Wood-fired sauna: pros and cons

The bathhouse is considered a traditional Russian room for taking water procedures. The steam room is believed to have a positive effect on the overall health of the body. There are many types of baths, which differ in design and method of steam supply. We will consider the pros and cons of a wood-fired sauna in this article.

The wood-fired steam room is a popular place to relax and strengthen the body. Different countries have their own design features of baths and methods of taking water procedures. The main differences between a bath and a sauna are the temperature and air humidity.

In the Russian steam room, the optimal mode is temperature in the range from 45 to 60 degrees and humidity from 50 to 70 percent. It is with such indicators that the body will have a healing and restorative effect. The temperature in a Finnish sauna can reach 130 degrees with an air humidity of no more than 10 percent.

It is believed that a visit to the wood-fired steam room has a beneficial effect on human health, which is one of the main advantages of the Russian bath. Steam and temperature conditions have a healing effect on the body.

Under the influence of high temperatures, the secretion of sweat by the body increases significantly. Together with sweat, excess fluid in the body, as well as toxins and toxins, are released. Temperature changes also affect the work of the heart muscle, strengthening it, and harmful substances are removed from the blood vessels.

Taking water treatments in the bath speeds up the metabolism, which helps to lose excess weight. Depending on the type of firewood that is used for heating, there is a positive effect on various systems in the body. Pine firewood, when burned, throws useful substances into the air that contribute to the healing of a sore throat. In addition, pine has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, and also helps to cleanse the respiratory tract.

Of great importance are not only the firewood with which the village bath is heated, but also the material from which the bath broom is made. The best brooms are considered to be birch and oak. An oak broom helps to deal with some skin problems. Such a product is suitable for people with oily skin. In addition, the essential oils contained in oak branches have a positive effect on blood pressure, helping to lower it.

Another advantage of a wood-fired bath is that such a structure is not so difficult to build on your own in a summer cottage or in a village. Traditional materials for making such a building are oak logs. In the bath, you can install not only wood-burning stoves, by the type of fuel there are also gas and electrical appliances.

Wood burning products have a number of advantages:

• Convenience of installation and operation.To install such a furnace, you do not need to connect to the gas pipeline or conduct electricity to the bath.
• Heating method. Firewood is an environmentally friendly natural material, so such fuel will only have a positive effect on the body. Gas appliances can emit carbon monoxide and electrical products can cause severe electric shock.
• You can make your own wood stove. It is also possible to use structures made of bricks.

Regardless of the type of construction, there are certain requirements for the size and arrangement of premises in a Russian bath. The building's capacity will depend on its area. The steam room must be spacious with a ceiling height of at least 2.4 m. The area of ​​the steam room in a private bath usually ranges from 6 to 12 square meters.

Before proceeding with the construction of a bath, you first need to develop a project for the premises and decide on its location. The minimum distance between a building and a private house should be 8 meters. Depending on what functions the bath should perform, a suitable structure is designed. The room can only be a place for taking water procedures, or also a place for relaxation.

A two-story building is considered a large structure. with a spacious recreation room, a double room of more than 10 square meters, with rooms for a pool, a billiard table and showers. A traditional Russian bathhouse is considered to be a building made of timber or logs. Sometimes the walls are made of bricks or foam blocks.

Since firewood is used as fuel in the Russian bath, you can often find bath buildings with a firewood. It can be located under the same roof as the sauna. Firewood is stored in such a building. Inside the sauna, firewood can be placed in small woodpiles.

If the site allows, in addition to the bath, to place some more buildings, you can build a font nearby, which is a large-volume container in the form of a barrel or other shape. You can purchase it from the store or make your own.

You can make a wood-burning stove for a bath yourself or buy a ready-made model. The stove must have such a design and location so that all rooms in the bath are heated.

Among the ready-made options, you can purchase the following designs:

• Steel. Such a device is the cheapest option. The steel stove heats up quite quickly, but it cools down just as quickly, so a large amount of firewood will be needed for kindling.

• Brick. Making a brick structure yourself is quite difficult. A lot of firewood is needed to kindle such a construction. However, having melted the stove well, you can no longer put firewood - the device can keep warm for 14 hours.

• Cast iron boilers. Not the most suitable option for a Russian bath. With a sharp fluctuation in temperature, the device will quickly fail.

To better understand the structure of a wood-burning stove, you need to familiarize yourself with the manufacturing technology of the device.

An iron stove can be made as follows:

• The pipe, the diameter of which is 50 centimeters, is cut into pieces of 90 and 60 centimeters. A large section of pipe is used to make a heater-stove, and a heating water tank is made from a small piece.
• A 20 by 5 centimeters hole is cut in a long pipe section. A round steel plate must be welded over the cutout. The thickness of the plate must be at least 1.2 cm.
• For the manufacture of a grate for fuel, sheet iron is most often used. The grate is installed in the blowing chamber.
• To install the combustion chamber in the pipe, you need to cut a niche. The firebox door is made of a metal plate. The size of the door will be 25 by 30 centimeters.

• A pebble container is made from a piece of pipe 35 centimeters long. About half of the volume is filled with pebbles and covered with a steel circle on top.
• A sleeve 5 centimeters wide is made of a steel tire. Its thickness must be at least 5 millimeters. The product must be welded to the body and the water tank must be attached.
• To make a tank, you need a steel circle about one centimeter thick. A hole with a diameter of 15 centimeters is made in the circle under the chimney pipe. The chimney must be welded to the base of the circle, which is the bottom of the water tank.
• At a distance of 35 centimeters from the water tank, a platform made of steel sheet 30 centimeters wide is attached.
• There will be a water inlet at the bottom of the tank. Opposite it, it is necessary to weld a faucet with a water valve.
• The last step will be to install the door into the combustion chamber.

Each tree species has its own unique properties. The effectiveness and benefits of taking water procedures will depend on the choice of material for the heating of the bath.

The general rules for choosing firewood from absolutely any tree species include the following:

• rotten wood will burn out rather quickly and will not warm up the room;
• if there are knots on the material, then they will smolder longer than the base itself burns out;
• moldy wood will spoil the air in the steam room and can harm the human body;
• firewood must be dry, as wet wood takes a long time to burn and does not give heat;
• conifers of trees emit tar during combustion, which creates a fire hazard.

One of the most common fuels is birch wood. Birch flares up easily, while giving off quite a strong heat. After harvesting birch firewood, they can be used for heating for two years, after which the wood will lose its beneficial properties and aroma.

Aspen logs burn worse and do not produce intense heat. The only advantage of this fuel is that aspen has antiseptic properties. With the help of such firewood, you can periodically disinfect the room.

Alder wood has a pleasant aroma. Substances released during combustion into the air help to strengthen immunity and relieve emotional stress. Such fuel burns well, giving excellent heat. Linden logs take a long time to burn, but they give a good heat. The steam from the burning of linden has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, calming and strengthening it. It also helps to cleanse the respiratory system and makes breathing easier in case of a sore throat. The disadvantage of such fuel is the short shelf life. For two years, firewood becomes completely unusable.

One of the best options for wood fuel is oak firewood. Such furnace material is not cheap, but it burns for a long time and gives excellent heat. You can periodically burn a small amount of oak wood in the sauna fireplace for aromatherapy to strengthen the immune system.

For a pleasant and comfortable pastime in the bath, you need to take care of the interior decoration of the room.If you built a bathhouse yourself on your site, you should forget about arranging the interior for about a year after the end of construction, since the building may shrink. If desired, the interior of the room can be decorated in any style, but it is customary to adhere to certain national traditions in order to convey the atmosphere of a real Russian bathhouse.

The size of the dressing room will depend on the size of the bath itself. If the building is designed for a small number of people, then the dressing room can be small and serve as a kind of dressing room. In such a room, it is necessary to place lockers for things, wall hooks and clothes hangers, wooden benches or stools.

Small woodpiles are often installed in the dressing room for storing firewood. Very beautiful forged designs are on sale that will perfectly fit into the interior of a Russian bath. To create a unique atmosphere, do not forget about the decor elements. You can use some elements of the rustic style.

This room is equipped for taking water procedures. The room can be equipped with a shower cabin or stand tubs with water and wooden ladles. Sometimes, next to the bathhouse, they equip a hot tub in the fresh air for dipping into a large container of water. Usually the washroom is finished with wood. The use of tiled or porcelain stoneware tiles is permissible.

All materials used for decoration and as a decoration for the steam room must be environmentally friendly so as not to harm human health. Those materials that are used for arranging a home interior are used much less often in a bath. Traditionally, the steam room is finished with natural wood.

For finishing the steam room, it is not recommended to use thin sheathing boards. It is best to upholster the walls with solid wood planks. In the steam room, the necessary attributes are shelves, a stove, a heater, a water tank. The shelf is made from thick boards. Shelves should be wide (from 50 centimeters) so that it is comfortable to lie on them.

The lighting in the steam room should be dim, which will create a relaxed atmosphere and a mood for relaxation. As a lighting system, it is better to use LED devices that operate at low amperage, which, first of all, indicates the safety of such light sources.

The rest room can be located next to the dressing room in the form of an extension like a terrace or a gazebo in the fresh air. If a large two-story bathhouse is built on the site, then one or more rooms on the second floor with billiards or comfortable furniture and a large TV are usually allocated for the recreation room.

In order for a visit to the wood-fired sauna to bring only benefit and pleasure, you need to follow some rules for the adoption of water procedures, and also keep the room clean. If you decide to build a bath yourself, then you need to approach with responsibility the choice of building and finishing materials.

Do not use fibreboard or chipboard. The resins used in the manufacture of these materials release formaldehyde into the air at high temperatures. Such a substance is toxic and can poison a person. Many paints and varnishes contain organic solvents, which is also hazardous to health. When buying such materials for interior decoration of a bath, you must carefully study the composition. Foam and plastic at high humidity and high temperatures emit harmful substances.

It is necessary to carefully monitor the cleanliness of the room.In the event of the formation of mold, fungus or the beginning of the decay process, the affected areas should be immediately cleaned and treated with antiseptic agents. Also, do not forget about regular airing of the bath.

When carrying out hygiene procedures, it is necessary to adhere to some rules for maintaining the temperature regime and the washing process itself. For a comfortable stay in the steam room, the air temperature should not exceed 65 degrees. At temperatures from 70 to 80 degrees, a large load is created on many systems in the human body. Temperatures over 90 degrees are hazardous to health.

The very first time they enter the steam room without brooms for about five minutes, you can first take a warm shower to open the pores on the skin and get ready for the bath procedures. You don't need to wet your head with water, otherwise you can get heatstroke. It must be covered with a dry bath cap to avoid overheating of the brain.

After the first five-minute entry into the steam room, you need to relax in the dressing room or relaxation room for 15 minutes. The second time you can stay in the steam room for 30 minutes. Staying for longer periods of time can put a heavy strain on the cardiovascular system and harm your health.

If there is a feeling of discomfort in the steam room, the room should be left and rest in the dressing room. It is allowed to drink plenty of water to maintain the water-salt balance in the body. After each entry into the steam room, you must take a break for at least ten minutes.

When visiting the bath, the following things are strictly prohibited:

• Drinking alcoholic beverages. Alcohol increases the strain on the heart and on the entire body as a whole. In a state of alcoholic intoxication, the human body can withstand steam much worse.
• Do not consume large quantities of food before the sauna. Overeating also puts a lot of stress on the body.
• Steaming with brooms while standing or sitting is not worth it - it is better to take a lying position. In this way, the steam will be evenly distributed throughout the body.

For an overview of the wood-fired bath, see the next video.