Wooden water closets for baths

Since time immemorial, after visiting the steam room, people plunged into the cold water, so the baths tried to build on the banks of ponds. Nowadays, lovers of steam prefer to jump into a special font. The most popular were wooden bathing bowls, about the production of which with their own hands and we'll talk below.

Wooden bowls for baths and saunas are usually built from larch, cedar, oak and some other types of wood. Outwardly, they resemble a large tub, but not the fact that it is rounded, as a variety of forms are appropriate here, convenient for the owners. This criterion directly depends on the metrage of the bath and the location of the font in the room. Users note that the most convenient in the manufacture and use are oval or rectangular containers.

Bowls with high sides are often equipped with steps or stairs so that people of all ages could easily climb inside it and then get out. If desired, small benches can be installed inside.

Make such a font with their own hands is not so difficult, but the most difficult technical aspect of its creation is the organization of heating the water. For this purpose, there is a furnace inside, which is separated by a grid to prevent skin contact with the heated metal during bathing.

Factory-made font can have a hydromassage, an option to fill the water to maintain the required level, and illumination. Very convenient solution is considered an auto-heating water. Homemade furnace can overheat or underheat water too much, and automation allows you to maintain a comfortable temperature during bathing.

As for the size of the wooden font, there are no special requirements in this case. The owner of the barrel always chooses its capacity, at his discretion.

Install the font is usually inside the bath or outside of it. In the first case, the tub is placed in the washing room, in the second case, the terrace or a closed veranda may be the best option. In the yard, it is better to place the font under a small awning, or if there is no awning, then put as close to the bath house as possible.

Wooden font requires mandatory treatment with special impregnations, increasing their resistance to moisture and antimicrobial characteristics. Outdoor models require additional treatment with compositions that protect them from the effects of ultraviolet rays.

Before buying or making a wood font yourself, you need to know what kind of wood it is made of. The most popular models are made of larch, as well as oak and cedar. On sale you can find barrels made of pine, beech and birch. In terms of environmental friendliness they are not worse, but all these species (especially pine) are the most prone to rot when used in wet rooms. Service life of such barrels is short.

The exceptional value of softwoods lies in their high concentration of useful substances for the body. So, Siberian cedar in contact with heated water begins to secrete phytoncides, which have therapeutic effect on the person and contribute to immunity. Coniferous essential oils give a relaxing aroma, improve the condition of the skin and promote healing of minor wounds.

Oak font ranks first among all other options in terms of durability. It is a hard wood with high resistance to mechanical damage, ultraviolet radiation and moisture. The only disadvantage can be called a large weight, but for a stationary model, this criterion does not play a special role. Oak font for the sauna has pronounced healing properties. Present in the wood tannin components have a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect, so during the bathing the skin is cleansed, small scratches and minor bruises heal faster. Proved calming effect of these substances on the nervous system. A person who regularly bathes in an oak barrel has a stabilizing effect on his metabolism and a peaceful sleep.

This tree belongs to the conifers of the pine family. Its wood contains a lot of resin, thanks to which it does not rot in water, on the contrary, it even strengthens. Operation period of such a font is quite long. In addition, in the heated water larch begins to release essential substances that have a powerful relaxing and restorative effect on the human body. Larch basin is recommended to buy or make by your own hands the people who have problems with blood pressure.

Traditionally, bathing font was made in the form of a tub, expanding to the top. The height of the product varies from 1.3 to 1.6 m. At the same time, the diameter of such a barrel was usually equal to the height or slightly less. Such a variant is quite convenient when a barrel is planned to be used for short-term immersion into chilled water.

In the old days, the structure looked like a barrel, tightened with metal hoops. Such a design can by no means be called easy to use, as water had to be poured into it and poured out by one's own hand. That is why in recent years such a font is more often used as an element of decoration, allowing to give the features of old Russian style to the bath.

If you have some experience with wood, you can try to build a font yourself. To do this, first of all, you need to determine its size - this parameter directly depends on the features of the free space inside the sauna or on the adjacent area. Blueprints and schemes of the construction can always be found on the Internet or sketched on paper by hand.

It is very important to think over such moments:

• What form of wooden tub to choose;

• What kind of wood to make;

• where to install;

• the presence of stairs or steps.

No less urgent task is the creation of a comfortable environment. So, if it is planned to build a spacious wooden vessel for the bath, it is desirable to provide benches inside. On the opposite side from the stairs you can fix a shelf for storing cleaning supplies. In large fonts, as a rule, is mounted heating, summed up the water and set the drain.

Wooden font is made of boards with a thickness of 30-55 mm. Much depends on the chosen version of the joints of the boards.

• Gluing. In this case, the joints of the boards smeared with carpentry glue with high moisture characteristics, and assembled a bowl tighten collars of flexible steel. This method can by no means be called reliable, as it is quite difficult to achieve the necessary tightness of joints in the home. Constant exposure to hot water causes the adhesive to release chemicals that can be harmful to asthmatics and people prone to allergic diseases.

• The "tongue and groove" connection. This technique involves fastening the blanks by means of interlocking joints. Their presence significantly reduces the risk of leaking joints and cracks. In general, the barrel securely holds the shape of the wooden structure, and from above it is additionally tightened with clamps.

To put together a bowl for the bath, you need to perform the following series of sequential actions.

• Tongue and groove boards form the bottom of the font. In this case, the interlocking joints of each element are connected by means of adhesive composition. The entire structure is placed on a levelled surface and tightened with screws, then leave for a day for the final bonding.

• While the board dries, you need to make blanks to design the walls of the bowl. Tongue and groove board is not suitable here, because the rectangular elements of its locks will not give the font oval or round shape.

• On the sides of conventional boards with the help of a mill form recesses and grooves semicircular shape. At the bottom of the prepared boards to fix the bottom of the future font cut a cross groove so that the depth of cut was 20 mm and width of 40 mm.

• After a day, the wooden board, clamped by clamps, should dry well. After that, on its surface, a simple pencil outlines the bottom of the fonts round or oval shape. Then, without loosening the clamps, two parallel bars are attached to the marked contour. Wooden workpieces are fixed with self-tapping screws. Thus, the legs for the barrel are formed, not allowing the boards to move apart.

• According to the line of the made markings with an electric jigsaw cut out the bottom of the necessary shape. Close to one of the edges, a small hole is cut through the wood with a crown, in this place the drain will be located. Smear the hole with sealant and then secure the siphon.

• Walls of the font are stacked with each other, fixing a semicircular groove. The bottom edge is placed on the ledges of the bottom of the tank. Finishing board is fixed from top to bottom, slightly hammering it with a mallet (as a result, the workpiece will move along the longitudinal grooves). Tip: to fold the walls in the bath font, it is desirable with an assistant. In this case, one person will be able to support the boards, not allowing them to fall.

• The finished construction is tightened with plastic steel clamps in three places - at the bottom, at the top and in the middle. The degree of tension is regulated by bolts, clamps are fixed with small nails.

• It is very important to achieve a perfect smoothness of the font. To do this, it is necessary to carefully grind the surface from the outside and inside. It is impossible to get the desired result by hand - it is best to take a grinder to work.

At this point, the frame of the wooden font is almost ready. However, it is still too early to put the barrel in the sauna - the work to equip the benches, the organization of heating and mandatory surface treatment with protective compounds is ahead.

Classic wooden fonts look like a barrel, giving the bath a special atmosphere, filled with the national flavor of the Russian village.

Nowadays, bath tubs are made rectangular, square and multifaceted.

Modern models often have plastic inserts, lighting, hydromassage and other useful options.

If there is no space in the bath the optimal solution will be stylish outdoor tubs. They will be a good alternative to the traditional Russian rinsing in the reservoir.

And some more stylish models of bathing bowls.

How to make a wooden font with your own hands, see in the video.