It's good when you have a country house, and if there is also a Russian bath in the yard, then you are doubly lucky, because it will help you improve your health and even lose weight. But we will not talk about the benefits of a steam room, but discuss how to make a porch for a finished building. Content:
- Porch types
-
Wooden porch
- Building materials
- Mounting
- Decor
-
Concrete porch
- Materials (edit)
- Construction
- Finishing
The porch is an important structural element of the bath, protecting its front part from precipitation and serving as a decoration for the entire architectural ensemble. For its construction, wood or concrete is most often used. Thanks to our recommendations, every home craftsman can build a porch to the bathhouse.
Types of porches for a bath
Basically, the porch to the bathhouse is built of logs, wood - to match the bathhouse itself. Although concrete steps can also serve the owners for a long time.
There are several types of such products:
- Attached porch for a bath made of boards, bars, logs. Such a porch can be made in the form of a small veranda or ordinary steps with railings.
- Concrete porch. Robust, reliable construction, ideal for a foam block bath. If you want to build it for a wooden bath, then remember about the external harmony of materials. In this case, it is better to combine a porch made of a cement mixture with wooden posts for railings made of iron, timber, or, conversely, with iron posts with wooden handrails.
- The porch is made of bricks on a concrete base. In addition, you can lay out the sides of a brick structure, and make the steps from logs.
Which one to attach the porch to the bathhouse is up to you. It all depends on the availability of material for construction and on whether you are building an object from scratch or completing an already finished structure.
DIY wooden porch
The clear leader among the materials for building a porch is a tree, which looks harmoniously with a chopped bathhouse. Let's consider the construction of a wooden structure in more detail.
Building materials for a wooden porch in a bathhouse
To build a porch to the bathhouse with your own hands made of wood, purchase:
- Planed boards (6500 rubles / m3 or $ 97 in foreign currency);
- Bar (6000-6500 rubles / m3, 91-97 dollars);
- Varnish for processing (price: 240-250 rubles or $ 3, 6);
- Ondulin is used for the roof of the canopy (cost: 399 rubles, $ 5, 95 per sheet), metal tiles (285 rubles, $ 4, 25 per m2);
- M200 concrete (2200 rubles or $ 33 per 1 m3).
Please note that wooden products must be processed without fail, otherwise they will first lose their appearance, and then completely become unusable. Therefore, at least once every five years, paint the porch with special varnishes for wood.
Installation of a porch for a bath made of wood
One of the most practical options for building a porch is when the architectural plan of a porch with steps is already included in the bath project itself. In this case, you no longer need to think about the foundation and the roof. It is enough to make steps and decorate the terrace.
If the structure needs to be completed separately, then the work is carried out in the sequence described below:
- Draw an exact plan of the porch, calculate the required number of steps and their dimensions.
- Make a concrete base of the required size under the porch at a depth of about 0.6–1 m, so that the object does not sag in the future.
- Put waterproofing on the foundation, put four pillars to support the upper part of the porch, fill it with rubble, earth, having previously treated the bottom of the logs with bitumen so that they do not rot over time.
- Assemble the frame of the upper platform, place it on the support posts, attach it to the bath with anchors.
- Knock down the stairs from the boards and beams so that it is convenient to step up the steps, their size should correspond to the following measurements: width - 28-30 cm, height - 16, 4-17 cm.
- Attach the ladder to the top landing.
- At the top, on the anchors and metal corners, fasten the visor for the porch, use the material for it the same from which the roof of the bath is made.
It is desirable that the roof covers not only the porch area, but also the steps themselves. Attach the roof at an angle, otherwise snow will accumulate on it.
Decor of a wooden porch for a bath
You can decorate an already finished structure in different ways. Upholster with carved, openwork boards the distance between the railings and the steps, make curly wood supports for the visor. Various intricate figures cut out of the pillars look great, which are placed at the entrance to the bath. Various balusters can be made of wood, it lends itself perfectly to processing, as evidenced by numerous photos of the porches to the bath. Any flight of the master's imagination will be appreciated by the guests of your country house.
If you choose material for decorating a porch, then carefully study the surface of the tree so that it is smooth, without cracks, knots. Otherwise, all your work can go down the drain, due to the lack of wood.
Concrete porch for a bath
Another popular option. Monolithic concrete is highly durable, so such a porch for a bath will serve for decades. Best suited for baths made of foam blocks and bricks.
Materials for the construction of a porch in a concrete bath
To make a concrete base and steps, you will need:
- Concrete mix M200 (cost: 2200 rubles or $ 33 per 1 cubic meter);
- Wooden formwork from a board (6,000 rubles per 1 cubic meter, $ 91);
- Armature (23550 rubles per 1 ton or $ 356);
- Crushed stone (45 rubles - 50 kg or 0.7 $);
- Sand (340 rubles - a ton, $ 5);
- Waterproofing film, roofing material (339 rubles for 15 m2 or $ 5);
- Railing beam (price: 6500 rubles or $ 97 per cubic meter).
Construction of a porch made of concrete for a bath
Start work by preparing the place where the construction of the structure will be carried out, and then get down to business:
- Remove the debris, dig a pit to a depth of about 60 centimeters. On the flat bottom of the pit, pour crushed stone in a layer of 15–20 cm. Pour sand on top (ten centimeters). Tamp, pour water for better sedimentation of the material. Lay roofing material on top.
- In order for the structure to be strong, weld the "skeleton" of the porch from the reinforcement. Then install it.
- Pour the first layer of cement mixture into the pit, while distributing the mortar evenly, compacting the voids and checking with a level gauge that everything is perfectly even.
- Let the bottom layer dry, this may take several days.
- Use planks to form the steps. To get a beautiful pattern on the sides and the concrete does not stick to the wood, use a textured fabric with a pattern. In order to prevent the frame from deforming when the concrete mixture hardens, put wooden spacers.
- Pour concrete into the frame layer by layer, when the concrete begins to dry, trowel it. After all, a beautiful, smooth surface is much better than a rough one.
- At the end of the work, do not immediately remove the formwork, it must stand with the construction for at least seven days.
Finishing the concrete porch in the bath
In order for the steps to retain their appearance as long as possible (corners do not split off, there are no cracks and potholes), they must be finished with special clinker tiles with an anti-slip layer or stone. This finish will give a finished look to the steps, decorate them. If the number of steps is small, then the railings can be abandoned. Make the roof for the porch the same as in the bath itself, so that the building looks like one whole structure.
Features of porch tiling are demonstrated in the video:
The porch is a kind of visiting card of the master who created this work. Therefore, be extremely careful, diligent when making this product. After all, it is capable, in the event of erroneous calculations, inept actions, to spoil the entire appearance of the bath.
