We evaluate the pros and cons of glass doors to the steam room of Russian and Finnish baths, figure out how to install, what sizes they come in and what reviews say

The choice of steam room doors is limited to wood and glass . Nobody wants to put plastic in a hot room. Wood is traditional, and glass doors to the bathhouse came from the Finns. Well, let’s figure out together what the pros and cons of both are, and then we’ll deal with technical issues - dimensions and installation of a glass door in the steam room.

Glass doors to the sauna steam room: advantages and disadvantages

First, let's remember what is typical for a sauna : high temperature and low humidity. In such an atmosphere, both wood and glass find themselves in more advantageous conditions than in a Russian bathhouse.

Wood tends to increase in size due to moisture , which is why doors made from it stop closing. But in a sauna this problem is not relevant . Therefore, we cannot say that glass, which does not change its dimensions under the influence of temperature (at least in the range for which it is designed), has a clear advantage over wood in a sauna.

Moreover, on sale you will find different variations of glass doors to the steam room: without edging, with edging - wooden or aluminum. Wood can also be different - pine, linden, etc. But the most important thing is heat-treated wood , that is, it is prepared for use in sauna mode.

Wooden steam room door made of softwood - pay attention to resin stains

In addition to preserving the original geometry, glass has heat resistance - thick tempered glass , which can easily withstand the temperatures of a Finnish steam room. And we know that it can be raised to 120 degrees, but only at the cost of damage to health.

Wood is, by definition, a combustible material. Although the normal situation in the sauna does not lead to fire.

However, wood can crack over time (this happens if it is not dried correctly), and glass has a real advantage in this regard - if it is not broken, it will last longer than wood .

The fragility of glass is the main disadvantage of a glass door to a steam room. But the creators of high-quality doors were able to reduce it to a minimum: if tempered glass breaks, it does so into fragments that are not dangerous to the body and do not have sharp edges. In addition, a thickness of, say, 8 mm makes splitting less likely.

Useful video

Want to know how quickly 8mm glass will break if you alternately jump on it and hit it with a hammer? Then watch the crash test:

The second disadvantage is heat loss . No matter how much sauna lovers convince us that through the doors they are very small, we know that when calculating the required power of the stove, the area of ​​​​surfaces that do not have thermal insulation is . Including glass doors that will “increase” the volume of your steam room by several cubic meters. Simply put, that means more fuel, more work for your stove.

Now about condensation . The question about it is relevant for a Russian bath, and in a sauna the humidity should not rise above 15%, which at a temperature of 90 degrees makes condensation impossible . And if you buy transparent glass for your sauna, you don’t have to worry about it fogging up and condensation leaking under the door.

It is unlikely that door maintenance should be considered a disadvantage, but a glass door will require more frequent and thorough care than a wooden one .

LET'S SUM UP : glass doors for a sauna steam room are excellent, the material does not suffer from conditions, but the same applies to wood. If we leave aside aesthetic preferences, then glass in a sauna has no significant advantages over wood. But the opposite is also true .

Selection of accessories

Hinged doors are more often used to equip a bathhouse. For them to work, they need at least hinges and a handle. The choice of fittings is of great importance, because the correct operation of the door and its durability directly depend on it.

For a bathhouse, the minimum thickness of the door is 8 mm, while each square meter of glass sheet will weigh about 30 kg. If thicker glass of 10 mm is used, then its weight will be even greater. To hold such a canvas, you need to use strong loops. The most durable are steel canopies; there should be at least 3 of them: two canopies are installed at the edges, one in the middle of the sash. The number of hinges is calculated based on the fact that one canopy, depending on the design and material, can withstand 25-30 kg of weight. Metal hinges are perfect for black glass sauna doors.

Since a bathhouse is a place with high humidity, the metal must have a protective coating to prevent corrosion. Stainless steel is used to make canopies for such conditions.

As for the locking mechanisms, for security reasons, not locks, but latches are installed at the entrance to the steam room. In the most inexpensive models, ball-type products are mounted. They often become deformed, causing the mechanism to jam. A latch made on a magnetic basis is more reliable. Such products are more reliable, durable, and practical. The metal parts of the latches must also be made of stainless steel or other material that is not prone to corrosion, for example, aluminum and its alloys.

A silicone seal must be installed along the contour of the door in the bathhouse. It provides a tight rebate, eliminates door slams, and acts as a shock absorber. This is important for a glass sash.

Glass door to the steam room of a Russian bath: advantages and disadvantages

The conditions of the Russian steam room are very different from the Finnish ones. Humidity is much higher and temperatures are lower. In such an atmosphere, the tree inevitably swells. The exception is linden, which is why wooden doors to the steam room are recommended to be made from its wood.

It is in the Russian bath that the property of glass to preserve its original geometry is in demand.

But here’s the problem: manufacturers of doors made from it are focused on products for saunas, so they make a gap of several centimeters . That is, it is usually a door without gaps with a gap to the floor of 2-5 cm. For a sauna, which is based on strong constant convection (air heat exchange), this is a necessary detail. But in a Russian bath, uncontrolled convection is evil.

...usually this is a door without thresholds with a gap to the floor of 2-5 cm...

Therefore, traditional doors are made low and with high thresholds and: you need to leave enough space at the top - a “pocket for a steam cake”, and put an obstacle in the form of a threshold at the bottom so that cold air from outside does not penetrate the floor.

Ceiling and threshold in a Russian steam room

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the glass sheet will be able to be independently adjusted to the requirements of a Russian steam room.

IMPORTANT! There should be no gaps at the bottom if you have a Russian steam room.

But even if we assume that someone managed to make the required size to order, the next problem will be the already mentioned condensate .

Glass and tiles are the places where it forms first. Therefore, you should not be surprised if by the end of the procedures a puddle of drained condensate forms under the door. It goes without saying that the transparent glass will become matte, like a bathroom mirror.

Heat loss was discussed above. Nothing changes here: you have to pay for beauty.

CONCLUSION : glass does not swell and does not lead to damage. This is where the advantages end, because a standard door with a gap at the bottom is not suitable for a Russian steam room.

Useful tips

In order for bath procedures to bring true pleasure, in addition to the size, it is worth considering some other nuances of choosing doors.

• The tightness of the joint between the sash and the frame. Then no seals will be needed to reduce heat loss.
• The structure installed in the steam room opening must be made of heat-resistant materials. Otherwise, it will “lead” quite quickly, and the appearance of cracks is inevitable; it's just a matter of time.
• There must be a gap between the blade and the threshold. Otherwise, natural circulation of air flows will not be ensured.
• Structural elements (as well as their finishing), taking into account the specifics of the bath, should not contain toxic components.
• The peculiarity of the steam room (excessive humidity) makes it advisable to install a glass door in it. This will be much more expensive, but it's worth taking into account.

If you follow all the recommendations given, it is not difficult to choose the right door model for your bathhouse. Its material is at your own discretion, but it is still more advisable to choose structures made of wood. Good thermal insulation, environmental friendliness, reasonable cost and excellent appearance will be guaranteed.

Even a small bathhouse should have at least 2 doors: the entrance and the one that separates the steam room from the dressing room. Everyone can choose the color, shape, design of these products to suit their taste. Therefore, we will not touch on these parameters, but will talk about the length, width and thickness of the structures. It is probably not worth mentioning that the dimensions of doors for a bathhouse are very different from those installed in any other room. Since the temperature here must remain quite high, they are much smaller than usual.

The size of the glass door to the steam room

Each manufacturer has its own range of steam room door sizes. Typically, the “step” between adjacent sizes is 10 cm - either in width or height.

ATTENTION! Often the catalog gives the dimensions not of the door, but of the opening into which it should be installed. At the same time, the actual dimensions of the door with the frame (!) will be 10 mm smaller both vertically and horizontally. For example: 7x19 is an opening size of 700x1900 mm, but a door with a frame will be 690x1890 mm.

We looked through the catalogs and wrote down for you the sizes of two popular and one of the first brands we came across). You already know how to read 7x19, so we will present all the data in this format. Don't forget that these are the dimensions of the openings!

Useful video

If you need a non-standard door, here is an example of a custom report:

Characteristics

The first significant difference between a Russian bath and a Finnish sauna, which is difficult to miss, is the stove device:

1. In Russian baths, the stones are placed inside the heater, while the stove is tightly closed with a door. Steam is formed when water hits a hot surface. The closed design helps maintain the required temperature in the room over a long period of time.
2. The Finns install stoves with open space for stones. Warmth freely fills the room. The cooling of the stones occurs faster, because the heat is not retained.

The main difference between a sauna and a bathhouse is the presence of a swimming pool. The Finns took care of building a place for swimming after visiting the steam room. Previously, saunas were built in river areas, next to reservoirs. After steaming, the visitor rinsed in cool water, cooling the steamed body.

If it was not possible to build a sauna on the shore of the lake, they installed a wooden tub with a rope. After the steam room, it was enough to pull the rope so that the body was doused with cool liquid. Modern Finnish steam rooms are equipped with a swimming pool.

Residents of Finland insist that the benefits of steam procedures increase if exposure to steam is combined with a sharp temperature change. After visiting the steam room, polluting particles leave the pores, remaining on the surface of the skin. Bathing in cool water will cause the skin sockets to tighten, preventing the return of debris.

How to install a glass door in a steam room

The glass door leaf comes complete with frame, hinges, handle and lock. Moreover, everything is assembled and before installing the glass door in the steam room, you will need to disassemble the structure.

The installation of a glass door in a steam room is carried out as follows:

1. Remove the decorative covers - most often they are anodized plastic that protects the hinges from moisture.
2. Remove the screws that secure the canvas to the hinges. You may need a hex wrench for this.
3. Carefully remove the fabric from the loops. You can put it on wooden planks to make it easier to lift later.
4. The bottom part of the box is a technological strip; it is not needed in a threshold-free door, but it holds the structure during transportation. Therefore, the lower bar is removed on site.
5. The box is placed in the opening and fixed in it using wedges. At this stage, the use of a level is mandatory.
6. The fixed box is screwed to the opening with screws, after which the plugs are inserted.
7. Return the canvas to the hinges, fasten it with screws, keeping an eye on the vertical.
8. Install the handle according to the included instructions.
9. Return the decorative trims to their place.

Reference. Information about insulating bath doors will be of interest to site visitors.

Useful video

Instructional video “How to install a glass door in a steam room”:

Pros of installation

• Plastic structures are easily installed in the wooden walls of a bathhouse.
• PVC is not susceptible to rotting or fungal attack.
• Plastic doors with glazing allow light into the steam room, which has a beneficial effect on the microclimate.
• Large selection of door colors. In addition to classic white, you can choose to decorate with wood of different varieties and shades. There are two technologies for changing color - applying a color film over the profile, or introducing pigment into PVC during production. In this case, the entire profile array is painted, but the color is uniform without simulating wood texture.
• If a design with sandwich panels is chosen, the panels can be easily changed if necessary.
• Products using a plastic profile with 5 or more chambers retain heat well, which is important for steam rooms.
• PVC does not deform from moisture.

Glass door to the steam room: reviews

We always advise our readers to visit bathing forums , which are currently a storehouse of the most valuable information. This is the opinion of both professionals and ordinary bathhouse lovers. In particular, if you search for the topic “Glass door to the steam room,” reviews from real people there.

Here we found a thread on ForumHouse, in which there is a very heated discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of glass.

A brief retelling of what you will find on these pages (there are 11 of them at the time of publication of this article): a big admirer of the Russian bathhouse, ZYBY, claims that a glass door that is ideal for a sauna is not suitable for a Russian steam room. Many of those who answer him refute the arguments about the accumulation of condensation on the door and under it, but it is not entirely clear whether they really have a Russian bathhouse or some kind of mixture of bathhouse and sauna conditions.

However, you should take my word for it - almost everyone who has installed such a door in their home does not complain about it; on the contrary, they criticize wooden ones: entrance and interior ).

Another thing is strange: heat loss is spoken of as something insignificant that can be neglected .

Also in this or another thread (it is not the only one on this topic on the forum) there was a mention of low-quality magnetic locks , although magnetic locks are considered better than ball latches. We think that this is unlikely to be a mass phenomenon.

+++

If your priorities have been set for a long time, you will not have any difficulties in choosing which material to choose - wood or glass. If not, then it is better to familiarize yourself with the important points that will allow you to make a final decision on which door is best to install in the bathhouse.

Loops

Hinges - as a rule, two pieces are installed per door. For larger fabric sizes, three loops are used. Also, if you wish, you can add a third to any door, but this is true for Russian-made doors and to order.

The colors of the hinges are as follows: chrome, matte chrome or bronze.

The location of the loops can be on the left or right. On some doors, the location of the hinges can be changed independently, that is, the door turns out to be universal: both left and right opening.