The right floor for a bath. Bathroom floor repair: replacement, installation, useful tips. a) concrete floor

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One of the main stages of building a bathhouse is the arrangement of floors. Convenience, functionality and service life of the building largely depend on flooring. Further in the article you will find an overview possible options coverings with diagrams, as well as the answer to the most important question - how to make a floor in a bathhouse with your own hands.

Wooden bathhouse.

Floor options

When choosing a floor design for a bathhouse or sauna, it is worth understanding that these premises consist of several rooms with different functions and conditions, and therefore the requirements for the floors are different. In general, all floor structures consist of several parts:

rough floor It can be concrete or on wooden logs. Screed concrete is sometimes not covered with a floor covering and is used as a floor;
flooring. It can be wooden, ceramic tiles.

Tree

Wood is a familiar, traditional material that has been used for centuries to furnish the floor in a bathhouse or sauna. Advantages of wood flooring:

affordable cost (especially from inexpensive species, for example, pine);
ease of working with wood, simple installation, as well as repairs;
Beautiful appearance, familiar to traditional Russian baths/saunas;
warm floor, comfort when in contact with bare feet;
safe, non-slip, environmentally friendly coating.

However, there are some disadvantages:

the comparative fragility of a wooden floor under the influence of constant moisture and high temperature (the need for periodic replacement and repair);
lack of design choice.

It is also worth clarifying that wooden floors in a bathhouse can be of two types:

Tile

Although ceramic tiles are not a traditional flooring material in a Russian bath, they are now increasingly used in steam rooms for reasons of practicality and convenience. And not in vain, because the material has many significant advantages:

Ceramic tiles for finishing the bath floor.

long service life (if the laying technology is followed, the tiles will last for more than one generation);
hygiene and ease of care/cleaning;
resistance to mechanical stress, humidity, elevated temperatures and changes, aggressive chemicals;
unlimited design possibilities thanks to a wide range of colors, patterns, layouts. If you wish and have the funds, you can post the whole picture or make it for real unique interior baths

Important! Bath tiles must have the appropriate markings - A1 and B1. It is also important to choose correct thickness material – 9 mm or more. Regarding the wear resistance class - if the bathhouse is intended only for family use once a week, it is enough to choose class 2. If the room will be used frequently, the most high level wear resistance – 4-5 class.

Tile marking.

But to make an informed decision, you need to know about the disadvantages of the material:

cold floor;
Slippery floors – increased risk of falls. To reduce the risk of falling, you need to choose tiles with a rough, grooved surface;
high cost of material and work (to the cost of the tile itself, you need to add the price of ties, glue, grout).

IN comparative table Below you can see the assessment of wood and tiles according to the most important criteria:

Floor in different rooms of the bath

Since the bathhouse/sauna consists of various rooms with different conditions, then the requirements for flooring in these rooms may differ significantly:

Arrangement of the subfloor

As we indicated, the bathhouse must have a subfloor on which the coating will be laid. This can be a concrete base or on wooden joists.

Concrete option

Concrete floors in a bathhouse are a durable, strong and reliable foundation. This floor is perfect for large sauna with several rooms, which is used all year round. The service life of a concrete floor is more than 50 years.
It is especially advisable to construct concrete base in the steam room and washing room.

Advantages of a concrete base:

long service life;
increasing strength over time (subject to the correct technology);
resistance to mechanical stress, temperature changes, moisture and steam, dampness and rotting.

Concrete floor installation.

Concrete floor can be used for buildings with strip and columnar foundation. In the photo above you can see the structure of the concrete floor, which resembles a layer cake:

Soil (often sandy) or a layer of sand.
A layer of crushed stone up to 5 cm thick.
The first ball of concrete is up to 5 cm thick.
Waterproofing material.
A layer of insulation up to 8-10 cm thick.
Finish screed (if the room area is large, reinforcement is added).
Clean floor covering.

Preparatory work and materials

Be sure to provide a method for removing used water. There are two possible options:

pit arrangement. This is a drainage basin with concrete walls, at least 0.3 m deep. It is very important to equip the drainage pipe in the steam room with a water seal to prevent stench. Also provide for a slope from the pit to the gutter.
discharge of water into the soil under the washing/steam room. This option is available when the bathhouse is located on sandy soils, which absorb moisture well. The depth of the catchment must be at least 0.6 m. It can be filled with gravel and the remains of broken bricks. When further arranging, it is necessary to take into account the level of inclination to the catchment.

After preparatory work You can proceed directly to pouring the concrete base. Necessary materials:

medium sand;
crushed stone;
cement M400;
reinforcing mesh (cell sizes: 1*1 cm or 1.5*1.5 cm);
mineral wool;
waterproofing material.

Proportions of mortar for screed.

Step by step process

Step-by-step instructions for pouring a concrete base:

To prepare the solution for the screed, follow these instructions:

Mix expanded sand (perlite) with water (2 buckets per 10 liters).
After reducing the volume of the mixture, add 5 kg of M400 cement.
Mix thoroughly, then add another 5 liters of water. Stir until the solution reaches a homogeneous consistency.
Finally, add 2 liters of water and 1 bucket of expanded sand. 10 minutes after mixing, the mixture will acquire plastic properties and become ready for use.

Ready concrete floor in the bathhouse.

Very rarely, concrete screed is used as a direct finishing floor covering and in most cases it is finished with tiles or wood. It is worth considering that this is a cold floor and when used in open form Great levels of discomfort may occur.

Floor on wooden joists

If you plan to make a wooden pourable or non-spillable floor, then the base can be built on wooden logs.

Installation of support posts for logs.

For a wooden floor, you need to choose carefully dried boards with a thickness of at least 4 cm. Larch is best suited - it is highly durable, but also high in cost. You can use alder and pine.

Underground

This is the name given to the space between the ground and wooden base. To equip it, you need to make a 40 cm recess around the entire perimeter. Next you need to make support posts:

At a distance of 1 m from each other, dig holes 40*40 cm with a depth of 40 cm.
Make a pillow from crushed stone (15 cm) and sand (15 cm). Both layers need to be well compacted. Also, both layers should be sloping towards drainage.
Make formwork and install it in the recesses. The formwork must be raised above ground level to such a height that logs can be installed. Mix a solution of cement, sand and crushed stone in the following proportion: 1:3:5. Fill the wells with solution and level the surface.

Arrangement of support columns.

Important! The top edge of all columns should be on the same horizon line. To do this, use a control rope and a building level.

Checking the level of columns.

The mixture should dry for about 3 days. After that, the tops of the support columns need to be waterproofed using bitumen. Instead of cement mixture pillars can be built from bricks, placing them on the mortar.
Afterwards, the entire surface must be covered with roofing felt in one layer, securing the seams with bitumen.
Additionally, all surfaces can be treated with bitumen: columns, a layer of roofing material.

Important! To dry the subfloor (roofing felt), it is necessary to provide high-quality ventilation! To do this, you need to provide vents in the foundation - special holes that are constantly open. They need to be closed only during the period of heating the bathhouse and using the steam room.

Laying lags

As logs you need to use high-quality beams with a cross-section of 5*18 cm. Step-by-step guide:

The beams need to be cut to the required length according to the parameters of the room.
The cut beams are laid on support pillars. It is important that they are on the same horizon line. To do this, you can use either linings or trim the logs.
The logs are attached to the posts. To do this, you can use a corner, self-tapping screws (ordinary nails) and screws with dowels.
Finally, all metal elements, as well as the beams themselves, must be completely waterproofed using bitumen. Ignoring this step risks very rapid rotting of the board.

Logs placed on posts.

torrential view

One of the options for making a floor in a bathhouse with your own hands is pouring flooring, the diagram of which we will consider further. Having created the basis according to the instructions discussed above, you can begin arrangement.

Important! The pouring type of polo can be used in buildings in warm latitudes, or if the bathhouse is used only in the summer.

Leaky floor installation.

The poured floor is easy to install and inexpensive. It will be very easy to make even for a beginner. Roughly speaking, it is a flooring made of boards with gaps through which water flows. There is no drainage system - water seeps straight into the ground. You can also build a tray under the bottom of the room to ensure water drainage into.

Step by step guide:

Prepare boards to suit the length of the room.
Start laying the boards across the support joists, maintaining a gap of 3 to 6 mm. A gap of 20 mm must be maintained at the wall.
The boards do not need to be attached to the joists! To fasten the structure, additional transverse boards are used on top of the decking, to which the decking is attached with screws. Subsequently, they can be easily unscrewed, and the boards can be removed and taken out to dry.

Tip: to prevent water from stagnating in the wood fibers, the board must be carefully planed on all sides before laying.

Leaking floor: cross-sectional projection.

Alternatively, all boards can be attached to the joists with screws without using an additional cross board. And near one wall, make several removable boards (unattached), which can be removed for cleaning and drying the underground. It is worth understanding that the option with poured floors is not suitable as a solid, durable coating, especially if you plan to use the steam room very often.

Drip floor.

Non-spill view

This type of wooden flooring is complex and at the same time more comfortable. Visually, such a floor does not have any cracks in the coating, but it is equipped with a slope for water drainage. It is important to immediately ensure the drainage of water from under the foundation - build a catch basin and drain it into the sewer system. Considering that the water will flow into one place (unlike a pour-over design), this will be quite easy to do.

Non-spill floor.

Step by step guide:

Arrangement of the underground space, preparation of recesses for posts, ventilation are identical to the option described above.
Next, the main difference is that the columns should be on different levels– with a lower height at the drainage point. Tilt level: 3 mm per meter. That is, with a room length of 4 m, the height difference will be only 12 mm. To do this, after pouring concrete into the formwork, it will be necessary to adjust the height of the columns (after removing the formwork).
The logs are installed on the posts similarly to the method above: using corners, screws and dowels.
Next, a rough wooden floor is made from uncut or second-grade boards. The boards need to be fastened not on top of the joists, but under them!
The subfloor is covered with a layer of waterproofing (for example, roofing felt) and insulation (for example, expanded clay, which can be poured into the space between the joists). On top there is another layer of waterproofing. At this point, the subfloor is complete and ready for finishing.
Before laying the boards, you need to prepare the drain. It will require a grid (mesh), tube or hose.

Siphon for draining in a bathhouse.

As a flooring, you need to use a tongue and groove board - such boards have protrusions (tongues) that fit into the grooves of adjacent boards, thereby ensuring a tight fit. The boards do not need to be fixed to the subfloor, but are fastened together with a cross beam.

Tongue board.

Floor in dry rooms

These rooms will include a dressing room and a rest room (sometimes these functional areas located in the same room). You can make a simple plank floor from tongue and groove boards without slope or drainage. You can also install an insulated floor – we’ll look at how to do this below.

Since the technology for installing posts, support beams and boards is similar, we will dwell in more detail on the moment of laying the insulation.

Insulated floor.

So we looked at various options and diagrams of how you can make a bathhouse floor with your own hands. Remember that it is advisable to choose a floor for a bathhouse at the design stage of the building, in order to provide for all the nuances and not avoid problems.

Video: how to properly make floors in a bathhouse.

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

In this publication, let's find out how to prepare the foundation for the construction of a leaking and non-leaking wooden floor, how to properly make supports for logs, what to make logs from, what height to make the supports and consider other issues related to the construction of the base of wooden floors in a bathhouse.

How to make floor joists in a bathhouse

In order for the wooden floor in the bathhouse 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 installation of logs, larch or pine wood, which is not afraid of moisture and has sufficient strength, is best suited.

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

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

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

What section should the logs be made of?

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

The main dimensions of the logs 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 thick timber or logs.

You can save even more on timber by installing columnar supports under the logs. So, with a log length of 6 meters, just 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 placed every 1 m, then you can use a beam with a section of 80 x 50 mm. The difference is visible to the naked eye.

When selecting the cross-section of the joists, do not forget to take into account the required level of the finished floor, which will depend on the level of the top of the supports, the thickness of the floorboard, the level of the frame crown or strip foundation.

At what distance are the logs placed?

The distance between the lags (lag pitch) 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 given in the table:

Installation of supports for logs

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

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

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

Under each support, dig a hole 40 cm deep, make a sand backfill, compact gravel or crushed stone on top, then place formwork 200 mm high and pour the concrete base of the support. After the concrete has hardened, lay a piece of roofing felt 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 proportions - 1 part cement, 3 parts sand, 5 parts crushed stone (gravel).

Arrangement of space under the floor

After the supports are placed, you can move on to the space that will be under the floor.

If on your site good soils(sand), then you can make a leaky floor, and pour 250 mm of gravel on the ground under the floor. Water will flow through the gravel into the sand and drainage pipelines will not be needed.

If there are soils at the site where the bathhouse is being built that do not absorb water well, then a non-leakage floor should be made to collect water in a pit and then drain it outside the bathhouse into a collection well or onto the terrain.

If you want to make a leaky floor and the soil is bad, you can use the old one the folk way. Gravel is compacted into the ground from above, compact it well, and lay on top a layer of greasy clay 10-15 cm thick with a slope towards the drainage pit, from which water will subsequently be drained through a pipe outside the bathhouse.

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

Floors that do not leak can be insulated with expanded clay bedding. In this case, the expanded clay layer should be chosen at such a thickness that there remains free space up to the joists laid on supports of at least 10-15 cm for ventilation of the underground space. Otherwise, the floor will quickly rot.

* * *
Now you know how to select the section of the logs and the thickness of the boards for a wooden floor in a bathhouse, how to determine the number of columnar supports for the logs, and also arrange the underground space depending on the type of bathhouse floor.

In the following articles we will learn how to install joists on supports, how to install a subfloor, and how to install insulation in non-leaky floors.

The floor in the steam room is the most critical moment when building a bathhouse. This article will discuss how to do bath floor with your own hands. Wooden and concrete floors are the main types that are used in a modern Russian bathhouse. This time we will talk about wooden non-leaking floors using the example of a steam room with dimensions of 2.5x3.0 meters.

Basic information

Leaking a wooden floor, as its name implies, is made when it is necessary for water to pass freely through the gaps between the floorboards and be removed from the underground space to the outside. Compared to other types, a leaking floor has simple design and, accordingly, the easiest to manufacture. It can only be used in regions with warm climates, as it does not have thermal insulation. In any case, when building a bathhouse with your own hands, I would recommend being careful when choosing this type of floor.

Leak-proof A wooden floor is made from tightly fitted tongue and groove boards. In the washing compartment, it is made inclined towards the drain ladder, which ensures free discharge of waste water into the general sewer system or drainage pit. For a steam room, making a drain does not make sense, as this will significantly increase the cost of its production. After all, when visiting a steam room, we won’t pour buckets of water there! For better cleaning of the steam room, you can make a double-sided floor slope - this is quite enough for its convenient maintenance. When installing a leak-proof floor, insulation, waterproofing and vapor barrier are done, which distinguishes it favorably from the above type.

Concrete the floor has an undoubted advantage over wood. Its service life is 30-50 years, while a wooden floor will last no more than 10 years. Although the cost of its construction is higher, its performance properties are significantly superior to any type made of wood. If desired, it can be easily insulated, put ceramic tiles and drain the water. Great solution It would be possible to install a heated floor in the steam room or washing department, which would greatly facilitate their maintenance.

Description of the floor design

As a rule, the floor in the steam room is made with an elevation relative to the level of the finished floor (zero level). It is enough to raise it by 70-100 mm, and an important goal will be achieved - maintaining heat in the steam room. And, conversely, in washing department the floor is made below the level of the finished floor in order to prevent water from entering other rooms of the bathhouse. In accordance with this, the design of the reduced floor for the steam room has its own characteristics.

Basic materials

Finish floor. The best material for the floor in the bathhouse is larch. Its hardness and wear resistance are comparable to oak. The only obstacle to its use is its price. The same board made of pine will cost 2-3 times less. If it is possible to get larch by paying the appropriate money for it, then it is the best the best option. Otherwise, you can use tongue and groove boards made of pine, fir, alder and birch. For elements located below the finished floor, pine can be used.

It is important to note that when laying the floor, the boards must be well dried. During the operation of the steam room, damp boards will dry out, changing their geometry: bending and twisting. This may be the reason for the appearance of gaps between the boards or the tearing out of screws at the points of attachment to the joists. The thicker the board, the greater the deformation forces. A board with a thickness of 20-25 mm has the least tendency to deform, but its strength properties are lower. This disadvantage is compensated for by laying additional joists. In our example, a well-dried tongue-and-groove board 36 mm thick and 120 mm wide was used to lay the finished floor.

For insulation We take basalt wool “Rockwool” 80x600x1200 mm. We will make waterproofing and vapor barrier from a windproof waterproofing membrane like “Tyvek Housewrap”. The advantage of this film is that it has a one-way throughput, due to which outside does not allow moisture to pass through, and from the inside it allows accumulated moisture and steam to freely escape from the insulation. More details about the materials used for insulation can be found in the article.

Rest wooden structures we make from dried lumber:

Backing beams 70x100x2960 mm (thickness, width, length);
Logs 50x180x2460 mm;
Skull block 40x40 mm;
For subfloor unedged board or waste edged boards 20-25 mm thick and 100-150 mm wide.
board or waste edged board for subfloor 20-25 mm thick and 100-150 mm wide.

Composition and design features of the floor

To achieve the required elevation, in our example, support beams with a cross section of 70x100 mm were used. They will greatly help when installing floor joists, when it will be necessary to align them relative to the horizontal level. In addition, the floor structure will receive additional strength, since the support beams will take on part of the load on the floor.

Below is the list constituent elements, the assembly order of which corresponds to the order of laying the floor.

The outer support beams are laid on a surface covered with two layers of rolled roofing felt. The central beam rests on the opposite walls of the strip foundation with its two ends, and the central part rests on the surface of two support pillars.
On top of the support beams there are logs, which are cut to length with a slope of 20 mm on both sides towards the center. Skull blocks are nailed to the joists below for installing a subfloor on them.
A moisture-proof membrane with an outlet of 20-25 cm is laid on top of the subfloor for subsequent gluing with the waterproofing of the walls of the steam room.
Mats are laid on the subfloor boards on top of the membrane basalt wool, over which a layer of moisture and vapor barrier membrane is stretched.
The structure is completed with a finished floor made of tongue and groove boards.

Particular attention should be paid to ensuring that there is a ventilation gap of 20-30 mm between the lower (inner) surface of the finished floor and the vapor barrier membrane. As mentioned above, it should have outlets on each side within 20-25 cm for connection with vapor barrier film under the clapboard. Moreover, this must be done in such a way that the air space under it is connected to the air space under the finished floor. Only in this case will free air circulation be ensured both under the floor and under the lining. Hot air circulating through ventilation gaps sheathed wall, will draw out colder and wet air from underground space. The floor will be dry and not susceptible to rotting.

When installing logs and support beams, make sure that there is a gap of at least 10 mm between them and the walls of the steam room. When the log house settles, this is enough so that it does not affect the entire floor structure.

When laying the subfloor, be sure to remove the bark, if any. After all, we don’t want bark beetles to get there.

Methods of fastening structural elements

How we accomplish these important operations, depends on the quality of the work done. Before you start installing the floor, you need to clearly understand what fasteners to use and how to connect everything structural elements between themselves. Below are possible ways fastenings

Manufacturing of support pillars

To prevent the logs from deflecting due to the weight of people or steam room equipment, it is necessary to make support pillars (chairs) for them in the weakest places. The weakest point, naturally, will be the center of the joist. In our example, it is enough to install two supports with a cross section of 250x250 mm along the central longitudinal axis of the steam room. Chairs can be made of wood, brick or concrete. We will consider the last option.

Preparing the base

Mark places for support tables.
Dig a hole 400 mm deep. The dimensions of the pit in plan should be such that it would be possible to easily install formwork from edged boards.
Place a layer of sand at the bottom of the hole, pour water on it, and compact it with an unnecessary piece of wood. The thickness of the compacted layer should be about 100 mm.
Pour 150 mm thick crushed stone on top of the sand layer and compact it well too. As a result, we should have a total layer with a height of 250 mm.
Build formwork from edged boards for a square post 250 x 250 mm, inner surface which to cover with rolled roofing felt. The height of the formwork should ensure that concrete is poured to the top level of the strip foundation.
Inside the formwork, lay steel reinforcement from a ø10 mm bar in the form of a flat lattice with four cells 75 x 75 mm. Tie the rods together with steel wire. Place broken bricks under the grating so that the distance from the reinforcement to the crushed stone layer is about 50 mm, and from the walls of the formwork no more than 50 mm.

Pouring concrete

Prepare concrete mortar in the ratio of cement: sand: fine gravel – 1: 3: 5. The consistency of the solution should be above average, allowing it to be compacted well.
Pour a 50 mm thick layer of concrete and compact it. Place steel reinforcement on it from a ø10 mm bar in the form of a flat lattice with four cells 75 x 75 mm. Tie the rods together with steel wire. Make sure that the distance from the reinforcement to the formwork walls is no more than 50 mm.
Place the rest of the concrete mortar on top of the reinforcement, compact it, level it on top of the formwork and make the screed with an even block or lath.
Leave for a couple of days for the concrete to set. When the concrete is sufficiently strong, it’s time to begin installing the floor.
All subsequent work on installing the support beams and, in general, all the logs in general, depends on how the support pillars are made and their level relative to the upper level of the bathhouse foundation. Therefore, in order to make your work easier, the supporting platforms of the pillars should be as close as possible to the conventional plane passing along the upper surfaces of the walls of the bathhouse foundation.

The procedure for arranging the floor in a bathhouse

Before starting installation you need everything wooden elements treat the floor structures in several layers. Treat the support areas of the pillars and the upper surface of the strip foundation with liquid tar and lay the rolled roofing felt in 2 layers.

Installation of support beams

Performs several important functions. First of all, it ensures the safe movement of people. The steam room is always humid. Therefore, the floor must be non-slip to prevent visitors from getting injured. There are also sewer lines running under the base of the premises. The floor should be designed so that water is drained as efficiently as possible. In this case, the coating is all Decoration Materials inside the steam room will last much longer.

To arrange the floor in bath room That's right, you need to read the recommendations of experienced builders. In this case, you will be able to do all the work yourself.

Materials

Considering how to make a steam room floor, you should start with the choice of material. There are two main options. In the first case, the floor is made of wood, and in the second, of concrete. Everyone chooses for themselves best type material.

A concrete floor will require more time and effort. It is also a more expensive type of material. However, the service life of a concrete floor is more than 50 years. It is believed that it is easier to install a wood floor. This material is cheaper. In this case, the work is done faster and easier.

Operates for 7-8 years. Despite such a short service life of the material, in most cases craftsmen prefer this option. It is quite possible to install a wooden covering yourself.

Wood selection

The quality of the steam room finish depends on the right choice wood This material must be well dried. The boards must not have defects, cracks or chips. Also, traces of rotting are not allowed.

Deciduous wood is preferable for steam rooms. It is believed that such material has different action on the human body. For example, birch can energize bathhouse visitors, while aspen, on the contrary, removes negative emotions.

Birch is considered one of the the best materials for finishing the steam room. She handles well protective compounds. Larch is also considered one of the best options for a bath. This durable material. It tolerates temperature changes and high humidity well.

If processed correctly, linden can also be used for finishing. The listed materials are also used to make shelves in the steam room and create decoration for the ceiling and walls.

Leaking floor

Which is finished with wood, there can be two types. The first option assumes the presence of gaps between the boards. The accumulated moisture will simply flow down. The second option for the floor in the steam room is called non-leaking. It is a little more complicated to set up.

A leaky floor is the most simple option finishing. There are gaps in the flooring through which water seeps into the soil. In this case, the sewerage system is not equipped. Only in the underground space is a drainage hole created. Sometimes it is replaced with a special container that communicates with sewer lines. Insulation of the floor in the steam room They don't either.

The presented flooring option is only suitable for southern regions and buildings that are used exclusively in summer period. In this case, the boards are not nailed to the joists. They are periodically removed and taken outside. Here they are dried and returned to their original place.

Non-leakage floor

A bathhouse whose steam room is created in accordance with all building codes, must be leak-proof. When creating its floor, the boards are laid in two rows. First, rough flooring is installed on the joists. Deciduous tongue-and-groove wood is laid on top of it.

In this case there are no gaps between the boards. A layer of insulation is laid under the floor. The finishing surface should have a slight slope towards the drainage area. A hole with a siphon is installed here to drain water into the sewer.

To prevent the appearance of deflections in the wooden covering over time, supports are installed in the middle of the joist system. They can be brick or concrete. Wood can also be used for similar purposes.

Arrangement of the underground

Needs to proper arrangement space underneath. If a leaky floor is created, the filtration properties of the soil are first assessed. If there is sand under the base of the bathhouse, it will be enough to pour gravel on it. The layer should be about 25 cm. The gravel will clean the wastewater before it enters directly into the ground. There must be a distance of at least 10 cm between the backfill and the joists.

If there are loamy soils or clay under the leaking bathhouse, you will need to install a tray to drain the water into the sewer. To do this, a clay castle is created under the floor. It should have a slope towards the sewer.

If the bathhouse is leak-proof, the base is covered with expanded clay. There must be a distance of at least 15 cm between it and the logs. This is necessary to create complete ventilation.

Beginning of work

The installation of the floor in the steam room involves the installation of logs. They rest on the foundation. This design is typical for almost all of them. Creating a foundation and a sewage system under the floor allows you to meet the requirements of sanitary and hygienic standards. Otherwise, the room will eventually develop bad smell, A wood covering is destroyed.

After arranging the foundation, it is necessary to install logs on it. If the area of the steam room is large, you will need to build additional bedside tables. They will help reduce the gaps between lags.

For arranging the subfloor, hardwood is chosen. It is also possible to use slabs or thick boards for these purposes. Using self-tapping screws or the tongue-and-groove method, the rough flooring is attached to the beams. Next, a thermal insulation layer must be installed.

Installation of insulation

The steam room must have thermal insulation. In this case, the room will warm up faster. Heat loss is significantly reduced. This allows you to save on energy resources.

The modern insulation market offers many varieties of materials. They differ in cost and technical characteristics. Mineral wool is best suited for arranging the floor in a bathhouse. It's environmentally friendly pure material. It is able to reliably insulate a room without allowing heat to escape outside.

In order for the thermal insulation and the entire structure of a wooden floor to last a long time, it is necessary to lay a layer of waterproofing on top of the insulation. To do this, you can purchase glassine, roofing felt or a polymer membrane.

Finished floor installation

The floor in the steam room is installed immediately after installation of the rough base, mineral wool and waterproofing. To do this, you should prepare tongue and groove boards. Their thickness should not be less than 3 cm.

The boards should not be laid too tightly. If moisture gets on them, the material will swell. If there is not enough space for linear expansion, the wood will move. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to leave small gaps between the boards on the finishing surface.

It is also important to consider the direction of the growth rings. For adjacent boards they should face in different directions. With this installation technique it is possible to achieve a high level of evenness of the coating.

All finishing elements must be installed with the convex side up. In this case, the floor will be strong and reliable.

Final stage

At the final stage, the wood is treated with special solutions. There are many options for such products on sale. the master decides independently. It should be an antiseptic that will prevent the appearance of fungus and rot on the floor surface. The two sides and bottom sides of the boards are also treated with this solution.

When laying the finishing coating, it is important to make a slope towards the drain hole. After this, you can scrape and install the skirting boards. You can remove irregularities on the surface of the coating manually. However, it is more advisable to use an electric planer for these purposes. Before starting such work, it is necessary to check whether nails are sticking out on the floor surface.

Wall and ceiling finishing

After arranging the floor, carry out Finishing work walls, ceiling, a door to the steam room and shelves are installed. In this case, it is also allowed to use wood and lining. It is used to decorate the ceiling and walls. A layer of insulation and waterproofing is also installed under the front covering. You should not purchase polystyrene foam or expanded polystyrene for such purposes. In a steam room, such insulation will release substances that are unsafe for the human body.

It should be remembered that finishing the ceiling and walls in the steam room cannot be done with plastic, wood panels, chipboard, plywood, etc. Also not suitable for these purposes conifers wood They will release resin when heated. This will cause burns.

Cover the lining in the bathhouse by special means Not recommended. When heated, varnish, stain or other similar coatings will release harmful substances and an unpleasant odor will appear. It would be simply unbearable to be in such a room.

Interior arrangement

After finishing the ceiling and walls, you need to install the door to the steam room. It can be made of special heat-resistant glass or wood. The first option is preferable. Glass allows you to create a stylish look inside the steam room.

Should be arranged in several rows. Deciduous wood is used to create them. The surface of the material must be well sanded. There should be no defects or chips on it. It is also unacceptable for metal nail heads to protrude from the surface of the shelves. At elevated temperature this may cause burns.

An important element is the stove. There are many on sale various models. The stove can be wood-burning or have an electric heating element. Each owner chooses the best option for himself. Some owners prefer to build it out of brick right on site. It's easier for others to buy ready-made ovens made of steel or cast iron. An electric heating element does not imply the ability to pour water over hot stones. If the owners like a sauna with high humidity, they should prefer a traditional stone oven.

Room finishing options

Experts recommend not using too much wood when decorating the interior of a bathhouse. The steam room looks original, in which the lining is combined with tiles, plexiglass, and natural stone. If you wish, you can ask for help from professional designer. He will develop original project interior It will be a pleasure for all visitors to be in such a room.

It must be done with taste. You should also pay attention to the choice of lamps. The steam room should be light enough. Lampshades can be made of natural wood or other heat-resistant materials.

It is very important to provide inside the bath vent. Ventilation will prevent the appearance of dampness and pathogens. However, do ventilation window inside the steam room is useless. It is best to arrange it in a dressing room or washing room. The steam room is ventilated when the door is opened.

After considering the technology, how the floor in the steam room is arranged, the finishing and interior design takes place, each owner of a country house will be able to independently equip the bathhouse correctly.

After assembling the log bathhouse and installing doors and windows, you need to think about installing the flooring. How to make a floor in a bathhouse different ways, we will tell you in this article. By following all the steps, you can complete the work without errors and with high quality.

Before installing the floor in the bathhouse, you need to decide what it will be: wooden or screed. Several factors influence the choice:

The type of material from which the floor joists are made.
The material from which the bathhouse is built.
What type of drainage system is planned?
Purpose of the premises (steam room and washing room combined or separate, dry or wet steam used, etc.)
Material side.

Wooden floor - features and purpose

Wooden floors in baths are used in most cases. This popularity is due to the availability of the material and the speed of installation (no need to take technical breaks in work). You can buy floorboards or logs that have already been treated with an antiseptic and dried. And the installation process is simple, and even a beginner, after reading the step-by-step instructions, will be able to lay the floor. Of course, mistakes are made in any work, but if you watch a thematic video and read the article to the end, you can cope. It is difficult to do the flooring alone, so it is better to look for 1-2 assistants.

There are several ways to lay floors for a bathhouse, but the simplest are:

“cold” leaking;
“warm” not leaking.

Let's look at each in more detail.

Cold floor - design features

“Cold” coating boards are laid with a gap of 4–5 mm. It is necessary so that moisture does not accumulate in the bathhouse, but flows into the underground. Since a floor of this design is always cold, it is recommended to use it only in the southern regions of the country or for a bathhouse at a summer cottage.

The structure cannot be insulated, so using the bathhouse in cold weather will not be comfortable. Of course, there is an option when flooring raised above the level of the pillow under the stove, and special ventilation is provided. This way the floor warms up during heating and dries quickly. We’ll talk in more detail about how to do this with your own hands in one of the following articles.

"Warm" floor - design features

The warm version is assembled from boards that fit tightly together and have a slight slope. The slope is mounted to a special drain, which, in turn, is built into a collection where all the moisture accumulates. From there, the water flows by gravity through inclined pipes, outside the bathhouse. This design resembles a “pie”. The top boards are laid on the rough bottom boards, and insulation is placed between them. It is hidden from moisture and steam insulated.

The main advantages of this design:

moisture does not accumulate near the foundation;
the floor is additionally insulated, which means it will warm up;
Due to the special drainage system, the floorboards will last longer.

Concrete screed in baths - features and purpose

Screeding floors in a bathhouse is a more labor-intensive process that requires some skill and theoretical knowledge. A concrete screed for a bathhouse floor can be made in several ways: pouring directly onto the ground, screeding on rough floor. It’s easier to do the first method yourself.

Screed on the ground - features

The concrete screed is made on previously removed soil and a sand cushion (similar to what is shown in the photo). After drying, the coating has an unsightly appearance and requires finishing. Of course, you can simply paint the floor, but since the bathhouse will be constantly heated until high temperatures, That chemical compositions The use of baths is undesirable. The easiest way is to lay ceramic tiles or a natural stone. But both options are expensive and time-consuming.

Recently, the “warm floor” know-how has been used in concrete screeds. It comes in infrared, water and cable. But installation in damp rooms requires special knowledge, so doing it yourself is not recommended.

When using a concrete screed in a bathhouse, it is important to properly waterproof and thermally insulate the floor. Insulation is made from polymer material, for example PSB-S-35. Price for material from 70 rub.

Installation of flooring in baths and saunas

Any of the options under consideration is suitable for a bathhouse in a private house or cottage. We’ll tell you in more detail how to make the coating correctly, observing the basic rules and features of the technology.

Installation of a “cold” leaky floor

Metal or wooden sticks of rectangular or round cross-section can be used as lags under a leaking floor. You need to choose depending on the material from which the log house was built. So, for a bathhouse made of timber, it is better to use wood with a cross-section of at least 100 mm.

Before installation, logs must be treated with antiseptics and impregnations. To save money, used machine oil is used. Any antiseptics can be used, but it is better to use them directly for baths.

Before laying, the wood is dried to a moisture content of less than 12–10% or purchased ready-made, chamber-dried.

Laying the base under the floor

The installation of the logs must be carried out parallel to the wall, which has a shorter length. To add rigidity, reinforced concrete columns are poured underneath them; the distance between them should not be more than 1 m. They are laid out in the following steps:

removed at installation sites upper layer soil and a cushion of crushed stone and sand (10-15 cm) and reinforced mesh is poured;
red brick columns are laid out or pieces of reinforced concrete slab are laid;
the structure is waterproofed using bitumen mastic.

If the foundation for the bathhouse was columnar, then the level of the logs should be parallel and equal in level to the embedded log. With a strip - the upper part of the foundation.

Two layers of waterproofing are laid on top of the pillars and logs are installed. They need to be placed leaving a distance of at least 4-5 cm from the main walls on all sides; these gaps are needed for ventilation.

Installation of a drain in the underground

It is necessary to implement a system that will quickly remove excess water and prevent it from accumulating near the foundation. To do this, you need to study the soil, since the design will depend on moisture absorption:

If the soil absorbs moisture well, the top layer is removed along the entire perimeter of the bathhouse and a cushion of crushed stone with a thickness of at least 250 mm is poured. It is used as a filter. Moisture will pass through the filter and be absorbed into the soil. This is the easiest way.
If the soil does not absorb moisture well, a slope of 10° is made towards a specially prepared drain (a hole at least 30–40 cm deep, in which a PVC drain pipe with a diameter of 15 cm or more is laid, covered with crushed stone). In order for the water to drain more evenly, the soil can be covered with clay and compacted.

Laying floorboards

Floor boards can be used even if they are not edged, the main thing is to level and trim them. Laying begins from the wall, retreating 2 cm. In relation to the joists, the laying is perpendicular.

The boards can be attached to the joists with self-tapping screws or nails at an angle of 45°. To ensure that the gaps between the boards are the same, pieces of plywood 3-5 mm thick are used.

Installation of a “warm” non-leaking floor

The logs under the structure are laid in exactly the same way as in the first case. To organize the slope of the floor, you need to make 2-4 mm notches in each joist, except for those located near the walls.

Installation of the drain system

A 400x400 mm pit with a depth of 300 mm is used as a water intake (the design diagram is in the photo above). You need to dig it between two supports. For waterproofing, a “clay castle” is made in the catchment area or the walls are filled with concrete and coated with bitumen.

At the bottom, retreating 2 cm, it is mounted a drain pipe, which must be laid at an angle. Suitable for this PVC pipe with a cross-section of at least 15 cm.

Laying floorboards

Floor installation begins with a rough bottom layer. To attach it to the beams, 50x50 mm bars along the entire length are attached on both sides. Rough boards are laid on these bars; you can use any remaining boards after construction, even small round timber. It is necessary to retreat at least 60 mm from the top of the beam, this depends on the thickness of the intended insulation, it should not overlap the upper part of the log.

Waterproofing is spread on top of the subfloor. it needs to be laid overlapping and the joints secured using bitumen mastic or tape (depending on the type of waterproofing). Insulation is placed on top of the waterproofing (mineral wool, ecowool, expanded clay, sawdust with PVA, etc.). The insulation must be protected by covering it with a layer of vapor barrier.

The vapor barrier is laid with an overlap of 15 cm and secured to the joists with a construction stapler.

A finishing board covering is mounted on top. It is better to use a tongue and groove type. This will prevent water from getting between the boards. It is better to mount the boards by placing each subsequent one on a tenon, this way there is less chance of ruining the locking connection. A pipe is installed in the inclined drain, the end of which will go into the catchment area.

It is important to leave a ventilated gap of at least 10 - 15 mm between the main coating and the insulation, where an additional exhaust pipe is led out.

As flooring boards for a bathhouse, it is better to use products that are resistant to water, such as larch and aspen. Otherwise, the floor will quickly rot, which will never happen with a concrete screed.

Installation of concrete screed - features of installation in a bathhouse

The top layer of soil is removed along the entire internal perimeter, at least 30-40 cm. The soil is compacted. 100 mm of coarse sand is laid on top. Then a layer of crushed stone 200 mm and two layers of roofing felt. In this case, it is important to leave space for future acceptance before filling the sand.

The next step is to dig out a place for the reception area; its walls must be concreted to a thickness of at least 50 mm. The top is filled with crushed stone and a drain pipe is installed. Only after this can you start screeding.

Pouring screed onto the bath floor

Installation of the screed is carried out in the following steps:

The first layer is poured with concrete to a height of 5–6 cm, it is allowed to dry (but not completely dry);
A layer of thermal insulation PSB-S-35 is spread (any thickness can be taken, standard 5 and 10 cm);
To add rigidity, a reinforced mesh is laid;
A finishing layer of concrete of 6–9 cm is poured. To impart hardness, it is necessary to pour finishing layer, at an angle of 10 -15 °, towards the drain where the pipe is installed.

Above concrete screed decorated with tiles, there are many of them in construction centers, the price starts from 210 rubles/m2. You can come up with your own design and choose a coating to match it. All depends on the size of the wallet and imagination.

All the options under consideration can be done with your own hands, and our specialists are always happy to advise you on how to avoid mistakes.