bathhouse should be adapted for visiting and even living at any time of the year. Plumbing, sewerage, electricity, ventilation and heating networks must be present in it.
When installing engineering communications, the following recommendations should be taken into account:
- The power supply for saunas and baths is a high-risk facility. Therefore, the materials and devices that are used for electrical installation must comply with the requirements of electrical and fire safety.
- Wiring is laid on wooden walls only in a metal sleeve.
- In the steam room, the electrical wiring must be located behind the vapor barrier and be adapted to work at elevated temperatures.
- Bath lamps are manufactured in explosion-proof design.
- Sockets and switches are not installed in rooms with high humidity.
For the operation of the ventilation system, it is necessary to calculate the air exchange of the bath rooms, lay air ducts, install ventilation grilles and valves in the technological windows of the boxes.
We also recommend watching a video about decoration and communications in a laminated veneer lumber bath:
[media = https://www.youtube.com/watch? v = E44KAkNu1_s] By and large, the construction of baths from laminated veneer lumber is not a particularly difficult task. Many stages of work can be done independently. You can always involve professionals in a business you are not familiar with. But you always need to learn, experience is priceless!
