Interior decoration of the bath with clapboard: a step-by-step guide

The use of a bath has long been considered not only hygienic, but also a health-improving procedure. People who visit the bath are less likely to get colds, cardiovascular diseases and diseases of the nervous system. A wooden bath is considered traditional: the walls of the steam room "breathe" in it, which contributes to improved ventilation of hot air.

Today, there are many different options for interior decoration of the bath - these are gas silicate blocks, and bricks, and so far only magnelite, which is gaining popularity. However, the most suitable finish is still considered to be made of natural materials, namely wood. Thanks to the wooden lining, it becomes possible to create a specific microclimate and a cozy atmosphere necessary for a bath or sauna. When planning to sheathe a bath with clapboard with your own hands, you need to take into account not only all the nuances, but also carefully follow the rules for such interior decoration.

For high-quality work, it is necessary to choose the right material and calculate its amount.

It is necessary to sheathe the inner surface of a room such as a bathhouse only with those materials that can withstand:

• large temperature drops;
• high humidity;
• constant contact with water and various substances.

To date, the building materials market is filled with a variety of clapboard from many manufacturers. Lamels are produced both in Russia and abroad. Eurolining is produced with various profile section options. Also, wooden lining can differ in the surface quality of the back and front sides of the board, the shape of the lock and its size, the type of material and other equally important parameters.

Most often they use lining of several popular profiles.

• Euro lining, which has clear sharp edges and forms seams visible to the naked eye when sheathing.
• Softline with more rounded corners.
• Calm. The seam with such a finish is almost invisible, because it has no shelves-recesses. It can imitate a timber, have both sufficiently sharp and smoother rounded edges.

• Loundhouse, the front side of which is not smooth, but with different patterns. The pattern on the lamellas of the lamella is applied using curly milling on more expensive materials and using hot stamping on cheaper materials.
• Blockhouse (siding).
• Double-sided lining. Both the groove and the spike of such a board are exactly in the middle, so both sides are equally flat - you can choose between them. However, this material has almost no ventilation (the ability to "breathe"), so it is not very well suited for interior decoration in wet rooms such as baths, swimming pools or saunas.

To determine the grade of the purchased lining, you can use the European DIN standard. The difficulty lies in the fact that many manufacturers use various GOSTs and even their own specifications, therefore, first of all, it is necessary to look at the surface quality of the material itself, and not at the marking. All lining is made using the same equipment and using a single technology, therefore, the grade of material is determined during inspection after the completion of the manufacturing process.

• Premium (or extra). Almost perfect lining quality. No twigs or cracks are allowed on the lamellas. A light blue tint, small chippings, roughness and unevenness are possible only from the inside.
• Class A. Branches on such a board should not be more than 1 cm in diameter and occur no more often than once on a one meter long section. Cracks, if any, should be very small and, of course, blind. It is advisable that the manufacturer putty them on his own. All other defects are permissible only on the inside.
• Class B. The knots in diameter can be no more than a third of the lamella, but in any quantity. The presence of through cracks and open pockets is also allowed.
• Class C - this is the entire remaining lining, on which both blue spots and a large number of large knots are visible. They can be uneasy even on the surface of the side that is visible after installation. However, it is believed that lining of this class cannot be used for finishing walls.

The bath is not only a steam room, but also a washing room, a dressing room or even a pool. For each of the premises, it will be more appropriate to choose a certain type of wood.

Wood is divided into two categories:

• coniferous: pine, spruce, cedar;
• deciduous: linden, aspen and others.

One of the most popular material options for Euro lining is lime board. Linden is quite strong, does not change the structure of fibers for a long time and is resistant to various negative factors. The atmosphere of the linden bath is saturated with freshness and purity.

It is easy to work with aspen clapboard, time makes this material only stronger. If the surface of such a lining darkens, it is easy for it to return to its original appearance by sanding the surface. Both linden and aspen are used to decorate the hottest and wettest room in saunas - the steam room.

It is also allowed to use cedar for its decoration, however, due to the fact that the cedar heats up very quickly, discomfort may arise when you touch the loungers and walls made of this material. Conifers are used for sheathing mainly the washing or dressing room. Pine and spruce give off resin abundantly and, like cedar, have a high heating rate, but using this material will save you money and choose from an extensive decorative range of lining. It should be noted that coniferous wood must be first degummed in order to avoid a large number of streaks on the walls.

There are two options for placing the elements in the sauna cladding. You can upholster the wall with eurolining by placing the boards both horizontally and vertically. For each of the options, a certain type of frame is required, which is also made of a bar connected with ordinary nails. Each of the methods has both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages of the horizontal option are:

• a decrease in the chance of water getting into and stagnant in the seams, since the fastening is carried out with a thorn up, which allows water that has already got inside to drain down;
• the frame for this method of fastening the lining is made vertically and allows air to circulate more evenly in the room;
• even the highest quality wood is subject to decay processes, and the horizontal method of attaching the lamellas will allow replacing only the material that is located below and has been more damaged, without dismantling the entire wall;
• when laying the lining horizontally, wood drying is less noticeable, which will inevitably occur with any type of material.

It is faster and easier to finish a vertical sauna with Euro lining than a horizontal one. This method also has its advantages:

• rapid drainage of moisture along vertical seams in the wall;
• when using the "groove-comb" system, the risk of water stagnation and destruction of material fibers from constant moisture is reduced;
• this finish better maintains the high temperature of the room.

Before starting the cladding itself, it is necessary to calculate the area of ​​the surface to be sheathed and choose exactly how the lining will be attached to the walls: horizontally or vertically. The floor and ceiling of the sauna can be insulated from the inside with cotton wool or another type of insulation. Any insulation must not only be correctly selected and installed, but also covered with a layer of insulating material with foil on top to avoid exposure to moisture. Such material must be nailed to the wall before installing the battens. It is also necessary to mount a ventilation system and a stove, and only then can the frame be nailed to the walls, on which the lining itself is attached. First of all, the crate is installed and the ceiling is sheathed with clapboard, and only then they begin to work with the walls.

After all the preparatory work has been completed, you can proceed to creating a wooden frame - lathing. First, you need to carefully prepare the beam itself. It can be either planed or left in its original form, the main thing is that the timber is treated with impregnations. First of all, the racks are attached - they are installed perpendicular to the future location of the lining. In some cases, it is necessary to clearly calculate the location of the timber in advance, since the vertical and horizontal layouts can be combined on the same wall. The profile can be fixed with ordinary nails if the bathhouse is also made of wood, but it is better to mount it to the wall using dowels. It should be noted that the length of the timber needs to be made slightly larger than the length of the insulation nailed to the wall.

Next, the racks are mounted at a distance of 50-60 cm from each other. For more accurate calculations, you can use a plumb line, tape measure or level. If the wall is not even enough, you can add an extra piece of board or use a suspension for a plasterboard frame.

For the full functioning of a bath or sauna, as well as in order to comply with safety measures, it is imperative that there is good ventilation.

The technology of its installation is as follows.

• Already during the installation of the battens, it is necessary to mark in advance those places that are intended for the ventilation holes. One hole is placed near the ceiling, and the other is not higher than 150-300 mm above the floor level. It is better if the second hole is located near the oven.
• For the duct, it is better to use an aluminum corrugation with a cross-sectional diameter of 100 mm. It is necessary to place the holes for mounting the corrugation in easily accessible places in order to be able to quickly adjust the supply of fresh air.

• The use of foam as a heat-insulating material when installing ventilation is strongly discouraged. It is better to use non-flammable materials such as basalt (mineral) wool.

It is necessary to dwell in more detail on the insulation of the walls. Due to the constantly high humidity, the bath room needs special fastening and multilayer insulation.

First, you need to lay a waterproofing material on the wall so that moisture does not begin to destroy the insulation. You can nail the waterproofing material to the wall itself or additionally fix it on the wall surface with wooden slats. The cotton wool itself must be laid between the frame (beams) of the crate with an overlap of 10 mm.

On top of the mineral wool, it is necessary to lay a foil film, which not only protects the insulation from moisture and steam, but also reflects the outgoing heat into the room. Such a vapor barrier can be attached with a construction stapler directly to the overlapping battens of the sheathing.

Fastening of euro lining in baths and saunas is done only by a hidden method.Firstly, the hardware used to attach the lamellas to the frame heats up so much that it can cause painful sensations when touching its head. Secondly, the metal of the fastener can rust from constant contact with water and damage the surface of the lamella. And, finally, thirdly, these fasteners look too sloppy, especially when using very light-colored lining.

The plating of the steam room in the bath must always be carried out first on the ceiling. It starts from the front door. The lining is attached either to nails or using a clipper, since a small finishing nail will not be able to support the weight of the lamella hanging from the ceiling in this position. Kleimer is a kind of clamp (clothespin, bracket), which is made of stainless materials and better preserves the lining board from damage during installation. The last boards are quite difficult to hammer into the groove with a nail or put on the cleats, so you can use a secret nail without a head. When hammering in such a nail, it is very easy to hit the board itself and damage it, therefore it is necessary to use a doboiner. At the joints with the walls, it is necessary to leave a gap of 40-50 mm so that the air circulates freely, and the lamellas, slightly swelling from moisture, do not break each other.

The cladding of the walls of the steam room is carried out by analogy with the cladding of the ceiling. It is better to start from the corner, leaving a gap near the floor of 10-30 mm in order to avoid rotting of the boards at their joints with the floor. It is not worth joining individual parts of the lining close to when finishing a room such as a bath. It is better to leave a small margin so that during swelling, the entire wall cladding does not deform and does not go in a "wave" due to constant contact with water.

The gap is done as follows:

• initially, the lamella is pushed all the way into the groove of the other lamella already installed, along the seam line of the connection of the two boards, small marks are made with a sharp object;
• the board is slightly removed relative to the marks made and leveled;
• the algorithm is repeated with each next lamella;
• the joints of the lining will look more neat if you maintain equal indents both on all walls and on the ceiling lining.

With the help of lamellas, you can also sheathe doorways by cutting the boards to the required length. The openings themselves can subsequently be framed with platbands.

The window slope is installed using a starter strip attached to a plastic lamella. In this case, the wooden lining is attached with one end to the wooden beam, and the rest to the plastic. Such a simple option is suitable for reinforced-plastic windows. You can also use a more complex method: install a separate frame on the slope and lay a wooden lining on it. This method works well for wooden windows that have a decent depth. If the slope of the wall is not wide at all, you can simply revet it with a wooden strip.

The finishing of the washroom is carried out in the same way as the finishing of the steam room, however, it is imperative that the lower ends of the boards (or the boards themselves, which are stacked near the floor with a horizontal installation method), must be fixed at a height of at least 30 mm from the floor. Also, in the washing room, you can use PVC lining or plastic panels, which are decorated with wood to create a single design. Tiles and ceramics are also great for alternative finishes.

The installation of the dressing room is no different from the installation of the washing room, but the lining cannot be mounted near the firebox. It is better to overlay the walls near the stove with brick or stone. Sheets of metal or other non-combustible coating are often used. It is not allowed to adhere the chimney to anything other than a metal screen fixed to the ceiling. It is advisable to wrap the chimney behind the screen with mineral wool.

So that the wood does not darken, rot and does not lose its attractiveness, it can be treated with special means.However, it is still better not to process the lining in the steam room, otherwise, due to high temperatures, harmful fumes from such impregnations get on the skin and lungs. Of course, over time, untreated lamellas deteriorate and must be replaced, but this does not happen earlier than once every 2-5 years. If it is necessary to process the steam room, only special compositions for a sauna or a bath can be used.

The means with which the lining is processed are divided into several types.

• Special impregnations and oils - these are the most popular products that are sold ready-to-use. It is necessary to apply them to the surface of the lamellas and thoroughly impregnate the wood.
• Regular varnish. It is advisable to abandon the use of varnish in the washing room, and even more so in the steam room, but you can paint the lining in the dressing room with varnish.
• Acrylac - a product intended for surface treatment in rooms with high humidity. The building materials market is represented by both Russian and foreign manufacturers. With the help of acrylic lacquer, a water-repellent and dirt-repellent surface is formed that can withstand temperatures up to 120 degrees without changes. It also protects wood from mold and can even be used on concrete structures.

The lining in combination with other types of interior decoration allows you to embody even the most daring design decisions. You can lay the lining in different directions, forming an intricate pattern on the walls or ceiling.

It is also important to choose and install the right lighting in the sauna - it should be matte and not cut into the eyes. Lighting devices must be chosen heat-resistant, moisture-resistant and safe. LED or fiber optic lamps are perfect. The protection class must be at least IP-54. It is better to mount the lamps in the steam room under the benches, since the devices will work more stable at the bottom, where the air temperature is lower. Lamps on the walls can be finished with decorative grilles.

To avoid frequent replacement of the lower part of the lining in the washroom due to exposure to moisture, you can combine tile laying and timber cladding. Ceramic tiles are laid on the floor and the lower half of the walls, and the ceiling and the upper part of the wall are sheathed with wooden clapboard. The process of laying tiles for baths and saunas is no different from laying in other rooms, it is only necessary to choose the glue and grout more carefully. They must be water-repellent, tolerate well the impact of an aggressive environment and not collapse from a large temperature drop.

For information on how to make the interior decoration of the bath with clapboard, see the next video.