What is a shelf in a bathhouse?
An important factor when placing benches in a bathhouse is the area of the room itself: in a small steam room, a couple of benches of different heights are enough, but if there is free space, corner shelves are placed in several tiers.
The multi-tiered canopy organization system allows you to choose the most comfortable steaming temperature. The higher the shelf level, the hotter it is. The distance from the last shelf to the ceiling should be at least 120 cm, which will allow the average person not only to lie on the top tier, but also to sit and steam with a broom.
From the floor to the lower tier, the height should be at least 25 cm and no more than 40 cm. The optimal height between tiers is considered to be 50 cm. The width of the canopies is about 40 cm (for sitting) and over 60 cm (for lying).
The length of the shelf in the bathhouse is selected in accordance with the height of the tallest guest or family member. The person should lie comfortably so that their feet do not rest against the stove or another guest.
Types of curtains in the bathhouse
- Bench shelves. Suitable only for sitting, but considered the most popular.
- Beds. You can lie and sit on them.
- Sun loungers. An alternative to a bench and a couch.
Canopies should not be placed near a hot stove (this can lead to injury) or near windows (when hovering with a broom, the glass may be accidentally broken, which will cause injury). Bath shelves are extremely simple, functional and do not require special care.
Decorative elements are not welcome, since at high temperatures and humidity from hot steam, artificial ornaments can release toxic substances. Making shelves for a bathhouse with your own hands is quite simple even for an untrained person. It is worth preparing the material and carefully following the instructions.
Method of assembling a retractable structure
Separately, it is worth dwelling on the technology of assembling the retractable system. To do this, beams are mounted on the end walls. On them and on the side parts of the couch, axles are fixed from the inside, onto which wooden planks-levers are put on. It is advisable to cut the corners on these slats so that the mechanism moves smoothly.
The thickness of the bars in the end parts of the sunbed frame and on the walls should be equal. To securely fix the levers on the axles and allow them to move without play, wooden washers are put on them.
This design allows you to move the shelves only 0.8 times the length of the wooden arms. They serve as a support for the bed when extended or retracted.
A similar mechanism is provided for steam rooms in which the size of the shelves in the sauna matches the length of the wall.
Material for bath canopy
Wood for a bath shelf must meet several criteria:
- Do not release resin when heated.
- Excellent tolerance to elevated air temperatures and humidity.
- Be resistant to fire.
- Have reduced thermal conductivity so that the material does not heat up and allows visitors to relax on the warm wood of the shelf.
- Be stable in use (do not delaminate, without knots and splinters).
Coniferous wood is not suitable for constructing a bathhouse canopy. The material will release a lot of resin, which becomes extremely hot in the bath, sticks to the body, hair and clothes, and can also cause a burn.
It is recommended to build the frame of the canopy from inexpensive pine, but not the sunbeds themselves. The resin will allow the frame legs to more easily tolerate moisture and not rot.
Suitable for bath canopy seats:
- Linden is a popular material with an optimal price-quality ratio. It is worth noting the pleasant light shade of linden, its delightful aroma, low thermal conductivity and high performance characteristics.
- Alder is a practical and durable wood, but the price of the material is slightly higher than linden. Alder heats up less and demonstrates high resistance to elevated temperatures and humidity.
- Aspen is an excellent and inexpensive material for a bathhouse, durable and reliable, not prone to rotting, but after a while the wood turns gray.
- Abash (African oak) is an elite type of wood that does not split during installation, does not rot, does not change its size after installation, does not easily absorb moisture, and does not change its color. The main advantage of wood is the complete absence of knots.
About wood protection
Even heat-treated wood needs protection in a bath or sauna. To extend the service life of the material, use antiseptics, special hard primers and oils, wax, natural oil (for example, linseed, ricin). It is strictly not recommended to use oil paint and drying oil; When heated, they begin to release harmful chemicals.
Manufacturers offer special impregnations for shelves. These are environmentally friendly, certified materials based on oil or water emulsion. The compositions are suitable for both untreated and already oiled surfaces; they are deeply absorbed, leaving a water- and dirt-repellent film on the surface. The impregnation is odorless and colorless; it does not change the natural shade of the wood, but makes it more expressive.
It is recommended to use special impregnations for shelves Source gurupola.ru
Not all experts agree with the need to open shelves with complex compounds. Whatever the impregnation made industrially, it contains chemical components. And in the steam room it is important to focus on the naturalness of the decoration, furniture and all coatings; only then can you count on a healing effect. Therefore, many owners limit themselves to linseed oil or even refuse to impregnate hardwood shelves. In the latter case, the surfaces will darken faster, but will create the atmosphere of an authentic bath interior.
DIY bathhouse shelves (step by step)
Before you make shelves in the bathhouse with your own hands, you need to draw the future structure, distributing the number of shelves and sunbeds, their height and length, based on the dimensions of the room.
When calculating materials, it is important to take only beams with dimensions of 50 by 50 mm or 50 by 80 mm.
The maximum cross-section of the beam should not exceed 100 mm (there is no point in taking thicker beams). The step between the 50 by 50 mm leg supports is at least 60 cm. The smaller the diameter of the bar, the more often the supports are placed.
- The thickness of the frame board should be at least 25 mm, and the width should be 4 times the thickness. The boards are placed at intervals of 1-2 cm. The wood must be carefully sanded, eliminating any knots and cracks.
- To fasten the frame you will need zinc screws and corners. Installation of the canopy begins with the construction of the upper tier adjacent to the wall. The required number of supports and crossbars are cut.
The strapping bars are attached to the wall at the calculated height. Under the harness, support bars and intermediate ones are placed, which are fastened to the second row of support bars with jumpers. The supports of the second row are tied together using jumpers. The bottom row trim is attached to the outer supports. The process is repeated.
Advice from the experts
Experienced craftsmen advise using the method of cutting into half a tree instead of steel corners. Rubber pads or plastic plates are placed under the racks to reduce the effect of moisture on the wood body.
During installation, it is necessary to use a building level to identify frame deviations.
- The screws should not stick out, so you need to carefully select the length of the material and compare it with the thickness of the board.
- It would be a good idea to treat the wood with antiseptic solutions, which are recommended for use inside the bath complex.
- The impregnation should not release toxic substances when heated.
After bathing procedures, it is necessary to thoroughly ventilate the room and wipe the benches with clean cloths. Building shelves in a bathhouse will not be difficult, and properly selected wood will last for decades, giving a feeling of comfort and bliss when visiting the steam room.
How to care for shelves
Despite the fact that making shelves does not require serious financial investments and labor costs, any bathhouse owner does not want to redo them every few years due to loss of appearance, mold or other problems. Simple rules for caring for bath furniture will help you avoid them:
- Each time after completing the bath procedures, the steam room must be ventilated by opening the door and window, if any.
- To speed up the drying of the shelves, wipe them with a dry cloth that absorbs water well.
- During drying, all water from containers must be poured out or closed with lids.
- Things remaining on the surface should be removed, and traces of dirt and soapy compounds should be washed off. You cannot use abrasive or chemically aggressive products for this.
Regular cleaning and ventilation are required to extend the life of bath furniture Source scontent-cdg2-1.cdninstagram.com
In general, the interior of the bathhouse should be kept clean and dry, periodically carrying out general cleaning. It is better to make the beds of the shelves in the steam room removable, and in hot weather take them out to dry in the sun.
