Shelves in the bath: do it yourself

"Furniture" in the bath does not shine with any decorative delights. Its main goal is maximum functionality and providing travelers complete comfort. It is customary to make any benches or shelves in the bath from natural wood - this is an ideal material for a steam room, which is distinguished by high environmental friendliness, ease of processing, traditional and very attractive appearance.

It is easy to make the shelves in the bath can do it yourself. Due to the simple design of such a kind of “furniture”, even a non-professional can make it in a short time qualitatively and much cheaper than if the shelves were bought in a store or made to order in a factory.

A traditional village bathhouse cannot be imagined without regiments: often many-tier, resembling a wide staircase. In another such shelves are called curtains.They are an integral part of any steam room.

Shelves, or canopy is a wooden flooring - a kind of elongated multi-tiered shop, located along one or more walls of the room. So that you can relax in the steam room, such shelves are made with the expectation that even a large tall person can safely lie on them. In addition, a multi-tiered shelves allows travelers to choose the most comfortable temperature for them.

Sauna shelves can be divided into three types. The most common option considered shelves used as benches; They are suitable for small steam rooms as well as for large roomy rooms. The beds are not as popular as benches, but they are also found in various baths. And, finally, the third type of bath regiments - chaise lounges. They practically do not differ from beach loungers, and they can be used with equal success both as a bed and a chair, which makes them very functional, although far from the traditional design of a bath.

The design of the shelf is extremely simple. Decorative items are not welcome, as they can cause injuries, and are simply knocked out of the traditional exterior design of the steam room.The simplicity and the small choice of regimental forms are easily explained: it is customary to allocate a small room for a bathhouse, which can be easily, quickly and economically and warmed up without spending extra resources. Therefore, the most beloved by the masters is the ordinary rectangular shape of the regiments.

Before proceeding to the manufacture of a shelf, it is worth taking a closer look at the materials, wood, from which they can be made. Not all tree species are suitable to make them “furniture” for a bath. After all, they will have to undergo temperature drops and, in principle, a very high temperature regime. Add to this increased air humidity, and it will become clear that few breeds will be able to withstand such extreme conditions.

Suitable breeds should have three main properties. First, such boards should be resistant to ignition (respectively, the content of various types of resinous compounds in them should be minimal), high temperatures and humidity. Secondly, in order to have a rest in the bathroom to sit comfortably and lie on them, they should not have high thermal conductivity.And thirdly, in order to avoid the detachment of slivers and the appearance of splinters in rock, it should be very dense and not layered.

The most suitable are several varieties of trees.that can literally be listed on the fingers. Most often it is customary to use in the manufacture of regiments linden, aspen, larch. But to use conifers (unless, of course, the tree has previously been subjected to special treatment, as which the master is sure) is strongly not recommended. Indeed, because of the resin content, coniferous trees are not only combustible, but also respond to high temperatures by releasing these same resins, which can be the cause of thermal burns.

Lime boards are very convenient in processing, pleasant in appearance, and also resistant to the appearance of various stains. They almost do not rot and crack, and when heated, they begin to exude a pleasant woody smell. In addition, linden is very well treated, and is relatively cheap compared to other varieties of wood. The only thing that can be considered a disadvantage is that with prolonged use in rooms with high humidity the tree begins to darken.

Aspen boards are generally considered one of the best materials for the production of furniture for a bath. This is also a very budget option, characterized by durability. Initially, this tree is not very knotty, because it is not very difficult to handle it. Unfortunately, the main disadvantage of this material is its predisposition to seemingly inconspicuous rotting of the fibers inside the timber. Therefore, you need to carefully approach the choice of such boards.

The most expensive, but convenient and popular material for the bath is the African oak - abashi. This material, which is represented by colors in both dark and light tones, has amazing strength and poor thermal conductivity: it heats up very slowly, and therefore protects those who rest on the shelves of Abachi from any, even minor burns, even at very high temperatures. This material, which is not unimportant, is also resistant to mechanical damage, and this implies one of its main drawbacks - the difficulties associated with the initial processing of the bars from Abashi and its high cost.

Despite the fact that experts advise to avoid conifers in the interior of the baths, cedar can be a good material for the regiments. Like all conifers, cedar produces resin, so its boards must be treated in a special way, that is, completely free from any resinous substances. At the same time the cedar will not lose a pleasant smell of natural wood. It is resistant to decay processes, durable and durable, and its surface has a peculiar woody pattern.

Preliminary removal of resinous elements will allow the use of any coniferous tree species for the regiments. If the owner is not afraid of the difficulty of finding properly treated boards, the furniture can be made from spruce or pine. However, in no case should we neglect the pretreatment, otherwise under the influence of high temperatures the minerals and resins contained in coniferous trees will begin to flow out of the boards in the very literal sense.

The woody pattern itself is a great decoration for the steam room.therefore, no paint is used for the regiments. Moreover, under the influence of high temperatures, the paint can begin to peel off and release toxic substances. And to protect wooden products from the formation of fungus, mold and rotting processes, you can use a variety of water-based impregnations: they are resistant to high temperatures and perfectly protect the wood.

The main requirement that is imposed on all varieties of trees, whichever is ultimately considered the most preferable: there should be no knots on the selected material or they should be removed without danger of weakening the strength of the structure.

In addition, it is very important to make a correct calculation of the chosen material. The minimum cross-section of the timber that will be used to create the bearing frame of the future regiment should be 50x70 mm.Boards that are planned to be used for tying parts of the supporting structure must have a cross section of 20x80 mm or more. The thicker the timber, the better, because the more weight it can withstand, and this is very important for multi-tiered structures. For the flooring, thinner and narrower boards with a thickness of 10 mm and more are chosen.

The size of the regiments depends, of course, on the size of the room, which it was decided to take under the bath. For a steam room, often choose complex tiered structures in three steps, but the traditional Russian steam room should have two rows of shelves. In addition to the tradition, it is the most simple and convenient option to build it yourself.

The minimum height of the room in which the steam room is located is 210 cm, otherwise the formation of steam and heating of the room can proceed incorrectly. Shelves (or the middle part of it, if we are talking about a multi-layered structure), in turn, should be located at about the same level as the thumb of a down arm.Consequently, its average height will be about 80 cm. As for the upper tiers, the distance between the uppermost shelf and the ceiling should not be less than 120 cm: this will provide the visitor with enough space, regardless of whether he enjoys bathing while sitting or lying .

According to the standard, the minimum length of a shelf that should provide comfort to a person lying on it with legs bent at the knees is about one and a half meters. If the dimensions of the room allow, the length of the shelf increases to 1.8 m: this size will allow the rest to lie down without bending his legs. But each person has his own height, therefore 220 cm is considered to be the optimum shelf length.

The minimum width of the shelf is 40 cm. As a rule, such dimensions have shelves located on the lower tier. It is very rarely used for sitting, mainly its purpose is to serve as a stand under the legs of the person resting. But if necessary, the lower shelf can become a place where you can cool perfectly after the heat of the upper tiers.

The most popular size of the regiment's seats is 60 cm. This width allows you to comfortably sit in the bath, but, unfortunately, it may not be enough for comfortable lying. Therefore, 95 cm is considered to be the most convenient width. A rest can sit on such seats across the shelf, with legs tucked in, and can lie still.

The dimensions indicated here are usually sufficient for a tall and large person to comfortably fit on the shelf. If the room of the bath room allows, the furniture can be of large size - after all, it all depends on the individual needs and wishes of the owner of the bath. Another thing is that taking sizes smaller than those indicated is absolutely not recommended, because in this case the shelves will simply be inconvenient.

Step curtains - this is perhaps one of the most popular types of furniture for the steam room.Shelves are arranged along one of the walls in several tiers - usually in two or three tiers, so that the degree of heating increases with increasing height. The uppermost tier should be placed above the heating boiler or a traditional stove, but at the same time, a distance of 120 cm indicated above should remain between it and the ceiling in order to provide maximum comfort to the person sitting.

Angle or L-shaped canopies - This is also a fairly common variant of the internal composition of bath furniture. Wooden shelves are located on one side opposite the heating boiler or furnace, and the other on one of the free walls. The height of such regiments can be chosen individually, because it is the most successful option for small rooms in which functionality should be combined with space saving.

Coupe curtains - this is not the most popular design option for the internal space of the bath, but in itself is very interesting. Moreover, such a composition is spatially extremely beneficial for small spaces. Two regiments are located opposite each other - just like in ordinary compartment carriages of trains.Also, as in trains, the upper shelves can be tilted, this will also help save space.

Typically, the frame, which is then necessary to cover the flooring boards, is constructed of support posts that resemble the peculiar legs of the bench, connected by lintel boards. However, the shelves can be made without legs - then the main support will be on the walls to which the furniture will be attached.

The flooring itself consists of densely packed and carefully ground boards., approximately by the same principle, the backrest is also constructed. The distance between them should be from 1 to 2 cm. An interesting and beautiful solution, by the way, will be the installation in the gap between the planks of the multicolored backlight.

Sometimes a special, most often removable, headrest is also made separately from the bed. This wooden device gives the opportunity to rest with the true convenience of sitting on a stove bench, allows you to relax the muscles of the spine and neck. By itself, the design of the head restraint is simple and does not contain many elements: if desired, it can also be assembled independently along with the shelves.

At first glance, the device shelves may cause some questions, for example, why they in most cases are a multi-stage design.

The reason is, in fact, very simple. When heated, water vapor and hot air rise up, while the temperature near the floor is much lower. Thus, each user will be able to independently choose in which temperature mode it is more convenient for him to be: at the bottom, where it is not so hot, or at the very top of the steam pyramid, where the temperature is as high as possible. Therefore, if the owner of the steam room decided to make the shelves with his own hands, then it is absolutely not recommended to retreat from the usual stepped structure.

After the size of the future shelf is determined, you can begin planning the location of bath furniture.It is worth remembering that, for example, in a traditional Russian bath it is customary to bathe lying down, and the shelves consist of one or two tiers. Another thing - the Finnish sauna, in which visitors tend to soar while sitting. Tiers should be at least three, and therefore, the distance from the lower tier to the ceiling should be much larger.

Properly compiled scheme before the start of installation work should greatly facilitate the work of the master and in the future will allow guests in the sauna or bath to enjoy the steam room with maximum comfort. The diagram should show all the dimensions of the room, as well as note in which places the equipment is located, door and window openings.

It is necessary to take into account many nuances, such as the fact that the curtains should not be installed under the walls with windows, because because of the hot steam and high temperature glass can crack and injure the rest.

Shelves can have a kind of frame legs, on which the flooring will be printed. However, this is not a prerequisite, but only one of the options. You can make shelves and without racks, then the frame made of wood will be mounted directly on the wall.

It is important to remember that the shelves in no case should fit snugly to the walls. After all, free air circulation is very important for bathing wooden furniture, providing the tree with full drying and protecting it from the processes of decay and the formation of fungus and mold. Therefore, in the process of installation between the flooring and the wall, a gap of about 10 cm in size is left (sections of the beam are preliminarily attached to the wall, onto which other framework elements are subsequently attached). Screws, which are used to mount, should be carefully drowned in wood so that their caps do not remain on the surface.

It cannot be said that the options of the shelves are very diverse, however, if necessary, depending on the size of the bath room, you can choose the most suitable furniture. For small rooms, for example, you can find options that save space. Fit folding shelves that make the style of the shelves in trains. Their other option - folding or sliding shelves. When assembled, they look like part of a wall and take up almost no space. There are also removable shelves, which, if necessary, can be brought into the steam room and put in place, or can be removed.

As already mentioned, the shelves are not difficult to make their own hands. It is enough to look at the approximate drawings, grasp the general principle and draw up your own scheme, taking into account the dimensions of the bath room.

In order to process the source material and build the desired construction from it, it will be necessary to stock up with a certain set of tools. It should include a tape measure, a hacksaw for wood, a hammer and a mallet, a drill and a screwdriver, a chisel. It is preferable to use wooden nails to fix the flooring. After all, metal nails will inevitably heat up and can ruin vacationers all the fun. It is possible, of course, to fix the boards with screws on the back side of the structure, but this is rather difficult, unreliable and also requires a very precise calculation, which a professional may not be able to produce.

A sufficient amount of wood should be procured in accordance with the drawing drawn up in advance., the tree itself must be of high quality, free of cracks, traces of decay and all kinds of chipping and pods - the boards must be planed and ground. For supporting posts of the frame and flooring, it is recommended to take wood of the same species.

Thickness of flooring boards is selected individually depending on their width. The best option is the case when the thickness of the board is four times smaller than its width.

The tree itself must first be carefully prepared: the material should not be clearly visible defects and any marriage, knots, cracks and chips. In addition, for the frame and flooring, it is customary to take wood of the same species.

There are several options for assembling a multi-tiered regiment, they are not very different from each other and follow general principles. Below is just one of them - the traditional rectangular shelves.

The frame in the case of a regiment has an essential supporting function; this is the foundation on which the flooring is made of equally treated fixed or removable floorboards.These support bases look and resemble the legs of an ordinary shop with their purpose.

To make the frame, used a large wooden beam, the size and section of which is determined in each case individually. However, most often in order to assemble the frame of the future regiment, it is advised to take a dozen pre-prepared bars with a total cross section of 5 to 7 cm, and also (if it was decided to make shelves with legs) 5 boards that will serve as racks.

These support legs must be installed in a vertical position and fastened with rows of transverse jumpers. Sometimes the frame can be equipped according to the ladder kosour method, and a very rare option is the installation of bath regiments without supports, immediately attaching them to the wall (as a rule, this is typical of Finnish saunas or baths built using similar technologies). This looks like shelves attached to the walls and sun beds found in train cars.

After the base frame is prepared for installation, it is time to mount the structure directly to the wall of the bath. Fixing the shops must be made with the obligatory observance of a gap of about 11 cm in size.

First going to the frame of the upper tier. It is not forbidden to use screws so that the frame does not fall apart. Then the first of the rows of supporting posts is fastened to the wall, the distance between them is from 60 to 85 cm. At the very top of the bar, a “step” is formed so that it can be fixed “into the lock”.

Opposite the bearing supports, a second row of racks is installed, and their tops are joined by a transverse beam. For reliability, the design is assembled with metal corners, and then the supporting pillars are “tied up” with boards. The following levels are created in a similar way.

Finally, when the frame of the future regiment is assembled, it is time for its installation in the bath room. Previously (in order to provide the shelf with better stability and additionally protect against moisture), special rubber gaskets are placed on the lower parts of the bars.

Then it is time to install the floorboards on the frame. To start fixing the base for the seats should be from the lower tier of the frame, while between the boards you need to leave small gaps from 1 to 2 cm.This is necessary to drain excess condensed water and provides free air circulation inside the wooden shelf, due to which the structure will dry quickly and the possibility of its destruction due to internal rotting processes caused by high humidity will decrease significantly.

It would be preferable to stuff and fix the boards on the frame with wooden nails or pins. If, however, nails or screws are used, they must either be located on the inner side of the flooring, or they must be “sunk” in wood, deepened by several millimeters to prevent thermal burns in tourists, which can ruin all the pleasure from bath procedures.

To ensure the most efficient drying of seats, you can give preference to removable designs. Such loose flooring serves both as a seat and a bench.It is easy to remove from the designated place and take out to dry. The same principle is used to make backrests for seats, headrests - a kind of sauna "pillows", as well as all sorts of devices that help the bannik to take the most relaxed posture, for example, placing his legs at head level, and even higher.

The final stage will be the processing of the resulting regiment with special compositions that will make its use more comfortable, as well as provide it with a longer service life. It is considered that in a traditional steam room wood should not be processed in principle, it is sufficient to polish it thoroughly. Indeed, with good ventilation, the need for additional strengthening of wood fiber may not be, but excess insurance will never hurt, but it will be able to guarantee furniture a long and high-quality service.

In the first place, the benches (in fact, many craftsmen recommend doing this procedure with boards at the very first stages of preparing the framework to saturate the tree from all sides) should be soaked with powerful antiseptics.After all, constant contact with moist and very hot air will inevitably contribute to the destruction of the tree. In addition to rotting, mold can form on the tree and fungi and many harmful organisms can develop.

One of the impregnation options can be natural impregnation, for example, simple linseed oil is the most affordable and affordable option.

Often, antiseptics are used as impregnations.which give wood moisture resistance and impregnate it through. Unexpected at first glance, the decision can be the use of bleach: these special formulations not only protect the tree, but in the case of darkening return it to the original color. In addition, there are special compositions intended for direct operation in the sauna.

However, in no case should chemical products and varnishes be used as impregnation, nor can wooden floors be covered with paint. In conditions of high humidity and constant temperature changes, such substances will inevitably begin to decompose and release a variety of toxic substances.In addition to the unpleasant smell that can turn a steam room from a place of rest into a real torture, these substances can cause headaches and allergic reactions.

The first and most important rule that should be strictly followed is the mandatory drying and airing of the room after each session in the steam room. This will help protect wooden furniture from the harmful effects of excessive moisture. To dry the room, by the way, will help the bath stove, if after the completion of the water procedures, leave it for some time running.

During the ventilation of the room is to open all the doors and windows, having covered at the same time all capacities with water and tanks with covers.

A bath is a room in which, like in a bathroom, it is necessary to keep clean and carefully monitor internal hygiene. Of course, high temperatures protect the steam room from the appearance of various microbes and bacteria in it, but they are not able to protect the room from the appearance of dirt. Regular cleaning can not be avoided.It will be necessary to wash off the remnants of dirt remaining on the shelves after the procedure, traces of condensate.

After the end of bathing procedures, it will not be superfluous to wipe surfaces with a dry towel., even if there is a backlight. This will not remove moisture, which has managed to soak into the tree, but will greatly facilitate the drying of the outer surface of the shelves, and thus accelerate the drying inside the tree.

At the same time, taking into account the specifics of the bathing room, i.e., for the most part, its wooden decoration, it is not possible to use chemical cleaners in the steam room. The best option is a simple soap. Use of soft brushes will become useful. If the tree has a strong pollution that is not easy to remove, you can use sandpaper.

How to make shelves for a bath with your own hands, see the next video.