Visiting the bathhouse has been a favorite pastime of the Russian people since ancient times. In the bathhouse you can improve your health, relax your soul and body and have fun with your family or friends. A distinctive feature of the bathhouse is its very special climatic conditions. To maintain them, you need not only to properly build walls, make ventilation, windows, but also install a good entrance door.
To the steam room
Doors to the steam room must meet the following requirements:
- They must reliably retain steam and heat indoors, so the structure must be airtight. You can set a threshold up to 20 cm high.
- The design must be resistant to deformation in conditions of high temperature and humidity.
- In a Russian bathhouse, the door to the steam room is installed below standard. It should be no higher than 1.6 m and no wider than 0.75 m.
- If there is no forced air flow in the steam room, a gap of at least 5 cm is made at the bottom of the doors for ventilation. For a sauna, this gap is required regardless of the presence of internal ventilation. It promotes uniform distribution of steam in the room.
- For the steam room, choose ergonomic and safe doors that will not cause burns or injuries. They must open outward so that in case of an unforeseen situation a person has the opportunity to open it under the weight of his own body.
These requirements are met by wooden, glass and combined wooden doors with glazing.
Projects
Designing baths provides a variety of options. Small mini-babies measuring 2x2, whose layout includes only a dressing room and a combined washing-steam room, and spacious multifunctional ones - with a swimming pool, bathing area, shower.
The complexes are located in a village wooden bathhouse; in the city they are sometimes built from bricks, blocks, or arranged in a frame structure. The building can have on average from 2 to 5 rooms.
Large bathhouse 5x4 m with swimming pool
Its arrangement includes not only a steam room with a heater, a washroom with a shower, but also a bathroom, a relaxation room, and a swimming pool. In addition, the scheme provides for a couple more technical rooms, which the owners can use at their discretion. A thoughtful layout made the entire complex cozy and comfortable.
How can you equip a 2x3 meter bathhouse?
Very functional - the plan provides only two compartments: a sink-steam room and a dressing room. Neatly finished with light boards, they are not only cozy, but also serve their purpose well. In the steam room you can have a great steam bath and wash, change clothes in the dressing room, relax, and you can also install a firebox there if you have the foresight to purchase a stove of the required configuration.
To the washroom
Another door in the bathhouse is installed at the entrance to the washing room. In this room, as in any bathroom, temperature differences are small and humidity is quite high.
A sealed plastic or frosted glass sheet would be appropriate here. These materials meet sanitary requirements. They are hygienic, easy to clean and can withstand disinfectants and detergents.
Pros and cons of wood and glass canvas
Wooden entrance doors to the bathhouse will be reliable. They are easy to insulate. Glass does not meet these requirements.
A wooden, glass or combination door is suitable for the steam room. Glass retains heat, is durable, easier to care for, and does not need to be varnished. It is not at risk of deformation due to high humidity and temperature changes. A carved wooden door to a bathhouse will also look beautiful.
For a shower, it is best to choose a glass door. This design is more hygienic. It is resistant to mold, high humidity and detergents.
Which ones to choose
The entrance group must first of all be reliable, but a safe option is not appropriate here. The complex mechanism of such external doors for a bathhouse can block people in the event of a fire inside the premises. Therefore, it is better to install a street entrance structure with standard swing doors. It is recommended to purchase a single-leaf wooden or metal product with a reliable but simple locking mechanism.
When it comes to a steam room, the doors in the bathhouse and sauna have functional differences. At the same time, glass door panels have already become a classic for saunas. This is especially true for infrared and compact indoor saunas.
For a bathhouse, wooden or combined structures are considered the best option. At the same time, high-quality glass doors to a bathhouse perfectly cope with all the functions assigned to them, and in many respects they are superior to wooden ones.
The best choice for sauna
A sauna door can be made of glass, wood or a combination of these materials. Natural wood structures are a traditional solution. They have sufficient thermal insulation, are reliable and durable. But wood requires constant restoration; it needs to be regularly painted or varnished, and over time it dries out and becomes deformed.
The best doors for a sauna installed inside a house or apartment are glass. They meet sanitary conditions and safety requirements, and also fit well into different style solutions. Tempered glass, which is used to make door panels, is durable, retains heat well, does not deform, which means that such a door to the sauna does not need adjustment.
To increase thermal insulation, the glass surface is additionally covered with a special film that reflects infrared radiation and protects from mechanical damage. In addition to technical characteristics, glass panels are distinguished by a wider selection of design solutions. For example, a glass door for an Akma sauna can have more than 200 design options.
The disadvantage of such doors can be considered lower sound insulation compared to wooden ones and a high price. At the same time, durability and safety compensate for the cost of the product. An excellent solution would be to purchase products from domestic manufacturers that meet high quality standards at an affordable price.
Which one should I put?
It is believed that wood is best suited for making bath door panels. It has natural ingredients and is therefore safe for human health.
In addition, wood can breathe, which is also very important. You can make a wooden structure yourself, so very often steam room owners choose wood
In this case, it does not matter at all what type of wood was chosen - after a year of operation they will all have the same appearance. In addition, they will all have the same service life, so there is little point in choosing wood, the main thing is that it matches the color of the walls of the room. Wooden doors with glass inserts perform their functions well. Glass can decorate a product, which is not the least important in organizing a bath space.
But glass doors are least suitable for a steam room. Despite their ability to repel moisture and withstand temperature changes, they have some disadvantages. Firstly, they will constantly fog up, and secondly, they will greatly increase heat transfer. Reviews on construction forums say that the glass door, although it looks impressive, constantly fogs up and streaks form.
In the next video you can see how to choose the right door to the steam room.
Insulation materials
The main task of the entrance door structure is to seal the room and prevent heat leakage. Thanks to this, the temperature in the bath is maintained for a long period of time. The correct choice of design and its additional insulation will help prevent heat loss. They are insulated with various heat-insulating materials: foam plastic, felt, mineral wool.
Foam plastic has excellent thermal insulation characteristics, is easy to install independently using polyurethane foam or liquid nails, does not sag, does not freeze, does not emit toxic substances during operation, and has a low cost. Its main disadvantage for use in a bathhouse is its high flammability and toxicity during combustion, which is of greatest importance in the case of using an open fire for heating a room.
Mineral wool is an excellent heat insulator, inexpensive and environmentally friendly, safe, and highly fire resistant. The disadvantage of this insulation is its tendency to shrink in conditions of high humidity, which must be taken into account when using it to insulate the entrance door structure for a bathhouse or sauna.
Innovative insulation - polyurethane foam. It is pumped into the pores of the doors, as a result of which cavities filled with air are formed inside the leaf. The material has low thermal conductivity and resistance to moisture. The entrance doors for the bathhouse are insulated with polyurethane foam with fire retardants - substances that increase its fire resistance.
Polyurethane foam
The insulation layer is protected with a special waterproofing layer, which can be used as polyethylene film, and moisture-resistant sheathing.
Additionally, the entrance structure is protected from drafts along the perimeter of the door leaf. For this purpose, a sealing gasket and an insulating roller made of dermantin or thin felt are used along the entire edge of the upholstery. A well-insulated door to a bathhouse will not become covered with frost in winter, which makes it difficult to open. Additionally, a tarpaulin curtain is used as insulation. To make it, you can take other dense material. But mineral wool as a gasket sags over time, and in winter it can freeze.
Burglary resistance
Each entrance door belongs to a specific security class. Although, only serious and responsible manufacturers certify their products. The burglary resistance of a door structure is determined by tests.
- Class I - such doors can be easily and quickly opened using manual equipment;
- Class II - the design is capable of protecting against burglary using a simple power tool. Most street entrance doors fall into this category;
- Class III - massive doors with double steel cladding on the outside and additional reinforcing elements throughout the structure. Hacking will require about half an hour and a powerful (up to 500 W) grinder.
Installation methods and nuances
In most cases, a finished door structure, both wooden and glass, consists of a finished frame and a door leaf with holes and is accompanied by installation instructions. Wooden or combined products may only have markings applied for holes, which you will have to make yourself.
Since tempered glass cannot be altered, before ordering the product you need to take accurate measurements and choose the side in which it will open. The width is measured after the repair of the doorway is completed.
Doors to the steam room can have a wooden or metal frame. The metal box is installed before the final finishing of the walls, and the wooden box after.
The door frame of a steam room in a bathhouse and a sauna has one difference: in a bathhouse a threshold is installed, which is necessary to retain moisture, but in a sauna it is not needed, and the gap between the door leaf and the floor remains open. This nuance affects the choice of door dimensions.
When disassembling the package with a glass door, the panel is disconnected from the frame by loosening the fastening system of hinges, and placed on wooden slats.
Install the doorway, checking the verticals and diagonals to prevent distortions. Having installed the box using wedges, gradually tighten the screws in the top bar, leveling it using a level. After this, the screws are tightened until they stop. The threshold is then set if necessary.
The next stage is installing the door leaf. It needs to be inserted into the loops and tightened. If the canvas is made of glass, at this stage of installation you cannot do without an assistant. For safety reasons, the door must open outward. To check the correct installation, measure the gaps at the closed panel. They should be the same around the entire perimeter, and the canvas should fit snugly against the seal.
After this, install the latch and handle. The glass sheet already has holes for them. If the panel is made of wood, you may have to drill the holes yourself.
How to seal?
Sealing the door leaf in the steam room is necessary to increase thermal insulation.
For this, several types of materials are used: felt, polyurethane foam, energy flex, and so on. The selection of a seal depends on the owner’s decision, so first he needs to become familiar with the properties of each material. It is safest to resort to insulation materials that have been specially manufactured in production and have supporting documents. They are resistant to fire and moisture. To better seal the door in the steam room, you can use a frame, energy flex or thermal curtain. To work, you need to prepare a hammer, a measuring tape, small nails, a construction stapler, bars, a hacksaw and scissors.
To make a thermal frame, you will need 1.5-2 cm bars. The frame should be located at a distance of 1.5 cm from the outer border. The rolled up seal must be nailed to the canvas, and a sheet of hardboard must be secured on top. This is necessary in order to fill the void between the filler and the structure. Such a tight closure helps block drafts from entering the room. Additionally, the door leaf can be covered with felt and covered with clapboard on top.
Features of Akma door production
Glass doors for baths and saunas have been produced by the Akma plant since 1998. The company offers 220 models of door structures for steam rooms, washing rooms and other premises.
Production is fully automated. The plant's equipment allows us to produce products of high optical purity and hardening strength, with a ground surface and a Euro-edge. For production, we use materials that meet European standards and GOST requirements. Each product undergoes quality control for strength and ability to spontaneously explode. At the same time, the price of the finished product is affordable.
The Akma sauna door has a number of advantages:
- Environmental friendliness of materials.
- Durability. The plant provides a five-year warranty on its products, provided they are used correctly. Glass and anodized aluminum are non-corrosive and non-toxic when heated.
- Safety.
- Hygienic: resistant to mold, easy to clean.
- Tightness. All Akma glass blocks have a closed perimeter of the door leaf, and the frame joints are adjusted on an automated German production line.
- High temperature resistance.
- Multifunctional design. They can be right- or left-handed and are suitable for steam rooms, washrooms, bathrooms and other rooms.
- Possibility of installing a magnetic closing mechanism.
- Original design. Akma products are decorated with fusing, diamond engraving, deep sandblasting, silk-screen printing, ceramic printing, photo printing, and colored varnish. You can choose transparent, tinted or colored door leaf.
The finished door for the Akma sauna consists of a glass door leaf 6 or 8 mm thick, a wooden frame, hanging hinges and a handle. All the necessary holes are drilled at the factory, so installation of the structure is simple - just follow the instructions for the product.
Requirements for structures
Requirements:
- resistance to constant temperature changes and changes in humidity levels;
- environmental friendliness of the material;
- resistance to mold and mildew;
- simple, convenient installation;
- safety of the structure for bathhouse visitors.
PVC products are more often used for installation in a bathhouse. These are complex products that consist of a frame, sandwich panels, fittings and double-glazed windows. There is a metal profile inside the structure that gives it rigidity.
The profile has a cellular structure, which allows the structure to retain heat better. Air chambers slow down the heating and cooling of the structure.
The energy efficiency of the door leaf depends on their quantity.
Standard profiles contain 3–5 air chambers.
Accessories
For interior spaces, it is worth choosing doors with 3 canopies that can withstand at least 30 kg. Fulfillment of these conditions is especially important for glass doors, the leaf of which has considerable weight - with a thickness of 7 mm it can weigh up to 25 kg. Canopies should be easy to replace when necessary. The hinges are made of stainless steel or other material that is resistant to corrosion in conditions of high temperature and high humidity.
For safety reasons, the latch should open easily. It can be ball or magnetic from 3-4 elements. The second option is preferable since the ball latch may jam.
Another safety requirement is that the handle on the inside of the steam room door must be made of wood, regardless of whether it is glass or wood. If it is mounted on glass, a silicone gasket is installed between the surfaces for greater reliability of fastening.
Handles for bath doors should be comfortable and located at a suitable height.
Combined type windows
The combined type of windows involves the use of several materials in different combinations, in particular:
- wood with plastic;
- wood and aluminum;
- plastic with aluminum;
- aluminum with wood and plastic.
The combination of several materials can improve the thermal insulation properties of windows. And most often the first two combinations of materials are used.
You can combine materials in windows in this way:
- The inside of the frame is lined with wooden planks, and the partitions and the entire frame are made of plastic. Such windows appear to be made of wood from the inside. For protection and additional decoration, the wood is coated with several layers of varnish.
- The entire frame is made from laminated veneer lumber, and aluminum or plastic strips are placed on the outside using clamps to allow the wood to “breathe.”
- First, two independent frames are made - the inner one is made of wood, and the outer one is made of plastic or metal. Along the perimeter, the frames are connected to each other with special brackets, and the glazing is done with ordinary glass, and not with bags. If desired, any of the frames can be removed.
