Do-it-yourself concrete floor screed in the bath: a step-by-step guide. Concrete screed on a wooden floor Do-it-yourself concrete floors in a steam room

If the territory suburban area allows you to build a bath - there is nothing to doubt. It is worth, perhaps, even to postpone other plans, but to find the strength and means to build this structure. To make it last for a long time and be as comfortable as possible, you will need reliable warm walls, a well-thought-out water supply and drainage system, and appropriate heating equipment ( oven or boiler), and a concrete floor in the bath.

For host country house to have at your disposal also your own bathhouse is by no means some kind of unnecessary whim, but a completely reasonable approach. The bath has always been considered not only and not even so much as a place for taking hygienic water procedures. Her visit is always a reserve of vivacity for the coming days, a surge of vital activity, getting rid of the accumulated negativity both in physiological and psychological terms. And how many pleasant moments are given by "gatherings" with friends or girlfriends in a warm dressing room discussing the latest news or rumors, or watching football match! But in order for the bathhouse to really turn into a kind of "club of interests" or "treatment and prevention center", a lot of work will have to be done. And the device of reliable and comfortable floors is one of the main conditions for success.

If we consider in detail the question of what floors are generally possible in a bath, then all options can be divided into three large groups:

• Pise - used from time immemorial. A dense compacted layer of clay served as an excellent water seal, in which a drain was organized outside the bath. In order to by by llamas could move freely, wooden flooring was used, which, after each use, was taken out into the street for ventilation and drying. (similar wooden flooring is actively used now, with almost any type of floor in the bath).

At present, when it is possible to use more advanced materials for flooring, clay is practically not used by anyone.

• Wooden floors. It would seem that everyone is good for a bath, especially if you use wood of those species that are not afraid of prolonged contact with water (for example, larch). Such floors are quite easy to install, warm enough, it is easy to organize a water drain system in them. But wood and water in any case remain "antagonists".

Any wood is always a breeding ground for many microorganisms, rodent insects. They fight it by impregnating wood special formulations, but in this case, the ecological purity of the material is reduced. It is never possible to completely get rid of water absorption by wood, and dampness is the first step towards the occurrence of putrefactive processes leading to the decomposition of the material. Even if a particular type of wood is quite resistant to this, then it’s too early to get away from absorbing odors, which become very persistent and unpleasant over time.

• Concrete floors - perhaps it is the most optimal option. There is no need to talk about strength compared to the rest. At proper preparation foundations and high-quality pouring, they will last a very long time - the period is comparable to the duration of operation of all other elements of the bath structure, and may even exceed it.

There may be objections - they say, the concrete floor is too cold. And what prevents in this case from giving him reliable thermal insulation - there are a lot of options for its device. In addition, a heating system can be installed in the thickness of the concrete floor, which is turned on as needed.

The concrete floor is also highly versatile - on top of it, if there is no desire to leave a bare surface, you can lay any type of coating suitable for bath conditions - tiles or porcelain stoneware, stationary or easily removable wooden flooring, which is easy to take out from time to time for preventive drying.

So, everything speaks in favor of the concrete floor. You can move on to considering options for its arrangement. It can be laid directly on the ground, or it can be raised above ground level, with a ventilated subfloor.

To begin with, consider a water drainage system

The main feature of the concrete floor in the bath is the need for drainage a large number water. This, firstly, involves providing the required slope, and secondly, a well-thought-out drainage system.

• The simplest solution, which, however, is applicable only on light sandy soils with high absorbency, is an absorption pit. It can be dug directly under the washing room of the bath - there the water will be collected in one pipe and discharged down. The pit itself is torn off with a depth of about 500 ÷ 1000 mm, and with approximately the same side dimensions. The resulting volume is filled with large rubble, fragments of broken bricks, sand, etc. - so that the filler does not interfere with the free passage of liquid. So that the pit does not become a source of unpleasant stagnant odors, it is necessary to provide a ventilation system for it, leaving vents (vents) in the basement with the possibility of a through air flow.

• A more reasonable option is to take such a hole out of the foundation, and with dense or clay soils this would be the only possible solution. In this case, only a pit is equipped under the soaked water, from where the water will be discharged through a pipe system into an absorbing pit or gutter. If the site is equipped with a sewerage system with water purification in a septic tank, then it is best to embed the drainage of bath water there. The only thing that needs to be done is to organize a water seal so that odors do not penetrate into the bath room.

A small pit is also dug for the sewage pit, so that after cementing the walls and bottom, its dimensions on all three sides are about 300500 mm. A pipe is embedded in one of the walls to drain water by gravity into the drainage system. The pit itself can be covered with a metal grate. Do not forget about the possibility of its ventilation - leaving the air in the basement is necessary.

• The listed methods are applied when the floor is raised above the ground. If the concrete floor of the bath will be poured directly onto the ground, then it is necessary to think over the drain system in advance so that the pipes mounted in the right place are immediately embedded in the screed. Then there is no need for a pit - water directly from the washing will be discharged directly into the drainage system. This method is universal, it can also be applied to the pile construction of the bath.

The device of a concrete floor in a bath on the ground

This method is used when the entire structure of the bath is supposed to be placed on a continuous strip foundation. The work is carried out in several stages.

After device strip foundation you can proceed to work on the concrete floor of the bath

• To begin with, in the space between the finished foundation is removed upper layer soil to a depth of about 400 ÷ 500 mm.
• A preliminary backfill with gravel up to 150 mm thick is made, which is compacted with the utmost care. It is advisable already at this stage to start planning the slope of the surface towards the drainage hole in the future floor, in order to greatly simplify your task later.

Further actions depend on how many layers of concrete screed are planned to be laid. So you can pour one screed, or make a “layer cake”, where two layers of a concrete surface will be separated by a layer of insulation.

• In the first case, a sand layer with a thickness of 300 to 500 mm is laid on the gravel backfill, which will also require careful tamping.
• The next stage is the installation of a waterproofing layer on top of the sand cushion. To do this, use rolled material - roofing material, which is laid in one or two layers, with the obligatory overlap of each sheet by 100 mm and additional coating of joints and entries on the walls of the basement bituminous mastic. If the roofing material is laid in two layers, then the second should be perpendicular to the first.

Fully laid waterproofing layer - with a slight "entry" on the walls

• So that the floors in the bath are not cold, the next step will be the laying of thermal insulation material. In this capacity, ordinary slag from the boiler room can be used - sometimes this is the cheapest option. Expanded clay has excellent performance - it is much lighter, and its thermal insulation efficiency is even higher. You can lay construction felt impregnated with tar - this is a well-known method of warming. High-density mineral wool slabs will perfectly cope with a similar task. The use of expanded polystyrene is under a certain question, but it is often used as well.
• The thermal insulator layer depends on the climatic conditions of the region - it should prevent the penetration of cold from the ground into the bathhouse in the winter. Usually it is from 300 to 500 mm. The laid out insulation must necessarily go up the walls somewhat - so that a “cold bridge” is not created at the junction of the floor and walls.
• If mineral wool is used as a heater, then another layer of waterproofing is required, for which it will be possible to lay it on top with a dense polyethylene film - one whole sheet, or with overlaps of 200 ÷ 250 mm with mandatory sealing with wide adhesive tape.

  mineral wool insulation

• Next, a reinforcing mesh is laid, for which a rod Ø 5 mm should be used.
• The system of beacons and guides for pouring the screed is installed taking into account the required slope towards the drain. It will be much more convenient to place a drain hole in one of the corners of the room. If you do it in the center, the configuration of the slopes will turn out to be quite complicated in execution.
• The minimum thickness of the poured finishing concrete screed must be at least 30 mm. As a solution, you can use the usual cement-sand mixture in proportions of 1: 3 (with M400 cement). However, a wide range of modern hardware stores makes it possible to pick up ready-made dry mixes that are perfectly adapted to rooms with high humidity. Their advantages are much shorter periods of final maturation, excellent plasticity, which facilitates the pouring processes and excludes the appearance of voids in the thickness, micro-reinforcement fiberglass, which gives the floors a special strength.
• If it was possible to fill the screed with high quality, with a well-leveled surface, then after a full set of strength it can already serve as the basis for laying ceramic tiles on it. However, many prefer, after appropriate hardening of the concrete surface, to leave the coating as it is, and use removable wooden decks through which the water in the washroom freely passes into the drainage system. The wooden gratings themselves are easy to dry out in the fresh air from time to time.

If it is planned to pour the concrete floor in two layers, then the sequence of work changes somewhat:

• Primary pouring is carried out directly on the sand and gravel cushion, with the obligatory inclusion of gravel of a sufficiently large fraction - about 30 mm - into the composition of the concrete solution. The rough screed is pulled along the beacons, and then it is given time to completely solidify.
• On top of the frozen rough screed, waterproofing is arranged - in the same way as described above.

  ruberoid

• Next, lay a layer of insulation. Again, the options here may be different, but one of the most successful and durable will be the inclusion of a layer of expanded (perlite) sand in the “pie”.

This material has the highest thermally insulating properties, and even a layer of 30 ÷ 40 mm will become a reliable barrier to cold. From positive qualities sand - its porosity and lightness, and one significant drawback follows - it is very dusty, it is impossible to work with it even in the weakest wind - only indoors or after taking the necessary measures to create a reliable cover. To make a layer of thermal insulation with it, it is lightly bound with cement, adding additional fiberglass to the solution - for greater strength. However, in this case, the thermal insulation will be closed with a finishing screed, and micro-reinforcement can be dispensed with.

It is important to correctly observe the proportions and kneading technology. The simplest option:

20 liters of perlite in a concrete mixer are mixed with 10 liters of water;

Add 5 liters of cement (M400), continuing the kneading;

Having achieved complete uniformity, add another 10 liters of perlite and 1 - 2 liters of water. Stirring continues until the mixture becomes free-flowing.

A technological pause is made for 10 minutes. No supplements can be made at this time.

Then the kneading is continued until the solution will not get plasticity, highlighting excess water from its composition.

• The solution is laid on the first screed (on the waterproofing layer), leveled and given time to harden for at least one week.
• Further - everything is as in the first version - reinforcing the floor with a metal mesh, installing a system of beacons and pouring a screed with a thickness of not less 30 mm in compliance with the required slope to the catchment point.
• After the top layer of the insulated concrete floor has completely cured, it will be ready for further work on exterior finishing.

cement m400

The video presented to the reader's attention shows the basic principles of laying concrete floors directly on the ground.

Concrete floor with ventilated subfloor

The floor of the bath can also be raised above ground level by pouring it over powerful logs. In this case, effective ventilation of the underground space will be ensured (for which special vent windows are left in the basement. This principle is often used when soil characteristics allow the construction of a bath only on a pile foundation.

General scheme of the device of a concrete floor with a ventilated subfloor

• On these "shelves" a draft floor is installed from a board 30 mm thick. Everything wooden details structures must be subjected to antiseptic treatment in advance.
• When installing the subfloor, pipes must be installed with a rhinestone to drain water from the washing room.

• On top of the waterproofing between the logs, a heater is laid - mineral wool or expanded polystyrene panels. You can also use dry backfill of expanded clay. The thermal insulation layer is covered from above with a waterproofing film.
• A reinforcing mesh is laid, beacons are installed, taking into account the required floor slope.
• Next - pouring the screed with a plastic solution, at least 30 mm thick, in the same way as described above.

An important note that applies specifically to the device of the floor in the bath. In order to avoid problems with dampening of the walls, the floor level is calculated in advance with such a condition that, taking into account all the insulation layers and the planned decorative coating, it was not higher than the upper edge of the base (collar crown).

Wooden floors are rarely leveled with concrete. Many experienced builders believe that hoisting a heavy monolithic structure onto a wood floor makes no sense. Moreover, the concrete layer is not very “friendly” adjacent to the wooden base, not only during solidification, but also during operation. In this regard, it is more expedient to use dry leveling schemes. But in those cases when it is necessary, for example, to lay tiles in the washing room, you have to look for a way out.

Immediately make a reservation that a concrete screed on a wooden floor is quite feasible task, but here, as in any other case, there are specific moments.

Plank floor - photo

Wood is a special material that has not only a number of technological advantages, but also one significant drawback. It is not static, so even after installation work“behaves” according to its own laws peculiar only to it. Changes in temperature and humidity cause the lumber to shrink, increase / decrease in volume, stretch or shrink. By the way, it is for this reason that after the construction of the log house, the final finishing is carried out after about 2 years.

But even after a two-year period of shrinkage wooden structures still moving, albeit not as intensely. For example, a wooden floor with underfloor heating moves every time the heating system is turned on.

Video - Concrete floors in a wooden house

Unlike wood, a monolithic concrete base only slightly changes its geometric parameters when hydrated, and after complete solidification, it hardly moves at all.

And if this base were tightly connected to the unstable wooden surface, then the slightest movement of the latter would lead to the formation of cracks on the concrete surface.

One of the reasons for the appearance of cracks is non-compliance with the technology of pouring concrete on a wooden base.

But the leveling technology described here is intended to ensure that both elements cannot harm each other, and its (technology) distinguishing feature is that during pouring, the base does not contact the walls.

Scheme - an example of arranging a screed on a wooden floor

Design features of plank floors

It is hardly advisable to pour the screed over the floor, equipped with logs and floor slabs. Such floors often have a thickness of about 7-7.8 cm, and the only right decision in this case can only be the dismantling of all wooden elements, followed by pouring over the floor slab. Another thing is if the logs are high and located on brick pillars. Such pillars have a height of over 0.3-0.4 m, so it is impossible to replace them with a concrete screed. Schemes of such floors are presented in the images below.

1 - base; 2 - waterproofing from two layers of roofing material; 3 - lower harness; 4 - top harness; 5 - outer cladding with grooved boards; b - non-ferrous metal plate with holes; 7- outer wall from boards; 8 - plaster; 9 - plinth; 10 - plank floor; 11 - lag; 12 - a column of bricks; 13 - antiseptic wooden lining; 14 - underground
1 - compacted sand; 2 - preparation from concrete; 3 - waterproofing from roll materials; 4 - brick column; 5 - wooden antiseptic lining; c - sheathing from antiseptic boards; 7 - board intermediate flooring: 8 - thermal insulation; 9 - air gap; 10 - floor; 11 - bearing beam

It is these structures that are often filled with a screed.

Pouring technology

The essence of pouring a concrete screed over a plank floor is to create a gap between a monolithic surface and unstable wood elements. For this purpose, the leveling layer is cut off from the walls with a damper tape, and from the plank base - with polyethylene.

Thanks to this, a floating floor is created, without connections to any of the surfaces. As a result, all the lumber elements continue to move in one direction or another, and the screed, which simply lies on top, is not covered with cracks from the permanent change in the position of the boardwalk.

The technical parameters of the concrete screed, as well as the basic requirements, are in SNiP 2.03.13-88 and 3.04.01-87.

SNiP 2.03.13-88. Floors. Download file

SNiP 3.04.01-87. Insulating and finishing coatings. Download file

On the feasibility of using polyethylene

Direct contact with polyethylene film is known to adversely affect wood, leading to the growth of fungus and mold.

That is why, instead of a film in wooden structures, roofing material, bitumen-based mastic, glassine, or roll waterproofing with bituminous impregnation are often used. But the cement screed does not stick to the plastic film at all, which is why:

• both plates will be able to move freely along the isolating boundary;
• the screed will not draw moisture out of the wood, leading to cracks;
• the screed when moving will not pull the film, stretch and tear it.

Important information! Before starting work, care should be taken to minimize the negative effects of contact between lumber and polyethylene. To do this, all wooden elements must be treated with an antiseptic and an Aquastop primer mixture, which has water-repellent properties.

The filling procedure itself consists of several stages, let's get acquainted with them.

Prices for reinforced polyethylene film

reinforced polyethylene film

Stage one. Calculations

There is one standard calculation scheme: for every 15 kg / m² of dry mix, a thickness of 1 cm comes out. Even if the required amount of materials is known, you still need to buy them with a 10 percent margin.

Table. Dry cement mixtures- price

Name	Manufacturer	Package	Price
	"VOS Mixes"	Bag, 50 kg	95 rub.
	UMIX	Bag, 50 kg	100 rub.
	"Stone Flower"	Bag, 25 kg	75 rub.
	"Polymin"	Bag, 25 kg	118 rub.
	Kreisel	Bag, 25 kg	132 rub
	Manufacturer: "Ceresit"	Bag, 25 kg	160 rub.

Stage two. Foundation preparation

Having dealt with the technology and calculated the required amount of the mixture, you can proceed directly to work. Traditionally, you should start with the preparation of the foundation.

Step 1. First, the boardwalk is dismantled and a thorough revision of all elements is carried out. Logs are checked. If among them there are unsuitable for further operation, then they must be replaced.

Step 2 If the logs are installed in increments of more than 40 cm, then auxiliary bars are installed between them.

Step 3 Boards - if they are still usable - are nailed back. If slightly damaged floorboards are found, they should be turned over.

Nail heads are recessed by 2-3 mm, otherwise the plastic film laid on top may tear.

Step 4 Skirting boards are removed, thin boards are installed instead (the latter should cover the cracks near the walls). Do not forget that these boards are installed for a certain time, and after pouring the screeds will be dismantled. This will provide ventilation. wooden base will prevent it from rotting.

Important information! You also need to close all the cracks. If they are small, then you can fill them with sealant, but it is better to blow out large gaps with mounting foam.

Instead of sealant, you can use parquet putty made on the basis of wood dust, or a home-made putty mixture. To prepare the latter, you need to mix any sawdust with oil paint in a ratio of 4:1.

Stage three. Padding

When the sealant or putty is completely dry, vacuum the substrate thoroughly to remove dust and debris. Sanding can be done if desired, although this is not required.

Next, a moisture-resistant primer is applied in two or three layers: it will prevent the appearance of air bubbles and the absorption of liquid from the surface by the surface. cement mortar. Also, the primer will serve as additional protection for the wood from mold and fungus.

Concrete floor primer prices

concrete floor primer

Stage four. markup

Using an ordinary or laser level, a zero level is marked along the perimeter of the walls. The latter can be at an arbitrary height, but on average it is 35-70 cm from the base surface. It is necessary to designate several points of the zero horizontal on each of the walls.

Equal distances are laid down from these points, while the thickness of the screed itself must be taken into account.

Important information! Standard Thickness concrete floating floor is about 5 cm. At the same time, each centimeter of such a floor will create a load on the plank base of 100-110 kg for each square meter. It is for this reason that it is desirable to strengthen the logs, although, if possible, it is generally better to install metal channels instead of them.

Stage five. Waterproofing

Further actions are related to the insulation of wooden structural elements, and the result should be a kind of pallet that does not allow moisture to pass through.

Step 1. A damper tape with a thickness of 10-20 mm and a width slightly exceeding the thickness of the screed is attached to the walls along the entire perimeter. This tape will provide not only dampening of sound vibrations, but also the possibility of lengthening / expanding the floating plate. Tape is used for fastening.

Important information! At the end finishing floor, excess tape protruding on the surface will be cut off, and the gap formed will be closed with a plinth.

Important information! There should be no wrinkles or damage on the waterproofing layer. The subsequent steps must be performed with extreme caution so as not to tear or puncture the film. If this could not be avoided, the holes must be immediately closed with polyethylene patches.

Step 3. Ideally, the waterproofing layer should be without joints at all. If there are joints, then they are all firmly glued with adhesive tape. Further work leveling layer will largely depend on the tightness of the waterproofing.

edging tape prices

edging tape

Stage six. Reinforcement

If the concrete layer is thick enough, then it must be reinforced. There are several methods of reinforcement, only the most common are considered below.

Method number 1. Reinforcing mesh

A very common option, which, however, is not particularly suitable in this case. The fact is that the previous layer is polyethylene, which can be damaged by the mesh. It will be quite difficult to move through the reinforcement without violating the integrity of the insulation. In addition, the film, as noted above, must be in direct contact with concrete, so the mesh must be located in the body of the screed.

For this reason, concrete is poured in two layers:

• poured - without beacons - the first layer;
• the grid is laid, beacons are installed;
• the second layer is poured.

It would seem that nothing complicated, but the concrete layer will dry for a long time - the interval between layers can reach 1 month. Therefore, it is better to resort to the second method.

Method number 2. fiberglass

The next reinforcement method is to add fiberglass directly to concrete mix still at the stage of preparation. The polymer fibers that make up this material are arranged randomly, resulting in maximum bond strength in all directions.

Moreover, the total weight of the screed will noticeably decrease due to the rejection of the metal mesh. Further actions are focused on the use of this particular method.

fiber prices

fiberglass

Stage seven. Installation of leveling

Lighthouses need to be built especially carefully, there can be no talk of any screws and nails. The foundations for future "beds" are made from the same solution that will be used for the screed. "Beds" are formed along the entire length of each of the lighthouses.

Important information! The distance between the "beds" must necessarily be 10-15 cm shorter than the length of the rule (often it is about 120 cm). The distance between the surfaces of the walls and the extreme "beds" should be 25-30 cm.

The metal profile is laid on the tops of the "beds" and heated in the solution in such a way that the height noted earlier (the level of the leveling layer) is reached. The installation of beacons must be done a maximum of an hour after mixing the solution, otherwise it will seize.

Stage eight. Mixing the solution

A mixture for concrete screed can be purchased ready-made or made independently. Factory dry mixes are sold in bags of 25 kg and 50 kg and diluted with water (6.5 liters per bag or 13 liters, respectively). If necessary, the amount of water can be increased, but not more than 0.5 liters.

All components are mixed with an electric drill with a mixer nozzle, the finished mixture should be used for a maximum of 15 minutes.

For self-preparation of the solution, you need to mix cement (at least “four hundredth”) and sifted sand (preferably river sand) in a ratio of 1: 3. An electric drill is also used for kneading, but the whole procedure is performed in 2 stages. The finished solution must be used no later than 1.5 hours after mixing.

Important information! The strength and water resistance of the solution can be increased by adding special plasticizers (the proportions are indicated on the package). Although there is a cheaper alternative to plasticizer - the usual washing powder(a handful for every 100 liters of water).

Prices for cement-sand mixture

cement-sand mixture

Stage nine. fill

The filling procedure is carried out traditionally, i.e. continuously. You should start from the far corner relative to front door. The surface is leveled using a rule.

24 hours after pouring the screed, the beacons are removed, and the remaining voids are treated with a primer, filled with the same solution and leveled with a trowel.

Video - Screed on a wooden floor

Further care of the screed

Care requirements are the same for a finished dry screed, and for a home-made cement-sand mortar. The next day after pouring, the screed is moistened, the procedure is repeated daily for one week. For the first four days, the concrete must be covered with plastic wrap so that moisture evenly evaporates from the screed.

This completes the procedure for pouring the screed onto the wooden floor.

The bath belongs to the "wet" premises and all its structural elements should be built taking into account this feature. First of all, this applies to the floor in the steam room and the washing department, because it is he who is responsible for the drainage. Our conversation will focus on the types of floors for baths and the technology of their device with their own hands.

Types of floors for a bath

First of all, bath floors differ in material. As in residential premises, they can be:

The device of a concrete floor is an expensive, long and time-consuming process, but this option is also more durable: the service life is about 50 years. With a floor made of planks, it's the other way around: it's cheap, and you have to mess around less, but it will last only 7-8 years. After this period, the wood will need to be replaced.

There are no outsiders among these types, and both are quite in demand, so we will consider both options in detail.

plank floor

Floors of this type are further divided into two varieties:

In the first case, the floor is a kind of grate through which water flows directly onto the ground underneath. This is the simplest and cheap option. It is clear that with slots in the floor, the bath can only be operated in summer, that is, this design is most suitable for summer residents.

The non-leaking plank floor is solid. It is given a slope towards one of the walls, along which a plastic chute is installed to collect water. The gutter, in turn, has a slope towards the drain hole. Since the wetting of the underground space during correct installation is excluded, a heater can be placed here, due to which this type of floor can be considered acceptable for baths that are operated year-round.

Selection of materials and calculation of their quantity

Both leaking and non-leaking flooring is a covering of planks laid on beams called joists. The lags, in turn, rest on a foundation or grillage (if the foundation is columnar), and, if necessary, also on intermediate columns. Before starting work on arranging a plank floor, a number of parameters must be determined.

Section lag

The cross-sectional dimensions of the log are selected taking into account the expected distance between the supports. With a standard load on the floor (up to 300 kg / sq. M), the following relationship takes place:

• with a distance between supports of 2 m: section dimensions - 110x60 mm;
• at 3 m: 150x80 mm;
• at 4 m: 180x100 mm;
• at 5 m: 200x150 mm;
• at 6 m: 220x180 mm.

If the distance between the walls exceeds the bearing capacity of the available timber, one or more intermediate supports - the so-called high chairs - must be installed on the soil base in the middle of the span. Usually they are brick pillars with plan dimensions of 250x250 mm, installed on a low concrete foundation with plan dimensions of 350x350 mm.

There is also a simpler version of the “high chair”: an asbestos-cement pipe of sufficient diameter is dug into the ground, and then concrete or cement mortar is poured into it.

If there is no timber of suitable thickness available, the logs can be made composite by installing several thinner boards side by side, which in total will give the required thickness. Since such a structure, unlike a solid beam, is not monolithic, its height should be taken 10–20 mm more than indicated in the list just given.

Step between lags

Knowing the lag installation step, the builder will be able to calculate the amount of timber for their manufacture and the amount of materials for the support posts.

The step will depend on the thickness of the finishing boards. You should follow this dependency:

For the manufacture of floor covering you should use a smoothly planed board of the 1st or 2nd grade. Aspen is considered the most preferred breed - it is resistant to moisture and is warm to the touch. Oak also tolerates high humidity well, but it is colder.

You can also use conifers, but you need to be prepared for the fact that the resin protruding from them can appear in the form of ugly spots and even cause allergies in some users.

When calculating the number of boards for a leaking floor, the width of the gap between them should be taken into account - 5–7 mm.

Do-it-yourself leaky plank floor for a sauna or bath: a step-by-step guide

The technology includes the following stages: preparation of the base, laying the log and installation of the flooring.

Soil preparation

The method of preparation depends on the type of soil under the bath and how it is decided to dispose of the waste. There are two options:

• the soil has good drainage properties (sandy or rocky);
• the soil passes water poorly (clay, loam, sandy loam).

In the first case, it is enough to arrange a filter made of crushed stone or gravel covered with a layer of 25 cm under the floor. Excavation should be carried out to such a depth that there is at least 10 cm distance from the top of the filter to the bottom of the lag.

If the soil does not absorb water, do the following:

On the ground under the floor, a crushed stone pillow is arranged with a 10-degree slope towards the pit, and on top of it - one of two:

• a waterproof pallet made of roofing material, the sheets of which are welded or glued together with bituminous mastic;
• clay castle 80–100 mm thick.

To make a castle, you need to soak the clay with water and make a thick solution out of it. When laying it, it must be carefully leveled, and then, when the coating dries slightly, iron it out, slightly wetting it with water.

Important! Before backfilling the rubble, do not forget to install the support posts for the log, if necessary, and the foundation for the furnace.

Log laying

Logs should be laid so that the long side of the cross section is vertical. When installing a leaking floor, they are laid parallel to the shortest wall of the room. Logs should not touch directly the foundation or support posts. It is necessary to lay them on gaskets from 2 or 3 layers of roofing material, smeared with bitumen dissolved in diesel fuel or molten bitumen.

Advice. Anyone who is willing to spend a little more can be recommended to use a modern waterproofing agent - eurobitumen, as more effective.

Flooring installation

As already mentioned, the boards of the final flooring are laid with a gap of 5–7 mm. It is advisable not to nail the flooring to the logs, but to make it in the form of several removable shields, nailing several boards to two crossbars. The latter are arranged so that when laying the shield they are between the lags. The removable floor can be taken out to dry, which will significantly extend its service life.

Important! The boards should not come close to the walls - there should be a gap of 20 mm around the perimeter of the flooring.

Note! It is important to provide in the foundation of the bath, if it is solid, holes (air vents) through which the underground space will be ventilated.

Leak-proof plank flooring

The flooring of a non-leaking floor is made of a tongue-and-groove board, that is, one that has a groove along the edges and a corresponding ridge for a lock connection. Thanks to the lock, the cover is waterproof.

The step-by-step instruction looks like this:

1. As in the case of a non-leaking floor, a 25 cm thick bedding is arranged over the compacted soil, but since the non-leaking floor is insulated, it is better to use expanded clay instead of crushed stone. The soil must be taken out to such a depth that a distance of at least 150 mm remains from the top of the backfill to the bottom of the wooden structures. Although the penetration of water into the underground space is excluded, in this case it must also be well ventilated, for which purpose air vents must be arranged in the foundation. This will prevent the wood underneath from rotting.
2. We lay logs on the foundation and support posts. When installing a non-leaking floor, they should be directed across the water flow. With this design, moisture will flow down the boards along the wood fibers, that is, with minimal resistance.
3. Having set the logs, the so-called draft floor is nailed to them from below - a filing made of the cheapest, waste material, for example, a cut slab. On that structural element in the future, a heat insulator will be laid. It should also be treated with an antiseptic beforehand.
4. Next, the logs with a subfloor must be covered with a vapor barrier film. It is pressed into the gaps between the beams, as a result of which it fits both them and the filing. The edges of the film should go on the walls by about 100 mm.
5. Insulation is placed between the lags. In this case, it is better to use in this capacity mineral wool, since it is of no interest to rodents. If the foam is laid and the mice manage to get to it, which is very likely in the conditions of a suburban area, then they will gnaw out whole holes in this material.
6. From above, the insulation is covered with a film with hydro-vapor barrier properties. It should also be released on the wall.
7. On top of the lag we fill a solid flooring from a tongue-and-groove board. Do not forget that a gap of 20 mm should be left around the entire perimeter. Each board is nailed to the joists with two nails, and they should be driven in at an angle of 45 degrees - then the boards will be pressed against each other as tightly as possible. At first, it is recommended to simply “grab” the boards, but the final fitting and fixing is best done after they are finished. Finishing work and the bath is dry.

Note! Before laying the logs, you need to prepare them in a special way, because it is with their help that the slope towards the gutter is formed. In the course of water movement, wood is cut off the beams, reducing their height more and more, and in addition, the cutting is increased on one side by 2–3 mm so that the logs lie with a certain slope. The slope should be 10 degrees. In addition, the wood must be impregnated with an antiseptic. For the treatment of bath floor boards, only an environmentally friendly antiseptic, for example, Neomid 200, should be used.

After installing the finished floor covering, you need to cut the film sticking out from under it and sew it to the walls.

Note! Wall sheathing should lie on top of the baseboard so that moisture flowing down them does not penetrate under it.

It remains to install an inclined chute with a drain hole connected to the sewer along one of the walls.

Please note that a conventional bath drain water trap is not suitable - during long periods of inactivity it will dry out. A so-called dry shutter should be used, the main element of which is a hollow light ball or a damper made of floating material. Water entering the drain will cause the ball or flapper to float, opening the drain hole. When the flow dries up, the locking element will lower under its own weight and close the hole, thus preventing the penetration of odors from the sewer.

Concrete base device

Anyone who preferred a concrete floor needs to do the following:

1. The soil base should be carefully compacted.
2. From above, fill and compact a layer of expanded clay with a thickness of 150 mm.
3. Pour concrete preparation with a thickness of 50 mm, after laying a mesh of fine reinforcement on expanded clay.
4. Treat the corners between the walls and the floor with waterproofing mastic or lay a strip of roofing material in this place, so that 500 mm of its width falls on the wall, and 200 mm on the floor. Such protection is recommended to be applied after each layer - it will not allow moisture to penetrate into the underlying layers, which could cause the development of mold and fungus in them.
5. Reinstall and connect the lower part of the drain to the sewer.

The drain consists of two parts, each of which has a flange. The part with the upper flange must be temporarily disconnected, and the lower one, which we will now install, must be closed with tape or polyethylene film so that the solution does not get into it.

Further actions depend on the installation site of the ladder. The ladder ladder (it looks like a long tray) just needs to be installed against the wall and connected to the sewer, having well lubricated the junction with sealant.

Saving sealant is not worth it: the pipe joint, being filled with a screed, will be completely inaccessible, so the likelihood of leakage should be minimized. Moreover, the rubber sealing ring will dry out over time (natural aging of rubber) and will not be able to provide tightness. We remind you that the drain must be equipped with a dry valve, and not with a conventional water seal.

Similarly, you need to do with a point ladder if it is installed in a corner.

If you want to install a point ladder in the middle of the room, you need to calculate its location and installation height.

Location

This item is relevant if the concrete floor is supposed to be pasted over with ceramic tiles. From the point of view of aesthetics, it is important that the ladder is in harmony with such a coating. To do this, you need to calculate its location so that it:

• at small sizes tiles: installed instead of one of the tiles;
• with large tiles: it was installed at the junction of two or four tiles symmetrically with respect to them.

Installation height

Having determined the location, the ladder must be raised to such a height that the pipe connecting it with the sewer has the correct slope. Its value depends on the diameter of this pipe:

• with a diameter of 30 mm: the slope is 1:20 (5 cm per 1 m);
• at 50 mm: 0.02–0.03 (2–3 cm per 1 m).

To set the pipe and ladder to the desired height, you need to put wooden linings or insulation under them.

Good to know: drains are available with adjustable height.

Further actions

The next step is laying the heat insulator. In this case, a material capable of withstanding loads should be used as a heater. The cheapest way is to use expanded clay, but you need to consider that its thermal conductivity is not the lowest. More effective option- extruded polystyrene foam, which costs a little more.

Granulated polystyrene foam, which in everyday life we ​​call polystyrene, cannot be used, since it will collapse under the influence of a load. Extruded can withstand loads up to 50 t/sq. m. You can recognize it by its structure: it is homogeneous, while granular polystyrene foam consists of many glued granules of different sizes.

The thickness of the insulation should be such that a distance of about 35-40 mm remains from its top to the bottom of the ladder flange. If expanded polystyrene is used, then in its sheets it is necessary to cut grooves for the ladder and sewer pipe.

1. We install a damper tape around the perimeter of the room immediately above the insulation. It will allow the screed to expand freely when heated. Such a tape should be installed both in the steam room and in the washing department, where the floor will be heated by hot water pouring onto it.
2. We lay a cement-sand screed over the heat insulator. It fits under the very flange of the ladder, that is, its thickness is the same 35–40 mm. For reliability, this layer can be reinforced with wire. The solution is smoothed with a rule, after which it is left to mature.
3. We lay the waterproofing: a reliable waterproofing material, for example, roofing material or the Isoplast membrane, is laid over the entire screed with an outlet on the walls, while a hole corresponding to the inner diameter is cut out in it at the installation site of the ladder drain device. Thus, the flange of the ladder is covered with waterproofing.
4. For greater reliability, one or two more fragments of waterproofing material about 1x1 m in size can be laid on top of the ladder, cutting holes in them in the same way. Also in the waterproofing, it is necessary to make small holes above the mounting holes of the flange.
5. We screw the upper part of the ladder into place: first, the sealing ring supplied with the ladder is placed on the flange, then the upper part is installed and screwed tightly with screws. The next step will be to fill the screed again, so the ladder again needs to be covered with a film from the solution.
6. We fill in another layer of screed, forming a slope towards the ladder.

The required slope for the floor is 1 cm per 1 m of length, that is, 1:100. The shape of the surface will depend on the type and location of the drain:

1. If it is a long tray and installed along the wall, the floor is given the appearance of a single inclined plane.
2. If the ladder is point-shaped and stands in a corner, the floor is divided diagonally into two parts and each of them is given the desired slope.
3. When installing a point drain in the center of the room, the floor is divided by diagonals into 4 isosceles triangles with a slope towards the drain.

The slope of the screed is formed using plastic beacons - long rails, in which one of the faces is located at the desired angle. Often such beacons are even included in the ladder kit.

The thickness of the screed is selected so that near the ladder it is below its grate by the thickness of the finish coating.

At the end, lay the finish coat. The concrete floor is quite cold to the touch, so wooden grates are usually laid out on it in the bath. But even in this case, it is worth not limiting yourself to treating the screed with a deep penetration waterproof impregnation, but laying a waterproof coating on it, smooth, but not slippery. Thanks to him, the floor will be much easier to keep clean.

Can be used as a finish liquid glass or liquid rubber, but most often the floor is pasted over with waterproof ceramic tiles with an anti-slip effect. The grout should also be waterproof, and it is highly desirable to add an antifungal additive to both it and the tile adhesive.

The work on laying the tiles should start from the ladder, and if its location was calculated correctly, the tiles near the walls either do not have to be cut at all, or they will be cut at each wall in the same way.

Seams are made with a width of no more than 3 mm, grouting should be done one day after laying the tiles.

Video: installing wooden logs and warming the bath floor

You can often hear from masters: "Water will always find its way." This means that the construction of the floor in the bath, even the simplest, flowing one, must be approached very deliberately. Using our advice, you will be able to build reliable design that will serve you for many years.

The floor in the bath differs in its structure only in the steam room and washing room. The rest of the baths are operated in the usual humidity regime. In the article, we will consider in detail the arrangement of floors in the steam room and talk about how to lay them with your own hands.

The choice of the design of the floor of the steam room and washing

The usual solution would be wooden floors. Their main advantage is the health benefits of wood, environmental friendliness and practicality. Despite the relatively short service life of wooden floors in a steam room, they are not so difficult to change, and the total cost will still be lower than the arrangement of a concrete floor.

In the steam room and washing room, a fair amount of water constantly falls on the floor, which should be diverted to the pit, drainage system, or simply into the ground under the bath. In a constructive way, to solve this problem, wooden floors are divided into leaking and non-leaking.

The leaking floor provides a gap between the boards. Water seeps freely into the underfloor. Then it is absorbed into the soil, if its filtering capacity allows it, or is discharged into a pit, for which a clay castle or concrete base is formed with a slope in one direction.

The second option is a non-leaking floor in the wet rooms of the bath. Such a floor is made with a non-removable coating and is replaced only at the end of its service life. A slope for collecting and draining water is provided here along the surface of the floor covering towards the tray or funnel.

A floor with a removable coating can and even needs to be disassembled and dried regularly until the bath is in use. Fixed floors, due to susceptibility to decay at high humidity, change completely about once every 7-8 years.

concrete base under a leaking wooden floor in the bath significantly increases the durability of the structure, and also affects comfort - even after many years there will be no musty smell from under the floor. However, the arrangement of a concrete base significantly increases the cost of arranging a bath, so if the parent soil under the building has a high drainage capacity, then it is easier to get by with preparing a filter layer.

Materials and tools

To cover the floor in the steam room and washing room, wooden elements from deciduous (linden, aspen) and coniferous (pine, larch, cedar) wood species are used. All wooden floor structures must be treated with antiseptics.

For flooring you will need:

• wooden beam for logs 50 (100) x100 mm;
• floor board 35 mm thick;
• cement M300, M400;
• sand of medium fraction;
• expanded clay for the heat-insulating layer;
• ordinary clay brick for posts under logs;
• waterproofing (roofing material).

It is important to choose the right protective wood impregnation. It should be suitable for baths due to high temperature and humidity. The easiest way to process wood is impregnation sunflower oil for two approaches.

Tool

The floors in the steam room are arranged using a tool for laying a concrete base on the ground and wood flooring bath floor.

Tools for working with concrete. 1. Rake-stroke. 2. Cement grater. 3. Trowel. 4. Ironer. 5. Corner ironer. 6. Rule. 7. Bubble level. 8. Pendulum profile

Woodworking tools. 1. Construction corner. 2. Staple. 3. Hammer. 4. Electric planer. 5. Clamps. 6. Hacksaw for wood. 7. Bubble level. 8. Screwdriver. 9. Drill. 10. A circular saw machine

Leaking floor from individual boards with chamfers

To prepare the soil base for the floor structure, it is imperative to remove the fertile layer, no matter how thick it is.

Leaking floor over concrete base. 1. Ground. 2. Expanded clay concrete. 3. Cement screed. 4. Gutter. 5. Brick column. 6. Waterproofing. 7. Lags. 8. Floor board

Flowing floor on the ground with filtering capacity. 1. Ground. 2. Sand cushion. 3. Gravel. 4. The foundation of the supporting column. 5. Brick pillar. 6. Waterproofing. 7. Lags. 8. Floor board

It is important at this stage to decide how and where the water will be drained outside the building. For this, a tray (200x150h mm) is provided in the concrete base, into which water flows. The bottom of the tray is made with a slope towards the drain pit (30x30x25h). It is better to locate the pit closer to the place of the external water collector. From the pit, water flows through the drain pipe to the sump.

The slope of the surface for water flow is 2-3 cm per meter in the direction of the tray. It is created either by leveling the ground under the floor, or by filling (sand and gravel) under the concrete base. The overall level of the floor in the steam room and washing room is 30 mm lower than in adjacent rooms with normal humidity.

A sand and gravel cushion 10-15 cm thick is laid on the compacted soil. It is necessary to fill and compact the sand in layers of no more than 5 cm, wetting it with water. Next, a heat-insulating layer of expanded clay concrete is laid. The approximate consumption of raw materials per 1 m 3 of concrete is:

1. without sand:
   • cement M300, 400 - 250 kg;
   • expanded clay - 720 kg;
   • water - 100-150 l.
2. with sand:
   • cement M300, 400 - 230 kg;
   • expanded clay - 440 kg;
   • sand - 195 kg;
   • water - 100-130 l.

It is best to prepare a concrete solution in a concrete mixer or order

It is also possible to use another light filler (shungizite, perlite, expanded vermiculite, crushed stone of porous rocks, etc.). The thickness of the expanded clay concrete layer can be taken as 150 mm. Concrete is laid in strips no more than 2.5 m wide on a base moistened with water. To limit the strips, rails are installed, they also serve as beacons for determining the thickness of the layer. The thicker the insulation layer, the warmer the floor.

Be sure to observe the slope towards the gutter or funnel to collect and drain water

On a layer of expanded clay concrete is laid cement-sand screed 40 mm thick. The composition of the mortar (M100) cement / sand: one to three. Before the mortar sets, it is necessary to iron the surface with cement milk. Cement is mixed with water to the state of liquid sour cream. The surface is covered with an even thin layer of the mixture. This is done to increase the water resistance of the concrete base.

Under the logs, brick columns are installed from solid clay ordinary bricks (250x250 mm) on a cement-sand mortar. The distance between the posts is 0.8-1.0 m in the center. 2 layers of roofing material are laid on their surface. Next, the lags are laid. The floorboards of the leaking floor have chamfers along the edges for water drainage. The gap between the boards is 5-6 mm.

Important! Do not use sand-lime bricks, hollow stones, silicate blocks in damp and wet rooms.

Such a floor is made removable in order to be able to dry floorboard to increase service life. The boards can move when walking on them, they are often caught with nails, landing nests up to 5 mm deep are prepared under them in the logs, or spacers are stuffed on the boards along the edges.

Leaking floor made of removable panels

The floor covering of the steam room and soap room can be made from removable wooden shields. The boards of the shield are laid with a gap on the transverse bars 50x50 mm. The size of the shields is taken for reasons of ease of removal and drying.

The floor structure is the same: compacted soil, compacted sand and gravel mixture, insulation - expanded clay concrete 150 mm thick. On a cement-sand mortar with a thickness of 10-15 mm, a ceramic floor tiles. The floor has a slope that is directed towards the drain tray. Removable shields are installed on the tile so that the lower bars are located along the water drain.

The sequence of works of a non-leaking floor

A non-leaking wooden floor involves a continuous flooring of tongue-and-groove boards along the logs. First determine the location of the support columns. They are placed at a distance of 0.8-1.0 m from each other, measuring the distances in the centers. A concrete pad 100 mm thick and 70 mm wider than the size of the post is prepared for each post.

Solid non-leaking floor over the ground. 1. Ground. 2. Sand cushion. 3. Expanded clay or other bulk heat-insulating material. 4. The foundation of the supporting column. 5. Brick column. 6. Waterproofing. 7. Lags. 8. Floor board

A solid, non-leaking floor must be laid with a slope. The gutter can be placed in one of the logs located close to the wall. 1. Ground. 2. Sand cushion. 3. Expanded clay or other bulk heat-insulating material. 4. Brick column on a concrete base. 5. Gutter. 6. Floor board

Supports for logs are made of concrete or ordinary clay bricks on a cement-sand mortar. The size of the columns is 250x250 mm. The height of the supports must correspond to the upper edge of the embedded beam (columnar foundation), or the top of the strip foundation.

The direction of laying the log should be perpendicular to the direction of water flow. wooden elements without fail, they are isolated from concrete or brick with two layers of waterproofing (roofing material). Expanded clay bedding 15 cm thick is made on the compacted soil.

An uninsulated floor option is shown in the figure. In this case, the boards rest on one side of the wall log, on the other - on the gutter log. The tray is covered from above with a wooden ladder.

The insulated floor involves logs with cranial bars to which the black floor is attached. Next, a vapor barrier is laid (membrane, polyethylene, polypropylene films), a layer of heat insulator (mineral wool board, polystyrene) is laid on it. Rolled waterproofing (roofing material) is laid on the heat-insulating layer.

Insulated non-leaking floor. 1. Soil, sand cushion and bulk insulation. 2. Brick pillar. 3. Logs and rough wooden floor. 4. Insulation. 5. Logs and finished floor laid with a slope towards the gutter. 6. Gutter. 7. A vapor-permeable membrane is laid on top of the subfloor, waterproofing is laid on top of the thermal insulation layer

There must be a gap of at least 3 cm between the clean floor and the waterproofing. The lag size in this case is 100x170 mm. Skull bar - 40x40 mm. For logs, only a solid beam must be used.

Grooved boards are laid along the lags. Boards are sewn with nails or self-tapping screws to the logs through the tongue. This method of rallying boards is called "parquet". Its advantage is the absence of hats on the surface of the board.

Each board is attached to all lags. They should fit snugly against each other. The gap between the boards should not exceed 1 mm. For rallying the boards, staples or clamps are used. Nails for fastening are used 2-2.5 times longer than the thickness of the boards. The end of the plank floor does not reach the wall by 10-20 mm. In the future, the gap is covered with a plinth.

Drainage of water from the floor surface occurs due to the slope of the floor in two directions. A hole is made at the drain point and a siphon is installed. The slope of the floor can be done by adjusting the height of the log.

Arrangement of the floor in a private steam room should be given special attention. The level of comfort during use and the functionality of the bath itself depend on how competently its design is thought out and implemented.

Materials for arranging floors in the steam room - what to use?

The floor base in the bath performs several important functions at once. It not only ensures the safety of human movement during water procedures, but is also part of the water removal system. A properly constructed floor in the bath does not wear out ahead of time, does not rot due to high humidity, and effectively retains heat in the room. In private steam rooms, the foundations we are interested in are most often made of wood and concrete. Brick coatings are used much less frequently. They are expensive and quite difficult to arrange with your own hands.

If you want to build a capital bath room made of stone or brick with a rest room, washing department, dressing room and use it all year round, experts advise opting for a concrete base. It must be equipped with a well-thought-out water drainage system and effective waterproofing. But for small baths, operated exclusively in the summer, simpler wooden floors are suitable. They are built much faster and easier, are environmentally friendly, have a very presentable appearance.

Wooden bases have been used for a very long time. They create special comfort in the steam room, saturate the room with pleasant natural aromas, make each bath procedure a small holiday for the true Russian soul. True, there are many disadvantages of wooden floors. The durability of such structures leaves much to be desired. No matter how hard you try to protect wood from the harmful effects of water, it will quickly lose its initial performance characteristics. Therefore, be prepared for the fact that after a while you will have to re-lay the wooden floors in the steam room.

Concrete structures are much more preferable in terms of durability. They are not afraid of water and steam, temperature changes.

Concrete products withstand even the most difficult operating conditions. On average, such foundations are used for 40–45 years without additional repairs. We immediately note the obvious disadvantages of concrete coatings. They are very cold (for this reason, a suitable finishing material, for example, a tile, is laid on top of them), time-consuming to install with your own hands, they require a serious investment of time and financial resources.

Concrete foundation - we build for centuries!

The floor for a bath made of concrete, in fact, is an ordinary screed. It is made from a solution in which there is sand, cement and some special fillers (crushed stone, natural marble chips, gravel and others). We advise you not to bother with mixing the required ingredients to obtain a concrete composition, but immediately purchase the finished mixture at the nearest construction store. Factory sand-cement compositions in dry form are completely ready for use. They only need to be diluted with ordinary water in the recommended volume, thoroughly mixed with a perforator with a nozzle, and then used for its intended purpose.

If the screed will serve as a finishing floor covering, or a simple board flooring will be mounted on it, there is no need to add any special components to the purchased mixture. For cases where over concrete pavement it is planned to lay tiles, it is advisable to add a little anhydrite with gypsum to the cement-sand composition. It is even easier to buy a self-levelling compound designed specifically for such cases.

The concrete base for the bath can be mounted on logs or directly on the ground. The first stage of work is the arrangement of an elementary system for removing water. It consists of an intermediate tank (this role is usually played by a small hole 0.4x0.4x0.3 m dug in the ground) and two pipes. The walls and bottom of the pit should be concreted and a tubular product with a cross section of 20 cm should be brought to it. Its second end is led into an autonomous septic tank at the site or into the gutter. We start another pipe from the pit into the bathhouse. It is desirable to provide this part of the system with a valve that prevents the penetration of unpleasant odors into the steam room.

Next, prepare the platform for the screed. We remove the top layer of soil, pour sand into the resulting pit, ram it, pour brick or gravel on top. We should get a layer of about 0.25 m. Add 10 cm of crushed stone on top. Once again we ram the whole cake and fill it with a sand-cement mixture (about 5-6 cm thick). An important nuance! The concrete layer must have a slight slope towards the reservoir pit.

When the solution hardens, lay mineral wool or polystyrene on it (you can pour a layer of expanded clay, perlite). These materials play the role of an effective insulation. Under the foam and cotton wool, we must put waterproofing (it is most reasonable to use roofing material). We cover the thermal insulation with the same material. Then we mount a metal mesh (wire). It makes it possible to perform high-quality reinforcement.

Now you can pour the main screed. We serve the solution from the far corner and gradually approach the exit from the steam room. When pouring, the composition is necessarily leveled (you need to work with an assistant). This operation is performed with a trowel. And to tighten the concrete in a circular motion, we use the rule. After 2-3 days, the screed will harden. It can be laid flooring from boards or tiles. We mount the trim with a two-centimeter slope towards the drain. If the concrete is planned to be used as a finishing coating (you can do so), just carefully level and grind its surface. But remember that such a floor in a private bath will be cold. In winter, it is problematic to use a steam room with it.

Leaking wood floor - acceptable quality with minimal labor

You can make a floor in a wooden bath using two technologies. The first involves the construction of leaking foundations, the second - non-leaking. Advice. If you have little experience in construction work, it is better to build leaking floors. They are made in the form of flooring from boards, between which gaps are specially left. Through them, the used water goes into the ground. Insulation of such structures is not carried out, the sewer system is not being built. Instead of the latter, simple pit for drainage. They dig it under the bath.

You can make a floor in a bath of this type according to the following algorithm:

1. 1. We level a piece of land, fill it with a layer of gravel, which should be well compacted.
2. 2. We prepare wooden logs(we cut to the required size, apply an antiseptic composition) and support pillars for them.
3. 3. We mount the processed logs on the supports, keeping the distance between the individual elements at the level of 0.5 m.
4. 4. Lay the boardwalk. We leave gaps of 2-3 mm between the wall of the bath, the floor and the boards to be mounted.

It is not necessary to fix the flooring elements to the lags. The described coating is recommended to be regularly removed and taken out under the sun to dry. If necessary, at any time it is possible to replace rotten boards. The service life of the described floor structure is 4–6 years. Then you have to build a new one. Such leaking floors are best used in the country, where you visit from time to time and rarely use the steam room.

There is another way to arrange simple boardwalks. It is less difficult to implement. After preparing the plot of land, bars-beams with a section of 10x10 to 15x15 cm should be placed around the perimeter of the foundation. Be sure to apply an antiseptic on them! We install logs on the beams, fix them, and on top we mount the flooring from the boards.

Leaking floors of both types can be constructed from hardwood and softwood. It is not recommended to lay oak boards. They become very slippery when wet. It is better to opt for products made of pine, linden or larch. Last option considered the most optimal. One more nuance. The flooring is made from planed edged boards 4–5 cm thick. Thinner products in high humidity conditions will not last long.

Non-leaking wood floor - environmentally friendly and quite reliable

Now let's try to properly make a non-leaking base. It will take more time to build such a structure. But the result of the work will be of better quality. Leak-proof wooden floors are suitable for year-round steam rooms. The design of such bases requires the arrangement of a rough intermediate coating and the mandatory installation of a heat-insulating layer. Due to this, the service life of such structures reaches 10–12 years.

We build a non-leaking floor in the bath according to the following step-by-step guide:

1. 1. We make a hole-reservoir, we lay pipes for drains by analogy with the arrangement of drainage for concrete pavements.
2. 2. We prepare the site. We remove the layer of earth, fill the cleaned area with sand and gravel. Each layer of material is rammed. If desired, pour a concrete screed (5–6 cm). This part of the operation is optional. If you want to save time and money, skip it.
3. 3. We cover the floor base with a waterproofing layer. The best protector from moisture in this case will be roofing material.
4. 4. We perform insulation using polystyrene foam or expanded clay. Mineral wool is not used for thermal insulation of non-leaking bases.
5. 5. We install logs with a step of 0.5 m on pre-mounted beams. For the manufacture of the latter, you need to use bars 10x20 cm. These supports, as you remember, are fastened along the perimeter of the foundation.

Then we mount the intermediate base. We fix the draft floor from the bottom of the beams. We cover it with an additional heat-insulating layer (mounted on roofing material). On top of the insulation we lay another layer of waterproofing material. The last stage of work is the installation of the finishing floor. We install it with a slope, we lay the boards close to each other. The finish coating is attached to the lags with nails or self-tapping screws.

We take boards for non-leaking floors, tongue-and-groove, 3-5 cm thick. We make logs from wooden blocks with dimensions of 5x7 cm. Pay attention! The lower edge of the floor base made of wood must rise 10–20 cm above the level of the basement (its upper edge) of the bath. We hope that our instructions will help you build a truly reliable floor in your steam room.