Abash for a bath: characteristics, advantages, recommendations

How can a person who is not a wood specialist, but at the same time wants to do everything “to the highest standard,” not become a victim of the dishonesty of those who sell wood or write articles about it on the Internet?
Abash is a tree that Russia imports , so it is not cheap. We don’t know how much it costs in Africa itself, but here they sell it at a high price and tell tales to assure the buyer that he has made the best choice in his life.

We looked for purely technical information on Abash and compared it with similar characteristics of breeds more familiar to Russia. You can draw your own conclusions.

African tree: myths about abasha

But it’s worth starting with the heresy that we happened to read on the topic before we decided to write this article. Some statements are simply shocking... with the ignorance of the writers.

So, what do those who strive to advertise the product at any cost say?

The main emphasis, of course, is on the fact that you won’t get burned if you sit on the shelves in a steam room heated to sauna temperatures without a towel or sheet.

And then they begin to tell you how hard and dense the tree is, how easy it is to process and how resistant it is to various mechanical influences.

Someone will add that this African bathhouse tree does not rot at all and is extremely resistant to fungi .

It is also called oak - solely for marketing reasons, one must assume. Because those who call it "maple" at least do so because of the similarity of the leaves in shape to maples. And abashi has nothing in common with oak at all.

So, let's summarize. The main trick of the “sellers” is that something good in one thing must be made good in everything, and real dignity must be brought to a superpower. Elementary illiteracy can be added to this.

Abash for a bathhouse can be really good, although it is also important here - for what kind of bathhouse: Russian or Finnish? Because you won’t be able to get burned in Russian. Otherwise, wood is like wood - it burns and rots, it is stable according to its hardness class and nothing more.

Features of finishing work using abasha lining

If we consider abashi wood, conventional fasteners are not suitable for it. Experts recommend glue that is suitable specifically for wood. The abashi board is cleaned beforehand. It is important to carefully process the edges with a fine grain tape. Abash wood for baths is also suitable for making decorative elements. Glue can be applied in large quantities. Many people practice gluing in several layers. You will be able to surprise your friends with an interesting smell. Only new things smell like that. Even if there are small inserts in the sauna, they will create a good aroma.

What's in reality?

In reality, this is a fairly common tree species in West Africa, which precisely because of its prevalence cannot be too expensive. But, as they say, “a heifer is half a heifer overseas, but a ruble is transported.”

Without going into botanical subtleties, I would like to clarify that abash is closer in relation to ordinary mallow, and not at all to oak or maple. It’s just that in Africa, mallows managed to grow into large trees.

Now let's start dealing with errors. Why is it believed that abashi is a tree for bathing? Because it has low thermal conductivity and heat capacity .
In the case of wood, these characteristics will depend on the density of the species, and the density depends in part on the porosity and bound water within the fibers. IMPORTANT! The lighter the wood, the lower its density, the less it heats up.
But the lower the density, the lower the hardness! But for some reason this point does not seem obvious to many. Hardness is the resistance of a material to the penetration of another body. In what case will it be higher: when the structure is loose or when it is dense?

Here is larch - dense, heavy wood. Very difficult to process. But linden is soft, light, and can be processed even with an ordinary knife. Abashi in this case is much closer to linden. Which, by the way, is confirmed by the words of the sellers themselves, who say that abash is easy to process.

In wood, density and hardness are partly related to how well the wood will resist rotting. Because it’s easier for mushrooms to eat soft and light ones (we’ll add, which don’t contain resin).

But by the way! Abash has average resistance to rotting caused by fungi. This is better than linden and aspen.

Further. Let's compare the characteristics of such popular bathhouse species as linden, aspen and abash!

Technical characteristics and properties

Please note that the indicators of abasha are closest to aspen .
And it cannot be said that aspen is much inferior to it (in some ways it is even superior to abash). Separately, we present another plate that shows resistance to biological damage.

Pay attention to the paragraph that talks about fear of dampness - this is a reason to think about whether you have good ventilation .

In addition, it is worth mentioning that despite good nailability , the abash does not hold fastenings well . However, it sticks together perfectly .

And a little more about wood. The core and sapwood of abasha are practically indistinguishable from each other in color. But sapwood has a property - it is easier to rot and become infected . Consequently, some of the material will obviously be more vulnerable; maybe it’s worth thinking about impregnating it with at least oil or wax? Antiseptics are also used to prevent rotting. In addition, manufacturers offer wood that has undergone industrial impregnation - impregnated.

conclusions

Well, firstly, its thermal conductivity low, judging by the fact that its cube is one hundredweight lighter than an aspen cube.

Oddly enough, but abash, in our opinion, is very close to the properties of poplar (aspen is a type of poplar). Although some characteristics are, of course, better.

The good news is that it warps and cracks little or moderately. And in general, his performance is quite average. It takes only low thermal conductivity.

IMPORTANT! In this situation, only sauna owners need it. And even then, a towel may well make you insensitive to its absence.

In general, good top-class aspen is a worthy competitor to abashu in a steam room.

Recommendations for use

Abash is recommended to be used specifically for finishing a steam room. Thanks to this, the sauna will hold heat longer and cool down more slowly, which means less fuel will be consumed.

Let's highlight some of the most important tips when working with abash for a bath:

• It is necessary to use impregnations with a low working layer thickness so as not to affect the density and thermal conductivity of wood.
• To save money, you can combine abash with other tree species, for example, cedar.
• When working with the material, it is recommended to use gloves to avoid leaving marks on the wood.

• After bath procedures, it is important to regularly ventilate the steam room so that rotting processes do not begin and fungi do not start, since the wood quickly gives off moisture and the surface will be constantly moistened after the temperature in the room drops.
• The tree is constantly covered with black spots - this is the norm. These stains should be cleaned regularly with a soft brush.

In general, abash can be used not only in the steam room. The special structure of the wood eliminates the possibility of getting a splinter, therefore it is suitable for finishing a sink in the form of lining. In addition, the surface of the “African oak” is not slippery, which means that abash is also suitable for flooring.

What can be found on sale

Depending on what your task is, you can either buy a lining for a bathhouse made of abasha, or a plank for a shelf. There are no timber and logs, windows and doors, furniture for sale.

Lining

In online stores you can find a variety of offers with a wide range of prices, but we were primarily interested in dimensions and grade.

“Extra” class lining available , but also “A” and even “AB” lining - this, by the way, refutes another myth - that the tree is so wonderful that only “Extra” can be made from it. In fact, there are always defects, which is reflected by different grades.

Dimensions, as usual, vary among different manufacturers, but in general it is thickness from 12 to 13 mm, width 85, 90, 92, 96 mm (they do not write whether this size is indicated with or without a spike), length varies from 2 to 4 meters, but more often no more than 3 meters.

Abasha lining, photo “Stoves at Demyan’s”

shelves

Hmmm, we just now learned that the board, usually called “planken”, which is used to cover the frame of shelves, is often simply called “shelves” on sale .

So you can safely contact the sellers with a question about how much they buy abashi shelves for a bathhouse, and in response you will hear the price per linear meter of boards.

The usual dimensions of the board are as follows: width 95 mm, thickness 25 mm. Length up to 4 meters.

Lining installation technology

Abash lining is perfect for a bathhouse. You can install it yourself. To do this, you can use slats. They allow you to cover walls quite quickly and efficiently. If you need to update the surface, you can do it without difficulty.

Each subsequent lining board is installed in the groove of the previous one, and a galvanized clamp, which is a special clamp, is put on the protrusion. It is fixed to the sheathing batten with a screw and a self-tapping screw or a galvanized nail. Abashi for a bath, the price of which is quite high, is installed using a certain technology. At the final stage, it involves trimming the last product so that the craftsman has the opportunity to freely insert the panel into the remaining space. Fastening is carried out with nails or self-tapping screws.

Beware: fake!

Few people have not heard about the African miracle tree and its high cost, so it is not surprising that proposals for an Asian counterpart began to appear on the market, which is in no way inferior in quality, but will be cheaper.

But the abash tree has no brothers at all - it is one of a kind. Moreover, the latter should be taken literally - triplochiton durumis is the only representative of the genus Triplochiton.

Therefore, if we are talking about “Asian abasha”, then it must be some kind of analogue. Various sources say that this is either a silk tree, that is, a type of acacia (Albizia Lankaran), or Alstonia.

However, neither we are specialists in botany, nor are most of our readers. We have already found out above that, apart from low thermal conductivity, abashi has no particularly outstanding advantages. This means that a fake will be inferior to the original only if it has a higher density. Or if it is not suitable for a bath with high humidity .

Fortunately, checking the first is quite simple - find out the weight of a cubic meter of the Asian analogue and compare it with 350 kilograms of a cube of original wood dried to 12% moisture content.

But it’s good if you were at least warned that this is an analogue. But they can pass it off as an African abash. To prevent this from happening, focus on the color - the original have yellowness , it can be almost white, but with a tint, like butter. Or yellower, the color of straw. But the analog has gray shades together with yellow.

If you were offered cheap wood and you doubted it, think about this: maybe it’s better to take a well-known, easier to identify linden or aspen than an unknown exotic one?

Specifications

The tree has several important characteristics:

• specific gravity – 40-45 g/cm²;
• compression resistance – 250-300 kg/m²;
• resin content – ​​about 0%;

• density – 650-700 kg/m³ in raw form and 300-350 kg/m³ in dried form;
• extremely low thermal conductivity.

Expert opinion

Lovkachev Boris Petrovich

Bath master who knows everything about steaming

Separately, it is worth noting the durability of wood in conditions of high humidity. The tree practically does not absorb moisture and does not shrink over time, maintaining its original structure. At the same time, abash easily lends itself to any type of processing, which makes it possible to make any decorative elements from it.

Useful video

The author of this video has an amazing ability to talk about platitudes for a long time, but he is the only one who decided to make a video on different types of wood:

By the way, he says that abash brought from China smells bad. In reality, it all smells bad when freshly cut . After drying, the smell disappears. If your abash gives off an unpleasant odor, then it is most likely under-dried.

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We are wondering if you want to decorate your steam room with abash? Write a comment and, if possible, state the main reason for your choice.

The second option for installing the lining

Today, there are several known ways to install lining in a bathhouse. You can use another technology that involves fastening the last elements in such a way that the fastening site remains open.

Holes for the heads of self-tapping screws should be drilled in the product. It is necessary to deepen it by 1/2 of its thickness. Once the screw is in, the hole is closed with a wooden dowel and sanded down. It is important to take into account during the operation of the steam room that the attachment points may dry out and become more noticeable.

Finishing a bathhouse with abash

Rare wood has special properties, but they need to be stored. To do this, you should listen to some recommendations:

• It is important to choose a high-quality composition to process the wood. After all, some products after impregnation increase the density of the material, as a result of which its thermal conductivity increases;
• in the case of a steam room, it is better to use thermal lining for finishing. It will have a dark shade and be resistant to damage and moisture;
• installation should be carried out wearing clean gloves. After all, there is a risk of staining the light color of the abasha and ruining the beautiful texture.

For reliable and good installation and arrangement of the steam room, it is worth ordering these services from professionals. Then you will be confident in the quality of the finish and the beautiful appearance of the interior.

You can order the finishing of a Russian bath or Finnish sauna on our website or by calling: 8 (499) 110-97-56.

Minuses

Despite all the advantages that this tree has, abashi also has disadvantages. During construction and finishing work, these disadvantages must be taken into account:

1. Wood does not have a very pleasant smell. For this reason, there is no need to equip the entire bathhouse from this wood. It is best to arrange shelves or some parts. Thus, you will avoid burns on your body while visiting the steam room;
2. Wood is not suitable for people with allergies.

Let's sum it up

Recently, many have become interested in installing saunas in their homes or dachas. Everyone wants to make it more functional in order to bring all their ideas to life. Thanks to its amazing properties, abash will be able to satisfy the desires of any, even the most demanding client. It has a pleasant color and is easy to tint. Accessories are often made from this wood.