Do-it-yourself shower in a bathhouse: arrangement options, methods of heating water, installing a shower cabin

If anyone thinks that to set up a washing room it is enough to hang two pipes with a mixer on the wall, then he is deeply mistaken. You need to think about arranging a separate washing room in the bathhouse even during the design of the structure. At the same time, you should choose the final version of the shower and think about the supply of hot and cold water. At your discretion, we will present several options for arranging flushing facilities; we hope that this knowledge will facilitate the final choice. Further in the article we will give step-by-step instructions for the most used type of washing machine and practical advice from professionals.

How to make a shower in the washroom

Room layout

Finishing the shower room in the bathhouse should begin after planning the room. To do this, it is recommended to draw up a separate drawing of the room, which indicates the location of the washing room elements. Features of drawing up a plan:

A shower with a mixer should be installed in a place where it is more convenient to supply cold and hot water through the pipeline.
Along the perimeter of the room, shelves should be fixed on which washcloths, shampoos, and soaps will be placed.
It is better to leave the central washing area free. This place will be convenient for dousing yourself with cool water after the steam room.

It is necessary to arrange the shower elements so that they do not interfere with movement and water procedures.

Heating methods

You can get hot water for showers using:

wood column;
large capacity electric boiler;
geyser;
bake.

To install a wood-burning heater, you need to provide a water supply system and a chimney in the room . Such equipment consists of a steel tank, a heating furnace and a mixer. The water in the column will heat up quickly. It can be heated using any type of fuel, excluding coal. It is great for small baths. The tank volume in such equipment is about 90 liters.

Gas water heaters are economical .
In addition, modern devices are safe: when the wick goes out, the fuel automatically stops supplying. But before installing it, you need to obtain permits from specialized authorities. Installation of such a column is carried out as follows:

First, a hood is installed: a hole is made in the ceiling or wall into which an asbestos pipe at least 1.5 m long is inserted.
a column is mounted under it, screwing the device to the wall with dowels;
the column, chimney or hood is connected using corrugations, after which gas is supplied to the structure;
a tee is cut into the gas pipeline and a pipe through which gas will circulate is attached to it with clips.

It turns out a column with gas, but without heating the water.
To provide a bathhouse with hot water, you need to insert a tee into the water supply, mount a faucet, install magnetic and salt filters next to it, and then connect the structure to the water supply. All that remains is to test the safety and performance of the device. To do this, you need to open the gas and use a soap solution to check for leaks at the tap and joints . After this, you need to check the water supply in the same way.

If the bathhouse is quite large, then a gas or wood-burning water heater will not be able to heat enough water, so it is better to purchase a boiler. It is advisable to choose a model with heated water in the tank , then you won’t have to drain it at night. The presence of a thermometer will simplify the operation of the device.

To connect the boiler you will need:

electric heater 2 kW;
cable from the distribution panel;
circuit breaker;
RCD.

Connecting the water heater to the water supply is carried out as follows:

A safety valve is placed on the pipe. It is responsible for admitting cold water into the boiler. The device cannot be used without it.
Using flexible pipes made of copper or plastic, the boiler is connected to the water supply.
After this, the valve opens to fill the tank with cold water.
Then you can turn on the tap. If hot water flows out of it after filling the tank, then everything is in order.

Connecting the device to the power supply is carried out as follows:

After a power outage in the network, the wires of the device are connected to it in compliance with polarity.
At the end, a ground wire is connected.
The lid of the device is closed, after which the heater is connected to the network.

In this article you will find more details about connecting an electric boiler to the water supply and electrical network.

It must be remembered that the tank cannot be connected to electricity if it is not filled with water.

Brick stoves produce the softest steam , so they are often used in baths. Of course, it is better to have the oven installed by a professional. Therefore, those who want to equip it indoors need to invite a stove maker. But lighting a stove is quite troublesome, and many today prefer to use boilers or water heaters.

Design styles

Now a bathhouse is not a modest hut with one large room in which people steam, but a full-fledged complex that has several rooms for different purposes.

When choosing a design style for rooms in a bathhouse, it is recommended to settle on a single option. It will give the room a holistic look. When creating a design, you need to pay attention to a number of factors:

The classic option for interior cladding of bathhouses is lining made from different types of wood. It is important to choose wood varieties that do not release resins when exposed to high heat.
It is necessary to allocate places for storing body care products and washcloths. They should be at hand, but not create chaos.

The most popular design styles:

Modern - a combination of simplicity and elegance. The wooden panels that line the rooms are sanded to such a state that the natural grain of the wood disappears. The equipment inside is modern, without classical elements.
Chalet style. The interior is dominated by antique decorations. This could be bladed weapons, armor, paintings, figurines, precious stones.
Classic Russian style. It assumes a wooden finish, which is decorated with hand carvings.

You can combine styles if desired.

Construction materials

Long-standing traditions involve the construction of wooden baths. However, the construction market does not stand still; every day an increasing number of analogues appear, often superior to traditional materials in many respects. Technologies for constructing bathhouses with showers in the country are also expanding. Today you can often find baths made from a wide variety of materials:

bricks;
aerated concrete;
wooden baths made of logs and timber;
expanded clay concrete;
cinder block;
wood concrete

A bathhouse with a shower in a country house is a source of increased fire hazard, so strict requirements are imposed on the material for the manufacture of such objects. The material must meet certain parameters:

provide excellent thermal insulation of the building;
be resistant to high humidity and high temperatures.

Wall decoration

There are many known materials that can be used to cover shower walls. Each of them has certain characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses.

Material selection

The choice of material for finishing the walls in the washing bath depends on the style of the room:

Traditional Russian style - timber, lining.
Modern loft - brick, ceramic tiles. Communication must be open to match the style.
Mediterranean style - a combination of ceramic tiles with natural stone.
Roman style - a variety of mosaics that decorate columns.

Wood

More often, steam rooms and showers are lined with wooden clapboards. Advantages:

installation work can be performed by a person even without practical skills;
attractive appearance;
resistance to mechanical damage.

Flaws:

Some types of wood release resin when heated strongly.
If the lining is not impregnated with a special antiseptic composition, it will gradually become covered with mold and mildew.

The main advantage of wood is that it does not emit harmful substances when heated strongly.

Ceramic tile

For steam rooms, ceramic tiles cannot be used as a finishing material. It becomes very hot and can cause serious burns. At the same time, ceramics are suitable for showers. Advantages:

durability, high strength;
easy cleaning of the surface from dirt and dust;
high resistance to mechanical damage;
resistance to various chemicals.

Ceramic tiles have no serious disadvantages.

Natural stone

Using natural minerals, you can create a unique natural design that will appeal to many bathhouse attendants. For interior decoration of bathhouses, different types of stones are used - travertine, granite, marble, sandstone, quartz.

Advantages:

attractive appearance;
durability, reliability, resistance to damage.

Natural minerals are not suitable for cladding walls inside steam rooms. The stones become very hot and touching them can cause serious burns. In addition, minerals weigh a lot and require the use of additional fasteners.

Plastic panels

Plastic is a popular material for finishing bathtubs and showers. PVC panels can be purchased at a hardware store. Advantages:

fungus and mold do not form on the plates;
plastic is durable and does not deteriorate from water;
the material does not emit harmful substances to the body;
You can find different types of slabs in stores.

Disadvantages include the low resistance of plastic to strong heat, a gradual change in appearance with prolonged exposure to high temperatures.

Painting

The inside of the shower room can be painted. In this case, you need to assemble a frame from waterproof plasterboard on top of the walls. To build the frame, you need metal guides and connecting jumpers. The paint must withstand constant humidity and high temperatures without deteriorating.

Carrying out work

Finishing work depends on the selected material. Features of working with different facing materials:

The lining is nailed on top of the wooden walls using finishing nails. You need to nail the vapor barrier film onto the wall using wooden slats. The lining is stuffed on top. It is important not to drive the tenon completely into the groove. You need to leave a little space so that the tree can contract and expand during changes in temperature and humidity.
Ceramic tiles and decorative stone are fixed with special masonry mortars.
To secure plastic boards to vertical walls, you need to use metal or wood screws.

How to properly solder polypropylene pipes

Everything seems simple if you have experience, but soldering for the first time is scary.

It is necessary to mark the pipes before welding (see information below)

Step 1. Screw couplers to the front of the soldering iron to heat the internal or external surfaces of pipes and fittings. For showers, we recommend using Ø ¾″ pipes. The pipe is heated on the outer surfaces, the connecting elements (couplings, triangles, elbows, etc.) on the inner ones.

Preparing the soldering iron for work

Step 2 . Connect the soldering iron to a 220 V network. On the body of the device there is a heating temperature regulator and two indicator lights. Green indicates that the soldering iron is ready for use, red indicates that the heating temperature is insufficient.

Turn on the soldering iron and wait until the green light comes on

Step 3 . Set the temperature controller to +250°C. Specific values do not play a big role; the degree of heating of the pipe is regulated by the holding time.

Step 4. Take the two elements to be connected and insert them each into their place in the soldering iron. Heat for approximately 5-9 seconds. The ends must fit into the heaters until they stop.

Inserting heated elements

We heat the couplings along the inner surface

Practical advice. The instructions for the soldering iron contain a table indicating the heating time of the pipe depending on its diameter. Don’t pay attention to it, just watch the degree of softening of the plastic. You do not heat the entire thickness of the pipe, but only the top layer 1 mm thick. The radius of the pipe does not matter, which means the heating time remains almost unchanged.

This also explains why you should not use a soldering iron heating temperature table. We advise you to always set it to maximum - the pipe will warm up much faster.

Pipe heating table

Step 5. The surface of the heated plastic pipe should resemble thick sour cream. Once such softening is achieved, remove the elements simultaneously from both sides of the soldering iron.

Important. Be sure to do it on both sides at the same time, otherwise big problems arise - the soldering iron does not have a side stop.

Step 6. Connect the two heated planes together as quickly as possible, keeping them as level as possible. You need to hold it in the clamped state for 10÷15 seconds, the exact time depends on the heating temperature of the plastic. As you can see, almost all parameters and modes of pipe welding are determined not by instructions, but by the experience of the master. Experience will appear already on the second or third gluing, gain skills on unnecessary segments.

Sectional connection of PP pipes

Connecting heated elements

Prices for polypropylene pipes

polypropylene pipes

Floor and ceiling finishing

After choosing the facing material for the shower walls, you can begin finishing the ceiling and floor. Features of the work:

For the floor, it is better to choose wood or tiles. A wooden floor does not require additional insulation, but it is less durable than a tiled floor. The tile freezes quickly. To correct this drawback, it is recommended to install a “warm floor” system.
For ceilings it is better to choose wooden lining. This material weighs less than tiles and is more durable than waterproof drywall.

Before finishing the walls and ceiling, you need to think about the location of the light sources. If you think about it later, you will have to spoil the finishing materials.

Frame covering

For the outer cladding of the frame you can use:

board;
OSB;
siding.

Any type of wood is suitable for interior cladding. Shelves, benches and other bathhouse interior items are made from the same material.

Wall cladding begins from the corners of the bathhouse, leaving openings for windows and doors. If all supporting elements are laid out horizontally, the seams between the material are almost invisible.

Ventilation

Before you start using any bathhouse, you need to take care of a high-quality ventilation system. There are two types of similar systems that are relevant for wooden showers:

Natural - two windows located at different heights. Through one, the flow of fresh air enters the room, through the other it is discharged outside.
Forced - the design resembles a natural system, but a fan is installed at the exhaust vent, which speeds up the process of air circulation in the room.

The second ventilation option is suitable for large showers. The first is sufficient for small buildings.

Serpentinite tiles

Serpentinite is a semi-precious rock mineral that, due to its green color and snake-like pattern, is popularly nicknamed serpentine.

For bathhouses, coil tiles are most often used for lining the stove, but it is important to take into account that the coefficient of thermal expansion of the mineral is small. The coil is also used to cover walls, beds and even floors. The material is very beautiful, but due to its high cost, the product is not widely used.

Features of installation and operation

When gluing the stove with a coil, heat-resistant silicone sealant (at least 150˚C) is used, which compensates for the difference in temperature expansion. An additional frame can also be made around the stove, or the stove can simply be wrapped with wire, on which this facing material is securely held.

Coil tiles for a bathhouse are not friendly with water, as they wash out calcium from the blocks. Sudden changes in temperature are also contraindicated. If this point is not taken into account, then accelerated destruction of the material occurs, but with proper use this mineral will last for many decades.

Communications

Particular attention should be paid to communications. Thick, moist steam is a good conductor of electricity. Therefore, switches, panels, sockets should be installed inside the dressing room, and not in the shower or steam room. When choosing lamps, it is better to give preference to devices with ceramic sockets and wooden lampshades.

If we talk about drain pipes, they should be installed inside the floor during the first stages of construction. The drains are discharged into a special well, which consists of separate concrete rings.

Comfort of a mobile sauna

Nowadays, on large summer cottages, it has become fashionable to acquire a mobile bathhouse. It is especially convenient if there is a large pond and beautiful nature nearby. In terms of its functionality, a mobile bathhouse is no different from a traditional building, only it is not built on a foundation, but, for example, on a car trailer. A simple example: a block container is used for a bathhouse. A steam room, shower, locker room and other amenities are installed inside.

With a mobile sauna it is convenient to go on vacation to the river at any time of the year. If desired, the house can be installed permanently and used in the country.

The video talks about the construction of a mobile sauna:

You can buy a factory-made mobile bathhouse that is easy to transport. They call her Mobiba. The structure consists of a tent, a collapsible frame and a stainless steel wood stove. The bathhouse is quickly assembled and disassembled. It is easy to transport in the trunk of a car. The tent is made of polyester. The awning is able to retain heat inside the bathhouse in temperatures down to -20°C.

The video provides an overview of the Mobib MB-12 model:

Choosing a shower stall

To choose a shower stall for a bath, you need to listen to the opinions of experienced bathhouse attendants:

If the shower stall only needs washing, it is enough to install the simplest open model.
If there is enough space in the washing room, it is better to take a shower stall model with swinging doors.
For small rooms, it is better to purchase a design with doors that slide together.
If after visiting the steam room you want to relax under streams of warm water, it is better to choose closed-type structures.

Pumping equipment for cold water supply

In conditions where a residential building or cottage is connected to a central water supply system or has an autonomous water supply, it is enough to lay a water and sewer pipeline to the bathhouse.

If the pressure in the finished system is low or the water is supplied from a hydraulic structure - a well or a well, then it is recommended to use pumping equipment.

There are several types of water pumps:

Submersible pumps are used to supply water from shallow sources - wells, wells, rivers, reservoirs and lakes.
Surface pumps draw water from sources up to 7 meters deep. Such devices are suitable for water supply systems with a constant level of pressure.
Deep pumps are designed to supply water from deep-sea sources and are used for private wells of small diameter.

When designing a shower water supply system, it is recommended to pay attention to the selection of cleaning filters. This is important in cases where water is supplied from open water sources.

Coarse and fine filtration units are used to purify water. The first ensures cleaning from sand, mechanical impurities and blooming algae. The second prevents silt deposits and small debris from entering the water.

Furniture selection

Standard equipment for shower bath furniture:

shelves for storing washcloths, shampoos, shower gels;
a barrel of cold water;
sink, mirror;
shower;
shop.

Can be supplemented with buckets, ladles, moisture-absorbing mats or rubber plates on the floor to prevent the tiles from slipping.

Options from the store

You can buy bath furniture in specialized stores. Benches and water barrels are made of oak, ash, birch, maple, and linden. Ready-made furniture is more expensive than homemade furniture.

Making furniture yourself

To make a bench for a bathhouse with your own hands, you need to prepare bars and linden boards. Additionally, you will need self-tapping screws, a hand or electric saw, and a screwdriver. Build process:

The side parts on which the bench will be supported are rectangles with legs.
After assembling the side parts, you need to connect them together with a long transverse board.
Place 3 boards 10–15 cm wide on top of the two parts.

Summer shower inside the bathhouse

Arriving at the dacha, a person first goes to the garden to work, and in the evening he needs to immediately wash himself. It takes a long time and is unreasonable to heat a bathhouse after each excavation work. A quick wash is organized in the summer shower. In order not to install a separate cabin, the bathing compartment is installed inside the bathhouse. For water, a plastic tank is installed on the roof. A pipe is removed from it, passed through a hole in the roof of the bathhouse, a faucet with a watering can is screwed on, and the summer shower is ready.

The tank is filled with water from a well using a pump or buckets. To fill water in any way, you will have to provide a ladder near the bathhouse.

Combination of steam room and washing room

If there is a lot of space in the bathhouse, you can combine a steam room with a washing room. To do this, the room must be delimited with special glass doors that are installed on guides. This way you can combine both rooms into one or make a distinction during the bath procedures.

The shower room in the bathhouse is a special room in which people wash themselves of sweat, dirt, and leaves after visiting the steam room. Its interior design and arrangement raises many questions among novice bathhouse attendants who have recently built a bathhouse. To make your shower unique, you can come up with a custom design.

conclusions

The process of arranging a bathhouse with a toilet and shower is quite difficult, since it requires certain knowledge and skills. Such work should be entrusted to a professional, since only a knowledgeable person can install a shower in a bathhouse without running water quickly and efficiently. But if you decide to take on the task of arranging a washing room yourself, then be sure to adhere to the algorithm of actions presented above, and also do not forget about the basic rules of your own safety.

Soapstone tiles

Soapstone is an excellent tile for saunas and baths. This is also a natural material - rock that accumulates in layers and contains iron and magnesium. This facing material is incredibly resistant to sudden temperature changes, which is why it is often used for lining stoves.

Soapstone can also be used as tiles on the floor in a bathhouse, but due to the high cost, the finishing is very expensive and is not often found.