Recommendation points
It is believed that a real bathhouse should be built of wood. However, a log cabin is difficult to heat, so alternatives have to be looked for. Today our site sovetov.RU offers a way to build a bath using modern materials and at the same time providing an authentic appearance of the finish.
General concept
One of the best building materials today is aerated concrete. It has good heat-saving properties and a sufficiently high compressive strength, which allows even monolithic concrete floors to be supported on such walls. However, gas silicate blocks have a very specific masonry technology, it is difficult to perform reliable fasteners in them, and the enclosing structures must be carefully calculated both for the current loads and for the climatic conditions of operation..
In addition, aerated concrete does not have the ability to elastic deformation, which, with a minimum thickness of the adhesive joints, makes the walls extremely vulnerable to vibrations of the base. If the foundation is not reliable enough, the walls will crack, which will lead to a loss of load-bearing properties and thermal insulation qualities.
These disadvantages should not confuse a private builder. This instruction will demonstrate how to build, if not a penny, but quite moderate in cost, a bathhouse, while each invested ruble will more than justify itself.
Foundation laying
The size of the building for the bath must be determined based on the maximum number of people who will use it. For example, if there are four people in the steam room at the same time, you will need two loungers measuring 2×0.5 m; benches and a heater must be placed on the lower tier. Taking into account the fact that a distance of at least 1.5 m must be observed from stones to human bodies, we obtain the dimensions of the steam room approximately 2×3.5 m.
You also need a dressing room, where a small sofa and a table for drinks will be placed, the minimum size of this room is 2.2X2 m.If you join the dressing room with a short edge to the steam room and fit them into a rectangle measuring 3.5X4 m, there will be room for a vestibule and a small shower. located next to the steam room.
Adding a wall thickness of about 40 cm on each side, we get the dimensions of the foundation of 4.3×4.8 m. The best option for a foundation for a building of this type is a monolithic slab on an insulated substrate. So more heat will be retained in the bath, moreover, it will be convenient to separate communications and mount a drain in the floor.
With a slab thickness of 28 cm, it will take less than 6 m to build a foundation3 concrete of class B20 with a total cost of 19 thousand rubles. Reinforcement consists of two meshes: with a 180 mm pitch of 12 mm rods in the upper zone and a 240 mm pitch of 14 reinforcement in the lower zone. In total, 230 m of 12 mm reinforcement and 185 m of 14 mm reinforcement are required. Taking into account a cutting margin of 5%, the total weight will be about 450 kg at a cost of 18 thousand rubles.
The considered configuration of the foundation, which has already been written in more detail, is optimal for subsiding soils with pronounced uneven heaving. The foundation creates a load on the soil of about 65 g / cm2, the load from a complete building is twice that. If there is complete confidence that the soil will withstand such a mass, you can reduce the slab thickness to 22 cm, and increase the pitch of the upper and lower mesh, respectively, to 210 and 280 mm, which will reduce the cost of the foundation by about a quarter..
The slab construction technique is simple: the top layer of soil is removed, usually to a depth of 40–45 cm to the loam. After that, gravel is poured, which is rammed in layers with a deck weighing 20 kg. The height of the backfill is at least 10 cm, from above it is sprinkled with dry sand and thoroughly spilled with water. It takes about 2-3 days to dry, then the pit is filled with expanded clay to such a level that the finished slab rises above the ground by at least 120 mm. In total, the filling takes about 2 m3 gravel with sand and 4 m3 expanded clay of a large fraction, the total cost of materials will be 8 thousand rubles.
Along the contour of the pit, it is necessary to build a panel formwork and support it on the adjacent soil every 50 cm. The upper side is set at a hydrostatic level in a single horizontal plane. After that, the bottom of the mold is covered with a film, which will prevent the cement laitance from seeping into the substrate. On distance plugs, you need to tie the lower mesh, then bend the clamps of the vertical ties from the rebar scraps and assemble the upper mesh on them.
After pouring concrete, it is imperative to shrink with a vibrator or at least carefully pierce the mixture and tap the sides with a mallet. For a week after pouring, keep the plate covered with foil and constantly add water. The construction of the box can be started 10 days after laying the foundation..
Wall masonry
The walls of the bath are 250 mm thick and 2.5 meters high. It will take about 12 m to erect a bath box3 aerated concrete blocks D500 at 4.8 thousand rubles / m3, and also 1.7 m3 blocks for partitions 100 mm thick. The amount of material is indicated without taking into account the openings, but the excess compensates for the illiquidity of the scraps. You will also need four reinforced lintels 150×125 mm 130 cm long, each worth 1.9 thousand rubles. Taking into account the glue-foam, which will require 11 cylinders, the total cost of masonry materials will be 78 thousand rubles. Prices are for YTONG products – one of the most expensive aerated concrete manufacturers. At your own risk, you are free to use cheaper materials.
Before laying the starting row, the contact patch of the walls with the foundation must be covered with two layers of roll waterproofing. A preparatory layer of cement mortar up to 30 mm thick is applied on top. Laying the first row begins with corner stones, which are set along the lacing and rack level. The stones set the dimensions of the entire box, they need to be displaced about 50 mm inward from the edge of the foundation slab and carefully check the direction of the edges.
Intermediate stones can be placed after 30–40 minutes for the mortar to set. At the same time, the solution is laid with an excess, two flagella of glue-foam with a thickness of 1-1.5 cm are applied to the end of the laid stone, then the new block is moved and upset with a mallet to the desired height.
It is advisable to continue laying the walls the next day, when the binder of the first row has completely hardened and a stable flat base is formed. To ensure the dressing, it is enough to change the direction of the corner blocks and the place of insertion of the additional elements through the row. It is recommended to place them no closer than two stones from the corner or opening, the minimum width of the addition is 120 mm. Aerated concrete is cut with a special hacksaw, while the joint at the cut edge should be filled with twice as much foam.
When the 8th row is fully completed and the walls are driven out to the level of the top of the openings, reinforced lintels should be fixed to the glue-foam. The length of their approach to the pillar of the walls should be at least 200 mm, respectively, the maximum width of the window opening will be 90 cm. There are three windows in the bath: one in the vestibule and two on different walls of the dressing room. Another small loophole can be placed under the ceiling in the shower room. With a window width of 40-45 cm, the installation of a lintel is not required, you just need to knock down the supporting frame from the boards.
Reinforced lintels are 150mm thick, which is 10cm less than the wall thickness. Therefore, they need to be aligned flush with the inside of the box, the outside of the remainder of the thickness is filled with scraps of wall blocks. Before the glue-foam sets, the blocks must be supported by a board on props. When laying 9 rows, the gap in height above the lintels should be filled, for which it will be necessary to saw several blocks along to a thickness of 125 mm. The masonry is completed by a solid tenth row of blocks.
Overlap and roof
One of the most original solutions in construction today is precast monolithic aerated concrete floors. They are more expensive than conventional roofing on wooden rafters, but they are distinguished by a high assembly speed and ease of installation..
The floor structure consists of reinforced beams and 250 mm wide T-blocks. The blocks have grooves, which are supported on the base of the beam, leaving a gap of 100 mm for embedding. Thus, the conditional width of one row of the structure is 300 mm, that is, 15 rows of blocks on 14 beams are needed to overlap across a long wall.
If overlapped across the long side, the total length of the beams is 64.5 meters. The standard block length is 650 mm, so 105 blocks will be needed for the entire overlap. The total cost of materials for the floor will be about 85 thousand rubles, including concrete for embedding and leveling screed.
Installation is extremely simple. The first beam is laid in such a way that the extreme row of blocks rests on the wall by half its own width. The beams do not need to be fixed to the walls; for preliminary fixation, you can use an adhesive mixture for laying blocks. When assembling the floor, you need to achieve the most tight junction between the elements, for which you should place the beams strictly parallel and with the same pitch.
When the overlap is assembled, longitudinal seams must be filled with concrete of class B12.5. After that, a screed reinforced with a 100x100x5 mm mesh is arranged over the floor. It is needed not only to tie the blocks and distribute the load more evenly, with its help a minimum slope of 1: 100 is formed, which is necessary for the drainage of melt water. After drying, the screed must be impregnated with liquid glass and laid on top of it a roll fusion insulation. Covering with bitumen and one layer of glass insulation will be sufficient. To make the roof usable, you will need to melt a layer of high-quality roofing material with mineral powder on top. On the site you can also learn about other options for the implementation of the operated roof.
Internal and external finishing
The total budget for the construction of a bath from the foundation to the ceiling, taking into account glazing and other overhead costs, was less than 250 thousand rubles. Such a design can be freely scaled, while the unit cost of 1 m2 with an increase in the total area will decrease. With the help of the aerated concrete floor system, it is possible to cover spans up to 9 m, however, with the length of the beams over 5 m, it is necessary to equip sloping walls.
We will deliberately not consider the cost of finishing materials, since the difference in price can be very large depending on the quality and decorative properties. Let’s just say that a huge plus of aerated concrete buildings is that the fastening of the hinged sheathing can be done extremely easily.
Even if the building will be additionally insulated outside with expanded polystyrene, in order to mount the siding under a tree, it is enough to fasten wooden slats with long self-tapping screws and hang the cladding on them. The same is inside: the dressing room and the vestibule are finished with MDF clapboard, the shower room – with tiles or plastic panels. In the steam room, you will have to fork out for natural lining made of hardwood.
Is the timber finish on the inexpensive bath made of real wood or is it a synthetic material?
What are the pros and cons of using aerated concrete with a timber finish for an inexpensive bath? Does this combination provide durability and water resistance?