Those who like to enjoy steam are increasingly choosing round saunas. It must be said that this form is by no means new, since it has long been customary for many nations to make steam rooms in the form of a barrel. In addition, a round bathhouse can be made in the form of a dome.
Next, we will look at why such forms are attractive and what their features are.
Bathhouse in the form of a barrel
Design Features
A barrel sauna is a cylindrical structure with round or oval ends. There are also species whose outlines tend to be parallelepiped. The walls of the bathhouse are assembled from boards. For reliability, they are fastened with iron hoops.
Barrel sizes may vary and are determined individually for individual models. The maximum length of the bath is 6 meters. The height of all models is 2.2 - 2.3 meters. The weight of the structure is from 500 to 1600 kg.
Barrels are made from the following types of wood:
Oak
High strength wood. It is characterized by durability and increased resistance to moisture.
Linden
When heated, boards made from this wood begin to emit vapors with a healing effect, which has a beneficial effect on the human body.
Aspen
This type of wood is good for health, especially for the skin and respiratory system. At the same time, aspen is quite resistant to moisture.
Cedar
One of the densest woods, it is not susceptible to the formation of fungus and mold, since the wood contains natural antiseptics. When heated, cedar planks begin to emit a fragrant aroma.
Shelves in barrel baths are installed along the walls. The oven is located on the opposite side of the entrance. The location of a hot water tank and shower room is acceptable. Tempered glass doors are often used to partition off compartments, which helps to visually expand the space. Entrance doors are usually installed at the end, but can also be built into the side.
Expert opinion
Lovkachev Boris Petrovich
Bath master who knows everything about steaming
Cheaper wood is widely used for the manufacture of equipment and bath furniture: alder, fir and birch. But they are not suitable for the construction of walls and interior decoration of the barrel. Coniferous species, except cedar, are not used in the bathhouse. They contain a huge number of resins, which, when exposed to high temperatures, will begin to actively release.
Discharge of wastewater from the bathhouse
Since a large amount of dirty water will form in a bathhouse with a washing room, it must be properly drained. If you use the bathhouse infrequently, you can get by with a hole in the floor. However, this method is not suitable for intensive use of a barrel bath, since excess moisture under the structure will lead to the appearance of fungus, rotting and damage to the floor, and an unpleasant odor.
Therefore, initially the bathhouse is installed at a slope towards the drainage hole connected to the pipe through which the waste goes into the drainage pit. This pipe should be carefully insulated so that in winter it does not crack and the water in it does not freeze.
For ease of movement in a round bathhouse, a grid-like flooring is arranged on the floor. Through the cracks in such a lattice, water will flow freely towards the low tide, and the boards will be able to dry well, and the structure will take on a finished look.
Types and configurations
Manufacturers offer the following types of barrel baths:
Russian
The most popular model, consisting of a washing room and a steam room - sauna. But you can additionally organize a rest room. The stove in such a bath is located between the washing room and the steam room. Part of the heating equipment is equipped with a tank for heating water. A container with stones is installed in the steam compartment.
Finnish
Dry steam sauna. Such a bathhouse is installed near a pool, natural reservoir or font in order to have direct access to water. Many experts emphasize that it is easier to organize a round sauna than to arrange a steam room.
To do this, you will need to ensure tightness and make sure there are no cracks. On the roof of such a bath there is a small hole that is closed with a valve. No drainage required. Inside the room there are benches and a stove with a heater that will heat up.
Japanese
This variety is called “ofuro” and is also very popular because of its simplicity and main feature - the complete absence of a roof. Thanks to this, vacationers can enjoy the fire, fresh air in winter and even the starry sky.
This barrel has a slightly elongated shape, is made of wood and is installed on the flooring. Inside the room there are benches and a stove. The latter must be taken to a safe distance and equipped with a partition to prevent burns.
The only drawback of the Japanese barrel bath is the high fuel consumption, since you will need to maintain the water heating level.
Ofuro
This type of bathhouse is quite new for Russia. This is a traditional Japanese bathhouse in the form of a heated barrel. It is very easy to use and place.
The ofuro bathhouse does not have a roof, however, it can be used regardless of the time of year.
The ofuro is placed on a wooden platform, and inside the barrel there are wooden seats and a stove covered with a partition to prevent burns.
According to Japanese philosophy, in such a bath a person’s emotional and physical health is restored, he comes into harmony with himself and the world around him (read: “Japanese bath - types and features”).
As a rule, ofuro has an ellipsoidal shape, which allows the stove to be placed in the safest way for humans. Alternatively, heating pipes can be installed inside the barrel, and the stove itself can be moved outside the bathhouse.
However, such a design will require more time and resources to heat up and maintain temperature.
The duration of procedures in the Ofuro bath is usually 10-20 minutes. After such a bath, the skin should be rubbed with a hard glove, performing a massage similar to Russian brooms.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of a barrel sauna include:
- Original appearance. The unusual design serves as a real decoration for a suburban area.
- Construction speed. A barrel sauna can be purchased ready-made and installed on a pre-prepared base. Self-assembly from an ordered kit requires no more than 1 day. There is no need to build a capital foundation for the bathhouse.
- Fast warm-up and economical. In summer, the structure warms up in 15–20 minutes, in winter – 1–1.5 hours. To achieve the optimal temperature you will need no more than 10 logs.
- Compactness. The small dimensions of the bathhouse allow it to be installed even in the smallest area.
- Low cost. The price of a barrel is several times less than that of a permanent building.
- Mobility. The structure can be moved around the site and even transported over considerable distances.
- Easy to use and maintain. The bathhouse only needs to be dried after washing procedures and the walls need to be impregnated with protective agents at certain intervals.
- Environmental friendliness. The baths are made of natural wood, so staying in them has a beneficial effect on human health.
The design has few disadvantages:
- If the outflow of water is not organized correctly, the wood begins to rot.
- There is a small space inside the bathhouse, so a large group of people will not be able to relax in it.
- Walls should not be treated with aggressive chemicals.
- The walls do not retain heat perfectly and in severe frosts it is problematic to operate the bathhouse. If you slam doors frequently when entering or leaving, the interior quickly cools down.
Video description
Watch the following video on how to choose the right stove for a bath:
When installing any stove model, fire safety rules are observed. The heated surfaces of the pipe and walls should not be in direct contact with wood, but should be protected in the form of reliable thermal insulation on a non-flammable basis.
Stove inside a barrel sauna Source platformalp.ru
Criterias of choice
To choose a suitable barrel bath model, it is important to decide on the following parameters:
Number of branches
This criterion depends on the size of the barrel: 1 compartment - steam room - 2 - 3 m; 2 compartments – steam room and relaxation room – 3.5 – 4.5 m; 3 compartments - washing, steam room, rest room - 5 - 6 m.
Form
The cost and size of the usable area of the bathhouse depends on this parameter: round – tight design. Square - has more usable area due to a more even floor and ceiling. Its cost is slightly higher than that of the round one. Oval - the largest usable area due to the entrance from the side (wide part). The corridor does not go through the entire rest room and frees up useful space.
Bake
There are 2 options for installing the stove: internal - supplying firewood from the inside, the fire burns directly in the steam room, but you have to carry the firewood into the steam room; external - firewood is loaded outside, there is no garbage, but you need to go outside to throw it in, so most buyers prefer to install an internal stove.
Roof
The most reliable and durable roofing material is flexible tiles. It fits well on the roof of any type of bathhouse. There are models covered with polycarbonate. This is not a very suitable material for roofing. Polycarbonate is very fragile in the cold and is not resistant to mechanical stress.
Floor construction
It is preferable to take a model with a sloped floor. This ensures that the water drains away. If the floor is straight, make sure there is a drainage system.
Board thickness
High-quality models are made from boards from 30 to 40 mm. The barrel’s ability to retain heat and overall durability depend on this parameter.
For your information! You should be especially careful when buying cheap baths. They are most likely not made from solid wood. There are manufacturers who make baths from the cheapest types of lining. The walls are a sandwich: 25 mm board, OSB sheet and again lining. This is a wall of dubious quality. Moisture will destroy the structure in a year. Black fungus will appear on the material, the inner lining will warp and begin to crack.
DIY assembly instructions
It is better to entrust the preparation of materials and assembly of such a complex structure to a professional, experienced team. However, one of the options for how to make a barrel sauna yourself is briefly presented as follows:
- The project is carried out, a sketch is drawn, if necessary, a drawing and a diagram indicating all the features and dimensions.
- The site is prepared - cleaned, leveled, if necessary, concreted, asphalted or laid with bricks and tiles.
- The base is assembled - cross members with a round profile are cut out according to a template, and connected to each other from the sides with boards.
- End walls and partitions are manufactured.
- Boards for the side walls are being prepared. End and transverse grooves are cut into them.
- Assembly begins - several boards of the bottom of the structure are installed and fastened onto the base. Ends and partitions are installed in them using grooves.
- The subsequent boards are installed from bottom to top.
- When the entire structure is assembled, the external covering is carried out with metal strips or cables on clamps.
- Next, the internal and external arrangement is carried out.
Important! When installing a barrel sauna, it is important to technically accurately mark the boards so that the grooves made on them match exactly and allow the structure to be assembled without hindrance and significant modifications.
How to assemble a barrel sauna
The ideal option for arranging a barrel bath on the site is to purchase a ready-made model from a manufacturing company.
In this case, the structure will be delivered to the site and installed in literally 1 – 2 hours. Some companies carry out assembly directly on site.
There are also companies that sell ready-made kits for self-assembly. The work consists of several stages.
Preparing the base
The barrel bath does not require the construction of a capital foundation. The support can be cement blocks or screw piles. The installation site must be level and rigid.
The ideal option is a concrete screed. You can fill an area the size of the selected model with crushed stone and fill it with a cement-sand mixture in a ratio of 1:2. The thickness of the concrete layer is from 100 mm.
On the prepared site, supports are mounted from boards with semicircular cutouts. The thickness of the boards is 40 – 50 mm. Their number depends on the length of the body. Minimum - 3 pieces. As holders for them there are bars with a section of 10X10. The rigidity of the structure is ensured by metal corners. They are fixed to all the knocks of beams and boards.
Assembly of floor and walls
The assembly of the frame begins with securing the floor parts. They have grooves for the ends. End panels are inserted into the front and back of the floor. They are attached with corners. High-quality installation requires rigid fixation, since the ends will be the basis for installing wall boards.
Transverse boards are attached to the end shields in a circle. This stage is the most critical, since the elements must fit as closely as possible to each other. The boards are mounted sequentially on both sides at once. It is not permissible to assemble one side first and then the other. In this case, the barrel may turn out to be crooked.
The main and worrying moment in assembling walls is installing the last board at the top. If everything is done correctly, it will fit perfectly. But it happens that the top bar does not fit into the grooves or there are gaps on its sides. In this case, everything will have to be redone!
Hoop tie
Before installing and tightening the stabilizing metal elements, all wooden parts are impregnated with antiseptic agents. This will protect the wood from precipitation and insect pests.
After the impregnation has dried, you can install hoops around the barrel.
When installing them, consider the following points:
- The wood will definitely shrink, so the tapes are initially tightened only until they fit snugly.
- After about three weeks, the tapes will need to be tightened.
- The final tightening must be done after the wood has settled.
Finishing
The final stages of assembly are installing doors, windows and covering the top with flexible tiles. The sheets are fastened with nails. Shelves are installed inside the bathhouse. Some models have outer seats. They are installed last. Ventilation is installed in the steam room.
Installation of the furnace and water tank
The heart of any type of sauna is the stove. If a wood stove is used, it is installed on a fireproof board. The same stove is installed on the back wall of the bathhouse. You need to cut a hole under the chimney in the ceiling using a jigsaw. The distance between the stove plate and the wall must be at least 30 centimeters!
A water tank is connected to the stove. Water pipes are being installed. If the design includes a shower, a tray and the necessary set of plumbing equipment are installed.
Finally, the electrical wiring is laid in a waterproofing box with a connection to the distribution board.
If you are planning to make a barrel-shaped sauna with your own hands, then keep in mind that this is not such a simple matter. You should think 7 times before starting work. It’s easier and often cheaper (taking into account the mass of possible errors during the manual installation process, for which you will need to pay) to contact a professional.
Factory assembly kits
Manufacturers offer not only turnkey barrel saunas, but also kits that are easy to assemble yourself. This is a more budget-friendly option, and the assembly procedure is simple.
The kit consists of fitted parts with a groove connection. The step-by-step instructions included with the kit will help you cope with installation.
On average, it will take about 8 hours to assemble a kit from the manufacturer. Any dacha owner who has no experience in such work can cope with the task.
The kit for assembling a barrel bath includes:
- Parts for assembling all parts of the structure;
- Stainless steel ties with adjustment mechanism;
- Fittings, glass, decorative elements;
- Shelves, benches, floor panels;
- Fire protection parts for furnace equipment.
Additional options that will need to be ordered separately include a stove, water tank, electrics, and factory painting of parts.
Rules for operating a barrel bath
The process of heating the bath is standard. However, to maintain the longevity of the product, it is important
follow some rules:
- During the first two years you must monitor the condition of the barrel very carefully. From time to time the metal straps must be tightened or loosened. The individual front panel strips must have a 5mm gap at the joints, which must be checked after each tightening. If the bath door gets stuck after tensioning the tapes, they need to be loosened a little.
- The outside of the bathhouse must be coated with a protective compound every year. It is not necessary to do this inside. But the inside of the wood should be periodically disinfected, depending on the frequency of use.
- Maintain a constant level of humidity inside, for example by leaving a bucket of water in the sauna even when it is not in use.
- After each washing procedure, the bathhouse must be dried.
Preliminary work with bath material
Even if you know how to make a barrel sauna with your own hands, you still need to prepare the material for work in advance.
If you have the skills and equipment to process wood yourself, bath boards should be purchased with parameters of 90-95 mm width and 45-50 mm thickness.
Otherwise, you should provide the master with drawings of the barrel bath indicating the dimensions, according to which he will prepare the required amount of material, which will be perfectly fitted and processed.
It is worth noting that the number of boards directly depends on the size of the barrel bath. To calculate this indicator, you should draw a drawing to scale, calculating the circumference and dividing it by the width of one board. The length of the boards affects the size of the future room. As a rule, round baths occupy from 2.5 to 6 meters, depending on the type and layout of the building.
In addition, you need to prepare the wood for the back and front walls with the doorway. The stands for the barrel are made of durable wooden beams, machined to the desired shape according to the drawings. To ensure the strength of the entire structure, the walls will need to be tightened with iron strips that resemble hoops on barrels.
The fitting of window frames and door panels must be done as carefully as possible to ensure the tightness of the structure. The benches and floor inside the barrel bath are also made of wood, so they will need to be trimmed and sanded.
To ensure thermal insulation of the furnace, you should purchase a special material, such as mineralite. Since the bathhouse must breathe and be ventilated, it is provided with a special window.
Even before making a round bathhouse, you need to decide on the type of chimney, as well as the material from which it will be made.
In the case of a Russian bath, before construction you need to prepare pipes for drainage, tanks for heating water, as well as trays if you decide to equip a shower.
Depending on the type of future roof, material for it is prepared. You can use soft roofing material laid directly on top of the barrel ceiling. A more complex gable roof will require the installation of rigid supports.
All elements will be fastened with stainless steel screws or nails.
In some cases, in barrel baths, a small veranda is installed in front of the entrance, which will also require building materials.
User reviews
Maksim. Krasnoyarsk
In our climate, it is not possible to heat a barrel sauna all year round. In severe frost it is difficult to heat it, there is too much wood, and the desired temperature is not obtained. But from spring to late autumn, and even at the beginning of winter, as long as it is not below minus 15 degrees, we heat without problems. The barrel, of course, is a bit cramped, but 2–3 people fit in it quite comfortably.
Natalia. Moscow region.
We ordered a barrel 3 years ago. They made it in 2 weeks, delivered it disassembled and installed it in 5 hours. We are very happy, we heat it once a week. In winter too.
Andrey. Ryazan Oblast.
I ordered the smallest barrel, it only contains a steam room combined with a washing room. I already regret it. Undressing on the street is somehow not very pleasant. Although in other respects the bathhouse is quite satisfactory. I'm already thinking about changing it to a more comfortable model so that there is a rest room/dressing room. If funds allow, I advise you to take a more spacious barrel so that it looks more like a real bathhouse.
Maria. Chelyabinsk.
We read positive reviews and decided to buy a barrel sauna. My husband suggested it and said that building a real bathhouse would be expensive and take a long time. I gave in to persuasion and regretted it in the first year. This building is just for washing. For true connoisseurs, baths are not an option. For me the main drawback is the cold floor. Grandma had a real bathhouse, it was so hot there. And here my feet are cold all the time. I also don't like the low shelves. You can only steam while lying down.
Vladimir. Nizhny Novgorod.
I installed a barrel sauna 2 months ago. The manufacturer is not Nizhny Novgorod. So far very pleased. Compact 6X2.15 m, but roomy, 8 people can enter the relaxation room, 6 people can enter the steam room. It fries as it should, warms up quickly and with a minimum of firewood. Costs less than traditional stationary. I'm happy.
What do the owners say?
The positive emotions of those who bought a barrel sauna, as they say, “flow over the edge.” An original appearance, a beautiful interior, a pleasant aroma of wood, a hot steam room and the pleasure of bathing procedures are the main advantages of such a purchase.
However, as often happens with wooden structures, after 2-3 years, reviews from owners contain complaints about the boards drying out and cracks appearing. Additional tightening of the hoops does not always eliminate them. The reason for this lies in poor quality preparation of lumber before processing. A poorly dried board will shrink beyond the permissible limit.
Another typical problem is rotting of boards in the area of sewer drain holes. It occurs due to a violation of wood antiseptic technology. You can avoid these unpleasant moments. To do this, before purchasing, you need to pay attention not only to the manufacturers’ price tags. It is much more important to communicate with the real owners of their products. The information received from them will be objective and unbiased.
Those who want to use a bathhouse all year round are often concerned about the suitability of such a building in winter. The way out of this situation is additional internal insulation. However, reviews from some owners indicate that a well-built bathhouse copes well with its tasks in winter even without insulation.
Common Questions
After 2 months of use, the barrel sauna began to resin from the inside. What to do?
You will have to remove the resin manually. Heat the bath to a temperature of 130 degrees. The resin will begin to actively release. Scrape it off with any device. Repeat the procedure several times. Gradually all the resin will come out of the wood.
I have been using the sauna for 5 years. The functionality does not fail, but the appearance has suffered. Is it possible to somehow restore the light tone of wood?
You can lighten wood with a special chlorine-based bleach.
Is it possible to take away a sauna in your gazelle?
The minimum weight of the barrel is 500 kg. The gazelle will survive, but for loading and unloading you will need a crane.
Is it necessary to insulate a barrel sauna?
If the assembly technology is followed, the barrel does not need insulation. If this is done, increased humidity is created inside, which means conditions for the development of fungus in the wood. Such a bathhouse will gain heat faster and retain it, but its overall service life will be reduced.
A barrel sauna is an excellent solution for anyone who dreams of having their own sauna on site with minimal investment. With the right choice and compliance with the rules of operation, it will last for many years and bring lovers of this type of recreation a lot of pleasure.
Price policy
The cost of a barrel bath is acceptable to the consumer. Prices depend on many factors, such as:
- Options.
- Thickness of boards.
- Type of wood used.
- Number of departments in the building.
- Stove type.
- Additional components, accessories, decorative parts.
Even with such a fairly extensive filling of the finished product, the price for such a barrel sauna will be much lower than the cost of building a regular sauna. Therefore, it is very beneficial to cooperate with professionals.
Despite all the advantages of such a deal, many summer residents strive to build a barrel sauna on their summer cottage with their own hands. And it’s not that difficult, absolutely inexpensive and quite fast.
It is important to follow the recommendations of professionals and adhere to the instructions. The first step is to decide on the choice of existing types of barrel baths.
Interior work in a round bath
It is advisable to coat all wooden elements inside the bath structure, both walls and floors, as well as furniture, with linseed oil so that the wood is less susceptible to moisture.
The already completed bathhouse building needs to be filled with the necessary furniture and functional details:
- A recess is made in the floor for connection with pipes for draining water.
- Plank flooring is laid on the floor for ease of movement - it must be removable.
- There are shelves on the sides.
- The surfaces near the stove - floor, ceiling and walls - are sheathed with a layer of thermal insulation.
- Install the stove and chimney. At the point of contact with the ceiling, the pipe is covered with thermal insulation.
- Connect a tank for heating water if the design provides for its installation separately from the chimney.
- Water supply pipes are installed - if possible and necessary.
- If a shower is installed, a tray and associated plumbing equipment are installed.
- Set up a table if space allows.
- Lay the wiring with waterproofing and connect it to the electrical network.
- A font is placed near the bathhouse for rinsing after staying in the steam room.
If you want to steam not only in summer, but also in winter, you should think about how to insulate the barrel sauna from the outside so that the heat does not leave it too quickly. In addition, insulation will allow you to save on fuel for heating the bath in the winter. However, when carrying out such a procedure, it is necessary to comply with all standards and lay layers of vapor and waterproofing materials.
Note that the process of building a barrel bath is not as simple as it might seem. Therefore, if you are not confident in your skills, but want the bathhouse to be of high quality and comfortable, it is better to order the production of a barrel bathhouse from construction companies. After delivery and installation of the structure on your site, you will only need to connect the communications system. And then you can light the stove and use the steam room.
Stage 2 – assembly of end partitions
Assembly of end partitions
Now you need to assemble the end partitions. Their height and circumference depend on your plan. Connect the prepared boards by pressing them close to each other on a flat surface. To hold them together, use cross beams. Secure each board with screws to the cross beam. Also don't forget about openings. After all, partitions must have doors and windows in the right places. Therefore, when securing the cross beams, make sure that they do not interfere with the installation of window and door units. Once the required number of partitions have been assembled, you can proceed to the next step.
Approximate prices
The cost of a barrel sauna directly depends on its size and configuration. The turnkey price for a 2-meter-long structure (diameter 2.1 meters, pine material) in the basic configuration starts at an average of 130,000 rubles.
If the body is made of cedar, then the total amount will increase noticeably and add up to 25%. If you want the bathhouse to have an open mini-veranda with a canopy, be prepared to pay another 15-20 thousand rubles. The insulated version will cost 20-25% more than the standard one.
Those who like to take a steam bath in the lap of nature are offered a sauna on a trailer. The cost of such a trailer starts from 50,000 rubles.
The average price of barrel saunas 3 meters long with 2 compartments (steam room and changing room), built from spruce, is 160 thousand rubles. A six-meter pine “maxi-bath” with a washing compartment can be purchased from 300 thousand rubles.
Bath layout options
Depending on the dimensions of the barrel bath, it can be equipped with from one to three internal compartments. The steam room itself, where the stove and beds are located, is about 2–2.5 m in length. The six-meter structure usually also provides space for a dressing room (with a changing room and a table) and a washroom. Sometimes an impromptu porch is made in front of the entrance, slightly increasing the size of the roof - so as to create a canopy.
The door to the oval bath can be located either on the front side or on the side. Internal passages are usually covered with a sheet of tempered glass. Thanks to transparent inserts, a small room seems lighter and more spacious. Windows in the steam room significantly improve air exchange, which is very important for creating a comfortable microclimate. For this reason, two small gaps are left on the end side near the stove - on either side of the chimney. An additional window can also be in the dressing room if there is a relaxation area with benches and a table there.
Stage 3 - frame assembly
Frame assembly
Next you should lay the embedded boards on the prepared base. All elements are connected using the tongue and groove method.
Boards pre-cut to the required size are laid on the bottom. Fasten them along the required circumference until it is sufficient to install the end partitions. The boards must be nailed to the base or screwed.
Once this height has been reached, install the end partitions in the desired places and continue assembling the structure, securing the boards around the partitions. Each board must be nailed or screwed to the end of the partition.
To simplify the task of installing partitions on the inside of the embedded boards where the partitions will be installed, you need to cut grooves whose width is equal to the width of the partition. Then installing it will be much easier and faster.
The barrel is tightened with clamps
After you have laid the last board, you need to ensure the rigidity of the structure. To do this, the barrel is tightly tied with iron hoops. To connect the ends of the hoop, use iron clamps. After a long period of use, when the wood dries out a little, the clamps need to be tightened so that the gaps are minimal.
