How to make shelves in the bath with your own hands
Bath "furniture" in the bath has no decorative delights. It should have maximum functionality and provide full comfort. To get the comfort and benefit from visiting the bath, it is necessary to correctly install the shelves in the bath room.
It is required to comply with the established norms, to choose the right material for the flooring. The simple design of such "furniture" does not require high professionalism in work and allows a non-professional to perform high-quality production of products in a short time.
What size should be the shelves for the bath
Experts have established acceptable dimensions according to which the shelves are mounted in the baths. The development included flooring that allows you to comfortably sit during bath procedures, sit on them or lie down.
The main parameters were deduced based on the convenient location of the person:
- The average length of the shelf was calculated so that a person could bend his knees while lying down. It turned out 1.5 m.
- So that a person could comfortably sit on a shelf in full growth, the length was set at 1.8 m.Then the legs no longer have to bend at the knees.
- In addition to the standard parameters, there are individual sizes. Since it happens that a person's height is above average and he needs a longer shelf in order to enjoy the process, feel comfortable in the steam room. Lengths are selected that reach up to 2 meters or exceed this parameter.
- The smallest parameter of the shelf width is chosen equal to 40 cm. This can be the size of the lower shelf, on which they become feet, and which plays the role of a stand. You can stand on it, and you can also sit on it when you need to cool down.
- The width can be up to 60 cm. But, such benches are not comfortable to steam while lying down.
- The shelves of 90 cm seem to be the most comfortable in width. A person of any build can sit comfortably across them, curl their legs or lie down.
Common forms of shelves
When making shelves for baths, they take into account several forms that can be given to them:
- Stepped shelves. Their placement is carried out along one wall, using the principle of steps. There is a construction of massive shops with several tiers. Those occupying the upper shelves experience a higher temperature. The heat in the steam room is always concentrated in the upper part.
- Varieties of corner shelves. The advantage is the compactness of the dimensions. Large spatial volume is not taken away. Installation of corner structures is an ideal solution for small baths. The arrangement of the shelves is so that the upper and lower parts are adjacent to one partition. The intermediate part is attached to the adjacent wall.
- Constructions of collapsible models. They are convenient for small steam rooms.More often, the installation of removable shelves occurs at the bottom and at the top of the structure. When the shelves are disassembled, the warm air functions faster. In turn, this enables all wooden elements in the steam room to dry much faster.
- The shape of the folding shelves. The second name they wear is compartment shelves. A similar form of device for compartment shelves in a railway carriage. The construction works simply. The upper shelf can, if necessary, be raised and installed vertically to the wall surface. This functionality is beneficial. The design of the folding shelves allows you to save space in the room.
Location features
It is important to know that the shelves in the baths are not attached to the walls in which the window openings are installed. The danger is that the glass can break if exposed to hot steam. Shrapnel can injure people. Steam rooms with windows have a limited number of shelf positions. More precisely, they are placed along solid walls without windows and glazed ventilation vents.
The schemes according to which the shelves are mounted in the bathhouse in the steam room represent the following types of location:
- Installation of 1 to three rows of shelves is carried out along one wall along the surface. The shelves are fixed one above the other.
- Installation of shelves with the letter L, when the structure can have several different location options. For example, two or three shelves are placed along each wall. The upper and lower ones are fixed on wider long walls, the middle shelf is installed along the adjacent short wall.
- The two structures are installed in parallel on opposite walls. The location is built like a train compartment shelves. Structures are fixed symmetrically along one line or asymmetrically.
How to make shelves in the bath with your own hands
Experts, advising on how to make shelves in the bath with their own hands, argue that it is easy to do such work. If you do the work yourself, you need to pay special attention to step-by-step guidance, the development of drawings, plans, diagrams. It is advisable to use visual material: photographs with views from catalogs and from the Internet, video. It is also important to choose the right material, purchase the right tools.
What material is better to do
It is better to take natural types of wood for production. Such material for shelves is considered the most optimal for a steam room. Natural wood is highly environmentally friendly, does not require complex processing, and has a traditional, attractive appearance.
Important! Use wood without defects. The surface eliminates roughness.
Several products and wood are taken as the main materials for work:
- Bars are needed for the frame device. Or they can be replaced with thick planks. The cross-section of the timber may vary. In the standard parameters of the section of the bar - 50 * 50 mm, 50 * 80 mm. More massive timber allows - 100 * 100 mm.
Important! With a decrease in the cross-section of frame supports, the frequency of their installation increases. Since the load must be distributed evenly.
- The purchase of edged boards, lining is carried out for flooring. Board thickness up to 25 mm. They should be 4 times thicker in width. The number of boards is calculated by the step of the fasteners. The fixed step, according to the recommendation of specialists, is from 1 to 2 cm.
- The fasteners are self-tapping screws. Additionally, use galvanized, steel corners.To make folding shelves, hinges made of stainless steel are used.
What tools will be needed
To work, you need to stock up on a number of tools:
- screwdriver;
- a hacksaw working for metal;
- construction mallet;
- hammer for driving fasteners;
- tape measure and pencil for measuring distances and fixing markings;
- chisel;
- a jigsaw for cutting wood;
- sandpaper for grinding.
Calculations and drafting
Self-assembly of bathroom furniture is always associated with careful preparation. Before you undertake to equip a steam room in a bath, you need to prepare drawings, diagrams, and perform accurate calculations. It will be necessary to mark in the plan the area of the steam room, mark the levels of the location of the shelves and their parameters on a reduced scale, take into account other important details.
To make the shelves for the bath with your own hands, drawings and assembly diagrams are strictly necessary. Designing is done manually or using special computer programs. The latter option is seen as a benefit for users who have no experience in setting up steam rooms. Those who own the programs can eventually see a preliminary result of the work in 3D.
Calculations are carried out taking into account the choice of the number of tiers. Traditionally, in Russian baths, one-tier shelves are arranged. However, many steam room owners prefer two- and three-tier shelves. The choice of multi-level benches is typical for saunas, where people have to sit rather than lie down.
Step-by-step description of the process of manufacturing and fixing shelves
Before starting work on assembling the shelves in the bath, it is required to prepare the supports. They should be given the desired length. Also, the manufacture of transverse lintels is carried out. It will be correct to use the instructions. To install a shelf in a steam room with your own hands, step-by-step instructions are needed to get the desired result.
The assembly takes place in stages:
- The frame elements are attached from the upper tier. They should fit snugly against the wall. The fixing of the support bars is carried out for the subsequent installation of the shelf. This is called a harness belt. For the strength of the fastening, metal corners are used. Sometimes they use the method of cutting in half a tree.
- Opposite the exposed supports, parallel installation of the second row of racks is carried out. The connection of the first and second row is performed by transverse jumpers. The horizontal crosspieces of the support are fastened to form the outer strapping.
- The outer harness is fastened together with the frame of the lower tier.
Important! To minimize moisture impact on the supports, rubber gaskets are placed on them before fixing the flooring or plastic types are used.
- Next, the flooring is laid perpendicular to the frame racks, lengthwise. For him, they take edged boards 20 * 120 mm, length - 3.5 m. They are fixed with pins with a pitch of -1-2 cm. Sometimes wooden nails are used. To fix the boards, galvanized self-tapping screws are often taken.
- Rounding of corners and grinding is performed. Boards become more comfortable and safer. Grinding is carried out before assembly and after fixing the material.
Bath benches care tips
Keeping the shelves clean and making them last long will be helped by following the advice given by experts.
- Remove serious stains with a brush.
- Light cleaning should be done using laundry soap to get rid of dust.
- When cleaning, you should abandon chemical detergents, you can not use detergents.
- It is important after staying in the steam room to complete the process of drying the shelves, benches, and the whole room as a whole. You should also regularly check that the ventilation system is working properly.
Video: how to make the right shelves in the bath