Unlike conventional saunas and steam rooms, the construction of a hammam requires a very balanced and precise approach when choosing finishing materials, heating and ventilation systems. Therefore, not every project for the construction of a Turkish hammam bath can be taken as a basis; here it is better to do without homemade products, choose the best solution, and, if possible, buy ready-made ventilation and heating equipment.
The original Turkish hakama is very beautiful
Hammam device
In most prevailing stereotypes, a classic Turkish bath is represented as a room in the “stone bag” style, the floor, walls and ceiling of which are lined with ceramic tiles with mosaic elements. The room always contains a huge bathtub with hot, most often mineralized water. In general, the Turkish hammam, according to ardent fans of the sauna or Russian bath, is very similar to an ordinary bathroom with a Jacuzzi bowl filled to the brim with boiling water.
Planning and building a Turkish bath requires artistic taste; design and style are clearly not the least important in this matter.
In fact, the structure of a Turkish bath, the principle of its operation and the equipment used are an order of magnitude more complex than in the case of a more familiar sauna or Russian steam room. The construction of Turkish hammam baths is not much more complicated than a Russian steam room, but you need to accurately understand how the three main components work:
- The required temperature and humidity in the bathhouse are maintained;
- How ventilation works in a Turkish bath;
- This ensures a healing effect.
Knowing the exact answers to the questions listed and having a competent project in hand, you can plan the construction of a hammam in your country house with your own hands without any problems. It is clear that the country house is equipped with an individual boiler and a winter water heating system. Even if you build a hammam for a summer holiday in the country, you will still need a source of hot water; it makes no sense to start construction without a boiler or a powerful boiler.
For hakama, you will need to think through the construction scheme for each of the elements - heating, steam supply and ventilation systems
Features of using the hammam
- After completing all the work, you need to let your hammam stand for a couple of weeks, slightly maintaining the heating of the surfaces. This is done to ensure that all solutions and adhesives dry completely.
- The first start-up should be long and gradual, with a slow increase in heating temperature. This is done to prevent thermal expansion from causing the surfaces to crack. This is especially dangerous for all-stone and all-marble surfaces.
- During short breaks in the hammam operation, all heating should not be turned off. If the break is expected to be long, you need to leave the heating on the benches and massage table.
- It is necessary to keep the hammam clean and frequently clean it with special detergents for marble, tiles, and glass.
- If the water is hard, you need to remove scale from the steam generator tank on heating elements using a solvent according to the instructions, depending on the hardness at certain intervals: the harder the water, the more often. In addition, the steam generator must self-clean every few hours: drain water from the tank and add new water.
- During steaming, the ventilation hole should be kept slightly open, since the air exchange you need is equal to 4-6 volumes of your hammam per hour.
If you follow these simple rules, your hammam will serve you for a long time and will not cause any problems.
Scheme of heating and heat distribution in a Turkish hammam
The classic oriental bathhouse has one peculiarity: it is not heated on purpose. Even at the construction stage, special channels are made in the walls and floor for the circulation of hot mineral water, which is used to heat the room and fill the bathtub or bathhouse inside the bathhouse.
In a modern Turkish hammam for personal use, the floor, beds and bathing area inside the bathhouse must be heated using built-in hot water channels. In this case, the coolant selection must be carried out and regulated from a separate heating circuit.
A modern way to heat the walls and floor of a bathhouse
Important! The temperature inside the hammam usually does not exceed 50-55°C, so during construction it is necessary to look for optimal options for heating the floor and beds so that the temperature of the ceramic surface does not exceed 35-40°C.
Directly running hot water from the heating circuit of the house is allowed only at the stage of warming up the hammam room. Next, you have to reduce the temperature of the coolant and regulate it either manually or with a built-in automatic tap.
Features of equipment location
The main equipment in a Turkish bath is a steam generator. It should be located in an adjacent room next to the bathhouse. The power of the steam generator directly depends on the area of the Turkish bath. In order for the steam generator to function, it must be connected to the water supply and sewerage system, and to start it is enough to connect to the electrical network using a special cable.
The most popular manufacturers of steam generators include:
- EOS is made in Germany.
- TYLO is Swedish made.
- HARVIA - Finnish production.
Free selection of equipment for your hammam:
Models of steam generators that have protective properties against contamination and overheating have become widespread. The feeling of warmth in the room is created by heating all surfaces of the Turkish steam room. The operation of the entire cable system is controlled by thermostats. Typically, in private homes, in addition to a water heating boiler, heating is also used using pipes with coolant. In this case, the pipes in the Turkish bath area must have an independent circuit. Otherwise, in the warm season, when heating the bathhouse, you will have to warm up the entire house. An alternative option is an autonomous boiler, the control system of which will allow you to regulate the temperature of all zones separately.
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Room ventilation system
The most difficult technology in the construction of a Turkish bath is considered to be the hammam ventilation technology. Not just a difficult, but a vitally important point on which the quality of procedures and the actual well-being of visitors depends. A Turkish bath is essentially a stone bag without windows, the walls of which are lined with ceramics. Humidity reaches 100% at 50°C; in such conditions, only the correct ventilation scheme in the hammam will ensure a high level of oxygen in the air and normal well-being.
In modern construction, two options for organizing hammam ventilation are used:
- Natural air flow through vents in the lower part of the walls with the removal of “dirty” air through pipes in the ceiling. It is rarely used, often in old buildings, where it is possible to raise the exhaust pipe to a height of at least 4 m;
- Forced supply and exhaust ventilation. The best option for the construction of any modern bathhouse. If you choose the right fan for the hammam, then it is quite possible to organize a smooth change in ventilation performance, and thereby make the microclimate in the Turkish bath more comfortable.
Important! Previously, in a classic hammam, there was a huge bowl of hot water in the center of the room. It not only served for ablution, but also provided air heating in the center of the room.
The construction of a ceiling in the form of a dome is not a tribute to fashion, it is a technological feature of the Turkish bath
Hot air rose to the domed ceiling, cooled and fell out as condensation. Therefore, the ceilings and elements of exhaust pipes in the hammam were heated naturally, which ensured a normal level of air exchange. In addition, the shape of the dome ensured that condensation would drain towards the walls.
In the modern interpretation of the hammam, the bowl of water was abandoned; the too large weight of the font limited the possibilities of construction. Instead, in the most important part of the bathhouse, in the center, a platform with internal heating was laid out with ceramic tiles. Thanks to new technologies for the construction of heated floors, warm air rose from the site upward, without affecting the bathhouse visitors sitting on stone benches, ensuring the flow and heating of fresh air to the most important places inside the hammam.
The most popular saunas and baths
Russian bath - its main feature is wet steam, and the humidity level can vary between 60-100%, while the temperature level is 50-70°C. The next distinctive feature of the Russian bath is the use of a broom for the steaming process. When a steamed body is “treated” with this instrument, metabolic processes are accelerated, the body is rejuvenated and naturally toned. And although the healing effects of the heat of the bath are invaluable, it is very important not to overdo it in the procedures, and to take the most powerful procedures with a broom only after the body is well warmed up and prepared.
Finnish sauna - it is found in almost every Scandinavian home, hotel, not to mention public institutions. There are even Finnish saunas in some schools, factories and hospitals. Those of them that belong to social types have men's and women's sections. Home types of saunas are usually visited by the whole family. The main feature of this sauna is very hot but dry steam. The temperature in the steam room can reach 140°C, while the humidity level is only 15%. Thanks to this combination, staying in the sauna becomes easy. Well, to enhance the effect of hot air, you need to use essential oils, which are applied in small quantities with water to the stones. The Finnish sauna helps get rid of toxins, colds, and improve the functioning of the cardiovascular and nervous systems.
Health effect
The basis for the beneficial effects of a Turkish bath is the simultaneous combination of two factors:
- Gentle warming effect of the warm and very humid atmosphere of the bathhouse. A person sweats intensely, but without the risk of overheating the body;
- A constant flow of fresh air ensures good health and compensates for the energy spent on warming up the body.
In addition, there are massages, relaxation and aromatherapy. In fact, the Turkish hammam is a form of relaxation; in traditional cultural practices, a visit to the bathhouse can take up to 7-8 hours. Few admirers of the sauna or Russian bathhouse are able to sit in the steam room for at least half of this period.
Strength is restored very quickly, without traumatic high temperatures and contrasts, which is why the construction of Turkish baths has long become a mass phenomenon and a fashion trend. Hamams are built in a simplified form in apartments and even on the second floors of dachas and country houses.
Public and home version of hammam
The beneficial effects of hammam on the body
Any bath benefits the body, but not everyone can tolerate high temperatures. The Turkish hammam also has contraindications - for asthmatics, cancer patients, hypertensive patients and those who cannot tolerate high humidity, the path here is closed. However, fans of this type of steam room believe that the hammam is capable of:
- Cleanse the body of toxins;
- Recover;
- Clear the respiratory system;
- Reduce pain;
- Help with insomnia;
- Help with colds;
- Improve the condition of the skin;
- Positively influence metabolism, promoting weight loss;
- Positively influence digestion.
Hammam: projects
It is clear that the construction of a Turkish hammam largely depends on the room in which it is planned to place a modern version of the oriental bath. For example, for a large bathhouse designed to accommodate at least a dozen people at a time, the hammam room is divided into at least three sections:
- The hot zone is usually a round or rectangular hall, decorated with marble and ceramics. The temperature and humidity here are maximum. In essence, this is hamam in its purest form;
- Hall for ablution, massage and aromatherapy. The conditions here are more comfortable, the air is no more than 30°C, the humidity level is the same as in a regular swimming pool. There are benches and beds, which allows you to relax and communicate for a long time;
- The third part of the modern Turkish bath is completely borrowed from the sauna. This is a relaxation room; the temperature in this room is maintained at 23-25°C and a normal humidity level of 60-70%.
Most owners of modern hammams prefer to choose approximately the same layout for building their own bathhouse.
For apartments and country houses, the best option would be to build a hammam with one “hot” compartment.
Hamam project for the construction of a bathhouse inside an apartment
A shower with a mini-bath and a relaxation room can always be organized at the expense of the main living space. As a rule, they are not subject to such stringent requirements as in the case of the construction of a hammam.
Minimum amount of free space
Since the steam generator must be located in a separate room, it becomes necessary to allocate space for it. 1 square meter is enough , but the technical room also requires isolation from the steam room.
A comfortable steam room for 1-2 people can be arranged on an area of 3 square meters.
Experts also recommend thinking about a relaxation room, but this is more likely just a wish, and not a prerequisite.
Selection of building materials for the hammam
The construction of a Turkish bath is not something exceptional or complex in its design. The design of the hammam differs from the more familiar sauna or Russian steam room in only three factors:
- The use of ceramic wall cladding for the bathhouse, which is determined by high air humidity;
- Double layer of thermal insulation and waterproofing;
- Using a special device - a steam generator.
The hammam box is made of red brick or foam blocks. If the walls and ceiling are made of cast cinder block or concrete, you will need to additionally make vents to remove condensation that forms on the outside of the bathhouse box.
In rooms with concrete ceilings and walls, it is necessary to use mats with an applied layer of waterproofing
Furniture for hammam is almost always built inside the bathhouse from brick, plastered, covered with mastic waterproofing and lined with mosaic tiles.
The most important point in the construction of a hammam is the choice of waterproofing and insulation. Most often, insulation of the Ecover - Standard type is used; MopeLastik waterproofing, laid on aquapanels or waterproof plasterboard, is used as a water barrier.
Lux Elevations blocks
Advice! The construction of a hammam can be significantly simplified if you use ready-made panels to insulate the walls of a bathhouse with a high level of humidity. For example, polystyrene panels “Lux Elevments”.
The material has established itself as one of the best heat insulators for wet rooms. In addition to zero vapor permeability, the slabs perfectly hold heavy ceramic tiles, mosaics and even marble panels.
Preliminary estimate for construction
Impact on the human body
To understand what is better for your health - a bathhouse or a sauna, you should know how steam affects the body. Any steam room has a positive effect on health, strengthening the immune system, cleansing the skin of pollution, removing toxic toxins and waste. Under the influence of high temperatures, the vessels fill with blood.
A visit to the steam room helps:
- relaxation of muscle tissue;
- the appearance of a feeling of peace, tranquility;
- improving well-being;
- strengthening the immune system.
Attention! People with diseases of the cardiovascular system should visit the bathhouse if the conditions in the steam room are identical to the natural environment. The load on the heart with significant heating of the room increases several times. Doctors advise patients with respiratory diseases to regularly visit traditional Russian baths
Humid air helps cleanse the respiratory organs, fill them with oxygen, and activate the lungs. After one session the patient feels relief. It is not advisable to go to the sauna. Dry vapors can lead to exacerbation of the disease
Doctors advise patients with respiratory diseases to regularly visit traditional Russian baths. Humid air helps cleanse the respiratory organs, fill them with oxygen, and activate the lungs. After one session the patient feels relief. It is not advisable to go to the sauna. Dry vapors can lead to exacerbation of the disease.
It is advisable to visit Finnish steam rooms for patients who have:
- stones in the kidneys;
- skin pathologies;
- inflammatory processes in the organs of the urinary system, liver.
Both steam rooms are good for preventing the development of ARVI and influenza. The main condition is regular attendance. One session is not enough to strengthen the immune system.
People suffering from hypertension, diabetes, atherosclerosis, severe forms of mental disorders, acute diseases of the upper respiratory tract should forget about the sauna and steam bath.
Construction of the hamam
The technology for constructing a Turkish bath requires a thorough study of the method and scheme for installing service equipment. The construction of a hammam itself is not difficult, but in order for the bathhouse to be warm, you will need to properly assemble the thermal insulation and heating system for the room.
Most often, preference is given to water heating of the floor, walls and interior furnishings of the bathhouse. You can try to use cheaper electric heating, but due to high humidity, large amounts of water and water condensation, using electricity in a hammam is considered an unjustified risk. Therefore, somewhere separately, outside the bathhouse, it will be necessary to assemble and install a 200-250 liter boiler with pump supply, a boiling water distribution manifold system through pipes and an automatic water heating system.
Do-it-yourself hammam: drawings
The classic version of a small Turkish bath in an apartment version is presented in the drawing below.
This is a small two-meter room with enough space for at least 4-5 people to stay at the same time. According to this project, the construction of a hammam is quite possible even in old high-rise buildings with ceiling heights of up to 250 cm. Often it is the height limitation that becomes the main obstacle to the construction of a Turkish bath, since according to the conditions for using a hammam, the ceiling must be at a level of at least 240 cm and must be domed vault
Dimensions
When starting to build a sauna, you need to familiarize yourself with their standards and regulations.
Sauna height
Indoors, the height of the steam room should be approximately two meters and ten centimeters. When installing shelves for lying down, you need to take into account that the height from the ceiling to the top shelf can be about one meter and ten centimeters. After all, in a sauna the temperature is higher closer to the ceiling.
Building area
At home, the size of a mini-sauna is determined depending on how many people will steam in it. For each person in such a steam room, there should be a proper area of approximately two meters. The most optimal size for a mini-sauna is 2 x 1.8 meters.
Stages of hammam construction
The approximate construction sequence is as follows:
- We level the walls and floor with cement-sand screed or plaster mortar. Even before laying insulation and waterproofing, it is necessary to correct the geometry of the walls so that the laid cladding with mosaic tiles or marble panels looks uniform and even;
- We install a galvanized frame of the future dome vault on the ceiling;
- We level the floor with a self-leveling mixture for laying reflective insulation and insulation;
- We build seats and sun loungers inside the bathhouse; it is best to make them from bricks and blocks;
- We install insulation and vapor barrier on the ceiling and walls;
- We cut grooves for laying heating pipes for walls, floors and room furnishings;
- We install corrugated channels for electrical wiring;
- We assemble a system for draining water from the bathhouse floor. In the construction of a hammam, two moisture collection points are used. The first is mounted around the perimeter of the ceiling dome; it is made in the form of a hidden gutter. The second water collection point is a regular ladder, which is used in the construction of washing sections of a Russian bath;
- We install drain pipes and the drain body on the floor;
- We cover the installed heating system on the floor with a screed and on the walls and ceiling with aqua panels;
- We install ventilation in the bathhouse, install a steam generator, hammam lighting and doors at the entrance to the room.
Advice! At the last stage, the waterproofing of the bathhouse is installed. But before you start decorating the hammam, you need to check the operation of the steam generator ventilation heating system.
Sometimes adjustments have to be made, and it is wise to carry out all the inspection work before expensive mosaic or marble is laid.
Insulation and waterproofing
There are quite a large number of opinions and judgments about how to properly insulate and waterproof such a complex structure as a Turkish hammam. Often, even from experts, you can hear recommendations to insulate a bathhouse with expanded polystyrene foam at least 50 mm thick. It’s hard to disagree with the expert’s advice; an insulation thickness of 50 mm effectively protects against heat loss, even if the hammam box was built in the corner room of a panel apartment.
Interior finishing and insulation “eat up” at least 100 mm on each side
If we talk about materials, there are two options - mineral wool and expanded polystyrene. From practice, the ceiling inside a bathhouse must be insulated only with extruded dense polystyrene foam with a layer of cement-sand mixture already applied. The ceiling and floor of the hammam are most susceptible to condensation and water, so insulation based on mineral wool and basalt felt is unsuitable in this area of the bathhouse.
Conversely, the walls of a Turkish bath are best insulated with heat and sound insulating materials based on basalt fibers. In this part of the hammam room, moisture is found mainly in the form of steam, which does not pose a particular problem for mineral wool insulation. On the other hand, almost all electrical wiring and heating systems during construction are installed within the walls of the premises, so the use of mineral fiber will be an additional means of ensuring fire safety.
If the hammam construction plan involves electric heating, then the insulation of the bathhouse walls will need to be done only on the basis of mineral fibers
Heating system and lighting
In small Turkish baths, heating is provided by the heat of hot water mist from a steam generator. This is enough to provide heat to a cabin with a volume of 4-5 m.
For full-fledged small-sized Turkish hammams, a built-in hot water heating system is used. For heating, a boiler with a built-in electric heating element of 1.5 kW/h is used. If the plan involves building a bathhouse in a summer house or a separate house, then water heating can be replaced with air heating. Often the role of a stove is performed by an ordinary household heat generator.
The wiring to the ventilation lighting system is assembled from moisture-resistant cable grades, always laid in a heat-resistant corrugation and connected to a circuit breaker. Lamp shades must also be vapor-protective, with low-voltage LED lamps. Typically, lighting devices are mounted on the walls of the bathhouse; only decorative spotlights are placed on the ceiling.
Ventilation of the hammam
The air removal system from the bathhouse always works as an exhaust system. This means that in any position of the valve on the supply window, the fan will suck out and exhaust air outside the room. In a Turkish bath, unlike other types of steam rooms, there is no oven inside the room, so many hammam owners believe that fans can be installed arbitrarily, in any place, with any direction of air flow. The main thing is not to be afraid of moisture.
Low noise tunnel fan
In fact, it is important not only to use a moisture-resistant fan for the hammam, but also to organize its operation correctly. For example, a powerful fan installed in the upper part of the ceiling at maximum speed can cool the bathhouse to room temperature within 10 minutes. Weak air intake can limit and greatly reduce the flow of oxygen into the hammam room. Accordingly, your health worsens and the temperature and humidity inside the bathhouse increase.
Therefore, the best option is to connect the fan to automation, primarily to the steam generator sensor. In this case, an increase in the rotation of the impeller inside the steam generator will be accompanied by an increase in productivity in the ventilation system, and a certain balance in heat and air flow will be maintained.
Important! A sixfold air exchange rate is considered normal for a small bathhouse.
Another nuance is related to the correct location of the steam generator sensor. In the construction of small-sized hammams, it is installed at a height of 170 cm from the floor level. Thus, inside a small bathhouse, most of the hot steam will be located just above the level of the head of an adult sitting on a couch.
In large and medium-sized hammams, sensors are installed along the upper level of the walls of the room, approximately at a height of 2 m. This is due to the fact that the saturation of steam in the room of a medium-sized Turkish bath occurs unevenly, and in addition, in the planning and construction of hammams, it is necessary to take into account the fact that The inside of the bathhouse should be comfortable enough for standing people.
There is also a lot of controversy about where to properly locate the outlet pipes of steam generators. In small bathhouses they are placed almost under your feet, at a distance of no more than 60-70 cm. In large Turkish hammams, according to construction standards, steam is supplied through closed pipes installed at a distance of at least 120-150 cm from the seats and beds.
Decorative finishing
The atmosphere inside a Turkish bath is always extremely saturated with water vapor, as a result, the walls, ceiling, floor and even furniture are quickly covered with a layer of fallen water condensation. Therefore, the best finishing option for a hammam is considered to be ceramic tiles or natural stone panels.
The walls and dome of the bathhouse are covered with mosaics. Particularly popular are mosaic pixel designs and patterns in which tiles of several shades of the same color are interspersed.
The lower part of the walls and floor are usually faced with large panels and slabs of marble and quartzite. This is considered more expressive from a decorative point of view, and at the same time allows you to equalize the air temperature in the lower part of the bath space.
In the construction of small home hammams, mosaic sets are most often used; they are easy to stick on the wall with your own hands, in addition, they are cheaper, more practical and durable than large slabs. If you use marble, jasper or malachite, the cost of building a Turkish bath can increase by 34% just by paying for the services of a craftsman who did the wall cladding. It is quite difficult to do such work with your own hands, without having experience in building a hammam.
Accommodation
Now we are far from the times when the sauna was a pleasure available only to the rich.
Today everyone can afford such luxury. The sauna built into the room consists of a wooden box heated by a stove-stove. In apartments, only an electric heater can be used to heat it. A wood-burning stove is suitable for a cottage or private home.
Now stores sell ready-made prefabricated or built-in mini-saunas. If this is a prefabricated model, then it is assembled from ready-made panels according to the principle of a designer. Such a building is very advantageous in that it can be disassembled and moved to another place. The built-in sauna cannot be moved.
In company stores you can purchase different versions of sauna models. These include large family cabins and small corner cabins, which can be placed in bathrooms combined with shower stalls.
Also, the sauna can be made to order from different types of wood. You can install it in the shower room, in the pantry, and even fence off part of the corridor for a steam room.
Outside the city, in a country house or in a private house, a sauna is often installed in the garage. This solution has many advantages. This includes reducing financial costs and carrying out communications such as sewerage, electricity, and water pipes that connect both rooms.
Thermal insulation
Thermal insulation should consist of two layers of any material; glass wool is best suited here
This is an environmentally friendly material that does not contain harmful substances, which is important when reaching high temperatures.
Sewage system
The simplest option would be to run the pipe to the nearest sewer. The pipes are hidden under the floor covering. If this is not possible, then you need to make a cesspool next to the garage.
Heating
When buying or building a stove, you definitely need to consider which heating option will be best. An iron stove, for example, will not hold heat for very long, but it can be melted and heated very quickly. You can also install a brick oven. In this case, the opposite is true - the kindling takes longer, and the heat lasts longer.
In private homes, a sauna in the basement is very popular. This allows you to relax and unwind without leaving your home, and also saves space on a small area. Organizing a sauna in the basement is simple and at the same time expensive. After all, if some other area was already equipped in the basement, everything will need to be replaced or redesigned.
The stove occupies the most important place in the sauna. To equip it you need to make a reliable foundation
The stove is built so that the firebox goes into the dressing room, and the chimney goes through a window in the basement wall. There must also be a separate exit to the street.
