How to make ventilation in the bath with your own hands?

During the construction and repair of baths, attention is paid primarily to construction materials, stoves, insulation and waterproofing. It is assumed that the natural air circulation will be sufficient for high-quality ventilation of the premises in the bath. But this is absolutely not the case, and if you approach the matter superficially, you can face serious problems.

Bath ventilation can be done in different ways.

Depends on her presence:

• distribution of heat flows inside;
• comfort and safety of the washable;
• the period of operation of the building.

Water and steam are continuously concentrated there, the tree actively absorbs them. Even if you dry the building periodically, without establishing a constant air movement, the effect will not be strong enough. To avoid dampness, it is required to create a pair of ventilation windows - one serves to introduce clean air from the outside, and the other helps to get out heated, having absorbed a lot of water. Choosing the location of the openings, they change areas that are especially intensively ventilated. The use of a pair of outlets in the steam room and dressing room sometimes improves the orientation of the air flow in the required direction.

Of course, the size of each window and the ability to adjust the clearance are of great importance. They are equipped with valves that can be opened in whole or in part. The calculation of the volume of ventilation openings is based, first of all, on the area of ​​the bath premises. If you make them too large, mold will never appear on the floor and in the sink, but the steam room will heat up for a very long time, and an unusually large amount of fuel or electrical energy will be consumed. Windows that are too narrow will prevent the air inside from cooling or becoming drier.

All deviations from normal parameters are strictly unacceptable., which make it possible to exclude the occurrence of powerful temperature changes - this not only creates discomfort, but can also provoke health problems. It is impossible to completely exclude the difference in the temperature of the flows; it is only necessary to limit their value. Normal ventilation systems are formed during the construction of a bath, while ducts are made and openings are prepared. The windows are mounted only after the decorative cladding of the building has been completed. Therefore, you will have to enter information about the device of ventilation ducts into the bath project.

In most cases, the ventilation openings are made exactly the same. The outlet can be made larger than the inlet, however, according to safety rules, it cannot be smaller than the first. Paired exit windows are sometimes used for the same reasons. It is not doors that should be used as control elements, but latches, when closing them it is impossible to preserve the gaps. When the steam room is heated for the first time, the valves are closed 100% until the air reaches the desired temperature.

The use of position controlled elements is also useful because the amount of air flow must be adjusted according to the season. When temperatures are freezing outside, even a very small stream of air brings a lot of cold. Therefore, you should not completely open the ventilation windows. The cross-sections of such windows should, on average, be 24 sq. cm per 1 cubic meter m of internal volume.But these are only preliminary figures, and if in doubt about the result obtained, it is worth contacting qualified heating engineers for calculations.

It is categorically impossible to put ventilation windows at the same height or even directly opposite each other, since this will not allow heating all the air in the bath sufficiently. In addition, such a design will not allow the air masses to be mixed evenly, which means that it will be necessary to thoroughly calculate the accuracy of the location of the ventilation elements. It is recommended to place exhaust windows just below the ceiling, because after heating the air immediately rushes upward.

The ventilation device in the bath varies according to the design of the room and its total volume. Natural ventilation is based on the difference in temperature and pressure inside and outside. To make it work efficiently, the air inlet is organized near the stove, at a level of 25-35 cm from the floor. An exit hole is made on opposite walls about 15-25 cm below the ceiling. But it is important to consider that such a scheme is not good enough for steam rooms, since it is relatively cold down there, and always hot up above.

Natural air movement in such a situation is too difficult to organize., you will have to very carefully and accurately place the components of the ventilation system. A forced scheme does not always require the use of electronic control systems, with complex panels, and so on. There are simpler options, when ventilation windows, placed in a special way, are complemented by an exhaust fan. The combination of such components is especially effective when the bath is located inside the house, the windows are not placed inside the outer wall, but are connected to the exits with a long ventilation box. Duct fans must be selected very carefully, because the conditions of their operation in baths differ from the usual parameters.

The peculiarity of such devices consists in increased waterproofing of electrical circuits and main mechanical parts, in adaptation to work at high temperatures without consequences for technology. The condition of supply ventilation and its arrangement in each room is adapted to individual characteristics and to the type of bath. It follows that the time spent on calculations and thinking through the project is not wasted - it will save a lot of money and time, and get the best result sooner.

As is already known, the bulk of projects involves the location of the entrance windows near the furnaces 0.25-0.35 m from the floor. With this design, the stove transfers heat to the air supplied from the outside, and a flow arises that moves in the direction of the exhaust. Having overcome all the distance, the hot and street currents eventually cover the entire volume of the steam room, and the area where the upper shelf is located is the hottest.

In the second version, by installing an exhaust fan, it is possible to mount the inlet and outlet openings on the same wall. The air flow is directed first towards the heater. Having received a heat impulse, it begins to rise to the ceiling and moves in a wide arc that encompasses the entire room. This approach will be effective if the bathhouse is built into the house and has only one outer wall, and there is no need to equip a ventilation duct.

If a bath with a leaking floor is created, the opening window is placed in the same place as in the first case., directly next to the oven. When the heated air gives off heat in the upper lobe of the steam room, it cools down and sinks to the floor, leaving through the holes in the flooring. Such a technique improves the evaporation of the water accumulating at the bottom and allows you to delay the failure of the wooden floor. The hood is placed either in the next room or in isolated ducts that do not allow air to return to the steam room. The complexity of the flow path makes the fan mandatory.This option is used very rarely, since it is not easy to calculate everything accurately, to provide for the details properly.

Another type provides for a continuously operating oven, the blowing hole of which replaces the hood. For the inflow, a window is made under the shelf opposite the oven itself and at the same level. Cold air displaces the heated mass upward, and when the parts of the stream that have given off heat descend, they go into the blower channel. There are even more complex systems when a pair of inlet and a pair of outlet ventilation windows are placed (necessarily with a forced type of circulation). It is rather difficult to regulate complicated complexes, but their efficiency is higher than in the simplest cases.

The Bastu system is the placement of inlet openings (with adjustable dampers) behind or under the oven. The organization of vents under the stove is optional, although highly desirable. Through these openings, air enters the room from the underground part of the bath, which is connected to the external atmosphere by the vents of the foundation. When the bath is done in a previously finished room, you need to choose a room with a pair of external walls; when preparing the basement, an angle is chosen that meets the same requirements. The dimensions of the inlet and outlet are calculated according to general rules.

Installation of ventilation means that when the pipe is brought out to the outside, it is protected from the penetration of snow, dirt, rain and melt water. When this does not work, you can organize a ventilation box or direct the pipe upward, passing it through the ceiling and the roof. In the latter case, the canal is covered with an umbrella to prevent the penetration of the same precipitation and falling leaves inside. Providing a high level of ventilation means ventilating and drying all rooms, structural parts of the walls, floors, attics and under-roof spaces.

It is not difficult to find a step-by-step guide for installing ventilation in a bath, however, the simplest option turns out to be the use of asbestos-cement pipes and gratings, selected according to the diameter of the channel. If we talk about technical performance, the most effective and convenient design in frame-type walls is the use of supply valves. First, the valve is disassembled and circled on the wall with a circle marker, where future ventilation ducts will pass. To obtain holes in the casing, a drill is used, and large-diameter drills are taken, into which the jigsaw knife will easily pass.

Further:

• using the jigsaw itself, cut out a circle;
• remove wooden parts;
• take out the insulation and vapor barrier material;
• using a long drill, pierce the outer casing (this must be done in order to prevent mistakes when placing the outer valve lobe);
• mark a suitable hole outside and make it using long drills;
• the valve tubes are sawn off along the wall thickness.

When preparing a new building, it is imperative to calculate both the size of the holes and the required power of the fans. It is possible to establish ventilation even when it was not originally done. A common mistake is to rely on volley ventilation and the use of stove draft for dehumidification of the air. In principle, this scheme works, but it has serious drawbacks. So, when opening windows and doors, instead of lowering the temperature, steam is released into adjacent rooms.

It does not go out into the street, but turns into condensation. The heating of the air decreases only for a short time, and very soon it becomes uncomfortable in the bath again. To take advantage of the stove draft effect for ventilation, holes are needed, but they should only be made at the bottom.This will ensure the flow of air from adjacent rooms, where fresh portions will be supplied from the outside. The gate and doors of the furnace itself help to regulate the ventilation, to increase the flow they are opened to the limit, and to weaken them they are partially covered (to avoid the ingress of carbon monoxide).

A simple calculation can only be made for forced ventilation., and the natural flow of air is much more complex and is subject to a number of different factors. Among them, special attention should be paid to the strength and direction of the wind that blow in a specific area. If the outlet is on the side from which strong winds are directed, this can lead to inflow mass flowing into it (the so-called reverse draft effect or its overturning).

Prevention of such a negative phenomenon seems simple - it is the lengthening of the channels that are brought out in the right direction or the use of turns in them. But each turn makes the job more difficult and slows down the speed of air exit or intake. The solution would be to orient the inflow inlet to the side where the wind is mainly blowing by placing the outlet on the opposite side or on the roof (with a tall chimney).

It is not worth using a ventilation duct in a block wall, in such cases, mount it on the inner wall and partition. According to experts, the best air duct is the one that is built of galvanized pipes. Plastic structures can be installed with care, carefully evaluating the temperature range for them. The gap from the pipe to the walls of the hole is filled with mineral wool or more modern insulation. Polyurethane foam helps to eliminate gaps at the entrance and exit.

When the furnace is placed in the dressing room, it is necessary to make a special ventilation duct based on galvanized steel, which is passed under the finished floors and supply air directly to the furnace door. It is necessary to create a channel before the final floor is laid. One edge of the pipe is inserted into the hole and fixed in it with polyurethane foam, clogged with a grid. An adjustable plug is installed on the edge suitable for the oven.

Good ventilation is one that avoids condensation on the ceiling surface. As for the subfloor, work on it begins with the preparation of the cement screed, which is tilted towards the drain pipe. The foundation is equipped with a pair of holes (in opposite walls, but not directly opposite each other). The air currents should follow the most intricate paths under the floor. The holes are plugged with valves, which will allow you to adjust the rate of movement of the jet in accordance with the current season.

In the bath, which was originally built without floor ventilation, it is required to drill the concrete base down to the ground. This will prove to be a decent substitute for full drainage when there is no desire to work on installing drain pipes. The ventilated floor must be decorated with lintels, which are used as pipes or a wooden beam with a section of 11x6 or 15x8 cm. The logs are covered with processed and well-polished oak boards.

In the Russian bath, unlike the usual washing, it is necessary to provide with the help of ventilation the following conditions:

• the temperature in the steam room is from 50 to 60 degrees;
• relative humidity - not less than 70 and not more than 90%;
• very fast drying of any wood surface after washing;
• prompt decrease in humidity while excluding drafts and opening doors;
• the same air quality in the steam room, as well as in the relaxation room, regardless of the season;
• preservation of all the traditional properties of the Russian bath.

No ventilation devices will help you escape from carbon monoxideif there is a constant flow. We'll have to continuously monitor the completeness of the firewood combustion, and only after all the coals have faded, shut off the chimney. The organization of the air flow in a chopped log bath takes place through the crowns of the walls.

This approach, for obvious reasons, is not suitable for brick construction. When the walls are sheathed with boards or clapboard, it is imperative to use ventilation holes, otherwise the negative effect of dampness will be excessively strong. In most cases, a 200x200 mm hole will be sufficient to bring pipes to the street. The choice of plastic or metal should be made in accordance with the specific project and operating conditions of the ventilation system.

A foam block bath must be ventilated inside the walls. The layers of waterproofing and cladding are separated by a ventilation gap, for the outer cladding it is 40-50 mm, and inside the bath - 30-40 mm. Typical construction involves the use of lathing, which already helps to support the wall cladding. In addition to in-wall ventilation, all rooms are equipped with an air intake at the bottom (most often behind the stoves) and an outlet (at the very ceiling). The advantage of the active air freshening system is that it can be placed anywhere.

A fan heater for a bath must have a certain level of thermal protection (at least IP44), its casing is always made of heat-resistant materials. Modern devices have a very high power and operate almost silently, the volume is no more than 35 dB.

In the role of ventilation holes in attics, you can use:

• special windows;
• aerators;
• spotlights.

Usually in buildings made of SIP panels, natural air circulation is used. But if in houses it is still possible to come to terms with the constant loss of heat outside, for baths this is categorically unacceptable. Therefore, schemes with a return flow of heat, or, in other words, utilization-type thermal installations, have become widespread. The use of metal pipes is contraindicated, because they create a lot of noise and worsen the thermal insulation inside the room. Natural air circulation can be used only for one-story buildings, but if there are two floors or the area is very large, auxiliary devices are needed.

The use of sewer pipes for extraction only seems strange and unnatural. Among all the available options, it is recommended to pay attention primarily to solutions from polypropylene, PVC and polyethylene. Easy installation (thanks to the rubber seal of the bells) and high resistance to destructive substances are the undoubted advantages of such structures. Also, when purchasing components for ventilation, you need to pay attention to the properties of the plugs and the characteristics of the chimney.

In winter, it is better to refuse to use supply fans, because they tend to draw in too cold air.If the outside air is very dirty, special filters are required. When calculating the required power of ventilation devices, one should be guided by the requirement to update all the air in the bath in a maximum of 15 minutes. In the steam room, the supply and exhaust devices are ideal, but in the dressing room and the rest room, you can safely limit yourself to the natural circulation mode. When choosing the location of the air vents outside the building, you need to pay attention to the aesthetic qualities of the structure, the same requirement applies to the pipes that are brought out to the outside, to the fungi of aerators and valves.

If a swimming pool is equipped in the bath, the air in this part should be 2-3 degrees warmerthan in other parts of the room, and its humidity should not exceed 55-60%. The use of flexible ducts is considered a much better solution than the use of rigid pipes. Taking into account all these recommendations, you can easily create a ventilation system with your own hands or supervise specialists.

For information on how to make ventilation in the bath with your own hands, see the next video.