DIY assembly tips for shelves in a bathhouse

Bath is a great way to relax and improve your health. Including a home steam room at its summer cottage. But this structure fulfills its functions only if everything is done correctly. Design errors in this case are not just unpleasant, but can be dangerous. Shelves in the bathhouse with your own hands are quite possible, but there are some subtleties that will be discussed in the article.

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What does the view depend on?

Before you make shelves in the bath with your own hands, you need to choose a design. It depends on two factors:

• premises area;
• floor heights.

It should be taken into account and features of the location. Shelves can only be placed near solid walls in which there are no windows or other glass parts, for example, ventilation outlets. There are several options for location:

• near one wall, when the shelves are in several tiers;
• near two opposite walls;
• in the shape of the letter G;
• in the shape of the letter P, that is, at three walls.

Important! Typically, shelves have no more than three tiers.

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Make a sketch

The answer to the question of how to make shelves in the bathhouse with your own hands will be easier to find if you estimate several options for location. It is best to draw a simple sketch. You do not have to be an artist for this. You can, for example, sketch a floor plan, think about how much space the shelves will occupy and apply them to scale.

Important! A useful thing is a wall sketch, also made to scale. You can use computer programs like AutoCAD.

After you determine the location and approximate dimensions, you can proceed with the calculations.

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Why tiers?

Why is the step-by-step principle of shelving used most often in baths? Let's remember the school physics course. Heated air is lighter than cold, so it inevitably ends up. Then it cools down and goes down. The closer to the ceiling, the warmer. The number of tiers in the Russian and Finnish baths differ:

• in Finnish, there are usually three of them;
• in Russian, a two-tier construction is used.

Important! If the Russian bath is high enough, there can be three tiers.

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We make calculations

In order to build shelves for the bath with your own hands, it is better to build drawings yourself too, since this approach allows you to take into account all the features of your steam room. Shelves in three-tier execution have the following minimum width:

• top - 90 cm;
• average - 60 cm;
• lower - 30 cm.

Important! Another standard is possible in a two-tier structure - the upper shelf has a width of 0.6 m, the lower one - 0.3 m. Their length can vary from 150 to 180 cm, depending on the specific conditions and the growth of those who will be washed.

Before you make a project, calculate their estimated dimensions in the drawing:

1. Measure the height of the room.
2. Determine which side the shelves will be on.
3. Draw on a scale the wall near which you intend to place the structure.
4. Mark the ceiling in the drawing.
5. Determine how many centimeters corresponds to a distance of 1.1 m, lay it off the ceiling line.
6. Calculate at the selected scale what distance corresponds to 0.3 m in real dimensions, and set it aside from the bottom line.
7. Determine what size in the drawing corresponds to the actual distance of 0.5 m, that is, the height of each tier.
8. Calculate whether one more will fit between the lower and upper tiers that are already on the drawing.

Important! Here are a few additional standards that will come in handy to competently make shelves in the bathhouse with your own hands:

• 50 cm is the minimum distance between tiers, but it can be more.
• The gap between the upper shelf and the ceiling is at least 1.1 m so that you can steam there while sitting and use the broom without interference.
• The lower step usually has a width of 0.4 m. It is most often made attached and not attached to the floor so that you can do quality cleaning and drying.

If the bathhouse is small and you want to save space, you can make shelves in the bathhouse sliding - extendable or in the form of a book. But it is quite possible that you will come up with some kind of your own version. The main thing is that the distances correspond to the normative.

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Choose materials

Bath - a room where there is often high temperature and very high humidity. Accordingly, the requirements for the material will be quite high. It should be:

• moisture resistant;
• resistant to high temperatures;
• if possible not contain tar, which tends to surface when heated:
• have low thermal conductivity;
• with high fiber density.

Best breeds

Shelves are made of wood. But are all breeds suitable? Unfortunately not. The best options:

• Linden;
• aspen;
• Birch;
• poplar;
• African Abashi.

Important! Maple is also suitable for a Russian bath.

Here are some things to consider when choosing:

• An ideal tree is considered abashi. It has only one drawback - a very high cost, because they carry it in the literal sense for distant lands.
• Many people prefer linden and aspen traditional for Eastern Europe. Linden is good if you are not afraid of the fact that it quickly darkens. As for aspen and poplar, there is a great risk of stumbling onto marriage. The board may look just perfect from the outside, but it may turn out to be rotten inside.
• As for birch, such boards are short-lived, and in addition, they need special care. They must be dried, because the wood of this tree is prone to rapid decay.

In Finnish steam rooms, conifers are often used. But the air in the sauna is much drier than in a Russian bath. Pine and spruce boards are little susceptible to decay, but if they are used to decorate the steam room, they must be very well dried.

Important! The optimal size of the beam is 50x70 mm.

How to fix it?

The best option is wooden nails, which are inserted into specially made holes. Is it possible to fix the elements of the bath with traditional nails or self-tapping screws? Can. But there is one safety requirement - all metal elements must be recessed no less than 0.5 cm. It is better to position them so that during washing there is no risk of touching them, that is, in those parts that are located below or from the back sides of the structure.

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Choose a design

How to make shelves in the steam room with your own hands, so that it is convenient, useful and beautiful? There are several designs:

• sunbed;
• bench;
• deck chair.

The sunbed is a straight bed, which has a bias for the head. This most spacious shelf can be 90 cm wide. The size of the bench is smaller, 30 cm is enough. It serves to make it mostly washed while sitting. On a chaise lounge can be located in a reclining position.

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Some more considerations

Choosing a tree and developing a project is not all. Please note that between the shelf and the wall there should be a gap of about 10 cm or even a little more. It is needed for ventilation. This is easy to do if the shelves are sliding or portable. When they are fastened tightly, the gap is made using a beam, which is attached to the wall. The frame is already fixed to this beam.

Important! It should be noted that the number of frame elements depends on the thickness of the beam. Shelves must be reliable enough to easily withstand several people.

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Start building

What does a bath shelf consist of? It is no accident that they call it a shop. In fact, these are shops. They have different heights, they can be arranged as you wish. And they make bath shelves with their own hands just like benches, only with observance of certain standards. They have:

• frame;
• flooring.

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Types of Frames

Boards are attached to the frame. It is usually made of support posts, very similar to the legs of a classic bench. Racks are connected by jumpers. This is the most popular option, but there are others. For example:

• In modern saunas, sometimes something like a staircase kosour is found - shelves are placed on it, like steps.
• In the Finnish bath, a design very similar to a carriage is used, that is, sun loungers are attached directly to the walls.

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Flooring

It consists of several boards, very well polished. They are laid with a distance of 1-2 cm from each other. There are two ways to attach to the chassis:

• separate boards are attached to the racks;
• a floor is piled up, which is not attached to the racks, but simply laid on top.

Important! Each method has its advantages. For example, removable flooring is easier to dry and ventilate - this can also be done outdoors.

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Cooking frame

Shelves, first of all, should be safe. That is, before you put together benches, you need to carefully process all the boards and beams - they should not be chipping. For the upper tier, 4-6 racks are made, for which a solid beam with a section of 50x100 mm is needed, but even better than 100x100 mm.

Farther:

1. Treat the board with an antiseptic.
2. Mark the position of the rear walls on the wall.
3. Fix the rear walls - this can be done with screws.
4. Screw the horizontal beams connecting the frame, the ends to the opposite walls.
5. Attach along the entire length of the cross-member - they are equal to the width of the shelf, taking into account the gap between the wall and the shelf.
6. Attach the rear beam to the uprights - this can also be done with screws.
7. Install the front uprights parallel to the rear.
8. Do not forget to put rubber under the ends of the front struts.
9. Level check verticality.
10. Install the front beam by connecting it to the uprights.
11. Saw the grooves in the beams so that you can put the cross-members, the distance between the grooves is 0.6 m.
12. Place the crossbars in the grooves and secure with screws or wooden nails
13. Install bars between the uprights for stiffness.
14. Lay the flooring.

Important! If you make several tiers, first make the frame for the top, and then attach the rest to it.

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Stock footage

There are a lot of options for bath shelves. The most important thing is to correctly place them and use those types of wood that are most suited to your tasks. The work is laborious, but everyone is trying for himself and his family, so the result can be very good.