City dwellers do not always find the time and opportunity to visit a sauna or bathhouse. And if you really want to pamper yourself with a fragrant steam room, improve your health and relax after a hard day at work, then a sauna in your apartment is the best solution to this problem.
The cost of arranging a compact steam room in a city apartment is much lower compared to the cost of constructing a full-fledged bathhouse in a suburban area.
Finishing ceiling and wall finishing
When choosing a lining, you need to study the characteristics of the main types of material:
- linden - has a pinkish tint, a pleasant smell and has a beneficial effect on the human body. The material has low thermal conductivity, which allows you to achieve warmth and comfort in the room;
- alder is the most practical material with a long history of use. It has a large palette of colors from pale pinkish to pronounced red;
- abashevoy - made from African wood, the structure of which resembles polystyrene foam. The material is pleasant to the touch and also has a remarkable property: it adapts to the temperature of the body with which it interacts. Thus, it is best to upholster benches with the help of abashe lining so that it is pleasant to sit on them;
- pine - inherent in saunas that came from the Scandinavian Peninsula. This material has a characteristic pine aroma. The disadvantage of coniferous material is the release of resin when the wood is heated. Hot resin when interacting with the human body can cause burns. With the right combination of different materials, you can achieve an original finish in your sauna.
Other interesting projects of economy baths
A very unusual, but no less comfortable barrel sauna is a cylindrical wooden structure on two supports, internally divided into 2-3 compartments, the farthest of which is a steam room. The sauna is mobile, takes up little space, is economical and economical (very little fuel is needed to warm up a small steam room).
Barrel sauna
Sectional view of a bathhouse barrel
Turnkey barrel baths cost from 35 to 220 thousand rubles. In practice, to assemble such a bathhouse yourself, it takes half as much money and not a lot of effort and time.
Barrel sauna project
Assembly and disassembly of the bathhouse is possible due to the boards used 45x90 or 50x90 mm with a tongue-and-groove connection. The length of the barrel, depending on the boards used, is 2.5-5 meters. The structure is secured with metal hoops. Additionally, the bathhouse can be equipped with a porch, roof, and canopy.
The water in the barrel bath is drained through holes in the floor. If you plan to install such a bathhouse at your dacha, you should remove the layer of soil, fill it with crushed stone, compact it, and install the bathhouse itself on a pair of stable, massive concrete blocks. The rules for installing a stove and laying electrical wiring are standard for any type of wooden bathhouse, including economy class.
Fastening elements for sauna barrels
Do-it-yourself barrel sauna
Video description
You can make a pouring floor like this:
Drains from the bathhouse cannot be poured into reservoirs - they contain detergents, this kills river inhabitants.
If the sauna is located inside the house, the wash room can be replaced with a regular bathroom.
Locker room and dressing room
If the sauna is located separately, then these rooms perform a vital function. They serve as an additional buffer that prevents cold air from the street from entering the steam room and washing room.
The design of the dressing room depends solely on the preferences of the owners. You can make this room strictly functional so that you can leave outdoor clothes in it and wait for the sauna to warm up. Or you can install a TV, sofas, tables and everything that comes to mind.
The dressing room can be decorated in any way you like Source pimpmyhouse.ru
If you make a sauna with your own hands in a private house, then a dressing room is not necessary. However, its presence is convenient - you can store bath accessories there and undress before the sauna.
If desired, the sauna can be equipped with a swimming pool, a home training room, or a relaxation room.
Log house and roof
For a log house you need elastic, damp moss, “cuckoo flax”, sphagnum - about 25 bags, if it is a 6x4 m log house veranda. The strands are taken no more than 30 cm. All cracks are sealed.
Waterproofing is done with roofing felt, with moss laid on top of the logs, up to 3 cm thick. The tree should not be felt under the moss. Moss is not needed on the veranda; uniformity is not so necessary here. After this, the production of rafters from 50x150 mm boards begins. The rafters are covered with a vapor barrier and a counter-lattice made of 20x50 mm slats.
You can make a sheathing under the metal tiles, then less rainwater will fall on the tree. Elevators are installed for the veranda to reduce shrinkage under the supporting pillars.
Pediments are made from tongue-and-groove boards and hammered with the point up. Before sewing, a galvanized casting is installed. All irregularities are treated with mastic, sanded, impregnated and glazed.
Then on the top of the pediment they make doors and a window for ventilation, with a radiator grille and plastic corrugation. Electricity is supplied through a corrugated cable and a metal cable with a 4 mm braid.
Microclimate of an infrared sauna
In recent years, mini sauna cabins with infrared heat sources have appeared on sale and are being actively advertised.
All bodies on Earth are sources of infrared radiation of varying intensities. The higher the temperature of the source, the more energy the rays carry. The most ancient source of powerful infrared radiation that man has learned to use is the flame of a fire. Every person who has taken the “procedure” while sitting by the fire knows that your front burns and your back freezes. Infrared radiation from hot coals has long been used by people to cook food on a grill, grate or spit.
In infrared saunas, electric high-temperature heaters with screens that reflect infrared rays towards a person are used as a heat source.
In a mini sauna cabin, infrared emitters should be directed at a person from all sides and at all parts of his body. To equip the booth you will need at least 5-6 devices - emitters installed in different places.
The intensity of exposure to infrared rays strongly depends on the distance between the emitter and the human body. The effectiveness of the procedures decreases as the number of people in the infrared sauna cabin increases. People shield each other from the effects of heat rays. The distance from a person to the emitters becomes less than optimal. Individual parts of the body heat up very unevenly. It is better to be alone in the booth.
The air temperature in the infrared mini sauna is maintained at a fairly low 35 - 45 °C. The surface of the human body is heated due to the thermal radiation of infrared emitters directed at it. Similar to how shawarma is cooked on a grill. In such conditions, it is difficult for a person to control the degree of heating of his body. You can easily overheat and even get fried.
Much has been written about the benefits and harms of various types of baths, microclimates and bath procedures among different nations. To decide what suits you, you need to try everything.
Since the infrared bath is a relatively new phenomenon in our country, I will give a review from one who likes to try everything:
“And I think the biggest disadvantage is the time of the procedure. It takes about 30 minutes, although you can endure more, but the body will receive severe stress. And repeated visits are also undesirable. To me, visiting an infrared bath reminds me of receiving a treatment procedure in a physiotherapy room in a hospital.
You cannot take procedures lying down in it! Just sitting!
In addition, in an infrared bath, the color and emotions of a regular bath are completely absent, where you can properly steam yourself with a broom, breathe in the aromas of essential oils and infusions, lie down to rest, and repeat all this as many times as your heart desires, without being limited by time.”
Panel or film cabins - saunas
There are also cabins on sale in which electric heating panels or underfloor heating film are used as heating elements. Sellers call them panel, film or thermal cabins (saunas). Or even infrared saunas.
In panel heating cabins, the temperature of the heaters is low, 60-70 °C. The main heat transfer occurs by convection rather than by infrared rays. The air temperature in the cabin is even lower, and there is no way to change the air humidity.
In real infrared saunas, high-temperature heaters are installed, with a temperature of at least 230-290 ° C. Most of the heat from such heaters is transferred by infrared rays.
The microclimate in panel heating cabins differs significantly from both saunas with a stove and real infrared saunas. The health-improving effect on humans of procedures in such thermal cabins is minimal. Sellers, in order to attract buyers, will tell you tales about miraculous carbon heaters, about the “Rays of Life” or about “resonance absorption”.
Further, infrared saunas and heat cabins are not discussed in this article.
Briefly about the main thing
Setting up a good sauna is difficult, but it is possible. The result will justify the effort spent on it. Natural materials should be used in your work - they retain heat better. The ideal option is a log house on an earthen foundation. In finishing, you should also give preference to wood.
It is imperative to put insulation between the walls and the finishing. To quickly ventilate the room, you need windows in every room.
It is better to install a metal or electric stove, but you can choose other options.
If the sauna is a separate building, then there should be more rooms in it than if it occupies a room in the house.
Ratings 0
Electric stove - sauna heater
To heat a mini sauna, the easiest way is to install an electric heater. The power of the stove depends on the size of the sauna.
The power of the electric furnace is selected at the rate of 1-1.5 kW
.
per 1 m2
of sauna area.
For a mini sauna measuring 2x2 m
.
An electric heater with a power of 4-6 kW
. Such a stove can be connected without any problems to the panel at the input of a regular single-phase electrical network of an apartment or house.
The higher the power of the stove, the faster the sauna will heat up. The power of the stove is considered sufficient if the air in the sauna heats up to a temperature of 80 ° C in 20-30 minutes.
An electric sauna stove is usually equipped with a thermostat, which automatically maintains the set temperature in the sauna.
The sauna stove is placed on the floor or on the wall, always near the door
. This arrangement of the oven ensures that the cold air entering through the door is captured by the flow of hot air from the oven, quickly mixed and warmed up. It is convenient to clean the sauna if the stove is mounted on the wall, at a small height from the floor.
It is recommended that the level of the stones in the stove be at the level of the feet of the person sitting on the top shelf. To place the stove at the required height, sometimes it is necessary to build a pit in the floor.
Some furnace designs require guards to be installed around them to protect people from accidentally touching hot parts. It is also necessary to comply with the requirements of the factory fire safety instructions.
The sauna heater stove has a compartment where stones are loaded. The heated stones are watered with water, which turns into steam, increasing the humidity in the sauna.
For laying in the oven, stones with a fraction of 40-80 mm are used. certain minerals, for example, diabase, jadeite, soapstone, etc. Using random stones is dangerous.
Hot stones can crack and fly apart when watered on them. There should not be too many stones, because then the inertia of the furnace increases and, as a result, energy consumption increases.
Experts have calculated that a medium-sized home sauna (200x160 cm
) for one session of bath procedures,
kW*hour
of electricity
for heating . Moreover, most of this energy remains in the house, heating it. For comparison, it takes 1.5 kWh
kWh
to bathe in the bathroom . Most of the energy spent on heating water flows along with the water into the sewer.
For example, one of the domestic manufacturers produces wall-mounted electric heaters under the SteamSib brand. The electric heater is designed to heat and maintain a set temperature in a steam room and generate steam from the stones.
The wall-mounted electric heater “SteamSib” is commercially available in three modifications: with a power of 3.4 kW, 4.4 kW, and 5.4 kW. Dimensions of the electric heater (HxWxD) 506x446x290 mm.
Heating is controlled using a remote control panel. The control panel consists of a control unit and a temperature sensor. The control unit is mounted outside the steam room and connected to the electric heater and temperature sensor mounted inside. The control unit sets the heating level of the steam room and the operating time of the electric heater, and also turns the electric heater on and off.
All the pros and cons of a mobile mini-sauna for a home or apartment
Agree, it is quite convenient to have a mini-sauna right in an apartment or private house. It has a lot of positive aspects:
- the sauna is ready for use in a short time;
- installing a mobile sauna in a standard apartment or country house will cost much less than building a complex on the site;
- for city apartments this is the only option for installing a compact steam room;
- the most compact sauna takes up only 1 m² of space, it can be installed in the bathroom, pantry, kitchen or even on a glazed balcony;
- electricity consumption is low.
In a home mini-sauna you can steam at any convenient time without leaving your home PHOTO: interiorsroom.ru
Let’s note some of the disadvantages of mini-saunas:
- if the power of the booth exceeds 6 kW per phase in a house or apartment, it is necessary to obtain special permission from the relevant authorities and replace the electrical wiring with a new one;
- the connection must be through a separate device with an RCD;
- To install a sauna you will need to allocate a certain area;
- if redevelopment of an apartment is planned, it is necessary to coordinate its location in the local architecture;
- mandatory installation of fire sensors.
Despite some features and nuances, a sauna in an apartment is a charge of positive energy, high immunity and excellent physical shape.
It is necessary to install a powerful ventilation system for the mini-sauna PHOTO: stroy-podskazka.ru
Kinds
Electric mini-saunas for the home are presented in a wide range on the construction market. Finished designs may differ:
- power;
- sizes;
- location option;
- design;
- type of heating equipment.
There are several available options for ergonomic saunas for home use:
- Phyto-barrel. A compact steam room of a special design, made in the shape of a barrel. There are heating elements in the lower part, and a wooden bench for sitting in the upper part. To carry out bath procedures, just open the door and go into the barrel. In this case, the head will be located outside the structure, and the body will be located inside. For health procedures, you can use herbal infusions and decoctions.
- Portable fabric bath. The basis is a durable frame on which fabric is stretched, capable of ensuring optimal temperature in the steam room. To operate such a design, it is necessary to strengthen the electrical wiring and install waterproof sockets. The main advantage of such a bathhouse is its small dimensions and ease of installation and dismantling work.
- Finnish sauna cabin. A ready-made version of the design, which is intended for use in large apartments. It is distinguished by high reliability, practicality and high cost.
- Stationary bathhouse in the apartment. A structure with a unique design, the required size and equipment, which you can make and install yourself.
Installation of benches and other sauna equipment
A proper sauna should have a room height of 1.9 to 2.1 meters. When installing benches, it is necessary to take into account that the person sitting on the upper tier should feel comfortable without resting the top of their head on the ceiling (more details: " "). Then the bottom strip of benches will have a height of 65 centimeters. If such a design creates discomfort for visitors, then under the bench you can make a step 20-25 centimeters high.
Other conditions for arranging a steam compartment:
to eliminate the effect of a closed space, you can install combined doors with glass or tinting
It is very important that the door is without any locks and opens to the side from the steam compartment; It is worth considering that a wood-burning heater is very difficult to install, and therefore it is best to opt for electric stoves, which can be purchased in many stores. Such a stove is placed with a gap of 20 centimeters from the floor and secured to the wall with screws; To increase safety, the stove must be fenced with a wooden fence at a distance of 5 centimeters
Stones are placed in the voids between tubular electric heaters at a minimum distance; Lastly, lighting fixtures and switches are installed, after installation of which the sauna can be put into operation.
Available materials for the construction of a budget bathhouse
Before you build a budget sauna for your dacha, you need to decide on the material for the wall structures. As a rule, natural wood is used to build a private steam room - timber, a simple or rounded log, but increasingly, in order to save money, site owners prefer simpler and cheaper materials. The most popular of them are:
- Brick.
- Foam blocks and gas blocks.
- Wooden beam.
- Edged board.
- Steel frame with wood cladding.
- Plastic corrugated sheet.
Each material has its own strengths and weaknesses, which can be used to advantage when building a compact steam room.
Design features of the steam room
Next, you should determine the appropriate type and size of the future sauna, create a working design, and think over the layout of the main utilities.
Important! The dimensions of the home steam room are determined individually, taking into account the number of people simultaneously taking the procedures. The optimal dimensions of the structure for one person are 200 × 70 cm.
Double cabins can have dimensions from 200 × 165 cm to 200 × 200 cm. In such devices, procedures can be carried out by two people in a sitting or lying position.
The standard height of finished booths is 200 cm.
The finished apartment sauna is equipped with an electric heater, wooden benches or shelves in several tiers. The ceiling and walls of the structure are three-layer sandwich panels, which consist of wooden planks, heat-insulating material and have decorative finishing.
It is also worth deciding on the dimensions and type of entrance door to the steam room. Modern doors for mini-saunas can be made of wood, heat-resistant glass, or presented in a combined version - a wooden panel with a glass insert.
