Removing and draining water from a bathhouse - how to lay a drain pipe under the floors and make a drainage system. How to organize drainage of water from a bathhouse Draining water under a bathhouse why not

The bathhouse has always been considered a native Russian form of bathing and keeping one’s body clean, as well as an excellent place to relax. It’s even hard to imagine without her a private house. The question of how to drain water in a bathhouse arises at the beginning of construction, or rather, during the design of the building.

It is quite obvious that the bathhouse is the place where there is a large amount of water, which after use must be disposed of somewhere. Lovers of the most simple solutions should know what consequences await them in the event of simply draining water into the space under the floor (pit):

• formation of dampness and mold;
• the presence of a constant putrid odor;
• the possibility of subsidence of the bathhouse due to the destruction of the top layer of soil by water.

In addition, a primitive drainage device in a bathhouse may not be possible due to the specific composition of the soil. High clay content in the soil can make it difficult to absorb moisture. Water that is constantly under the floor of the steam room will only accelerate the formation of the above problems. Therefore, the organization of water drainage from this room must be approached with special responsibility, then the structure will serve you for many years.

Exist the following options how to organize water drainage in a bathhouse with your own hands:

• construction of a drain tank;
• drainage of water into the central sewer system.

If you know how to properly drain water from a bathhouse, then you are even more aware that the arrangement of floors in a bathhouse must be approached with special responsibility. And no matter how high-quality the water drainage is, the bathhouse is always extremely high humidity, most of which is absorbed by the floors.

The floors in the bathhouse can be wooden or concrete. The choice depends on the building. In the case of a permanent building where year-round operation of a shower room, steam room, dressing room, or rest room is planned, it is more advisable to install concrete floors with reliable waterproofing.

In a bathhouse built of wood, and which you are going to use only in the summer, it is quite enough to make wooden floors. This option is more economical and does not require a large amount of work.

Remember: Even impregnated with special protective compounds wooden floor exposed high humidity and high temperatures. Therefore, be prepared for the fact that after a certain time it will have to be re-laid.

Concrete floor

The “pie” of a concrete floor consists of the following layers:

1. compacted gravel;
2. concrete;
3. vapor barrier layer;
4. expanded polystyrene (as insulation);
5. waterproofing (polyethylene film);
6. concrete;
7. reinforced cement screed.

Above this design can be covered with ceramic tiles.

Wooden floor

Wooden floors in the bathhouse can be leaking or not leaking. Floors of non-leakage construction are installed on a concrete screed that has a slope towards the drainage of water. Such floors take a long time to dry, so they quickly rot.

A leaky floor is much easier to operate and install. To drain the water in a bathhouse under a tree, in in this case flooring made of boards is not nailed to the joists. It is simply laid, leaving a gap of 5 mm between the flooring boards. Water leaves the floor surface through these gaps, which also act as a kind of fan. These floorings can be removed and dried at any time.

In case of a leaking floor, organization is necessary sealed pit under the bathhouse, from which water will then be drained through a pipe, for example, into a drainage hole. Also, you will need to make a water seal in the pit to avoid getting unpleasant odors into the room.

Bath water drainage device

For arranging high-quality water drainage in the bathhouse Special attention is given to the following indicators:

• The capacity of the drainage system is determined by the number of people visiting the steam room and the frequency of visits. The volume of the drainage pit or well depends on this.
• Groundwater level at the bathhouse construction site.
• Soil composition.

Guided by these indicators, it is necessary to determine how to properly drain the water from the bathhouse, what design to use, and what features it will have: volume, depth, materials, fastenings.

Drain tank with filter bottom

The purpose of any tank (well or pit) with a filter bottom is to clean wastewater from pollution and retain microorganisms. The water then undergoes purification in the soil layer. Filter materials can be: brick fragments, sand or crushed stone.

If the bathhouse is regularly used by 3-4 people, then the most optimal sizes the pits will be: 1-1.5 m in diameter, depth - 2 m. Its shape can be round or square. The preferred option is a cylindrical tank shape. In this case, the pressure on its walls is uniform, which means that repairs will be required much less frequently.

cesspool for a bath - digging a pit

For a bathhouse, dig with your own hands at a distance of 3-5 meters from the bathhouse. It cannot be located closer due to the risk of destruction of the foundation and the unpleasant smell of wastewater. If located further from the bathhouse, additional costs for pipes are inevitable, the required slope of which is quite difficult to achieve at a large distance.

If the soil is strong and does not crumble, then it is not necessary to strengthen the walls and bottom of the drain tank. In this case, after digging a pit, layers of gravel, expanded clay, broken brick and sand are simply laid on its bottom.

In most cases, the walls of the drain well are strengthened. To do this, use concrete rings (not a cheap option), old tires or bricks, which are used to line the walls. Metal or bottomless ones are also widely used. The upper edge of the drain tank should be 30-40 cm below ground level. The top of the well is covered with a concrete or metal lid, which is covered with earth.

To install a drain in the bathhouse, you can dig a channel through which the water will flow by gravity into the drain well. But the best option for draining water from a bathhouse with your own hands would be to use plastic, asbestos, ceramic or, in extreme cases, metal pipes with a diameter of 50 or 100 mm. For the drain pipe, a trench 50 or more centimeters deep is also dug (depending on the freezing of the soil). The pipe is laid at a slope of 20 mm for each meter of pipeline.

The organization of water flow inside the bathhouse is thought out during the design period. The simplest, most accessible and least labor-intensive option may be sloped floor. In this case, the water flows towards the slope, then is discharged through a pipe into the drainage hole.

This is important: Construction of a drain well is only possible if the groundwater flows deep. Otherwise, the reservoir is filled more with groundwater than with drainage from the steam room.

Arranging water drainage in a bathhouse with your own hands using a drain hole has its drawbacks. From time to time, the pit should be cleaned using a sewer truck. This entails additional costs. The most important thing is that it is not always possible to place a tank for draining wastewater in a place accessible for vehicle access. Plus, the filter material at the bottom of the well also requires periodic cleaning.

Another option for draining water from the bathhouse would be septic tank. It will be especially relevant if there is a toilet in the bathhouse, since “black” wastewater requires much better treatment.

Another scheme for draining wastewater from the steam room is shown in the photo. After filtering in a container, wastewater is discharged into a drainage ditch.

You will find installation recommendations on our website in a separate article.

Read about what it is and what it can be used for in a separate article.

And the features of plastic gutters are described here. The article also contains instructions for their installation.

Draining water from the bathhouse into the central sewer system

For areas with well-developed infrastructure the best way bath drainage devices the water will be drained into the central sewer system. Keep in mind that work on installing drainage into a centralized system is carried out before laying the floor covering.

Where the floor slopes, a gutter made of modified PVC that can withstand maximum temperatures is installed. The slope of the gutter should be directed towards the sewer pipe.

Organizing a drain in a bathhouse with your own hands into the central sewer system is possible only after obtaining permission from management company and preparation of the following documents:

• To carry out land and installation work, it is necessary to conclude an agreement with design organization, whose activities are confirmed by certificates;
• written consent of your neighbors to carry out this work.

On the technical side, in order to obtain written permission, it is necessary to install an inspection well at the point of connection to the central heating system.

Recommendations to help avoid unpleasant odors in the bathhouse

• If the room has several points for draining water into the central sewer system (steam room, shower, swimming pool), then each of them should be equipped with a water seal. This can be a drain siphon of various shapes. The water plug, which is constantly present in this device, prevents the penetration of unpleasant odors from sewer system into the room.
• For the same purposes it is established sewer ventilation system. It is a plastic pipe with a diameter of 50 mm, connected to the roof of the bathhouse.

Now you know how to properly drain water from a bathhouse - one of the important stages in building a steam room.

When building a bathhouse, special attention should be paid to the proper organization of the water drainage system. If everything is done correctly, fungus will never appear in the sauna and there will be no unpleasant odors. And the building itself will last much longer.

Floors in the bathhouse - selecting a suitable base

Russian bathhouse or sauna on your own suburban area- the dream of many people. Bringing it to life is not that difficult. It is enough to understand all the features of the construction and arrangement of the steam room, in particular, the rules for organizing drainage in it. This issue needs to be given increased attention. If you do not organize effective drainage of waste water from the sauna, within a couple of years after the start of operation, its foundation, floor base and lower parts of the walls will become unusable. Naturally, very soon all these problems will cause the destruction of the building.

It is possible to do the drainage in the bathhouse with your own hands, but first we will need to understand all the existing drainage options, choose optimal system, and only after that start arranging the drain. The first issue to be resolved is related to the type of flooring in the steam room. They can be done:

• concrete;
• wooden.

A concrete floor is ideal for a permanent sauna, in which water treatments are taken throughout the year. Such a base consists of several successive layers. Compacted gravel comes first, then concrete mortar, vapor barrier, heat insulator (it is best to use polystyrene foam boards). The insulation is covered with polyethylene, which acts as a water protector. Another layer of concrete is laid on it. The entire structure is secured with a reinforced cement screed. At the very end, the concrete base is covered with tiles (ceramics) or other finishing material.

A wooden floor is much faster and easier to build. It is installed in bathhouses used exclusively in the warm season. The costs for wooden foundations are significantly less than for concrete ones. But there is one problem. Even with careful processing of wood special. compositions, after some time it will begin to deteriorate under the influence of moisture and high temperature. After 5–6 years of operation, such a floor will have to be completely re-laid. This should be kept in mind when choosing the type of base for your bath.

Wooden floors are structurally divided into non-leaking and leaking. The first of these are always laid on a pre-made concrete screed (it must have a certain slope). Non-leaking structures are prone to rotting, since after using the steam room they take quite a long time to dry. From this point of view, leaky floors are more convenient to use. They are simply laid on the joists without rigid attachment to the latter. The boards are laid with small (about 5 mm) gaps. It is through them that water is removed from the surface of the flooring. At any time, such a floor can be removed, taken outside under the hot sun and dried.

If you plan to build a leaky foundation, you should make a pit (preferably sealed) under the sauna and connect a pipe to it, through which the drainage will be carried out.

Wastewater disposal systems - pros and cons during operation

Having figured out the type of flooring, we move on to selecting a suitable drainage system. There are several options for arranging a drain:

• soil filtration technique;
• installation of a drainage well;
• pit.

The choice of a particular system depends on the geometric parameters and frequency of use of the bathhouse, the presence or absence of a centralized sewerage system on the site, the depth to which the soil freezes, and directly the type of soil available. If a person plans to go to his own sauna with two or three friends a couple of times a week, there is no particular need to organize a complex drain (for example, ground filtration). In such situations, you can get by at low cost by building a simple pit or well for waste water. If the bathhouse becomes a permanent gathering place for a large number of hot steam lovers, you will have to take care of arranging a more sophisticated and efficient system.

On clay-type soils, it is best to make a drainage hole. Used water will flow into it from the bathhouse through pipes and then be pumped out. For sandy and similar soils, systems in the form of drainage wells are more suitable. We also take into account the most important requirement - the pipes through which water will be drained must be laid below the freezing level of the soil. If we install them above the specified level, in severe frosts they will freeze, and we will not be able to fully use the private bathhouse.

Let's talk about the pros and cons different systems plum. And then we’ll find out exactly how each of them is mounted. Let's start with the simplest system - a pit. It is essentially a hole that is dug under the floor base of the steam room. A layer of filter material is placed at the bottom of the pit. Water passes through it, is purified, and then gradually seeps into the soil. The pit does not require pipes or any other communications to operate. Its arrangement takes a minimum of time. These are definitely advantages. But this solution also has disadvantages. Firstly, a pit cannot be made on soils that do not absorb water well. Secondly, it cannot be installed in saunas with a foundation in the form monolithic slab. Thirdly, even a deep pit is characterized by an objectively low throughput potential.

It won't be much more expensive to install a drainage well. This is understood as a sealed tank for collecting wastewater, buried in the ground. When it is full, the owner of the bathhouse calls a sewer truck. She pumps out the water. Any summer resident will make a drainage system, spending a minimum of effort on the work. Here you just need to choose the right place to install the tank. It should be installed on the lowest plot of land. No special maintenance is required for the drain well. The disadvantages of the system are the need to regularly call special equipment to pump out water and to arrange fairly wide access routes to the tank. The sewer truck will not pass along the narrow path.

A drainage well is a deep and wide hole that is filled with a layer of filter element. This may include furnace slag, small pieces of bricks, crushed stone, construction sand. Digging a hole is easy. Cover it with filtrate too. But maintaining the drainage system is not at all easy. The wastewater is not pumped out of it. They go into the ground. In this case, at least once every 5-6 months you need to completely change the filter layer and clean the well. Such an operation requires considerable labor costs, which negates all the advantages of the system.

We will consider the advantages and disadvantages of the ground filtration method below. And we’ll immediately describe how exactly such a system is made professional builders. She is considered the most effective option drainage of wastewater from private saunas.

Soil filtration - how effective and durable?

The method of soil wastewater treatment requires the installation of a full-fledged sewer system. It includes pipes for collecting and draining water and a special septic tank. The latter plays the role of a distribution well and at the same time a settling tank. Some craftsmen assemble the septic tank on their own, but more often they buy it ready-made in specialized stores. The advantages of the system are high-quality purification of heavily polluted waters, completely autonomous operation, no need to call equipment to pump out the well. Disadvantages - a huge amount of land (very labor-intensive) work, the considerable cost of the consumables and equipment used, the need to allocate a large area for installing a septic tank.

A step-by-step guide to setting up a ground filtration system is provided below. First, we decide on the location of the septic tank. We bury it 150–250 cm into the soil. Then we connect the sewer pipe to the installed container. We remind you! It should be laid below the freezing mark of the ground. After this, we prepare perforated drainage pipes (the so-called drains). We select their cross-section and length taking into account the volume of wastewater. In most cases, plastic products with a cross-section of 110 cm are used as drains. You can also use other pipes by drilling a number of holes in them.

It is not advisable to take the length of one drainage pipe more than 25 m. The pipes are laid in trenches about 1 m wide (minimum 50 cm). The distance between individual drains must be maintained at least 150 cm. The system installation process itself looks like this:

1. 1. We draw up a diagram for laying drains. We dig a trench with a slope of about 1.5°, checking its accuracy with a building level.
2. 2. If the soil is sandy, we make a cushion of gravel and sand at the bottom of the trench (the thickness of each layer is 10 cm), and then lay geotextiles on top. For clay soils the procedure is similar. But in this case there is no need to use geotextile material. It is allowed not to make a pillow on loams. In this case, the pipes must be wrapped in geotextiles. In this way we will reduce the risk of siltation of the system.
3. 3. Lay the prepared drains. At their end we install a half-meter (slightly more) pipe for ventilation.
4. 4. Fill the drains with 10 cm of gravel. Fill the trench to the top with a layer of soil.
5. 5. Cover the ventilation outlet. pipes with a protective cap. It will prevent leaves and debris from entering the ventilation duct.

The soil drainage filtration system is ready! At proper arrangement it will serve trouble-free for at least 15 years. But after a specified period of time, you will have to change the cushion under the drains, since it will gradually silt up during the operation of the sewer.

Making a pit - a simple and quick operation

As noted, drainage from small, rarely used baths can be organized using a pit. The diagram of its device is as follows:

1. 1. We dig a hole under the future floor base of the steam room.
2. 2. We fill our mini-pit with a layer of crushed stone, expanded clay or broken brick.
3. 3. Pour sand on top.
4. 4. We install wooden logs on top of the pit with the filter pad made.
5. 5. We lay the plank flooring on the mounted supporting elements. As you remember, we install lumber not closely, but with gaps.

Boards can be nailed to the joists. But it’s better not to do this in order to be able to periodically remove the flooring and dry it outside.

Some craftsmen make an improved pit. It serves as a collector for wastewater, which, after reaching a given level, goes into the sewer. This pit option is also quite simple to construct. We dig a cubic hole under the floor. We take the length of the ribs of such a pit to be at least 50 cm. We protect the walls and bottom of the pit from moisture. The easiest and most reliable way is to fill them concrete mixture. Although you can use any roll waterproofing material, for example, roofing felt.

Next, at a height of approximately 10 cm from the floor base, we bring the pipe to the pit. We take it outside the building on a slope (otherwise the drains will not be able to leave the pit by gravity). We install a water seal. It is a device that prevents unpleasant sewer odors from entering the steam room. The simplest water seal is a metal plate installed at a slight angle. Its lower end should be about 5 centimeters away from the bottom of the pit. The shutter can also be made from an ordinary rubber ball. It should be secured above the pit (directly above the drain). When the tank is empty, the ball covers the pipe, and when the tank is filled, it floats up and the water flows freely through the pipe.

Building a drain well - a practical option

The drainage pit is rightfully considered the most in a rational way organizing drainage from the bathhouse. We need to dig a hole and install a metal or plastic tank in it. This option does not require serious expenditure of effort. But the durability of the drain structure is not very great. Therefore, home craftsmen prefer other methods of arranging such a system. They make pits from reinforced concrete rings or line the walls of the well with bricks. In this case, the structure becomes more reliable, due to which its service life is significantly increased.

Working with reinforced concrete products is difficult. But it’s quite possible for any self-taught craftsman to do brickwork. Let us describe the last option for organizing the drain step by step:

1. 1. We choose a place for a well, remembering that it is always located at the lowest point of the land plot. In addition, we need to immediately take care of arranging the access to the drainage pit for the machine pumping out the wastewater.
2. 2. We dig a hole of the planned size. It is recommended to make it rectangular or square. Then the volume of excavation work will be less. We make sure that the walls of the pit are smooth and dense (we do not allow soil to fall off them).
3. 3. We make the bottom of the pit with a slope, directing it towards the hatch.
4. 4. Pour a 15-centimeter layer of sand into the hole and tamp it down. Pour concrete mortar on top. It is allowed to install a finished slab (reinforced concrete) on the bottom. Due to this, it is possible to reduce the time required for the work, since you do not have to wait several weeks for the concrete solution to completely harden.

Now we begin laying the walls of our drain structure. We carry out the operation using new or used red brick. We make the masonry 25–30 cm thick. We install the bricks with an offset of half a stone. We fix the products with a composition made up of sand, clay and water. We install a pipe in one of the walls for the wastewater entering the well.

Brick is a permeable material. Therefore, the masonry needs to be additionally sealed. We use any bitumen mastic. We apply it strictly according to the manufacturer's recommendations. After waterproofing the walls, we install a ceiling on the well. It must be more hole(on each side) by 25–30 cm. It is advisable to make the ceiling from reinforced concrete. This design has a considerable weight, but is distinguished by its durability and unique strength.

The process of installing the ceiling is as follows: we assemble the formwork, fill it with concrete (layer - about 7 cm), install metal reinforcement, and add another concrete layer on top. We are waiting for the ceiling to harden. After the concrete has crystallized, we install a hatch in the center of the slab. Let's take it plastic film. We cover the flooded floor with it and fill it with soil. Only the hatch remains on the surface of the earth. Through it, wastewater will be pumped out from the brick tank after the tank is filled to a critical level.

Drainage structure - how to do it?

A drainage well is made exclusively in areas where groundwater flows very deeply. If they are located high, the structure we are interested in will not be able to perform its function. It will begin to fill up groundwater, and the drains from the bathhouse will simply have nowhere to collect. The drainage well should be dug 2–2.5 m from the walls of the building. If, the risk of subsidence or wetting of the foundation will increase. With a smaller distance between the wall of the building and the pit, we will not be able to organize the required slopes to ensure gravity flow of water.

Having chosen a suitable place, we dig a cylindrical hole in the ground. Theoretically, the well can have any other shape. But practice shows that cylindrical pits are much less likely to need repair work. In addition, they mark a uniform distribution of loads on the walls. We can choose any depth and size of the well. For large and actively visited baths, the parameters of the well, of course, should be more impressive than for saunas that their owners use only from time to time.

• Laying walls with brick or wild stone. Important! We lay the products with small gaps. They are needed to naturally remove moisture.
• Installing containers made of metal or plastic. Before installing it in a hole in the tank, you need to make holes on the sides and cut off the bottom.
• Laying several old car tires on top of each other.
• Installation of slate sheets. This option is suitable for wells in the shape of a rectangle or square.

We fill the reinforced pit with crushed stone, broken brick or expanded clay, making a cushion 10–15 cm high. Then we cover it with sand (the thickness is similar). We dig a trench to the well from the sauna (don’t forget about the slope, optimally if it is 1 cm for every meter). We put a drain pipe into it. We put the last one into the drainage hole. After this, you need to install a cover on the well. It is better to make it metal and always removable. After all, we will have to regularly maintain the drainage pit, changing the filter layer in it and cleaning it. All that remains is to cover the lid with polyethylene and fill the structure with soil.

Choose suitable option sewerage for the bathhouse and do all the work ourselves. Guided by the instructions given, we will easily set up a truly effective wastewater disposal system.

Any bathhouse is a place where you can take a break from the worries of the day, relax and steam to your heart's content, so a large amount of water always accumulates in such a room. In order to keep the bathhouse in working condition for a long time, the problem with the drainage of this water must be solved. In this article we will describe how to make a drain in a bathhouse with your own hands, and also present the main types of such structures.

You need to make a decision on the type of drain at the bathhouse design stage. Some people prefer not to complicate their lives and rely on the outflow of water into a pit under the floor of the bathhouse.

However, the consequences of such a decision may be as follows:

• begins to grow under the floor mold;
• an unpleasant musty smell appears;
• the structure of the bathhouse may shrink due to the destruction of the top layer of soil.

At the same time, we note that the location of the waste pit directly under the floor of the bathhouse is sometimes impossible due to the composition of the soil, for example, with inclusions of clay. Such soil does not absorb water well, therefore, all the described troubles will appear much earlier. To prevent unpleasant consequences, it is best to organize a complete outflow of water from the bathhouse.

A do-it-yourself bathhouse drainage device can be organized in two ways:

• construction of a special septic tank on the site;
• connection to the central sewer system.

Types of floors in baths

If you decide to drain the bathhouse yourself, then the first thing you need to consider is the type of flooring, since they bear the main load from increased temperature and humidity, regardless of how well the drain is made. Therefore, the process of arranging floors must be treated with increased attention and scrupulousness.

There are two types of floors - concrete and wooden, each of which is applicable to one or another type of bathhouse. If your bathhouse is massive permanent structure with a relaxation room, dressing rooms, shower or swimming pool and steam room, then it is best to opt for concrete floors equipped with a waterproofing layer. In addition, this option is relevant if the bathhouse is planned to be used all year round.

But in the case of wooden log houses, which are mainly used only in summer time, wood floors are quite acceptable, as a more profitable and inexpensive construction option with a small amount of work.

However, we should not forget that wood, despite all efforts to protect it, treatment with antiseptics and other materials, will eventually become unusable and the flooring will have to be replaced.

Concrete floors

The construction of a concrete floor requires the following layers:

• compacted layer of crushed stone;
• sand-cement mortar;
• a layer of vapor barrier material;
• insulating layer made of expanded polystyrene;
• cellophane film for waterproofing;
• another layer of sand cement;
• mesh of reinforcement covered with concrete screed.

You can lay tiles on top of the screed. floor tiles, or use wooden ladders.

Wood floors

Wood floors can be made in two versions - leaky and non-leaky. In the first case, under the boardwalk there is a concrete screed, which is poured with a slope towards the water drain hole. This type of floor takes a very long time to dry, so it often deteriorates very quickly.

In this case, the boardwalk itself is laid out along the joists, without nailing it and leaving gaps of 0.5 cm. Through the cracks, water will flow freely under the floor, and if necessary, all the boards can be removed and dried in the fresh air.

Organization of water outflow from the bathhouse

First of all, to understand how to properly drain a bathhouse, you need to take into account a number of factors:

• the composition of the soil at the site where the bathhouse was built;
• groundwater level at the site;
• the size of the room and the expected number of users of the bathhouse, the frequency of its operation, on which the volume of the septic tank and the throughput of the drain hole depend. If a water bath is being built, then, naturally, the requirements for the construction are completely different.

Based on these parameters, when designing a bathhouse, a decision should be made on the design of the drain, as well as its size, materials for its manufacture and method of fixation in the ground.

Well with a filter at the bottom

The design of a drain pit with a filter bottom is used primarily to purify wastewater from dirt and chemical elements, as well as to retain bacteria. Subsequent filtration of water is carried out directly by the soil layer. But at the bottom of the well, crushed stone, crushed brick or sand are used as a filter.

To ensure the outflow of water from a bathhouse designed for 3-4 people, a well with a diameter of 1.5 m and a depth of 2 m is sufficient. It can be either rectangular or round in shape - the latter option is preferable due to the uniform distribution of pressure on all walls. The cylindrical design will need correction much less often.

Since it is necessary to drain the bathhouse at the dacha without damaging the building itself, it is advisable to retreat from it at a distance of about 3-5 meters. Such a gap will ensure, first of all, the safety of the bathhouse foundation from being washed away, and will also prevent the penetration of unpleasant odors from the well into the bathhouse. But if you locate the drainage hole further, you will inevitably have to purchase additional pipes for water drainage. Besides, correct angle It is difficult to ensure tilt over a long distance.

If the soil on your site is dense enough, then simply dig a hole for drainage and lay filter materials at the bottom - sand, crushed stone and broken brick. Additional strengthening of the walls is not required.

However, most often the boundaries of the well still need to be strengthened. Well rings are a fairly good material for this, brickwork, plastic barrels or metal tanks. Alternatively, the drain is made from car tires. So that the upper edge of the well can be covered with a lid and sprinkled, it is deepened 30-40 cm from the surface of the soil.

According to the drainage diagram in the bathhouse, a trench can be dug from it to the pit, through which water will randomly flow by gravity into the well. However, it is best to equip the drain with pipes made of asbestos, metal, plastic or ceramic, with a diameter of 50-100 mm. In this case, a trench is also necessary, but its depth will depend on the depth of soil freezing, but not less than 50 cm. The pipes are laid at a slope of 20 mm at every meter of distance.

At the design stage, the future design of the drain and the features of the floor organization are thought out in detail. An economical option for draining a bathhouse in a country house is to make the floor sloping towards the drain hole. With this design, wastewater enters the pipes and is discharged directly into the drainage pit.

Please note that the arrangement is in accordance with step by step guide Draining a bathhouse with your own hands is only possible in cases where the groundwater runs deep enough. Otherwise, the drainage pit will be filled not so much with wastewater as with groundwater, that is, it will lose its functionality.

An alternative to a drainage pit is to use a sealed septic tank, such as one made of plastic. Such a device will be especially relevant in cases where the bathhouse is equipped with a toilet, that is, the nature of the wastewater will require more thorough cleaning.

Another type of drainage from a bathhouse involves the presence of a filtration well and the subsequent discharge of wastewater into a drainage pit.

The outflow of water from the bathhouse into the sewer system

If there is a running central sewer system at the location of the bathhouse, then the optimal solution would be to drain the water directly into it. However, all plumbing work and organization of drainage in the bathhouse must be done before laying the final floor covering.

Before cutting into the central sewer system, you must obtain special permission from the company servicing it.

You will need to obtain a number of documents:

• a concluded agreement with a design bureau authorized to carry out installation and earthworks, which is confirmed by certificates;
• consent signed by neighbors to carry out any work on the site.

In order to always be able to access the connection point and make repairs, it is necessary to provide an inspection well. It is the main condition for obtaining permission to tap into the sewer system.

The air in the steam room will always remain fresh and fragrant if you follow a number of useful tips when installing the drain:

• If water is to be drained into the sewer system from several points in the bathhouse, then each drain hole must be equipped with a water seal, in particular, a siphon of any design. This device prevents unpleasant odors from entering the room by means of a water plug inside it.
• Ventilation of the sewer system, carried out from a 5-centimeter pipe leading to the roof of the bathhouse, serves the same purpose.

Thus, following the instructions, you can drain the bath yourself to ensure long-term and hygienic operation of the bath.

Having your own bathhouse is the dream of most homeowners. Many of them begin self-construction to make their dream come true. One of the most important aspects during construction is the organization of water drainage. Well designed and installed structure will protect the foundation and wooden parts from destruction, prevent the possible appearance of fungus and unpleasant odors. How to drain a bathhouse according to all the rules? Let's figure it out.

Collection of wastewater in a bathhouse can be carried out in different ways. Choice optimal option depends on what kind of floors you plan to lay. They may or may not leak. In the first case, it is assumed that a special reservoir will be installed to collect water, from which the wastewater will go into the sewer system. In the second case, an inclined floor is installed, and gutters and ladders are installed through which the water will drain.

In any case, the drainage system must be installed before laying the floors. General scheme its installation looks like this:

At this point, the installation of the sewage system inside the bathhouse can be considered complete. All that remains is to connect sanitary equipment and a toilet to the system, if necessary. Now it's time to tackle the outdoor drainage.

Video - the process of installing a sewer system in a bathhouse with your own hands

Prices for pipes for external sewerage

pipes for external sewerage

How to choose a wastewater disposal method?

There can be many options for organizing an external bath sewer. When choosing one of them, be sure to consider the following points:

• expected intensity of use of the bathhouse;
• dimensions of the building;
• type of soil on the site;
• soil freezing depth;
• the presence or absence of a sewerage system on the site;
• Possibility of connection to a centralized sewerage system.

This is the most important aspects, which will allow us to determine the best way water drainage. For example, for a small bathhouse where two or three people will wash once a week in the warm season, it is not worth equipping a complex sewer system using ground filtration. A drainage hole or even a pit under the building will be quite sufficient here. Whereas for a bathhouse in which you plan to wash all year round, you will need a more complex drainage system.

The type of soil is also important. For highly absorbent sandy soils, a drainage well is the optimal solution. This is not suitable for clay soils. Here the best option a drainage pit will be constructed from which wastewater will be periodically removed. When installing the system, do not forget about the level of soil freezing. If this is not taken into account, the water in pipes laid above this level will freeze in extreme cold and destroy the sewer system.

Methods for arranging wastewater disposal

There are several effective and relatively low-cost ways to organize the drainage of water in a bathhouse. All of them are quite easy to do on your own. Let's look at their main advantages and disadvantages.

Drain well

It is a sealed container in which wastewater coming from the bathhouse accumulates. When the well is full, it is emptied using a special machine. Advantages of the system:

• simplicity in arrangement;
• It does not require special care;
• low cost.

The disadvantages include the following:

• need for regular calls sewage treatment plant cars, which entails certain expenses.
• organizing convenient access for special equipment to the well;
• the drainage well should be installed at the lowest point of the site.

Drainage well

It is made in the form of a pit filled with filtrate, which cleans the wastewater. Sand, crushed stone, small fragments of brick or furnace slag can be used as filler. Design advantages:

• low cost;
• simplicity in arrangement.

Drainage well - as an element for draining water from a bathhouse

The system has one drawback - the need to change the contaminated filtrate or clean it approximately every six months, which requires serious labor costs.

Pit

A hole dug directly under the floor of the washing room in a bathhouse. Its bottom is filled with filtrate, through which wastewater passes, is cleaned and gradually passes into the lower layers of the soil. Advantages of the system:

• the use of pipelines and other structural elements is not required;
• low installation cost.

A pit is the easiest way to arrange a sewer system in a bathhouse

Disadvantages include:

• low throughput;
• the technology is unsuitable for use in the construction of a bathhouse with a slab foundation;
• Suitable for use only on highly absorbent soils.

Using the ground filtration method

It is a system consisting of a septic tank and pipes diverging from it, through which purified water is discharged. The pipes are laid at a slope so that the liquid flows by gravity and is absorbed by the soil. Design advantages:

• completely autonomous operation;
• can be used to equip a full-fledged sewer system with several points for collecting waste;
• the ability to purify not only “gray” but also “black” wastewater; in this case, at least an anaerobic septic tank is installed.

Significant disadvantages:

• the need to allocate a site for a septic tank;
• labor-intensive installation process, the need for a large amount of excavation work;
• quite high cost of equipment and consumables.

As an option, you can consider connecting to a centralized sewerage system. This optimal solution wastewater problems. In this case, no external devices will be needed for receiving and processing wastewater. Another plus is the ability to connect several water intake points at once. The disadvantages of this option include the high cost of contractor services and the bureaucratic red tape that often arises when obtaining permits.

Drain well: manufacturing technology

A drainage pit is a practical solution for draining wastewater. It can be arranged in different ways. The simplest one is to dig a plastic or metal container into the ground. You can make a pit from reinforced concrete rings, fill the walls with concrete or line them with bricks. Let's consider the last option in detail.

Drain well is an excellent solution for draining sewage

Let's start with choice suitable place. It should be located at the lowest point of the site, since the wastewater will have to move by gravity. In addition, we take into account that the pit will regularly need to be cleared of waste, so it is necessary to provide convenient access for sewage treatment plant cars. Having outlined the location, we get to work:

The drainage pit is ready for use.

Drainage well

Such a system can only be installed in an area with deep groundwater. Otherwise, due to the design features of the drainage well, it will be constantly filled with groundwater, and there will be no room left for drainage. Before starting work, we determine the place where the well will be located. It is optimal to place it 2 meters away from the wall of the bathhouse. If the distance is greater, certain difficulties will arise with organizing the necessary slope of the drain pipe, which is necessary for the waste to drain by gravity.

A drainage well is great way arrangement of sewerage in the bathhouse

In addition, the close location of the well threatens the foundation with wetting or subsidence. Having decided on the installation location, we find out what materials we will need for installation. It depends on the type of soil. If it does not crumble, we will not need to strengthen the walls of the pit. However, such soils are not found everywhere. Most often, the walls need to be strengthened. This can be done in different ways:

Let's get started:

The drainage well is ready for use.

Tip: If the site has sandy, well-absorbing soil, you can install a horizontal drainage pad instead of a well. It is a trench about 1 m long, 0.3 m wide and 1 m deep. A cushion of crushed stone 20 cm high is laid at the bottom, and soil is poured on top. The wastewater is discharged directly onto this pad, cleaned and absorbed into the soil.

Prices for a drainage well

drainage well

Pit

The pit is a wastewater reservoir located directly below wash room. You need to understand that such a system will be effective only for small baths that are used infrequently. Work on arranging the pit is carried out in the following sequence:

1. We dig a hole under the future floor, the volume of which will be sufficient to collect water.
2. We strengthen the walls of the pit using any available method: brick, wild stone or slate.
3. We place a filter pad at the bottom of the resulting tank. First, a layer of crushed stone, broken brick or expanded clay is laid. Place sand on top of this layer.
4. We install logs on top of the pit. We lay a wooden floor on them, the floorboards of which should not fit tightly to each other so that water can drain into the pit.

Tip: The floorboards of a wooden floor laid over a pit do not need to be nailed to the joists. In this case, they can be removed if necessary and taken outside to dry.

There is another option for arranging a pit, which in this case plays the role of a water collector, from which the wastewater, having reached a certain level, is discharged into the sewer or septic tank. Such a system is usually installed under “leaky” floors. Let's get started:

We install a water seal. This element is necessary to prevent unpleasant sewer odors from entering the bathhouse. The simplest option homemade water seal - metal plate installed at an angle. We fix it to the pipe in three places, leaving the lower part unfixed. Important: there should be 5 cm from the bottom of the pit to the bottom edge of the plate. Another option for a homemade water seal is a children’s rubber ball, fixed above the pit drain. When the tank is filled with water, it floats up and opens the drain. As soon as the water drains, the ball descends and closes the pipe.

Ground filtration

One of the main elements of such a system is autonomous septic tank, which is both a settling tank and a distribution well. Drainage pipes extend from it, which distribute purified water throughout the area. A septic tank can be purchased at a store or assembled yourself. In the latter case, the easiest option for self-production is a design made of plastic or metal containers. A septic tank made of concrete rings works effectively, as does a structure made of concrete or brick.

Septic tank – perfect solution for drainage of sewage

In any case, we begin the installation of the system with the installation of the septic tank. We install the tank at a depth of 1.2-2.5 m. There is no need to lower the tank deeper, otherwise a problem may arise with the post-treatment of wastewater, which is carried out by anaerobic bacteria. We connect a sewer pipe to the septic tank. It must be buried below the soil freezing level. After installing the septic tank, we begin preparing the drains, as drainage pipes are called.

Their length and diameter depend on the number of drains. Most often, standard plastic pipes with a diameter of 11 cm are used. You can take ordinary plastic sewer pipes and make holes in them. You need to know that in the upper part of the part the diameter of the holes should be smaller than those located in the lower part. This is done to ensure that the outflow of water is uniform. The number of holes at the beginning and end of the pipe also differs. At the very beginning, perforations are performed more often, and at the end - less frequently, and most of them occur in the lower half of the pipe.

To properly arrange drainage, several rules are used:

• the length of each drain cannot be more than 25 m;
• the pipe laying depth is about 1.5 m, always below the soil freezing level;
• the minimum distance between drains is 1.5 m;
• The minimum width of the trench for the pipe is 0.5 m, the optimal width is 1 m.

After the pipes have been prepared, you can begin their installation:

Scheme - using a septic tank as an element of sewerage arrangement in a bathhouse

Important: The ground filtration system requires periodic maintenance. It consists of replacing the silted sand and gravel cushion and the soil underneath it. Depending on the load on the system, such work is carried out once every 10-15 years or less.

Properly organized drainage of water in a bathhouse is the key to its long and trouble-free functioning. It will protect the building from the destructive effects of moisture and prevent contamination of the site with sewage. Even for small baths, the installation of a sewer system is mandatory, especially since it is necessary for large rooms with a separate shower room and toilet. The organization of drainage should be taken with full responsibility, avoiding mistakes and omissions. And then the new bathhouse will only delight its owner with long, impeccable service.

Probably the vast majority of owners summer cottages and country private houses cannot imagine their life without their own, since such a structure is an integral part of ancient Russian traditions. A bathhouse is not only a place for washing, but also a kind of home “dispensary” that works to restore the strength and health of the owners, and provide the necessary periodic relaxation. But in order for it to bring only pleasant sensations, its arrangement, and in particular all the necessary communications, must be carried out according to all the rules.

One of the traditionally problematic components of the bath system is the disposal of used water, so it is very important to properly organize its drainage and collection site. Disposing of contaminated, untreated wastewater onto the ground or into natural bodies of water is strictly prohibited, and such an approach will inevitably lead to penalties from supervisory environmental authorities. Therefore, in the absence of a centralized sewerage system (as is most often the case), a special storage or drainage pit is usually created for these purposes. And in order for the drainage pit for a bathhouse to function effectively, it is necessary to study its design before starting construction, and during the period of arrangement work, follow the recommendations of experienced craftsmen.

Main types of drain pits

Construction of any drainage pit is a rather labor-intensive process, since the pit will most likely have to be dug manually. At the same time, such a hydraulic structure is not very complex in design, so any owner of the site can build and equip it independently, without even involving assistants, of course, if there is enough strength for excavation work.

Drainage pits can be divided into three main types - a sealed container, a pit with drainage capacity, and one consisting of several chambers.

First, let’s figure out what each of the varieties is, in principle.

• A sealed drainage pit is most often installed on construction sites with shallow groundwater aquifers. It is more often called a cesspool, that is, requiring periodic emptying of accumulated volumes of dirty water.

To build it, a pit is dug into which a container with a sufficiently large volume is installed. This is where wastewater will be collected. As the container is filled to a certain critical level, the waste is pumped out by a sewage disposal machine.

This option is environmentally friendly, since no contaminants or chemical cleaning solutions get into the soil and groundwater, which can negatively affect the condition of the fertile soil on the site, as well as have a negative impact on high-lying ground aquifers. However, this option is not convenient and economical, since you will have to constantly monitor the filling level of the container and often call specialized vehicles, and such services are not cheap.

Prices for septic tanks

• There is no hermetically sealed bottom created in the drainage drainage pit. It uses a bulk layer of filter media building material- most often crushed stone or gravel is chosen for this purpose.

In addition, holes are often made in the walls of the drainage pit at a certain height through which water will be absorbed into the soil. This option is perfect for a bathhouse and is perhaps the easiest to build, however, if the soil characteristics on the site allow it.

• A septic tank is a whole system consisting of two or more chambers that have different purposes.

In any of the options, the first chamber most often has a sealed design and is used for collecting, primary filtration and purification of waste - solid components settle to the bottom, and liquid components are clarified and undergo a biological treatment cycle due to the action of aerobic microorganisms. This container is connected to the second chamber with a special overflow pipe - clarified liquid waste flows into the next compartment, which is already organized according to the principle of a drainage well. Water passes through the drainage, is further purified and absorbed into the soil.

If a septic tank of three containers is planned, then the third chamber is made into a drainage chamber. The second serves for the final sedimentation of suspensions, more deep cleaning water due to the action of anaerobic microorganisms. And from here the purified liquid is poured into the drainage well.

A septic tank is most often installed when it is expected to collect the entire considerable volume of liquid waste from both a residential building and a bathhouse.

What is important to know about the design and rules of septic tank equipment?

A septic tank is already quite complex engineering structure, the creation of which must obey certain rules. Often home owners prefer to install finished system factory production. What are the rules for setting up such a treatment plant, and what to pay special attention to - read in the special publication of our portal.

Materials for arranging a drainage pit for a bathhouse

Various materials can be used to construct bath drainage pits. Their choice directly depends on the expected volume of wastewater, the financial capabilities of the site owners and the convenience of construction.

Barrel drainage pit

To create this water drainage system, metal or plastic barrels of different sizes are used. However, such a drain can be arranged in different ways:

• First option. At the bottom of the excavated pit, covered with drainage material 300–400 mm thick - crushed stone or coarse gravel, after compaction, a barrel with perforated walls and a cut bottom is installed. In this case, it is taken into account that between the walls of the barrel and the pit there should be a space of at least 100 mm, which is also filled with drainage backfill.

A pipe is inserted into the barrel at the required slope angle, through which used water from the bathhouse will flow into the container. These drains will gradually seep into the drainage layer through holes in the walls and through the bottom, be cleaned, and then be absorbed into the surrounding soil. In some cases, drainage material fills not only the free space of the pit, but even the barrel itself, that is, water will flow directly into the drainage layers and then into the ground. This way the barrel will never fill up.

It must be correctly understood that such a scheme is not suitable for collecting other types of wastewater from a residential building. For a bathhouse that is used for its intended purpose once or twice a week, such a pit becomes one of the most optimal options.

• Second option. In this method of arranging a pit, two barrels are used, installed on at different levels– one is higher than the other by about 200 mm. They are connected to each other at the top by an overflow pipe. Water from the bathhouse enters the first upper container, soap sediment and solid suspensions settle in it, and when it is filled, the water is poured into the second barrel, to which one or two long drainage pipes with perforated walls are connected.

Outlet pipes from the second tank are laid in drainage trenches filled with gravel or crushed stone, through which water purified from chemical precipitation will be distributed, moistening the soil. The trenches are filled from above with a layer of fertile soil, approximately 500 mm deep, and can be planted ornamental shrubs that will receive constant watering. Thus, two problems are solved at once - draining water from the bathhouse and irrigating plants on the site.

This option for arranging a drainage pit will be discussed in detail below.

Brick drain pit

The walls of the drainage pit can be arranged using bricks, which are laid out with gaps - through them, water is drained into the drainage backfill and further into the ground. The difference between this pit and the first version, made from a barrel, differs only in the material, but the operating principle remains the same. A drainage layer is poured into the gap between the soil and brick walls, which will purify the water and distribute it throughout the pit, discharging it into the ground.

A pit made of brick is more durable and is designed to hold a larger volume of water. Moreover, if you dig a pit deep enough, and the bottom and lower part of the walls are sealed, then this structure can also be used to drain other waste, but in this case the pit will have to be cleaned periodically.

To build this version of a drainage pit, it is not at all necessary to use new brick - used material is also quite suitable.

Prices for metal barrels

metal barrels

Drainage pit made of concrete rings

If financial and technical capabilities are available, then a drainage pit can be built from perforated concrete rings, which are installed in a prepared pit. After installing the rings, a drainage backfill is arranged at the bottom of such a well.

In this option, the entire space between the walls, as in previous cases, is also filled with drainage material, so the hole, provided it is used only for bathing needs, will never be filled with water. In the same case, when the pit is deep enough and the bottom of the well is cemented, then such a pit is suitable not only for a bathhouse, but also for a general one. True, this will require additional calculations, assessment of the absorbent properties of adjacent soils and the location of aquifers.

Pit made from old car tires

A drainage pit made from waste car tires can only be used for liquid waste, so it is impossible would be better suited for collecting periodically incoming water from the bath.

Tires are installed in different ways: in some cases, holes are cut out in their side walls, in others, a small gap is provided between the slopes, in others, the outer walls are almost completely cut off, but the principle of operation of the drainage pit remains the same.

This option for draining water from a bathhouse can be called the most popular, since it is simple to install, affordable (tires are easy to find for free) and practical to use.

The numbers on the diagram indicate:

1 – Crushed stone or coarse gravel – drainage backfill, in a layer 250÷300 mm thick.

2 – Old car tires.

3 – Drain pipe from the bathhouse (there may be two of them)

4 – Crossbars for laying the lid.

5 – Cover or hatch.

Around the stack of wheels laid out, and sometimes inside the resulting well, a drainage cushion is backfilled, which allows you to retain and purify the water coming from the bathhouse. With good drainage capacity of the soil and periodic use of the bathhouse, the pit never overflows.

It should be noted that other materials that can withstand the effects of high humidity are also suitable for the construction of a drainage bath pit.

How to independently equip a drainage pit for a bathhouse

Inspection of the soil at the site of the planned drainage pit

In order for the bathhouse drainage system to be effective, it is necessary to determine the type of soil in the area at the approximate depth of the planned pit. To do this, a trench or test hole is dug. In order for the bathhouse to be used in winter, the depth must be below the freezing level of the soil. Information about soil freezing in a specific area can easily be found on the Internet, or you can consult with the owners of neighboring plots who have been using similar drainage systems for a long time.

Prices for concrete rings

concrete rings

Have good drainage abilities sandy soils, sandy loam, including those with rocky inclusions.

But dense clay layers can cause problems. At high humidity They are well saturated with water, swell and become practically waterproof, and when dry they shrink. In addition, they are highly susceptible to frost swelling. These qualities of such soils are unfavorable both for laying and laying pipes in trenches, as they can lead to deformation and damage to themselves and other elements of the system.

Constructing a drainage hole in such soil, if it extends to great depths, is an almost pointless exercise. Well, if you have to lay a pipe through such layers to a drainage pit that reaches the depth of soil with high absorbency, then the bottom of the trench must be lined with a sand cushion 100–120 mm thick, which will prevent the harsh impact of ground vibrations on the elements of the drainage system.

The level of groundwater (GWL) is also important, since the degree of absorption of water entering the drainage pit will also directly depend on this. So, between the bottom of the pit and the location of the stable aquifer there should be a distance of about 1000 mm. If the groundwater is located close to the surface, then the contaminated water will not flow well into the drainage, and such a well will soon turn into a fetid pit, as it will be constantly filled. In this case, as with clay soils, the drainage pit option will not work. You will have to either install a sealed container that requires periodic emptying, or organize water drainage to special surface filtration fields.

Having chosen the material for constructing the pit, it is necessary to decide on several more important aspects of its arrangement, on which the efficiency of the system and the environmental safety of both the site itself and its inhabitants depend.

First of all, you will need to decide on the location where the hole will be located.

• Quite often, owners place a drainage hole directly under the building, but this becomes possible only if:

- the pit is equipped before the construction itself;

— the building rises above the ground on a columnar or pile foundation, which will need to be well waterproofed;

- under the bathhouse building there must be provision good ventilation;

- the sewer pipe connecting the bathhouse drain and the pit will require effective thermal insulation.

• If the pit is located separately, away from the bathhouse, then it is necessary to ensure that it is located at the required distance from sources of drinking water, natural reservoirs, residential and outbuildings, trees, the border of the site and the road passing near it. The required standards are shown in the diagram below:

• The pit should be located below the level of the drain hole in the bathhouse floor by at least 150÷200 mm, and the recommended distance from the bathhouse building is 3÷5 meters.

• If the drainage pit has to be located fairly close to the bathhouse structure, then:

- the bottom of the pit should have a slope of 20÷25 degrees, draining water from the walls of the building;

- perforation in the walls of the barrel, concrete rings or tires must be done on the side that will be located further from the walls of the bathhouse;

• It is very important to maintain the correct slope of the sewer pipe so that dirty water does not stagnate inside the channel, but immediately goes into the drainage hole, and there is no risk of freezing when using the bathhouse in winter. It is especially necessary to remember this in cases where it is decided to place the pit quite far from the bathhouse. The amount of required slope depends on the selected pipe diameter - this is clearly shown in the diagram below:

It should be noted that to organize the drainage of water from a small bathhouse without a toilet, a pipe with a diameter of 50 mm is usually sufficient. In order to maintain the required slope, when digging a connecting trench, as well as when adding a sand “cushion” to it, you should control the difference in its depth using a building level.

Arrangement of a drainage pit - step by step

In this section of the publication, two options for drainage pits will be considered, which can be arranged independently.

Regular drainage hole

This version of the drainage pit has a design that can be made of various materials, which were discussed above.

Illustration
	After determining the location of the drainage hole, you can proceed to digging a pit. For a bath drainage well, a pit depth of 2500÷3000 mm will be sufficient. It can have a round or square cross-section - it will depend on the chosen material for the walls. For example, if the pit is made of brick, then it is more convenient to lay a square or rectangular shape, but in some cases a round well can be built from it. The diameter of the pit should be 150÷200 mm larger than the prepared container.
	When the foundation pit is prepared, from it to the construction of the bathhouse the right angle a trench is dug for laying a drainage pipe. The width of the trench can be 300÷500 mm, and the depth will depend on the level of soil freezing in the area where the bathhouse is built, but not less than 500 mm at the entrance to the well.
	The bottom of the finished pit is filled with medium-fraction stone - gravel, crushed stone, crushed brick or even broken slate. The drainage layer must be at least 300 mm, as it is designed to retain dirty water and purify it, that is, moisture must reach the soil by capillary action, which will allow it to be quickly absorbed.
	Further, they act differently. You can lay a sewer pipe right away, and then work on the brick walls of the water intake well, or you can first install or build a container, and as it is being built, a drainage pipe is inserted into one of the specially made holes. Most often, the pipe is laid at a time when the walls are brought out to the level of the depth of the trench, otherwise it will simply interfere with the work.
	So, the walls of the drain well can be built of brick. The laying is carried out maintaining a clearance between adjacent bricks in a row of 40÷50 mm. The wall can have a thickness of half a brick or one brick - this parameter is chosen by the builder, and largely depends on the amount of prepared material. Having raised the walls of the well by another 200÷300 mm, the space between the soil and brick walls is filled with drainage backfill.
	If concrete perforated rings are used to form the walls, then specialized equipment will have to be used to install them, since each of them has an impressive mass, and distortions must not be allowed during installation. After their installation, the distance between the soil and concrete also needs to be filled with drainage backfill. It should be noted here that if concrete rings are used for the pit, then you should not rush to install them in the hole of the sewer pipe wall, since under their weight they can sink somewhat into the ground - sometimes by 100-150 mm. Therefore ready concrete well It is recommended to leave it alone for a while for shrinkage, otherwise the plastic pipe may crack or break due to the resulting pressure and tension.
	When using metal barrels for a pit, the bottom and lid are cut off, and the side walls can simply be cut using a grinder. The cuts are made at a distance from each other of 200÷250 mm horizontally and in increments of 100÷120 mm in height. If two barrels are used, they are placed one on top of the other. After installing the lower one, the free space around its walls is filled with drainage. After this, in the second of them, in the top, a hole is marked and cut through which a drainage pipe will be installed into the barrel. The hole according to the markings can be cut with a grinder, but the opening made electric jigsaw. To do this, a hole is drilled at one of the points on the marked circle into which the tool file should fit freely.
	If plastic barrels are prepared for the drainage pit, then they are mounted in approximately the same way as metal ones, but quite often the drain pipe is connected through the top lid of the container. The bottom of a plastic barrel can also be cut off or several round holes with a diameter of 100÷120 mm.
	Holes with a diameter of 10 mm are drilled in the side walls along the entire perimeter of the polymer container with a frequency of 100÷150 mm horizontally and vertically. Crushed stone or gravel is poured around the barrel and under it, into which, just as in previous cases, water will flow from the holes of the barrel, be cleaned and go into the ground.
	The most commonly used material for arranging a bathhouse drainage well is car tires, which are stacked one on top of the other. WITH inside At the edges of the tires, in three or four places, holes with a diameter of 10 mm are drilled, through which they are fastened together using, for example, plastic clamps. The sewer pipe can be connected between two tires. In this case, for support, bricks are installed along the edges of the plastic pipe and in three or four more places between the tires at the place where it passes, which will relieve the load on the plastic from the upper slopes.
	Another option for drilling the pipe is to install it in a hole cut in the side wall of the tire. When choosing this method, it is necessary to provide for possible shrinkage of the structure by cutting a hole larger than the diameter of the pipe by 70÷80 mm.
	Quite often, the drainage bath pit is not filled with drainage material around the barrels or tires, but is filled with it two-thirds - this allows the water to slowly flow to the soil walls and slowly be absorbed into them.
	It is recommended to strengthen the top of the pit with brick walls by constructing a concrete platform with a hole for a hatch. To do this, a formwork is built around the well, into which a reinforcing grid is laid, and then it is filled with concrete mortar, a layer 70–80 mm thick.
	After the concrete has hardened, a homemade cover made of steel sheet and a corner. Factory-made hatches, metal or plastic, are also quite applicable.
	Special plastic sewer hatches can have various shapes and linear parameters. So, when planning to install this particular option, the hatch is purchased in advance, and the top cover of the drainage pit is built according to its dimensions.
	A well made of concrete rings is usually covered with a special lid made of the same material with a ready-made hole for a plastic or cast iron hatch.
	Well walls built from tires or barrels have less rigidity than brick or concrete, so it is best to strengthen them cement mortar, mixed with crushed stone. If the drainage was filled between the walls of the well and the soil, then its top layer, 120÷150 mm high, is recommended to be made from the solution mentioned above. Further, the top of the pit can be left in this state by simply installing a hatch on the hole, or a concrete platform can be built over the structure and then backfilled with soil.

A pit based on the principle of a two-chamber septic tank with access to a filtration field

The second option is more complex in design, but its functionality is significantly higher. This system is perfect for installation in areas with groundwater located close to the surface, since it does not require a deep pit. In addition, such a design can be a solution for organizing drainage outlet water from the foundation, from a storm well, filled from linear rainwater inlets on the site or their gutters on the eaves of the roof of the house.

To figure out how to cope with the arrangement of such a hydraulic structure, you should consider this process in detail.

Illustration	Brief description of the operations performed
	This system uses two plastic barrels, which are easy to prepare for installation work and connect to the pipes sewer pipes from the same material. Usually, for the drainage pit of a small bathhouse, two or three containers with a volume of 200÷250 liters are enough.
	The pit for installing barrels is also dug 100÷150 mm larger than their diameter, and due to the fact that containers of equal size will be installed at different levels, the pit for them should have a stepped configuration. The depth of the pit in this system should be 450÷500 mm greater than the height of the barrel. This distance will be needed to create a drainage cushion under the barrel and a recess for the pipe entering it. The difference in the installation level of the containers should be 150÷200 mm, and the distance between them varies between 200 and 300 mm. The barrels are installed in one line. The bottom of the pit is compacted and filled with medium-fraction crushed stone, a layer 80÷100 mm thick, which also needs to be compacted.
	Next, you can move on to working on preparing the containers. The barrel installed above will serve as the primary chamber, that is, a sump for dirty water. A neat hole is cut in its top cover into which the drain pipe will be installed. In the side wall, on the opposite side from the hole in the lid, holes are cut for a pipe that will connect the first barrel with the second, installed slightly lower. To insert plastic pipes into the lid or into the walls of the barrel, you can find special flanges at a plumbing store, such as the one shown in the illustration.
	If not, then you will have to cut the hole with maximum precision, and then to seal it, use high-quality silicone sealant.
	Additionally, it is recommended to cut a hole for installation ventilation pipe with a diameter of 40÷50 mm, or install a tee, as shown in the illustration, where one outlet will be intended for connecting the sewer drain pipe from the bathhouse, and the other, vertical, for the ventilation pipe.
	The second barrel is equipped with three holes, one of which is drilled in the top lid, and two in the side wall, 100÷120 mm below the top edge. The axes of these side windows should be radially rotated from the axis of the central hole by 45 degrees.
	Nozzles with 45-degree bends installed on them are cut into the side holes and sealed. As a result, the pipes for connecting the drainage pipes will become parallel to each other - as shown in the illustration.
	Additionally, in the lower part of the walls of the installed second barrel, on the opposite side from the entrance, small holes with a diameter of 5 mm are drilled, at a distance of 150÷170 mm from each other. This is an additional outlet of water into the drainage fill around the barrel. However, if powerful filter fields will certainly cope with their task, and even more so if such a septic tank has to be installed in the immediate vicinity of a bathhouse, then this operation is not necessary.
	The result should be a design similar to that shown in the illustration. Having installed a system of barrels and pipes, you can proceed to creating a filtration drainage field.
	For the drainage area, which is located at a slope from the installed barrels, a trench is dug, having a width of 1200÷1500 mm and the same depth to which the first barrel standing above is buried. If desired, the drainage filter field can be extended over the entire area, since it will not interfere with the arrangement of garden beds above it. annual crops or for planting shrubs. A geotextile fabric is laid at the bottom of the resulting channel, on top of which drainage will be laid. Filling the trench with crushed stone is done in layers, each of which should be carefully compacted and distributed at a slope along pre-set pegs. The slope of the trench should be approximately 25 mm per linear meter. Pegs installed in advance with the required height difference will become a kind of beacons for the correct filling of the drainage layer.
	As drainage material is poured around the lower barrel, water is poured into it, otherwise external soil pressure may deform it. It is recommended to fill the space between the walls of the barrels with gravel or coarse sand, which should be compacted by pouring water. Next, pipes with perforated walls are connected to the nozzles, through which water will be distributed throughout the drainage area. Holes are drilled in increments of 150÷180 mm along the bottom and sides of the pipes. After drilling, the pipes are dressed in a filtering “casing” made of geotextile - so that the inside of the pipes is not subject to silting.
	The next step is to fill the pipes and the entire trench space with medium-fraction crushed stone mixed with sand. Such a layer should reach the lid of the barrel installed below, that is, completely cover the pipes from above with a layer of at least 100–120 mm. It is best to backfill several different layers of soil on top of the crushed stone. So, the crushed stone is first covered with geotextiles, on which a layer of moistened sand 70÷80 mm thick is laid, and the rest of the space can be filled with fertile soil. On this site it is quite possible to arrange a flower bed, plant annual vegetable crops or even small shrubs with shallow fibrous root systems.

At the end of the publication, it should be noted that there are other materials that can sometimes be found in the yard among old supplies or even seemingly unnecessary trash, which in fact may well be suitable for building a drainage pit for a bathhouse. For example, you can find a use for old sheets of corrugated or smooth slate, or even scraps of corrugated sheets remaining after roofing work.

Some inventive owners of country houses line the walls of the drainage well with glass or plastic bottles, which are filled with sand, find others very interesting solutions. Therefore, if you want to save money, and at the same time free up part of the yard or barn room from old materials, then you need to use your imagination “to the fullest” - and act! We will be glad if any creative master will share their innovations on the pages of our portal.

Another example of a simple drain for a bathhouse is shown in the video below.

Video: How to make a bath drain yourself at minimal cost