Despite the high temperatures in the steam room, below it rarely exceeds 30 degrees, but the floor is constantly humid. Therefore, when arranging the floor in such conditions, there are some peculiarities.
In this article, we will tell you about how the floor in the bath is made on the ground, the preparation process and the scheme for laying a wooden floor.
Types of floors for a bath
In most cases, it is the wood floor that is chosen for: it is not slippery, costs less, and is easy to install.
Concrete types are usually chosen for public saunas, since from intensive use the tree would have to be changed every 2-3 years.
- A leaking wooden floor is made in cases where it is necessary for moisture to freely pass through the gaps between the boards and be removed from the subfloor to the outside... Compared to other types, this structure has a simple construction technology. This option is suitable only for warm regions, since it does not have thermal insulation.
- Non-leaking wooden floors are made of tongue-and-groove boards tightly joined together... The slope of the floor in the bathhouse is made towards the drain ladder, which will ensure the removal of moisture into the sewage system or drain pit.
Such a cake of the floor in the bath allows you to make waterproofing, vapor barrier and insulation, which sets it apart from the previous version.
In the steam room, it makes no sense to make a leak-proof floor, since the price of the structure increases greatly, and there will not be a lot of water there. For the convenience of cleaning, you can make a two-sided slope of the floor. - Concrete floor screed has an advantage over wood types in high durability... The screed will serve you 30-50 years, and the tree less than 10 years.
Although the costs for its device go out and more, in terms of operational characteristics, concrete strongly beats wood.
Floor construction
As a rule, the installation of the floor in the bathhouse in the steam room is done at an elevation relative to the zero mark of the finished floor. It is enough to raise it by 7-10 cm and the heat will be kept better in the steam room.
In the washing section, on the contrary, the floor height in the bath is made lower so that water does not penetrate into other rooms.
Basic materials
It is believed that in the question of which floor is better in the bath, larch is beyond competition. In terms of hardness and wear resistance, it is comparable to oak, and it only becomes stronger from moisture. The only drawback of using it is its high cost.
Similar boards made of pine or spruce will cost 2-3 times cheaper. If it is possible to use larch for reasonable money, then it is better to choose it. If not, then you can buy grooved boards of birch, pine, spruce, fir, alder. Subfloor - in the bath you can make pine to save money.
An important rule to follow is to lay only dry boards. Raw wood during operation will greatly change its size and shape.
The thicker the board is, the more it will deform. Planks 21-25 mm thick will resize the least, but they will sag. To fix this, you can log more frequently. The best option is boards 35 mm with a width of 12 cm.
For insulation, mineral wool and expanded polystyrene are most often used.
The waterproofing and vapor barrier is made of a vapor barrier membrane, such as Izospan. Its advantage is that it allows moisture to pass through only in one direction. Due to this, on the one hand, moisture does not pass inside, and on the other hand, excess condensate and steam are removed. This allows you to keep the insulation always dry and it does not lose its characteristics.
Also in this case we will use:
- Bar 70 * 100 mm;
- Lags 50 * 180 mm;
- Skull bars 40 * 40 mm;
- Plywood or board trims 20-25 mm thick to make a double floor.
Dismantling the old floor
If you are replacing an old covering, then first of all you need to dismantle the old floor of the frame bath.
- It will be necessary to remove the top layer of soil, about 25 centimeters, in order to get rid of the fungus that has got into the ground. Old boards must be burned immediately.
Advice!
Concrete walls can be heated with a construction gas cannon to destroy all fungus.
Additionally, it must be treated with Anti-Mold to remove the remaining pores of the fungus.
- An elastic coating waterproofing is made below the floor level.
- A layer of sand backfill is laid on the ground, leveled and carefully rammed.
- Then fiberglass and Izospan vapor barrier are laid on the sand. On top of them you need to sprinkle with another sandy layer. This is to protect the underside of the floorboards from moisture, mold and decay. Insulation sheets must be glued together with tape.
Advice!
If a rat hole is found in the foundation, then it must be sealed with concrete with the addition of liquid and broken glass.
Pie and gender features
In this example, the floors in the bath are used on the ground. To obtain the desired elevation level, 70 * 100 beams are mounted on the posts before laying the logs.
They will take on some of the load, distribute it evenly, increase the strength and simplify the leveling of the base.
- First of all, waterproofing from two layers of roofing material is laid on the foundation and brick props.
- Then the retaining beams are laid. Their edges will lie on the foundation, and 1-3 columns support them in the center.
- On top of the beams, logs are attached to the corners. They should be trimmed on both sides to a center length of 2 cm to create a slope.
- Skull bars are nailed to the bottom of the lag, forming an inverted T. They are needed for fixing the sub-floor, so there is no need for special strength, any screws or nails will do.
- The sub-floor boards are laid, and a vapor barrier membrane with an overlap of 20-30 cm is attached on top of them. Then it will need to be glued together with the waterproofing of the walls.
- On the subfloor and closed with a vapor barrier. It is attached to the logs with a stapler. The joints are glued with tape.
- At the end, the flooring of the finished floor from the grooved board is attached. To hide the attachment points, they are fastened with self-tapping screws into a groove at an angle of 45 degrees.
Note!
A ventilation gap of 2-3 cm must be provided under the finished floor.
To do this, you can use higher logs, or stuff additional counter-lattice bars on them after attaching the vapor barrier to the insulation.
Manufacturing of retaining posts
To eliminate the deflection of the support beams from a high load, you need to make additional supports (chairs) in weak places. Naturally, the weakest points will be the center of the beams and the place under the oven. Chairs can be made of wood, brick, concrete.
Instructions on how to make concrete posts with your own hands:
- To make concrete posts, mark the places where they will be installed and dig holes 40 cm deep.
- At the bottom of the pit, you need to pour a 25 cm layer of sand and gravel for the substrate and compact them well.
- From the boards, make a formwork of about 25 * 25 cm (1 brick in size) and up to. Lay roofing material on the inner walls of the formwork.
Advice!
You can make the permanent formwork of the posts from asbestos-cement, PVC sewer pipes or twisted roofing material.
- Wire the reinforcing cage in each post from 10 mm diameter rods.
- Prepare a mortar of cement, sand and fine gravel (in proportions 1: 3: 5).
- Before pouring, make a mortgage in the center of the post for easy fastening of the beams. It is best made from a threaded stud.
- Fill the posts to the same level and let them dry for at least a few days. They will gain full strength only after a month.
Installation of the subfloor
Advice!
Treat all wooden elements with an antiseptic before starting work.
- Lay and secure the retaining beams to the foundation. Pay attention that a temperature gap of 1 cm is maintained from the edges of the logs and beams at the junction with the wall. They are attached to the foundation with 12 * 140 mm anchor bolts.
- To make it easier to trim the remaining logs at the same angle to drain, use one of them as a template.
- When laying the sub floor, you can use almost any board, since it is only needed for laying thermal insulation. At the same time, be sure to treat them with an antiseptic and remove the bark before laying.
- We fasten the waterproofing to the logs with a stapler every 10-15 cm with an overlap and overlap on the walls.
- The insulation is laid close to each other, with an offset of the joints. Mineral wool should not be crumpled, but cut exactly to the size of the cells.
- Then, in the same way, we attach another layer of vapor-waterproofing to the logs.
Laying the finished floor
- We fasten the first sheathing board with an indent from the wall 1-2 cm from above on a self-tapping screw. Try to do this as close to the wall as possible to hide the hat with the baseboard.
- We attach the subsequent boards to the groove to the previous one. For their tight docking with each other, make a doboin with a thorn. Through it, you can knock boards with a hammer without fear of damaging the connecting elements.
- If an even stronger docking is required, then make pegs with a thorn. By nailing metal staples to the joists, you can use them to wedge the boards, as shown in the photo.
- To hide the caps of the screws, all subsequent boards are fastened from the side of the groove, screwing the screws there to the logs at an angle. In order for the boards to be pressed tightly and not to crack, holes must be drilled before that.
- When installing the last board, it will need to be cut to the width with a circular saw. It must be fastened in the same way as the first, with self-tapping screws from above.
Conclusion
Having made a wooden floor in a frame bath, you can be sure that it will last at least 10 years of active use. If you want to make a floor heating system, put a tiled floor in a bath, make a drain, then you need to make a screed.
The video in this article shows the self-laying of the floor in the bath.
The main task of the floor in the bath is not only to ensure safety and convenience when moving, but also to play the role of a high-quality sewage device capable of removing water, but at the same time not rotting and not deteriorating. The most important thing is to familiarize yourself with the basic principles of installing the floor in the bath.
Floor types
When choosing the materials used, it is worth remembering that there are only two options: these are either wooden boards or concrete. The concrete version will be more durable, it will last more than 50 years, but it will take longer to create it.
As for wooden boards, they fit into logs, and this requires little time and effort. However, the service life of the boards is about 7 years, and then the floor will have to be changed.
The wooden type of masonry bath flooring can be divided into two types:
Leaking floor. It is considered to be the simplest type, which is easily installed. A minimum distance of 3 mm must be observed between the main boards, but it can be increased to 2 cm. The photo shows an example of such a floor.
Tip: Do not nail down the wood floor. This is necessary so that the entire structure can be taken outside in warm weather to dry out. This maneuver will help preserve the life of the product.
The main feature of a leaking type of floor is that water easily gets under the boards, and special gaps for drainage are provided in the lower covering. But such a floor provides for the presence of an internal drainage structure.
Non-leaking floor. The construction of this bath floor is quite complex. It is installed on the so-called sub-floor, which is built together with insulation, if necessary. There should be at least two centimeters between the wall and the boards, and the nails used to fasten the floor are large enough - an average size of 8 cm.
To lay such a floor, you need to take solid boards, made of deciduous trees, and install them in two rows.
Important: the boards must be perfectly flat, without gaps. When installing, they should be pressed tightly against each other, since water should not seep into the interior of the coating.
The non-leaking floor is installed on logs fixed to the supports. The supports are made of concrete, and their height should be strictly controlled so that it is at the same level. The concrete must be poured under the plank supports. A concrete mixture of M100 grade cement, formed by wooden structures, which are removed after the mixture dries, is suitable. Concrete is laid out on the cleaned surface, after which an appropriate amount of time is expected (depending on the characteristics of the concrete used).
When erecting a non-leaking floor, it is necessary to make a gap that will differ in height from the main part of the floor. It should also consist of wooden planks clearly cut from wood and pressed firmly against each other. A siphon is inserted into the thickness of the gap, which accumulates water into a septic tank or sewer ditch.
Instead of a siphon, you can use a special tray that will match the depth of the boards. It should be installed at a slight slope so that the water can be more easily removed from the bath.
How to make a concrete floor
The subfloor for a suitable bath flooring construction is made primarily of concrete. However, it is better to alternate the components, and it is better to do this in the correct sequence:
We strengthen and compact the soil well. It must be dry, otherwise, when dry, it may shrink, and this will jeopardize the durability of the structure. Soil thickness - 5 cm;
Reinforcing layer. It consists of a gravel-crushed stone mixture, which should be laid with a thickness of 10 cm;
We lay concrete - the first 5 cm;
If you need insulation, and it is practically necessary to install it in a non-leaking field, felt or expanded clay can be taken as a basis. The main thing is to withstand the required drying time. It is better to make the layer small, since the material may lose strength;
A layer of concrete with a mesh netting - laid for maximum reliability and durability;
A layer of concrete that will level the surface. The concrete is applied in a thin layer, and the main task during its application is to create the most even surface, removing all grooves and gaps;
Coating.
Important: a flat floor surface must be achieved taking into account the slope of the entire floor of 10 degrees. This is done so that the water drains as quickly as possible to the right place and is discharged into the sewer.
Choice of materials
The wood for the sauna floor can be different, but larch is the best option, however, it will be more expensive than pine, fir, alder and birch in price. Larch is comparable in its qualities to oak, which, in terms of wear resistance and service life, outperforms all other types of material for a finished floor.
It is best to use boards with a thickness of 30-35 mm and a width of 12 cm.
If you buy insulation from a store, such as cotton wool, it should be about 8 cm thick.
Important: boards must be dried well after processing. If this is not done, the material will curl during operation, cracks will appear and the life of the floor will be significantly reduced.
Backing beams should be 70x100x2960 mm. Lags - 5x18x24.6 cm. Skull bar - 4x4 cm. The subfloor is covered with boards of any size, but the thickness should be about 20-25 cm.
Floor assembly procedure
One of the options for assembling a durable and solid floor for a bath is shown in the image:
The procedure is as follows:
Backing beams are laid on the strip foundation;
On top of the backing beams, two layers of rolled roofing material are placed;
Tip: The shims are installed clearly from wall to wall so that there are no gaps. The ideal option is to install the beams on the support pillars, which are made of cement. Two such pillars are enough for structural reliability, however, if the bath is large, you can make three.
Lags are installed. They need to be nailed down. It is necessary to install one log at each wall and one every 10 centimeters from the previous one. The next one is mounted in the center, and from it you can calculate the distance to the next (about 20 cm);
Bars are installed for the subfloor, which are fastened on both sides of the log firmly with nails;
A moisture-proof membrane is laid out on the devil's floor, fixed with nails;
A layer of basalt wool is installed on top of the membrane. It should be divided into segments that will correspond to the size of the areas between the lags;
Next, the finishing floor is laid, consisting of harvested boards. It is important to maintain a 2 cm gap between the finished floor and the thermal insulation membrane. It is not recommended to leave a larger gap, as the floor may begin to sag.
Important: The finished floor must be securely fixed. For this, nails 8 cm thick are used.
How to fix different elements of the floor structure
The liner must be fixed directly to the foundation. Anchor bolts with a diameter of 1.2 cm and a length of 14 cm are excellent for this. The bolt must be fastened from above, since all other placement methods will be risky and unreliable. Even in the case of choosing the method of attachment from above, care must be taken that the concrete does not crack. Therefore, the work is carried out carefully and slowly.
Tip: Each sub-floor timber must be secured with four bolts.
The support bar is attached to the support post using galvanized corners measuring 6x6 centimeters. It must be fixed to the timber with self-tapping screws. There should be a different fastening to the supporting posts - screws 0.5x5 cm. Each fastening will be enough, one for each structure, on each side. One - to the bar, one - to the support post.
Support bars and logs should also be attached to each other using corners in a similar manner.
The skull bars are easy to connect to the previous layer. The number of nails that are used for fastening does not matter. It also doesn't matter at what distance the connections are made.
The tongue-and-groove boards are fastened at well-defined 45 degree angles. You can fix them in a groove or a thorn - at the discretion of the master. The main thing is to make the mounts reliable and correct.
Waterproofing should be fixed to each other and with lags only with brackets. An equal distance must be maintained between the fasteners, which should not exceed 15 centimeters. It is also not recommended to fasten it at a distance of less than 10 cm, otherwise the material may begin to sag slightly. You can take any stapler to do the job, either small or large will do. It is important to try out the stapler before starting work on the rough material. If gaps are created, it is necessary to adjust the width of its attachment. First of all, it all depends on the quality and origin of the purchased thermal insulation material.
The heat-insulating material, when all actions on the fasteners have already been performed, must be covered with a special self-adhesive tape. For example, the Isofix brand would be an excellent option.
Features of laying the finished floor
First, a rail is taken, the thickness of which can be ideally 2 cm. It is installed along the shortest wall using self-tapping screws. This design will help create a support that the entire finished floor will rely on.
The very first board must be installed with a distance of about 2 cm from the wall. Fastening can be done with a spike or groove to the wall.
Boards in places where they intersect with logs, and each board intersects in several places, must be fastened with self-tapping screws. It is important to consider that wooden boards from a sharp and inaccurate impact can burst, creating cracks, so work should be done gradually. For high-quality fastening, one self-tapping screw is enough in the area of each intersection with the lags.
Thus, we connect all the boards, fastening them only with the lags. The boards are not attached to each other, there is simply no need for this. In this case, each board should be wound into a spike or groove, depending on the chosen method of fastening.
Advice: so that the board does not burst when screwing in the self-tapping screw, you need to work at an angle of 45 degrees - moreover, it is very convenient.
If the board needs to be trimmed, this should be done with a circular saw to help ensure the job is as accurate as possible and looks neat.
What tools can come in handy:
Screwdriver;
Plane;
Hacksaw (for wood);
Self-tapping screws, dowels, bolts;
Drills for hard alloys;
Hammer;
Level;
Steppler;
Wood materials of appropriate sizes
Tip: it is best to lay the finished floor so that there is an angle of inclination in the direction that is directed in the length of the boards, and not in width. This will help to extend the life of the product, as the direction of the water also plays a role in decay processes.
And the last thing to consider: if you cut the boards, be sure to treat the cuts with an antiseptic.
Steam room - the main section of the bath, has special requirements. The room should perfectly retain heat, not be afraid of dampness and high temperature. Currently, there are a large number of building materials and technologies that allow developers to choose an acceptable option for themselves, taking into account personal preferences and financial capabilities. But not only this affects the optimal choice of floor in the steam room.
As mentioned above, during the selection, the developer takes into account the wishes and possibilities... But professional builders do not recommend focusing only on these factors, there are still some very important points.
Foundation type
For baths, three types of foundations are used: screw or concrete pile, columnar and shallow tape.
- Concrete or metal pile foundations recommended for use on sloping construction sites and waterlogged unstable soils. A feature of pile structures is the large open space between the floor and the ground. This situation has positive and negative sides. The presence of a distance between the floor and the ground improves the ventilation of the underground space. This has a positive effect on the humidity regime, wooden structures dry out quickly, due to which the operating time of the floor in the steam room increases. Another plus - in most cases it is not necessary to make special receivers of water, it pours out on the ground, the main part is immediately absorbed, a small amount can flow outside the perimeter of the bath. On the negative side, the floors cool quickly, the surface is cold, especially in winter. It is necessary to take special construction measures to improve the comfort of staying in the steam room.
- Columnar... The cheapest options for foundations for a bath. Most often, the underground space is open. The positive and negative sides are the same as those of the columnar ones.
- Shallow tape... Stronger structures that can withstand significant forces. They make it possible to build large baths with different premises. The disadvantages include the complexity of the arrangement of floors in the steam room. The fact is that the vents provided in the tape cannot provide the same effective ventilation as a completely open space. This worsens the operating conditions of the floors in the steam room; in order to prevent the appearance of negative processes, it is necessary to thoroughly impregnate all wooden elements with antiseptics. Any impregnation is a chemical composition that adversely affects living organisms. From a biological point of view, a person is an ordinary living organism, and also reacts negatively to aggressive compounds. But these are not all problems. In such baths, under the steam rooms, it is imperative to make sewerage systems to drain water. Additional work complicates and increases the cost of floors in the steam room, requires highly qualified specialists.
The above features of various types of foundations must be taken into account when choosing a floor option in a steam room, regardless of the wishes of the developers.
Screw pile prices
screw pile
Soil type
Only two types of soil affect the technology of building floors in a steam room.
- Clayey do not absorb moisture, all water is on their surface for a long period of time. As a result, the humidity in the underground space is high, and the processes of wood decay are accelerated. A water drainage system must be installed under the steam rooms on such soils.
- Sandy soils quickly absorb moisture and can accept large amounts of it. Such physical parameters make it possible to simplify as much as possible the arrangement of floors under the steam room and washing room.
The climatic zone of the location of the bath
Everything is simple here - the colder the climate, the warmer the floors in the steam room should be. It is strongly not recommended to install cement floors in northern regions.
The specified information should be taken into account when choosing the floor option in the bath, but it is not enough to make a balanced final decision. You need to learn more about the features of the floors, their pros and cons.
Types of floors in the steam room
This parameter also influences decision making, it should be borne in mind and compared with the type of foundations, physical characteristics of soils and climatic zones of the location of the building.
Table. Types of floors in the steam room.
| Types of floors in the steam room | Brief description of architectural features and performance characteristics |
|---|---|
| The simplest and cheapest design, all the old baths had such floors in the steam rooms. Approximately 5 mm wide gaps are left between the planks; no slope is required. Water flows to the ground and is absorbed into it. There is no need to be afraid that streams will appear near the bathhouse, they do not wash in the steam room, but steam. Accordingly, little water is consumed. The disadvantage of leaking floors is the low surface temperature. But this problem is not critical for several reasons. Firstly, the legs are not on such a floor for a long time, you just need to reach the shelf installed on a hill. Secondly, a short time on a cold surface does not cause colds, but hardens the body, improves the functioning of the immune system. Third, if the soles of your feet are very sensitive to low temperatures, you can make wooden bars and walk on them. |
| The boards are tightly pulled together by social fittings, the side surfaces can be flat or have a tenon / groove connection. Such floors necessarily have a slope to one side and drain. The slope is small, about a centimeter per linear meter. The drain is given underground with a further outlet outside the perimeter of the steam room. These are more complex floor structures in the steam room, but surpass leaking ones in their performance characteristics. |
| They are used only in exclusive expensive baths. The base is a cement-sand mixture or concrete, there is no underground. Be sure to arrange a separate drain, the topcoat is ceramic tiles or porcelain stoneware. Professional builders strongly advise against installing such floors in a steam room with a high air temperature. The fact is that the tile has a high thermal conductivity, the hot floor quickly gives off heat, and your feet may be too hot. In terms of cost and complexity of manufacturing, they occupy a leading position among all options for floors in a steam room. |
For traditional wooden baths it is better to do. Larch is considered the best breed, it is not afraid of moisture, with direct contact with water, its strength increases. The disadvantage of larch is its high cost. For this reason, most developers are advised to have softwood floors in the steam room.
Step-by-step instructions for making a floor in a steam room
For example, we will consider a rather complex and expensive floor in a steam room - leakproof with insulation. This option is used in cases where the family has small children, it is necessary for them to create an increased comfort of stay in the room.
Initial data. The steam room is being renovated, the floor is changing due to the presence of cracks, which created inconvenience for young children. The material of manufacture is coniferous boards, the front surface will be covered with a special resistant varnish. Durable waterproof extruded polystyrene foam is used as insulation. Floor laying work in a steam room is done in two stages. At the first one, the old coating is dismantled, an audit of the condition of the wooden elements and current repairs are made. In the second step, a new floor is laid in the steam room.
Dismantling
Step 1. Remove the skirting boards around the room. Undermine them carefully, to protect the surfaces of the boards from mechanical damage, use wooden lining.
Step 2. Unscrew the self-tapping screws for the floorboards.
Practical advice. Never use black self-tapping screws, they are very afraid of moisture and quickly oxidize. Oxidized hats not only worsen the appearance of the steam room floor, such hardware is then very difficult to unscrew. Most often, the boards have to be torn off, and after that large holes remain. Problematic areas need to be repaired, it is long and difficult. In addition, seeding marks will always be visible.
Step 3. Inspect the floor structures for mold and rot, and if problems are identified, they must be eliminated.
Step 4. Remove the sex lags. Damaged areas must be removed from the surface of the lumber, for this you can use an electric plane. It is recommended to wipe the surface of the walls under the skirting boards with any antiseptic. The lags must be impregnated with the same composition.
This completes the preparatory work, you can start laying the new floor of the steam room.
Important. During the construction of the bath, be sure to make effective ventilation of the premises. After taking water procedures, the steam room and the washing room must be dried as quickly as possible, this cannot be achieved only by opening the doors. High humidity and high temperature are the main enemies of lumber. No amount of impregnation will prevent the boards from rotting if they are constantly damp and warm.
Laying a new floor in a steam room
The floor will be made with a slope, draining the water into the tray. All lumber should be impregnated. As many years of practice show, the best antiseptic is used car oil. If a specific smell is alarming, then the lags can be kept outside for several days, in sunny warm weather it will quickly disappear. In addition, in our version, the floor of the steam room is solid, which is an additional guarantee that there are no unpleasant odors during the procedure.
Step 1. Determine the floor level and the angle of the planks. The direction of the slope from the front door to the opposite wall of the steam room. You can make marks using an elementary water level or using a modern laser device. The second option allows you to make the markup faster, but not every amateur has such professional tools at home.
The upper plane of the plinth should be about five millimeters below the threshold, taking into account its width, outline the lines for the location of the floor boards. On the opposite side, do the same operations, do not forget about the slope.
Step 2. Fix the lags according to the marks. It is much easier to fix them with special perforated metal corners. They perfectly hold a lot of weight and make it possible, if necessary, to correct mistakes. The corners are fixed to the lateral and lower surfaces of the log, thereby increasing the reliability of the structure.
Perforated corners have many holes, but this does not mean that a self-tapping screw must be screwed into each. No more than three pieces are required on one side. Extra holes are provided so that you can choose the optimal place for fixing the screws. There are knots and cracks on the lumber, here the hardware is not installed.
Practical advice. The surface of the lag is strictly horizontal, and the floorboards are at an angle. In this regard, they do not come into contact with the entire surface with the supports. Don't worry, it's much better for a steam room. The fact is that the floor does not have large loads, the boards will not bend. And the presence of a small gap between them and the logs accelerates the drying process of sawn timber, which has a positive effect on the duration of operation.
Lags are much easier and faster to set up on the rope. To do this, fix the first and last exactly according to the marks, pull the rope between them and use it as a template for fastening all the others.
Step 3. Proceed with the installation of the water receiving tray. Some models must first be adapted for a steam room. To do this, a grinder with a disc for metal cuts off excess planes that interfere with its reliable fixation to wooden logs. The master must select a specific rework scheme on the spot, taking into account all the features of the steam room floor. The purpose of the standard tray revision is that the boards should adhere tightly to its surfaces, the appearance of leaks should be excluded.
Recheck the position of the floor plane before installing the tray. From the opposite wall, it is recommended to place an emphasis on the tray over the entire surface of one board, for this it is laid perpendicular to the rest. It is much easier to lay one whole board perpendicularly than to use many short sections. This should be provided at the stage of measurement and preparation of sawn timber.
To drain water from the receiving tray, bring the pipes to the receiver. They can be taken outside, or the receiver can be installed inside the steam room. How it's done?
- Prepare the container. The volume depends on the expected amount of water, but in the vast majority of cases, a plastic or metal barrel for one hundred liters is sufficient.
- In the corner of the room, dig a hole of the appropriate size, set several metal bars or corners in diameter at the bottom. The container will rest on them.
- Turn the barrel upside down and carefully lower it into the hole. Cover the cracks between the container with sand or earth.
- Punch holes in it and attach drain pipes to them.
Step 4. To the bottom of the lag, nail slats or pieces of boards for the lathing (sub-floor). Insulation plates will be laid on them. It is needed in order to increase the comfort of staying in the steam room for young children. Wooden slats should also be impregnated with any solution from decay.
Step 5. It is recommended to prepare the floorboards in advance along the length. If there are problems with the dimensions of the bath (the angles are not equal to 90 °), then the length of each board will have to be adjusted separately. Fitted boards should be numbered to facilitate further installation.
Practical advice. It is more profitable to prepare the boards before installing the insulation layer: it is dangerous to move on it, it creates significant restrictions in movement.
Do not forget that the end of each board should fit snugly into the groove in the drain pan. Floor fitting work will have to be done by hand; use carpentry tools carefully. Never violate safety regulations. Professional builders say that tools should not be afraid, otherwise it will be difficult to work. But they must be respected, this is the only way to prevent injury.
Step 6. Install insulation in the niches. For a steam room, a thickness of five centimeters is enough. It may seem to inexperienced developers that this is not enough, because all building codes and regulations recommend a thickness of the insulation layer of at least ten centimeters. In regions with a cold climate, this parameter increases to 25 cm. The recommendations are correct, but only for living quarters, those in which people are constantly. Stay in the steam room is short-term. During this time, a 5 cm layer of insulation will not have time to warm up to its entire thickness, there will be no loss of active thermal energy. And after everyone has taken water procedures, heat loss does not matter.
The gaps between the insulation and wooden structures must be carefully foamed. It is recommended to use ordinary polyurethane foam, it is inexpensive, and the positive effect of the application is significant. If there is no practice of foaming, then it is better to learn a little, and then get to work.
Practical advice. If the amount of material is calculated correctly, then the foam that has come out does not interfere with fixing the floor boards in the steam room. Surplus should only be cut in exceptional cases. The fact is that during solidification, the pores are closed, water does not enter the foam. And after cutting off the excess, air pores open, moisture quietly penetrates into the foam. The negative consequences of this situation are well known to all.
Step 7. Start laying the boards on the floor, pay attention to the previously made numbering. If the boards are dry and level, then no problems arise. If they are warped due to high humidity or improper storage, then each will have to be pulled together. This is not very difficult to do, but you will need to buy a ready-made tightening device or make one yourself.
Each board is fixed at the edges with two hardware. You can use self-tapping screws (long and expensive) or ordinary nails. The length of the nails is chosen depending on the thickness of the boards. But there is one mandatory requirement: the depth of hammering nails into the log must be at least two thicknesses of the board. Otherwise, the risks of loosening the pilaf in the steam room are great. For example, if the thickness of the boards is 25 mm, then the length of the nails should be approximately 70 mm.
Step 8. The gaps between the floor and the walls around the perimeter of the room can also be foamed. This will be additional sealing.
Step 9. Nail in the baseboards. If your elements are made of plastic, then you do not need to cut off the protruding foam, we have already told why. The skirting boards are fixed with small nails or self-tapping screws.
This completes the work on laying the floor in the steam room, you can proceed to the finishing coating of the front surface.
Finishing coat
It is allowed to use a special resistant varnish as a topcoat. Before application, the surface should be sanded, the dust should be thoroughly vacuumed. It is better to use an electric machine for grinding, it not only facilitates the work, but also significantly improves the quality. You can never make such a smooth surface with your hands.
Acrylic wear-resistant varnishes have proven their good performance in practice. If the manufacturers are responsible, then the floor will be used for a long time, no periodic repair work will have to be done due to wear of the topcoat.
You can cover with an ordinary paint brush, the number of layers is at least two. Moreover, during the coating with the second layer, the brush should move in the perpendicular direction to the first. For steam rooms, it is recommended to make three or four layers of varnish, due to this, the duration of operation increases. Each subsequent one is applied only after the previous one has completely dried; there is no need to try to reduce the number of layers by increasing the thickness of each one. Such a gross violation of the coating technology has extremely negative consequences.
At the end of the work, it is recommended to ventilate the steam room for several days, during which time unpleasant odors and harmful chemical compounds will be completely removed. After the first warm-up, the airing must also be repeated, and only then is it allowed to enter the steam room.
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Video - Solid wood floor in the steam room
Video - Draining water from a bath on screw piles
The device of floors in a bath is a very important process and has its own fundamental features. Failure to comply with which will lead to the construction of a cold floor and its rapid decay. An improperly made floor and the drainage of used water underneath can cause unpleasant odors in the bath.
Everyone wants to spend time comfortably and usefully in the bathhouse, where the floor is correctly and evenly arranged, where you do not have to step with your bare feet through muddy puddles or jump from the grate to the grate.
It is impossible to imagine a bathhouse without water procedures. And where there is water, the issue of its drainage or discharge must be resolved. Thanks to this, the floor will last for a long time.
For the manufacture of floors in the bath, mainly wood and concrete are used everywhere. And how to make it yourself, using simple materials, we will consider in different versions.
And in the dressing room (rest room or dressing room), and in the washing and steam rooms, the floors must be warm. Gradually, step by step, we will consider the construction of floors in the best options in these rooms and in this article.
Step-by-step guide when installing the floor in the bath
Before proceeding with the installation of floors in the bath, you need to decide which floor to choose and how to mount it: suspended directly along the logs or laid on the ground with insulation. And what is the soil inside my bath: sandy and dry or clay and more often wet. And where the water will drain, I need to help the water find a way out of the bath, or it will stagnate and gradually dry out on its own. This requires an objective approach and the same answer.
In general, it is customary to subdivide the floors in the bath: into:
- Leaking wooden
- Non-leaking wooden
- Concrete with insulation and covered with tiles on top
All other floors are varieties and modifications of the above. Consider the device of these floors separately, as well as in a combined version, it all depends on their purpose and operating conditions.
The arrangement of the floor in the recreation room is a non-leaking wooden floor.
Very often, a relaxation room in a bathhouse combines the concept of a dressing room and a dressing room. In this room, it is always dry inside, as in a residential building. For laying the logs, it is necessary to lay posts of 400 x 400 mm made of reinforced concrete and bricks. The upper plane of the support posts should be flush with the upper plane of the strip foundation. Align if necessary.
Consider a non-leaking wooden floor as a suspended option. In the picture we see a lining, it is also called a beam and logs are mounted on it. You can start installation without beams, right along the logs.
On the waterproofing of the support posts and the edges of the foundation, lay logs of 150 x 150 mm, impregnated with an antiseptic. To nail the cranial bars 50 x 50 mm to the lower edges of the logs and lay on them a rough flooring of edged boards, 25-30 mm thick. Also coat the rough flooring boards with an antiseptic. Allow to dry.
Lay parchment or unrefined paper on the rough flooring with a 200 mm overlap, if the insulation is mineral wool or roofing felt, if expanded clay of different fractions is used as a heater.
Then a clean floor of floorboards and a quarter is laid on top of the logs. The boards are pulled together according to standard rules. Typically, floorboards are made from softwood, as it is cheaper than larch.
Along the perimeter of the room, the boards should not reach the walls by 2 cm. There should be a distance of 15 cm between the insulation and the top board for ventilation, and there should be air vents in the walls of the foundation.
How to make the floor in the washroom and steam room?
About the arrangement of floors in these two sections, the most important ones, for the sake of which the bathhouse is being built, it is necessary to talk and show a lot and in more detail. The floors in these rooms can be: wooden leaking and non-leaking, or concrete with insulation and covered with tiles on top.
At present, thought does not stand still and new proposals appear with its development. The author of the idea proposed below combined the washing rooms and the steam room with one common volumetric underground. Both rooms have leaking wooden floors. Let's consider their device.
- Leaking bath floors:
There has always been a leaking or pouring floor in Russian baths. That's just where the water under the floor goes - this important issue is now being resolved in different ways, depending on constructive solutions and a smart approach. Let's say right away - in the steam room and in the sink, a leaking wooden floor with gaps of 5 - 6 mm is being built. In the underground between these two rooms there should be no strip foundation, but columnar is allowed.
When the boiler is fired up, cold and warm air moves through the underground. Air moves through an open door and through a special window in the interior wall. Bathrooms warm up well, the floor becomes warm and you can bathe and wash, which means pouring water. We are watching a video about the movement of drains outside the bath.
There are different schemes for the discharge of effluents from the bath, and further they will be considered for comparison and selection.
The basis for a leaking wooden floor is a claydite-concrete screed arranged on the ground, and it is sequentially done as follows:
- A layer of sand is poured onto the base of the soil of the steam room and washing compartments, leveled and tamped, then a layer of rubble. Overall thickness 250 mm;
- This layer is covered with a thick plastic wrap in 3 layers with a rise along the perimeter to the walls. The edges of each layer are glued together with frost-resistant tape. This layer serves as a waterproofing layer.
- Lay a metal mesh with meshes of 80 - 100 mm.
- With a slope towards the drain for drains, guides are mounted. Lighthouses are fixed with slides. A slope of 3 cm per 1 m of guides is observed.
- Expanded clay concrete is laid between the guides and leveled with the rule, observing the slope.
- Grout with cement mortar and smooth out any irregularities well.
Expanded clay is chosen as a heater. It has a number of positive qualities - it is an environmentally friendly material obtained by accelerated firing of fusible clays. He has high performance and allows you to reduce heat loss by 50 - 75%. Expanded clay gravel is inexpensive compared to other popular heaters.
It is weatherproof, fireproof, odorless, does not emit harmful components in case of fire. Concrete prepared using expanded clay is much lighter than from crushed stone. Different fractions from 5 to 30 mm are used.
For reliable adhesion, cement of the M400-M500 brand is used. Experts advise adding a plasticizer. Proportional composition for the preparation of the mixture: 2 parts of expanded clay, 1 part of water, 1 part of cement, 3 parts of sand.
It is not difficult to knead the composition yourself. It is necessary to prepare a construction mixer and a large metal container. And you can also prepare a concrete mixer.
From practice, it is advised to soak expanded clay in water so that it does not float. In the process of mixing, expanded clay concrete acquires a characteristic gray color. Pour in place immediately after mixing. The solution is poured between the beacons from the corner of the room to the funnel. Complete drying of expanded clay concrete occurs in a month. You can find out the readiness by placing the glass jar upside down, it should not fog up.
This is how a leaking wooden floor with a base of expanded clay concrete is made. At the location of the drain, make a shield or cover to access the funnel and clear it of debris and broom leaves.
2. Insulated concrete floor with tiles.
In this version, there is a strip foundation between the washing room and the steam room. Therefore, each room should have its own drain with a ladder.
Both for the washing room and for the steam room, such a floor is made and it is well maintained. It is made in the same way as the base of expanded clay concrete, only to increase the thermal performance, dry expanded clay is additionally poured onto the metal mesh and the thickness of the expanded clay concrete layer is increased.
Then, in the usual way, ceramic tiles are laid with grouting and with a slope towards the drain. Additionally, a tile border is made on the walls around the perimeter.
On top of the tiles, wooden boards are placed on the floor, sturdy and securely made. All the same, the tile floor slips.
Any floor ends with a drain and it is best if it is thought out before the foundation is erected in order to lay hammered boxes of boards or metal pipes as a case in the body of the foundation. And, objectively speaking about where you will have a drainage well, outside the foundation, with the location of the drain inside, dig trenches and lay PVC sewer pipes with a slope. Make a slope of at least 3 cm per 1 m of the pipe.
Put special frost-resistant sewer pipes with a diameter of 110 mm, because the pipes are durable, and you want more comfortable conditions over the years - this means a margin. Maybe in the future you will make a toilet and a dishwasher in the break room, or install a shower stall with an electric water heater and piped cold water for the summer period.
Sewer pipes in the trench should be insulated with ready-made foamed Energoflex polyethylene. It is sold in different lengths and different diameters with a cut along the pipe, so you just put it on and the seam is sealed. Trenches with pipes can be covered with sand, expanded clay, then earth.
With the arrangement of drains with ladders, the washing room is connected with a PVC pipe to the steam room and then the drains go outside the walls of the bath into a drainage well. There is a good video on this topic.
You should also consider such a life situation when, when arranging the drain, you did as described above in the article, but for some unknown reason, the smell from the external well penetrates into the bath and you feel it. There is no need to be upset, because there is a constructive opportunity to avoid this. This will help a special device in the ladder. Look carefully at the pictures with the gangway.
It is not at all difficult to understand the structure of this ladder, which is installed in the drain hole. The second color picture shows how air bubbles from an external scent well are trying to penetrate into the bath, but the water seal is preventing them. A red cap is worn on top of the outlet and it seems to float in the drain water.
If water gets into the drain from time to time and there is a likelihood of drying out the water seal and, accordingly, the appearance of unpleasant odors from the sewer, then to eliminate this problem, drain drains with a "dry" siphon "Primus" are used. He is in front of you in the picture.
If there is water in it, the siphon works like a regular siphon, and when the water seal evaporates, the drain hole is closed by the movable upper part of the siphon (cap).
Typically, in baths, ladders with a vertical outlet and an anti-freeze siphon of the HL310N brand are installed. 2
3. Non-leaking wood floors
Non-leaking wooden floors in the washing room and in the steam room can be made by the owner of the bath himself, but it is more difficult than the previous options. This is the principle of arranging this floor.
The picture shows two types of non-pouring floor devices: with a drain in the center of the room and with a drain closer to the other opposite wall.
The slope of the floor is created by arranging a cut in the body of the log. A non-leaking floor is made of two layers of flooring: rough and final. Boards should be coniferous, and the final floor is made of better quality boards, without knots and gaps.
The direction of the boards is towards the drain. The drain itself is mounted in different ways, more often from galvanized sheet. And then, whoever knows how: you can go into a pit, and then into a pipe and a well, or you can make a ladder with a "dry" siphon and also connect it through a pipe with a well on the street. The ladder should be accessible for cleaning and repair.
In the picture on the left, you can see the presence of all layers of non-spill floor. This floor is considered to be hinged, wood and warm. It is also made, but more often specialists are invited for its installation.
If you yourself dare to engage in the installation of such a floor, consult a specialist, this will not be superfluous, but will only give you self-confidence.
The water can be discharged through the drain gutter into a pit, which is made of reinforced concrete. From the pit, the drains go through the sewer pipe to the outer well.
After bath procedures, the floors in the bath must dry out in order to prolong their operational capabilities for a long time. For this, someone then heats up the bathhouse. But the device of the ventilation duct near the wall of the bath with an outlet to the attic will not interfere with the floor and will give the opportunity to "breathe".
There must be an air gap of up to 150 mm between the upper finished floor and the upper waterproofing, which lies on the insulation.
The galvanized sheet is simply stuck into the body of the log and fixed with an overlap on the floor.
And so along the entire perimeter of the bathhouse.
The ventilation box is made of dense boards or from ordinary galvanized thick sheet.
I hope the article was helpful for you. Build yourself and strive to improve your living conditions. Good luck!