Features of building a bath with an attic

A bath is a great way to relax your body and soul. Those who have a plot of land outside the city sooner or later ask themselves the question of building a personal spa in Russian.

Some time ago, the bathhouse was mainly a one-story building. Nowadays, more and more often projects include an attic or a second full-fledged floor. If the latter option is costly, and the use of such areas is not envisaged, then the option with an attic is an excellent solution. The upper level can act as a recreation area for feasts, a billiard room, a guest room.

There are a number of advantages of a bath with an attic:

• relatively low price compared to a full-fledged two-story building;
• the possibility of arranging additional areas;
• compactness of the structure on the site;
• original design of the second level.

The disadvantages include the following aspects:

• the need to carry out additional insulation work between the first and attic floors;
• the need for insulation of the attic roof;
• additional costs for the roof associated with the architectural features of the building.

Construction firms offer services for the construction of baths with ready-made drawings and plans, but they can make a sketch with an individual layout.

There are different types of architectural features of the construction of a bath:

• Box with an attic. The easiest and, therefore, the cheapest option for a summer cottage. On the ground floor there is a recreation room and a dressing room, a steam room, a sink and a toilet, the second floor is occupied by a guest room equipped as a bedroom or a billiard room.

• Mansard bath with a covered veranda. The covered veranda can be used to arrange extra sleeping places in the summer, as well as cool off after the steam room, without being noticed by the neighbors. The construction of such a room will cost a pretty penny, because it needs to be glazed and finished from the inside.

• Bath with a terrace. An alternative to the veranda can be an open terrace. The furnishings are less intimate, but cheaper and provide an opportunity to fully enjoy nature and fresh air.

• Bath with a balcony. A balcony is a complex architectural element. Projects with it are more expensive, and the construction process is more technological.

There are combined projects of baths: with a balcony and a veranda, with a balcony and a terrace.

The most popular material in modern construction of baths is timber. It is made from logs and glued boards. The raw materials for the production of timber are pine, cedar, larch. Different types of wood differ in their individual properties.

Pine timber is lightweight, easy to use, inexpensive material, but it does not tolerate moisture well, dries out, deforms and cracks. Cedar is an expensive material, denser, has good thermal conductivity, does not dry out much, besides, the content of a large amount of resin prevents the growth of fungus and mold. Larch is resistant to high humidity, but does not have high thermal conductivity.

Depending on the technology of wood processing, lumber is divided into:

• Massive timber: a budget option for those who plan to use the bath only in the summer.
• Profiled bar: each bar is processed in such a way that no gaps are formed during the installation of the flashing rings, but the crowns reliably close together.
• Glued laminated timber has good characteristics for building a bath, but is considered a more expensive material.
• A rounded log is a classic option for building a bath. Such material is suitable for self-construction of an object.

The foam block is not the most popular material for building a bath, but it has its advantages:

• low cost of the finished building;
• easy installation method;
• low heat transfer;
• baths from foam blocks do not burn.

But there are also enough disadvantages:

• absorbs moisture quickly;
• low frost resistance, not suitable for the construction of facilities in places where winters are harsh;
• susceptible to fungi and mold;
• fragility of the building - no more than 15 years.

Brick is one of the most reliable materials for the construction of residential buildings and outbuildings. The material has a number of advantages that clearly make it a leader. But is this material good for building a bath?

Advantages of brick baths:

• due to its strength and bearing capacity, brick is ideal for the construction of tall buildings, including baths with an attic;
• the material allows you to choose any architectural form and configuration of the building, with it you can implement any design ideas;
• brick objects do not require external finishing;
• do not flare up in case of fire;
• not susceptible to fungi and mold;
• a brick structure has a long service life.

Cons of brick baths:

• a reinforced foundation is required for the construction;
• interior decoration required;
• brick is a very expensive material, building a bathhouse may seem like unnecessary waste;
• the construction of a brick bath is a long process, while a wooden frame can be bought ready-made;
• the brick heats up for a very long time, it will have to be heated in advance.

I would also like to note that the usual wooden baths are very atmospheric, it is extremely pleasant to be in them, sincerely, you can feel the fusion with nature. A brick building will not produce this effect.

Frame baths are optimal for self-construction. The technology avoids the complicated process of strengthening the foundation, but the need for interior and exterior decoration remains mandatory.

There are standard sizes of baths for summer cottages to order. When choosing the necessary one, one should take into account the size of the site itself, the proximity of other architectural forms, the frequency of using the bath, as well as the maximum possible number of people who want to steam at the same time.

This construction option is chosen by those who want to save free space on the site, but do not deny themselves the relaxation in the bath. Moreover, this option will not seem cramped, it can easily accommodate a small family of 4 people.

Even such a small bathhouse can be built with a small open terrace. If desired, the terrace can be excluded, thereby increasing the area of ​​the rest room or washing room, and the porch can be removed outside the main building.

The indicated dimensions, it would seem, differ little from the previous version, but even looking at the drawings, we can say with confidence that such a bath is much freer and can accommodate more people. For lovers of winter recreation in a large company, a building with a spacious recreation area is suitable. This can be achieved by sacrificing the terrace.

But even with an open veranda, the bathhouse does not seem cramped: the recreation room occupies 16 sq. m, and the second floor is as much as 19 sq. m, which can be divided by a partition into 2 full rooms or create an open space with massage chairs, billiards, a large TV and sofas.

For baths with such parameters, construction firms suggest considering options with balconies. Most often, the balcony is located above the open terrace. Both the one and the other element are about 1.5 m wide. This is enough to place a couple of chairs, a table, and hang a hammock in the fresh air.

Bath with a total area of ​​almost 100 sq. m is truly royal. Such a structure can accommodate at least 15 people. Most often, such objects are erected at recreation centers, because such a building is considered not only expensive during the construction phase, but also during maintenance. However, there are big fans of the bathing pastime among individuals.

Such a space can be accommodated as a standard set of premises: a terrace, an entrance hall, a recreation room, a bathroom, a steam room, a shower - on the 1st floor, a guest room, a balcony, a hall - on the second, or supplement the layout with a kitchen, a swimming pool, a fireplace.

Introducing a bathhouse, the first association that arises in relation to style is country. And it doesn't matter what kind of country it is. You can give the decoration purely Russian roots - a kind of hut with platbands with wood carvings, with a dam and a veranda like a canopy. Inside, in the rest room, you can spread a tablecloth with a characteristic ornament, put a samovar, from which, by the way, you can drink healthy herbal tea in between visits to the steam room. It is important that the bathhouse is a log house, then no finishing material outside and inside is required.

Another interesting solution would be a chalet-style building. It is best if the project of the attic bath will include an open terrace and a balcony. Large windows in the recreation room and on the second floor will create a feeling of maximum closeness to nature.

The set of tools for building a bath depends on the type of construction and the type of material.

There are devices that are used in the construction of any object:

• Concrete mixer. You will have to breed a lot of cement, especially for the foundation. Manual mixing will take a lot of time and effort, it will not allow you to thoroughly stir the composition, so it is better to get a special concrete mixer.
• Building level. This device is very important for the construction of walls, floor screed length, for roofing work.
• Hydro level or water level. The height of the supporting structures around the perimeter must be the same. The device works on the principle of communicating vessels and allows you to align all vertical elements.

• Chainsaw or electric saw. Such tools will be needed if the main material for the construction of a bath is based on wood.
• Drill or hammer drill.
• Schurovert. It is better to choose an electric, hand-held tool will increase the construction time of the object, besides, it will take a lot of effort from the builder.

• Jigsaw. You cannot do without this device, especially if the bath is built from logs or beams with crowns. An electric jigsaw in the hands of a master is able to make cuts of any size and complexity.
• Straight and obtuse ax.
• A hand or electric plane will help level wood surfaces.

• Mallet.
• Doboinik.
• Ticks.
• Chisel.
• File.

• Hacksaw.
• Roulette.
• Ladder or stepladder.
• Bit.

This list may not be complete, but it does cover a list of the basic building tools that are needed.

After all the tools and materials have been assembled, you can start construction work.

The construction of a bath with an attic takes place in several stages:

This is a complex technological process. The service life of the object depends on how the foundation is laid, so this issue should be approached thoroughly.

For the construction of a bath, a strip rubble foundation on a sand cushion will be preferable. To do this, using lighthouses, fishing lines or bobbins, a perimeter is marked and a trench is dug with a depth of at least 50 cm.The bottom of such a depression is covered with 15 cm of sand, which is then moistened with water and well compacted.

The pillow is ready, you can start formwork. The sides of the trench are reinforced with boards or plywood sheets, which are fastened together so that the fasteners are outside. They are lined with roofing material or a thick film, a reinforcing frame is installed to give the structure strength, the trench is poured with a prepared concrete mixture.

Before pouring the outer part of the foundation, you should take care of the required amount of airflow. They can be made using plastic pipes. It is important to constantly monitor the level of the strip foundation in order to build even walls in the future.

The strip foundation dries up in about 3 weeks. Removal of formwork is possible in 2-15 days, depending on the mixture. Waterproofing the foundation must be done with roofing material or hydrosol, beams 0.5 cm thick are laid on top, the so-called stacking row - protection of the floor covering from decay.

A ready-made frame can be installed on the finished foundation. Otherwise, the logs are laid out according to the system: dovetail, thorn-groove or in a quarter. The wood should be treated with a special antiseptic.

The roof installation process directly depends on the selected type of roof. The broken structure of the attic floor is considered difficult to install, but it is this that allows you to get a larger amount of usable space. In the course of roofing works, insulation and insulation works are also carried out.

Internal work begins with the construction of a staircase, which can be made to order or on your own. Then an iron or stone stove is installed, benches for a steam room. The washroom and the pool in modern saunas are finished with tiles.

For those who doubt their abilities, you should not start building a bath on their own. Such self-activity can lead to inappropriate waste of building material, besides, the properties of the resulting bath can be disappointing.

You can buy a ready-made log house 4x5 or 4x4 sq. m, which will be made using technology that excludes depressurization. But the owner, in any case, will have to resolve the issue with the roof and foundation.

It is best to entrust the work to professionals. They will erect an object in a short time, connect the necessary communications, install a furnace, a drainage system according to technology, and will be able to carry out work on the installation of the pool.

The owners of saunas with an attic floor appreciate all the positive aspects of the building, regardless of whether the building was erected independently or with the help of a team of builders.

Those who like to take a steam bath say that well-done work on insulating the roof and ceilings between the first and second floors does not allow hot air and steam to quickly erode. And the use of the steam room all year round makes it possible to place guests on the attic floor both in winter and in summer.

There are also positive comments regarding the saving of usable space on the land. The second additional floor contributes to this.

One of the disadvantages is considered to be additional spending on the roof and insulation of the object, but this is not an obstacle in choosing just such a project for a bath.

Limited space - this is the case when you need a small sauna with an attic and a sloping roof, but including a spacious outdoor terrace. Ideal for narrow spaces.

The terrace does not have to adjoin the main structure, being located along it. Forms closer to the square can adjoin the building with their butt ends and have practically independent meaning. To organize an outdoor dinner in such a gazebo, it is not necessary to heat the bathhouse.

In order to save space on the site, you can combine a bathhouse with a garage or make an annex for a barn.A harmonious design can be created if the building is sheathed outside, walls and ceiling inside with clapboard.

For information on how to build a frame bath, see the next video.