Lags for a bath from what is better. The floor in the bathhouse is better to be made of: we understand the nuances and choose the best option. Substrate preparation

Foreword

The construction of a floor in a steam room is a very important stage in the construction of a sauna. The floor must be adapted to the increased temperature and humidity. Anyone can make a floor in a bath with their own hands - we'll tell you how.

The choice of the design of the bath floor

Sauna floors require a special approach compared to living quarters. Under the influence of high heat and constant humidity, structural elements of a wooden floor are susceptible to rotting. Therefore, it is very important to correctly approach the choice of the type of underground structure. Thinking how to make the floor in the bathhouse is much better at the design stage of the building itself.

In bath construction, the most common are floor concrete or. The main task in the arrangement of the floor is the drainage of water, which constantly flows during the adoption of bath procedures. Depending on the method of drainage, the wooden floor in the bath can be made leaking or non-leaking.

As for the leaking type of floor, such a structure is an inexpensive option. This design is easy enough to make. In order to equip a good drainage system, it is required to lay boards on the logs. Such a flooring must necessarily have slots in order to provide a drain directly to the ground.

To collect water in the underground baths, a drainage pit is built. Therefore, in this case, sewage is not required. Due to the fact that the floor covering is slotted, the floor insulation is not done. Therefore, a self-made sauna with this type of floor is only suitable for use in the warm season.

As for the non-leaking floor, this type is much more complicated in the device than the first option. This design is made from several rows of boards. A rough floor is made from the first row, which implies fastening the boards to the lower part of the log. Uneven, second-rate boards may be suitable for this purpose.

The second row fits directly onto the logs. This is required to be done without gaps, therefore, for convenience, you can use boards with tenon grooves. Experts recommend using larch boards at this stage. It is also possible to pay attention to pine wood. Among conifers, fir is well suited for baths. Thermal insulation materials are usually placed in the inter-row space.

The finishing flooring is required to be done at a slight slope in the direction of collecting water. This will contribute to the discharge of wastewater into the sewer or into a septic tank. It is also necessary to connect the siphon to the previously drilled hole at the bottom of the wooden base. By using a tray that runs the entire length of the floor, you can get rid of additional holes. The tray must be positioned at an angle towards the collection point for contaminated wastewater.

Secrets of arranging a wooden floor in a bath

Among the main advantages of wood flooring is the environmental friendliness of the material. With such a floor, the bathhouse will look very solid. Compared with other types of flooring, the use of wood will be significantly cheaper. The main advantages of a wooden bath floor include, among other things, a high installation speed.

Before installing the logs, it is necessary to build supporting chairs. They can be made both from brick and from monolithic reinforced concrete. When using the first option, you will need to build a concrete platform for each support.

For supporting chairs, they usually make a hole 40-50 cm deep. After that, it is necessary to make a pillow, which will require a layer of sand of about 10 cm. Then 15 cm crushed stone is poured. All this must be carefully tamped. Upon completion, a frame is created from reinforcement, after which concrete is poured. It is imperative to take into account that the supports are at the same level and rise 10–20 cm above the ground surface. The poured concrete must be allowed to brew to gain strength. Therefore, the following actions are required to be performed one week after pouring the concrete mixture.

When the strength of the supporting chairs is gained, you can proceed to waterproofing them. The first step is to apply liquid bitumen. After that, it is advisable to lay the roofing material.

The next step in creating a wooden floor covering in a bathhouse with your own hands is laying the logs. This process depends on the type of floor structure. For example, for a non-leaking floor, a 10 degree slope is required. For this purpose, cuttings are created in the bars. They need to be done more when approaching the sewer sump. In the case of using a leaking floor, it is required to lay the logs at the same level.

At the end of this process, the floorboards are laid. This stage also differs depending on the construction of the floor. In the case of a non-leaking floor, tongue-and-groove beams are used. The work itself is carried out in three stages - the creation of the subfloor, thermal and waterproofing, and the installation of the final floor.

In leaking floors, cut boards are used. They must be laid at a distance of 5 mm from each other. Such gaps will make it possible to drain water from the floor surface. Be sure to make a technological gap of 2 cm near the walls.

Building a non-leaking floor - little things you need to know

The floor structure is reminiscent of a multi-layered cake. As mentioned above, a sub-floor is required to apply the thermal insulation layer. Any boards are used for it, including waste. It is important to treat the wood with antiseptic materials and remove the bark from it. You also need to pay attention to the thickness of the boards, they should not be thinner than 20-25 mm.

To carry out thermal insulation work, it is required to lay a waterproofing membrane on the rough floor. On the wall, this material should go by 20-30 cm. All logs must be covered with a continuous layer of such a membrane. You can fix it with a stapler. Fastening should be done to the side of the lag with a 10-15 cm step. If the size of the film is not enough, then a new layer will need to overlap the previous one by 20–30 cm. It is possible to connect two layers of the membrane between themselves using self-adhesive tape.

Then you can start laying the insulation material. It is recommended to make a small gap (no more than 1–2 cm) between the top layer of the floor and the insulation. Some experts advise, when using basalt wool, to lay another layer of waterproofing on top of it.

Now you can start creating the final floor. To do this, first of all, a 2 cm thick rail is attached along the wall. In this case, it is advisable to use self-tapping screws for wood. Such slats are necessary to create support for the floorboards.

The bars begin to be laid from the wall. Their attachment to the logs is carried out using self-tapping screws, the caps of which must be drowned. Thanks to the spikes in the boards, they are attached quite easily. To do this, you need to wind each one into the groove of the previous board. Therefore, the spike of the first plank should be directed towards the wall. Floorboards must be laid in such a way that water flows across the planks.

Concrete floor in the bath - what you need to know

The creation of such a floor covering with your own hands is carried out in several stages. The first step is to compact the soil base. It is required to make a sand and crushed stone pillow. Most often, a layer of 15–20 cm is made. The slope towards the pit begins to be done even at the stage of soil compaction.

Before pouring the first layer of concrete, it is necessary to build a pit, from which the drain pipe should go into the gutter. In the case of drainage into the ground in the bath, it is imperative to make vents. For this, you can use asbestos pipes. Such holes are made to remove unpleasant odors from the bath room. When draining drains into the sewer through a pipe, its receiving edge must be provided with a shutter.

Further, concrete is poured into 5 cm. After the mixture has hardened, expanded clay is poured or felt is laid. It is imperative to make waterproofing. On top of the insulation, another reinforced concrete layer is poured. After this step, it is recommended to use leveling compounds. Now you can start laying the flooring.

The concrete floor in the bath is very cold. Therefore, you need to make it warm. To do this, you can implement an electric or water heat-insulated floor. It is better to lay a moisture-resistant wooden covering on top of the concrete. Due to this, the floor surface will always be warm and comfortable for the feet.

Steam room - the main section of the bath, has special requirements. The room should perfectly retain heat, not be afraid of dampness and high temperature. Currently, there are a large number of building materials and technologies that allow developers to choose an acceptable option for themselves, taking into account personal preferences and financial capabilities. But not only this affects the optimal choice of gender in the steam room.

As mentioned above, during the selection, the developer takes into account the wishes and possibilities... But professional builders do not recommend focusing only on these factors, there are still some very important points.

Foundation type

For baths, three types of foundations are used: screw or concrete pile, columnar and shallow tape.

1. Concrete or metal pile foundations recommended for use on sloping construction sites and waterlogged unstable soils. A feature of pile structures is the large open space between the floor and the ground. This situation has positive and negative sides. The presence of a distance between the floor and the ground improves the ventilation of the underground space. This has a positive effect on the humidity regime, wooden structures dry out quickly, which increases the operating time of the floor in the steam room. Another plus - in most cases it is not necessary to make special receivers of water, it pours out onto the ground, the main part is immediately absorbed, a small amount can flow outside the perimeter of the bath. The negative side is that the floors cool quickly, the surface is cold, especially in winter. It is necessary to take special construction measures to improve the comfort of staying in the steam room.

   

   

2. Columnar... The cheapest options for foundations for a bath. Most often, the underground space is open. The positive and negative sides are the same as those of the columnar.

   

3. Shallow tape... Stronger structures that can withstand significant forces. They make it possible to build large baths with different premises. The disadvantages include the complexity of the arrangement of floors in the steam room. The fact is that the vents provided in the tape cannot provide the same effective ventilation as a completely open space. This worsens the operating conditions of the floors in the steam room; to prevent the appearance of negative processes, all wooden elements must be thoroughly impregnated with antiseptics. Any impregnation is a chemical composition that adversely affects living organisms. From a biological point of view, a person is an ordinary living organism, and also reacts negatively to aggressive compounds. But these are not all problems. In such baths, under the steam rooms, it is imperative to make sewerage systems to drain water. Additional work complicates and increases the cost of floors in the steam room, requires highly qualified specialists.

The above features of various types of foundations must be taken into account when choosing a floor option in a steam room, regardless of the wishes of the developers.

Screw piles prices

screw pile

Soil type

Only two types of soil affect the technology of building floors in a steam room.

1. Clayey do not absorb moisture, all water is on their surface for a long period of time. As a result, the humidity in the underground space is high, and the processes of wood decay are accelerated. A water drainage system must be installed under the steam rooms on such soils.
2. Sandy soils quickly absorb moisture and can accept large amounts of it. Such physical parameters make it possible to simplify the installation of floors under the steam room and washing room as much as possible.

The climatic zone of the location of the bath

Everything is simple here - the colder the climate, the warmer the floors in the steam room should be. It is strongly not recommended to install cement floors in northern regions.

This information should be taken into account when choosing a floor option in a bath, but it is not enough to make a balanced final decision. You need to learn more about the features of the floors, their pros and cons.

Types of floors in the steam room

This parameter also influences decision making, it should be borne in mind and compared with the type of foundations, physical characteristics of soils and climatic zones of the location of the building.

Table. Types of floors in the steam room.

For traditional wooden baths it is better to do. Larch is considered the best breed, it is not afraid of moisture, with direct contact with water, its strength increases. The disadvantage of larch is its high cost. In this regard, most developers are advised to make the floors in the coniferous wood steam room.

Step-by-step instructions for making a floor in a steam room

For example, we will consider a rather complex and expensive floor in a steam room - leakproof with insulation. This option is used in cases where there are small children in the family, it is necessary for them to create an increased comfort of staying in the room.

Initial data. The steam room is being renovated, the floor is changing due to the presence of cracks, which created inconvenience for young children. The material of manufacture is coniferous boards, the front surface will be covered with a special resistant varnish. Durable waterproof extruded polystyrene foam is used as insulation. Floor laying in a steam room is done in two stages. At the first one, the old coating is dismantled, an audit of the condition of the wooden elements and current repairs are made. In the second step, a new floor is laid in the steam room.

Dismantling

Step 1. Remove the skirting boards around the room. Undermine them carefully, use wooden lining to protect the surfaces of the boards from mechanical damage.

Step 2. Unscrew the self-tapping screws for the floorboards.

Practical advice. Never use black self-tapping screws, they are very afraid of moisture and quickly oxidize. Oxidized hats not only worsen the appearance of the steam room floor, such hardware is then very difficult to unscrew. Most often, the boards have to be torn off, and after that large holes remain. Problematic areas need to be repaired, it is long and difficult. In addition, seeding marks will always be visible.

Step 3. Inspect the floor structures for mold and rot, and if problems are identified, they must be eliminated.

Step 4. Remove the genital lags. Damaged areas must be removed from the surface of the lumber, for this you can use an electric plane. It is recommended to wipe the surface of the walls under the skirting boards with any antiseptic. The lags must be impregnated with the same composition.

This completes the preparatory work, you can start laying the new floor of the steam room.

Important. During the construction of the bath, be sure to make effective ventilation of the premises. After taking water procedures, the steam room and the washing room must be dried as quickly as possible, this cannot be achieved only by opening the doors. High humidity and high temperature are the main enemies of lumber. No amount of impregnation will prevent the boards from rotting if they are constantly damp and warm.

Laying a new floor in a steam room

The floor will be made with a slope, draining the water into the tray. All lumber should be impregnated. As many years of practice show, the best antiseptic is used car oil. If a specific smell is alarming, then the lags can be kept outside for several days, in sunny warm weather it will quickly disappear. In addition, in our version, the floor of the steam room is solid, which is an additional guarantee that there are no unpleasant odors during the procedure.

Step 1. Determine the floor level and the angle of the planks. The direction of the slope from the front door to the opposite wall of the steam room. You can make marks using an elementary water level or using a modern laser device. The second option allows you to make the markup faster, but not every amateur has such professional tools at home.

The upper plane of the plinth should be about five millimeters below the threshold, taking into account its width, outline the lines for the location of the floorboards. On the opposite side, do the same operations, do not forget about the slope.

Step 2. Fix the lags according to the marks. It is much easier to fix them with special perforated metal corners. They perfectly hold a lot of weight and make it possible, if necessary, to correct mistakes. The corners are fixed to the lateral and lower surfaces of the log, thereby increasing the reliability of the structure.

Perforated corners have many holes, but this does not mean that a self-tapping screw must be screwed into each. No more than three pieces are required on one side. Extra holes are provided so that you can choose the optimal place for fixing the screws. There are knots and cracks on the lumber, here the hardware is not installed.

Practical advice. The surface of the lag is strictly horizontal, and the floorboards are at an angle. In this regard, they do not come into contact with the entire surface with the supports. Don't worry, it's much better for a steam room. The fact is that the floor does not have large loads, the boards will not bend. And the presence of a small gap between them and the logs speeds up the drying process of lumber, which has a positive effect on the duration of operation.

Lags are much easier and faster to set up on the rope. To do this, fix the first and last exactly according to the marks, pull the rope between them and use it as a template for fastening all the others.

Step 3. Proceed with the installation of the water receiving tray. Some models must first be adapted for a steam room. To do this, a grinder with a disc for metal cuts off excess planes that interfere with its reliable fixation to wooden logs. The master must select a specific rework scheme on the spot, taking into account all the features of the steam room floor. The purpose of the standard tray revision is that the boards should adhere tightly to its surfaces, the appearance of leaks should be excluded.

Check the position of the floor plane again before installing the tray. From the opposite wall, it is recommended to place an emphasis on the tray over the entire surface of one board, for this it is laid perpendicular to the rest. It is much easier to lay one whole board perpendicularly than to use many short lengths. This should be provided at the stage of measurement and preparation of sawn timber.

To drain water from the receiving tray, bring the pipes to the receiver. They can be taken outside, or the receiver can be installed inside the steam room. How it's done?

1. Prepare the container. The volume depends on the expected amount of water, but in the vast majority of cases, a plastic or metal barrel for one hundred liters is sufficient.
2. In the corner of the room, dig a hole of the appropriate size, set several metal bars or corners in diameter on the bottom. The container will rest on them.
3. Turn the barrel upside down and carefully lower it into the hole. Cover the cracks between the container with sand or earth.
4. Punch holes in it and attach drain pipes to them.

Step 4. To the bottom of the lag, nail slats or pieces of boards for the sheathing (sub-floor). Insulation plates will be laid on them. It is needed in order to increase the comfort of staying in the steam room for young children. Wooden slats should also be impregnated with any solution from decay.

Step 5. It is recommended to prepare the floorboards in advance along the length. If there are problems with the dimensions of the bath (the angles are not equal to 90 °), then the length of each board will have to be adjusted separately. Fitted boards should be numbered to facilitate further installation.

Practical advice. It is more profitable to prepare the boards before installing the insulation layer: it is dangerous to move on it, it creates significant restrictions in movement.

Do not forget that the end of each board should fit snugly into the groove of the drain pan. Floor fitting work will have to be done manually; use carpentry tools carefully. Never violate safety regulations. Professional builders say that tools should not be afraid, otherwise it will be difficult to work. But they must be respected, this is the only way to prevent injury.

Step 6. Install insulation in the niches. For a steam room, a thickness of five centimeters is enough. It may seem to inexperienced developers that this is not enough, because all building codes and regulations recommend a thickness of the insulation layer of at least ten centimeters. In regions with a cold climate, this parameter increases to 25 cm. The recommendations are correct, but only for residential premises, those in which people are constantly. Stay in the steam room is short-term. During this time, a 5 cm layer of insulation will not have time to warm up to its entire thickness, there will be no loss of active thermal energy. And after everyone has taken water procedures, heat loss does not matter.

The gaps between the insulation and wooden structures must be carefully foamed. It is recommended to use ordinary polyurethane foam, it is inexpensive, and the positive effect of the application is significant. If there is no practice of foaming, then it is better to learn a little, and then get to work.

Practical advice. If the amount of material is calculated correctly, then the foam that has come out does not interfere with fixing the floor boards in the steam room. Surplus should be cut off only in exceptional cases. The fact is that during solidification, the pores close, water does not enter the foam. And after cutting off the excess, air pores open, moisture quietly penetrates into the foam. The negative consequences of this situation are well known to all.

Step 7. Start laying the boards on the floor, pay attention to the previously made numbering. If the boards are dry and level, then no problems arise. If they are warped due to high humidity or improper storage, then each will have to be pulled together. This is not very difficult to do, but you will need to buy a ready-made tightening device or make one yourself.

Each board is fixed at the edges with two hardware. You can use self-tapping screws (long and expensive) or ordinary nails. The length of the nails is chosen depending on the thickness of the boards. But there is one mandatory requirement: the depth of driving nails into the log must be at least two thicknesses of the board. Otherwise, the risks of loosening the pilaf in the steam room are great. For example, if the thickness of the boards is 25 mm, then the length of the nails should be approximately 70 mm.

Step 8. The gaps between the floor and the walls around the perimeter of the room can also be foamed. This will be additional sealing.

Step 9. Nail in the baseboards. If your elements are made of plastic, then you do not need to cut off the protruding foam, we have already told you for what reasons. The skirting boards are fixed with small nails or self-tapping screws.

This completes the work on laying the floor in the steam room, you can proceed to the finishing coating of the front surface.

Finish coating

It is allowed to use a special resistant varnish as a topcoat. Before application, the surface should be sanded, the dust should be thoroughly vacuumed. For grinding, it is better to use an electric machine, it not only facilitates the work, but also significantly improves the quality. You will never make such a smooth surface with your hands.

Acrylic wear-resistant varnishes have proven their good performance in practice. If the manufacturers are responsible, then the floor will be used for a long time, no periodic repairs will have to be done due to wear of the topcoat.

You can cover with an ordinary paint brush, the number of layers is at least two. Moreover, during the coating with the second layer, the brush should move in the perpendicular direction to the first. For steam rooms, it is recommended to make three or four layers of varnish, due to this, the duration of operation increases. Each subsequent one is applied only after the previous one has completely dried; there is no need to try to reduce the number of layers by increasing the thickness of each. Such a gross violation of the coating technology has extremely negative consequences.

At the end of the work, it is recommended to ventilate the steam room for several days, during which time unpleasant odors and harmful chemical compounds will be completely removed. After the first warm-up, the airing must also be repeated, and only then is it allowed to enter the steam room.

Floor boards prices

floor boards

Video - Solid wood floor in the steam room

Video - Draining water from a bath on screw piles

Special attention should be paid to the arrangement of the floor in a private steam room. The level of comfort during use and the functionality of the bath itself depends on how competently its design will be thought out and implemented.

Materials for arranging floors in the steam room - what to use?

The floor base in the bath performs several important functions at once. It not only ensures the safety of a person's movement while taking water procedures, but also is part of the water removal system. A properly constructed floor in the bath does not wear out prematurely, does not rot due to high humidity, effectively retains heat in the room. In private steam rooms, the bases of interest to us are most often made of wood and concrete. Brick coatings are used much less often. They are expensive and quite difficult to arrange with your own hands.

If you want to build a capital bath room made of stone or brick with a rest room, washing room, dressing room and use it all year round, experts advise you to opt for a concrete base. It must be equipped with a well-thought-out water drainage system and effective waterproofing. But for small banks, operated exclusively in the summer, simpler wooden floors are suitable. They are built much faster and easier, are environmentally friendly, and have a very presentable appearance.

Wood bases have been used for a very long time. They create special comfort in the steam room, saturate the room with pleasant natural aromas, make each bath procedure a small holiday for the true Russian soul. True, there are many disadvantages of wooden floors. The durability of such structures is poor. No matter how hard you try to protect wood from the harmful effects of water, it will quickly lose its initial performance characteristics. Therefore, be prepared for the fact that after a while you will have to remodel the wooden floors in the steam room.

Concrete structures are much preferable in terms of durability. They are not afraid of water and steam, temperature drops.

Concrete products withstand even the most challenging operating conditions. On average, such bases are used for 40–45 years without additional repairs. Immediately, we note the obvious disadvantages of concrete coatings. They are very cold (for this reason, a suitable finishing material, for example, tiles, is laid on top of them), laborious to install with their own hands, require a serious investment of time and financial resources.

Concrete base - we build for centuries!

The floor for a concrete bath is, in fact, an ordinary screed. It is made from a solution in which there is sand, cement and some special fillers (crushed stone, natural marble chips, gravel and others). We advise you not to bother mixing the required ingredients to obtain a concrete composition, but immediately purchase the ready-made mixture at the nearest building store. Factory-made sand-cement compositions in dry form are completely ready for use. They only need to be diluted with plain water in the recommended volume, thoroughly mixed with a perforator with a nozzle, and then used as directed.

If the screed will serve as a finishing floor covering, or a simple flooring of boards will be mounted on it, there is no need to add any special components to the purchased mixture. For cases when it is planned to lay tiles on top of the concrete pavement, it is advisable to add a little anhydrite with gypsum to the cement-sand composition. It's even easier to buy a self-leveling compound created specifically for such cases.

The concrete base for the bath can be mounted on logs or directly on the ground. The first stage of work is the arrangement of an elementary system for water removal. It consists of an intermediate tank (this role is usually played by a small pit 0.4x0.4x0.3 m, dug in the ground) and two pipes. The walls and bottom of the pit should be concreted and a pipe product with a section of 20 cm should be brought to it. Its other end is taken out into an autonomous septic tank on the site or into a gutter. We put another pipe from the pit into the bathhouse. It is advisable to equip this part of the system with a valve that prevents the penetration of unpleasant odors into the steam room.

Next, we prepare the platform for the screed. We remove the upper layer of soil, pour sand into the resulting pit, ram it, pour brick or gravel on top. We should have a layer of about 0.25 m. Add 10 cm of crushed stone on top. Once again we ram the whole cake and fill it with a sand-cement mixture (about 5-6 cm thick). An important nuance! The concrete layer must have a slight slope towards the pit-reservoir.

When the solution hardens, lay mineral wool or polystyrene on it (you can pour a layer of expanded clay, perlite). These materials play the role of an effective insulation. Be sure to put waterproofing under the foam and cotton wool (it is most reasonable to use roofing material). We cover the thermal insulation with the same material. Then we mount the metal mesh (wire). It makes it possible to perform high-quality reinforcement.

The main screed can now be poured. We serve the solution from the far corner and gradually approach the exit from the steam room. When pouring, the composition is necessarily leveled (you need to work with an assistant). We perform this operation with a trowel. And to tighten the concrete in a circular motion, we use the rule. After 2-3 days, the screed will harden. Planks or tiles can be laid on it. We mount the finishing with a two-centimeter slope towards the drain. If you plan to use concrete as a topcoat (you can do that), just carefully level and grind its surface. But remember that such a floor in a private bath will be cold. In winter, it is problematic to use a steam room with it.

Leaking wood floor - acceptable quality with minimal labor

It is possible to make a floor in a bath from wood using two technologies. The first involves the construction of leaking foundations, the second - non-leaking. Advice. If you have little experience in performing construction work, it is better to erect leaking floors. They are made in the form of a flooring of boards, between which gaps are specially left. Through them, the used water goes into the ground. Thermal insulation of such structures is not performed, the sewer system is not being built. Instead of the latter, a simple drainage pit is used. It is being dug under the bathhouse.

You can make a floor in a bath of this type according to the following algorithm:

1. 1. Level the plot of land, fill it with a layer of gravel, which should be well tamped.
2. 2. We prepare wooden logs (cut to the required size, apply an antiseptic composition) and support pillars for them.
3. 3. We mount the processed logs on the supports, keeping the distance between the individual elements at the level of 0.5 m.
4. 4. Laying the boardwalk. We leave 2–3 mm gaps between the bathhouse wall, the floor and the boards to be installed.

It is not necessary to fix the flooring elements to the joists. The described coating is recommended to be regularly removed and taken out in the sun to dry. If necessary, it is possible to replace rotten boards at any time. The service life of the described floor structure is 4–6 years. Then you have to build a new one. Such leaking floors are best used in the country, where you visit from time to time and rarely use the steam room.

There is another way to arrange simple plank surfaces. It is less difficult to execute. After preparing a plot of land, beams with a cross section of 10x10 to 15x15 cm should be placed around the perimeter of the foundation. Be sure to apply an antiseptic on them! We install logs on the beams, fix them, and mount the flooring from the boards on top.

Both types of leaking floors can be constructed from hardwood and softwood. It is not recommended to lay oak boards. They become very slippery when wet. It is better to opt for products made from pine, linden or larch. The last option is considered the most optimal. One more nuance. The flooring is made of planed edged boards 4–5 cm thick. Thinner products will not last long in high humidity conditions.

Leak-proof wood floor - environmentally friendly and reliable enough

Now we will try to correctly make a non-leaking base. It will take more time to build such a structure. But the result of the work will also be of higher quality. Leak-proof wooden floors are suitable for year-round steam rooms. The design of such bases requires the arrangement of a rough intermediate coating and the mandatory installation of a heat-insulating layer. Due to this, the service life of such structures reaches 10–12 years.

We build a non-leaking floor in the bath according to the step-by-step guide given below:

1. 1. We make a pit-reservoir, we lay pipes for drains by analogy with the arrangement of drainage for concrete pavements.
2. 2. Preparing the site. We remove the layer of earth, cover the cleaned area with sand and gravel. We ram each layer of material. If desired, fill in a concrete screed (5–6 cm). This part of the operation is optional. If you want to save time and money, skip it.
3. 3. Cover the floor base with a waterproofing layer. The best protector against moisture in this case will be roofing material.
4. 4. We carry out insulation using polystyrene or expanded clay. Mineral wool is not used for thermal insulation of non-leaking bases.
5. 5. We install the logs with a step of 0.5 m on the pre-assembled beams. For the manufacture of the latter, you need to use 10x20 cm bars. The fastening of these supports, as you remember, is carried out along the perimeter of the foundation.

Then we mount the intermediate base. We fix the rough floor from the bottom of the beams. We cover it with an additional heat-insulating layer (mounted on roofing felt). On top of the insulation, we lay another layer of waterproofing material. The last stage of work is the installation of a finished floor. We install it with a slope, lay the boards close to each other. The finishing coating is attached to the logs with nails or self-tapping screws.

We take boards for non-leaking floors grooved, 3-5 cm thick. We make the logs from wooden blocks with dimensions of 5x7 cm. Pay attention! The lower edge of the wooden floor base must rise 10–20 cm above the level of the base (its upper edge) of the bath. We hope our instructions will help you build a truly durable steam room floor.

The technology and process of arranging floors in a steam room and a washing department differ significantly from the principles of flooring in residential and commercial buildings.

To provide an effective drainage system, ventilation, waterproofing and thermal insulation, it is necessary to adhere to the basic rules of installation. A properly equipped floor in a bathhouse ensures quick drainage and maintenance of a microclimate in the room.

Often, the bath floor is made of wood or concrete. It is difficult to determine which floor is better, since each type of base has its own operational features and characteristics that should be considered when arranging a private bath.

Concrete floor

Wooden floor

A wooden floor is simpler and more affordable in arrangement, but less durable than a concrete counterpart. After 10 years of active operation, individual elements of such a structure must be reconstructed or replaced.

Plank floors can be made from softwood and deciduous wood that is resistant to moisture and temperature extremes. There are two types of wooden base: leaky and non-leaky.

Leaking floor

This is a budget design option, presented in the form of a wooden lattice, the individual elements of which are installed in compliance with the clearances for the free drainage of drains into the ground.

A leaking floor does not provide for the installation of a complex drainage system and additional insulation. For this reason, a bath with a similar floor is recommended to be operated in the summer or in regions with a warm climate.

Such a base is available for independent arrangement, in addition, repair work will not cause technical difficulties. In such a construction, the floorboards are not attached to the joists, therefore, if necessary, they can be dismantled for drying or replacement.

Non-leakage floor

The non-leaking floor has a solid structure installed on, which are embedded in the ground or concrete base. For efficient drainage, it is carried out at a slight incline towards the drain.

For the installation of a solid floor, a tongue-and-groove board made of larch or pine is used, installed on supports. High-quality floorboards should be free from deformations and defects.

The upper flooring is laid on the subfloor, which is pre-insulated with a moisture-resistant material.

A bath with this type of floor can be operated throughout the year at any temperature.

Consumables selection and basic calculations

The device of the floor in the bath involves the use of construction and thermal insulation materials, drain pipes made of metal and plastic, galvanized fasteners.

What is the best way to make a floor in a steam room and a sink? The number and type of consumables depend on the type of floor structure and the way it is installed.

Calculations for a concrete floor

For installation work, you must prepare:

• Fine sand for filling a layer with a thickness of 12 cm. Material volume (O) = (3 × 3) × 0.12 cm = 1.08 cubic meters. m.
• Expanded clay for backfill in front of thermal insulation with a layer thickness of 30 cm. Material volume (O) = (3 × 3) × 0.30 = 2.7 cubic meters. m.
• Expanded polystyrene sheets for thermal insulation. The thickness of the insulating layer is 10 cm. The number of sheets for a room with an area of ​​9 square meters. m - 2.5 packs.
• A mixture based on cement and sand (ready-made or homemade). The thickness of the screed is from 6 to 12 cm. The average consumption of dry mix is ​​18 kg / sq. m. Concrete layer 1 cm = (3 × 3) × 18 kg / sq. m = 162 kg. For a layer of 6 cm: 162 × 7 = 1134 kg or 63 bags of ready-mix.
• Reinforcement mesh for fixing a 5 × 5 cm concrete layer.
• Rolled roofing felt for waterproofing a sand cushion from an expanded clay layer.
• Metal profile for screed beacons. For a steam room of 9 sq. m. 18 meters of profile will be required.
• Plastic drain pipe up to 5 meters long, with a cross section of up to 3.2 cm, siphon and swivel elbow.

Calculations for a wooden floor

As a working example, the calculation of materials for installing a wooden floor in a 9 sq. m.

To build a simple flowing type floor, you will need:

• A sub-floor block measuring 3 × 3 or 4 × 4 cm along the length of the beam. The distance between the beams is 0.5 meters, the total amount of material is 30 meters.
• Unplaned board for a base up to 25 cm wide and 2.5 cm thick. For one section you need: (300/25) × 0.5 = 6 meters. For 5 floor sections: 5 × 6 = 30 meters.
• A guide bar for creating a drainage slope with a section of 2 × 3 or 3 × 3 cm.
• A block for fixing lags for a finishing base with a section of 6 × 6 cm.
• Roll or sheet roofing material for waterproofing. For a steam room, 16 meters of material are needed, taking into account allowances.
• Roll wool from basalt 8 cm thick for thermal insulation.
• Galvanized steel sheets up to 0.6 mm thick - 11 sq. m. of material.
• Plastic pipe, elbow and drain for installation in a drain hole. To ensure a correct drainage, the bend with the pipe connected must be installed at right angles.

Concrete floor installation technology

The arrangement of the floor begins with the preparation of the soil inside the foundation - cleaning it from debris and dirt.

The scheme for laying a monolithic base is as follows:

1. The soil is carefully tamped and leveled. The inner walls of the foundation are treated with bitumen in several layers.
2. At the preparatory stage, the drain pipe is laid through the foundation. To do this, it is enough to make an inlet in the base and install a metal adapter for supplying a plastic pipe.
3. The drain pipe is brought to the place where the drain hole is provided. The end of the pipe is plugged to prevent blockage.
4. A sand cushion up to 12 cm high is poured onto the ground, moistened and tamped.
5. Next, it is necessary to put roofing material on the inner walls of the base with an overlap of 15 cm. Additionally, the joints are treated with bitumen-based mastic.
6. Expanded clay is laid up to 35 cm thick, leveled and tamped. 8 cm remains to the edge of the base.
7. Expanded clay is covered with a 200 micron thick film, and the joints are glued with construction tape. Thermal insulation is mounted on top of the waterproofing.
8. After the foundation is insulated, the guides are installed for pouring concrete in increments of 55 to 95 cm. The lighthouses are laid on a mixture of cement and sand.
9. When installing the guides, it is important to observe the required slope for the correct drainage of water. In this case, the beacons are set strictly according to the level.
10. At the bottom of the walls along the perimeter of the room, a damper tape up to 12 cm high is fixed. After pouring and drying the concrete screed, the remnants of the tape can be removed.
11. Concrete is poured with the prepared mixture and left to dry completely.

Important! 5 days after pouring, the beacons are dismantled, and the existing voids are filled with a mixture. The first 10 days the floor is thoroughly moistened with water up to 3 times a day.

Leaking wood flooring technology

The step-by-step guide for the installation of a leaking floor provides for a step-by-step implementation of the work: preparation of the underground, installation of logs and wooden flooring.

Preparing the underground

In order for the water entering the underground to be discharged into the ground, it is necessary to properly prepare the base - for this, the top layer of the earth is cut and the waterproofing cushion is backfilled from fine gravel up to 26 cm thick.

For soils with a low level of moisture absorption, soil removal is carried out at a slight angle, and the effluent is discharged into a 30-centimeter pit through a drain pipe. The soil is covered with clay and leveled.

Important! Before filling the pillows, they install supports for wooden logs, and also erect a foundation for heating equipment.

Installation of support lags

How to properly install the lag? They are mounted on concrete poles equipped with a brick base. The height of the lag is determined by the height of the pillars (columnar foundation) or strips (strip foundation).

The installation of the lag is carried out against the short wall of the building. To avoid deformation of the lags or their swelling, the supports are covered with a double layer of waterproofing made of roofing material treated with hot bitumen.

To ensure natural ventilation when laying logs against the walls, a minimum technological gap of 4 cm should be observed.

Wood flooring

To lay the floor, boards are used that are fixed perpendicular to the installed logs. In this case, it is necessary to observe the indents between the individual elements of the floor - 5 mm, between the boards and walls - 2.5 cm. The fixation of the wooden shield to the logs is carried out using metal nails.

Laying technology of impervious wooden floor

The device of the wooden floor in the bath provides for the installation of support lags similar to the previous version, with the formation of an inclined surface for effective drainage.

Installation of the floor in the bath is carried out in the following order:

1. Organization of the water intake system. The first stage of installing a non-leaking floor is the organization of a water intake of 45 × 45 cm, located between the supports and thermally insulated with a solution of clay or cement. The depth of the water intake is 35 cm. At a height of 3 cm from the bottom of the receiver, at a slight slope, a pipe is installed to drain the effluent into a drainage well or pit.
2. Installation of the subfloor. After mounting the lag on the support pillars, the subfloor is fixed - a filing made of cheap material, for example, a second-rate board. Layers of hydro, heat and vapor insulation are laid on the boards to protect against moisture.
3. Fixing the topcoat. On the installed logs, a finish coating of a grooved board with a low moisture absorption coefficient is fixed. Along the perimeter of the room, a gap of 2 cm is observed from the walls for natural ventilation. The boards are fixed with nails at an angle of 50 degrees. At the end, a decorative plinth is mounted.

Important! Wall cladding is done over the installed skirting board to prevent condensation from collecting under the skirting board.

Effective protection of logs and floor coverings from decay

In order not to rot the floor in the bath, experts recommend treating it with heat-resistant water-based varnish. Such a coating is able to withstand heating temperatures over 100 degrees, providing surfaces with reliable protection from high humidity, hot steam and dirt.

The protective varnish is applied to the wooden base with a brush in several layers. The work is carried out in a well-ventilated room at an air temperature of 4 to 28 degrees.

If a wooden floor is equipped in a flowing type bath, then a protective composition is applied to the topcoat and to the support logs.

Laying floors in a bath is a complex procedure that depends on the structural features of the building, its size and the type of foundation. But, despite the technical difficulties, any owner of a private bath will be able to master the technology of laying floors with his own hands.

We have already considered various options for installing floors, including wooden ones. If you haven't read the article yet, you can do it right now.

In this publication, let's learn how to prepare the foundation for the construction of a leaking and non-leaking wooden floor, how to correctly make supports for logs, what to make logs from, what height to make supports, and consider other issues related to the construction of the basis of wooden floors in a bath.

How to make logs for the floor in the bath

In order for the wooden floor in the bath to withstand a sufficient load, it is laid on logs - thick beams or logs installed at a certain distance depending on the thickness of the boards from which the floor will be laid.

For the lag device, larch or pine wood, which is not afraid of moisture and has sufficient strength, is best suited.

As you know, the floor in the bath should have a slight slope towards the water collection pit. Therefore, the logs are also performed not at the same level, but with a slight difference in height, so that the boards to be laid go with a slight slope.

Before laying the logs, you need to decide on the direction of the water flow, so that you do not redo the floor later. But this applies mainly to non-leaking floors, from which water is completely collected and discharged into the sewer. The direction of laying the logs should be perpendicular to the direction of the water flow.

If the floor is planned to be leaking, then the slope can be omitted and the floors can be laid without a slope.

What is the section to make the lags?

In order for the logs to withstand the weight of the washable, their cross section is selected depending on the distance between the supports on which they will fit. The greater this distance, the thicker the logs will be. The ratio of the height of the log to the width is usually 1.5-2 (that is, the height is 1.5-2 times the width).

The main dimensions of the lag, depending on the distance between the supports, are shown in the table below:

As you can see, with a small distance between the supports, you can save on buying a thick bar or logs.

You can save even more on the timber by installing columnar supports under the logs. So, with a log length of 6 meters, only one support in the middle will reduce the cross-section of the log from 220 x 80 mm to 150 x 80 mm. And if the supports are put after 1 m, then you can use a bar with a section of 80 x 50 mm. The difference is visible to the naked eye.

When selecting the section of the lag, do not forget to take into account the required mark of the finished floor, which will depend on the mark of the top of the supports, the thickness of the floorboard, the mark of the flange or strip foundation.

How far are lags placed?

The distance between the lags (lag step) is selected depending on the thickness of the boards from which the floor will be laid. The thicker the board, the greater the distance between adjacent lags and vice versa.

The distance between the joists, depending on the thickness of the floor boards, is shown in the table:

Support for logs

Columnar supports for logs can be made of various materials - wood, brick or monolithic concrete. If the supports are made of brick or wood, a small concrete platform 200 mm thick should be made as a base, protruding at least 50 mm in each direction from under the support that will be made on this platform.

In general, the columnar support will have the following structure:

• 10 cm of sand bed;
• 15 cm of crushed stone or gravel;
• 20 cm of concrete base;
• Support structure made of brick (wood).

Under each support, you should dig a hole 40 cm deep, make a sand bed, crush gravel or crushed stone from above, then set the formwork 200 mm high and fill the concrete base of the support. After the concrete has hardened, lay a piece of roofing material on the concrete base, having previously lubricated the top of the base with hot bitumen.

The concrete mixture for pouring the base can be prepared in the following proportion - 1 part of cement, 3 parts of sand, 5 parts of crushed stone (gravel).

Underfloor space arrangement

After the supports are placed, you can take up the space that will be under the floor.

If you have good soils (sand) on your site, then you can make a leaking floor, and put 250 mm of gravel on the ground under the floor. Through the gravel, the water will go into the sand and the device of drainage pipelines will not be needed.

If on the construction site of the bath there are soils that do not absorb water well, then a leak-proof floor should be made with the collection of water in a pit and its subsequent drainage outside the bath into a collection well or onto the relief.

If you want to make a leaking floor, and the soil is bad, then you can use the old folk method. From above, gravel is rammed into the ground, it is good to tamp it, and on top lay a layer of oily clay 10-15 cm thick with a slope towards the catchment pit, from which water will subsequently be discharged through a pipe outside the bath.

In the figure, the numbers indicate: 1 - gravel preparation; 2 - clay; 3 - drainage flume (pit); 4 - walls of the pit made of clay; 5 - drainage pipe.

Non-leaking floors can be insulated with expanded clay bedding. In this case, a layer of expanded clay should be chosen so thick that there is free space to the lags, laid on supports at least 10-15 cm for ventilation of the underground space. Otherwise, the floor will quickly rot.

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Now you know how to choose the cross-section of the logs and the thickness of the boards for the wooden floor in the bath, how to determine the number of columnar supports for the logs, and also equip the underground space depending on the type of bath floor.

In the following articles, we will learn how to lay logs on supports, how to make a subfloor and how to lay insulation in leak-proof floors.