It is no longer relevant to use the bath only as a place for hygiene procedures. A rough wooden room with a stove, tubs, water and brooms no longer attracts anyone. It was replaced by interesting projects with modern designs. The door performs the function of demarcation, thermal insulation and is part of the interior, therefore high demands are placed on it. What designs are there and what you need to consider when choosing a door for a bath, this article will tell.
Content
- 1 Features of the conditions for the functioning of doors in the premises of the bath
- 2 Materials used for the manufacture of doors to the bath
- 3 How to make a door to the bathhouse with your own hands: step by step instructions
- 4 Features of installing doors in a bathhouse made of various materials
- 5 Bath door price: cost of door leaf and ready-made blocks
- 6 Sauna door: creative and design ideas
Features of the conditions for the functioning of doors in the premises of the bath
The modern suburban area is used in different ways. Some summer residents cultivate the land, grow fruits and vegetables. But most of them have turned their land ownership into a place of recreation and recovery. The latter will certainly try to build a Russian bath or sauna on the site. These two types of structures do not have significant differences in terms of construction, only steam rooms differ in the degree of humidity.
The structure itself is quite specific. With a relatively small size of rooms, the temperature difference in them is significant. The steam room and shower room have a high level of humidity. However, the rest of the premises: the dressing room, the rest room, the dressing room - must be isolated from moisture as much as possible. Doors play an important role in this regard. It is their quality and correct installation that will allow you not to lose temperature, feel comfortable during your rest, and put on dry clothes after visiting the sauna.
The dimensions of the doorways are also important. Doors for saunas and baths should provide free passage, but not be large, so that during the inevitable opening and closing, significant moisture and heat exchange does not occur.The door to the steam room traditionally has smaller parameters than the entrance door to the bath, the dimensions of which are determined in proportion to the structure as a whole. The main technical requirements for these structures are:
- perfect airtightness of the door leaf;
- the absence of gaps between the door and the trays when closed;
- matching the size of the door to the purpose of the room.
Experts do not advise to additionally insulate, sheathe or paste over the doors of the interior of the bath. The peculiarities of the environment in which they function have a destructive effect on all types of glued joints. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully select the material for the future door structure.
Materials used for the manufacture of doors to the bath
More recently, the entrance doors to the bathhouse and the doors to the steam room were made exclusively of wood. With the advent of new technologies, the list of materials used for the manufacture of structures for this purpose has expanded significantly. The choice should be made based on taste preferences, quality characteristics of the material and taking into account the intended purpose. Today they use:
- wood;
- glass;
- metal;
- plastic.
Wooden door for a bath: advantages of the material and recommended types of wood
Wood is in many ways the priority raw material used for the manufacture of doors. In addition to environmental friendliness, it has a number of characteristics that allow it to occupy a leading position:
- Compliance to processing. You can make a product of any configuration out of wood, as well as add design elements using carving or burning. It is easy to apply any coating, giving the structure the desired color or shade.
- The ability to retain heat. There are voids between the wood fibers, into which warm air penetrates. There he lingers - a kind of barrier arises.
- Nice smell. The aroma emanating from the door from the boards is enhanced in a warm room, creating the conditions for aromatherapy.
However, not all wood is recommended for making doors to the bathhouse. The tree should be as moisture and heat resistant as possible, dense. The most common species used are oak, alder, ash and linden. Oak meets the requirements most of all. This is a rather expensive raw material, and its processing costs significant money. Other types of wood have approximately the same quality indicators. They are sufficiently heat-resistant, withstand high humidity, and with proper processing, retain these qualities for a long time.
The type of tree is selected depending on where the door will be installed. You can use pine for the entrance door to the bath. Oak, alder, ash and linden are suitable for all areas, including the steam room. It is not recommended to install doors made of such material only in the shower room - provided that water constantly gets on it.
Useful advice! When choosing wood, it is necessary not only to take into account its quality indicators, but also make sure that it is dry. Otherwise, there is a risk of acquiring raw wood, the product from which may deform and crack.
Glass doors in the bath: ideal for small spaces
Glass doors and baths have firmly entered the interior. For critically small rooms, this is the only way to get rid of the feeling of tightness that causes discomfort. Glass door leaves bring lightness, and the absence of a bounding frame in their designs visually expands the space of the room.
Transparent, frosted, tinted and colored glass is used.The ability to artistically decorate a product by sandblasting a drawing makes the glass door a real design masterpiece that can decorate even the most modest interior. The main advantages of a glass door are undeniable:
- the service life is unlimited;
- easy care;
- no need for protective treatment;
- does not deform from temperature and humidity;
- is an interesting addition to the interior.
A colored or tinted glass door to the steam room adds softness and a pleasant color tone to the room. The glass is durable, thick, tempered. It is almost impossible to break it, it can withstand strong mechanical stress. Even if the glass breaks, you should know that it shatters into non-sharp pieces, so the probability of injury is negligible.
This type of door can be installed in any room of the bath, except for the entrance. The glass door to the steam room is most suitable, where the maximum exposure to moisture is observed. It is recommended to install a glass door leaf in showers, especially in small rooms, when the door contact with water is inevitable. Sometimes combined door designs are used. The frame is made of wood, glass is inserted into it.
Useful advice! When installing a combined door in a steam room, special attention should be paid to the tightness of the glass and wood joints. Heat loss cannot be avoided without the use of special gaskets.
Features of the conditions of use in the bath of a plastic door
Plastic doors have been installed in the bathhouse relatively recently. This is an inexpensive option that is quite easy to order. In addition, the installation of the product by specialists requires little additional money. A number of characteristics meet the conditions for the use of these structures:
- moisture resistance;
- fungus and rotting are excluded;
- good air tightness;
- do not require processing.
The lack of resistance to high temperatures limits the use of this material. Do not install a plastic door to the steam room. Even if the temperature does not reach 100 ° C and PVC will withstand, the sealing gums will dry out and cease to fulfill their function. Such doors are convenient in the shower room, where the humidity is high, but the temperature is moderate. They can be installed in the break room and other existing rooms.
It is acceptable to use a PVC door as an entrance structure. It will retain heat well, it will not be affected by temperature extremes. And if the dressing room (or just the corridor) has no windows, then the glass door will provide natural light. You can also install a blind door, it fits more organically into the overall external design of the bath.
There are much fewer ways to decorate this material than wood and glass. The choice of color and shape within the available samples narrows the possibilities of implementing individual design ideas. When installing PVC doors, oversaturation error should be avoided. A lot of plastic, especially white, gives the rooms an official look. It is better to use wood tinted material.
Metal structures for entrance doors
The metal door in the bath is installed as an entrance door. It is not suitable for other rooms due to its high weight, visual massiveness and high thermal conductivity, which contributes to heating to high temperatures. It perfectly performs its functions, retaining heat and being a reliable protection against the penetration of thieves. A metal door with anti-vandal canopies becomes practically inaccessible for breaking.
From the inside, the door can be sheathed with solid wood or clapboard. This will strengthen the thermal insulation, create a protective layer for the metal and make the product more environmentally friendly, “natural” visually. Finished metal products have various colors, interesting finishes, and look stylish and modern.
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They are fireproof, do not deform, ready-made options do not require processing. So that in the frosty season, returning to the bathhouse after rubbing with snow, you do not accidentally touch the ice metal of the door with your hands, you must attach a large and comfortable wooden handle on the outside.
Useful advice! When purchasing a metal door for a bath, you should pay attention not so much to the thickness of the metal, but to the quality of the anti-corrosion coating.
How to make a door to the bathhouse with your own hands: step by step instructions
There may be several reasons why you should start making a door yourself:
- opportunity to save money;
- confidence in quality performance;
- realization of one's own idea and moral satisfaction.
Regardless of what contributed to the decision on self-production, you need to know how to make a door to the bath with your own hands. The most affordable material for self-production is wood.
Common models are paneled doors and solid wood products. Making a paneled look requires serious professional skills and the availability of an expensive tool, so not everyone can do it. Let's dwell on the second option.
How to make a wooden door to a steam room: preparation of material and tools
It is quite possible to make a door from an array yourself. This is a great option for steam room installations. It is necessary to start manufacturing from a drawing, where you should display the parameters of the doors in relation to the dimensions of the sauna, mark the attachment points of the hinges and handles. The direct manufacturing process is required to be carried out in several stages.
Procurement of materials. To make a door you will need:
- tongue-and-groove board 35-50 mm wide;
- dowels - timber 30x45 mm;
- two wooden handles;
- stainless steel hinges (3 pcs.).
The wood must be dry, treated with an antiseptic, free of knots and cracks. The recommended size of the door to the steam room is 70x170 cm.
Tool preparation. Making doors with your own hands, like any other wood product, is impossible without a certain set of tools. Even if polished materials are purchased, they need to be sawed, you will need to process the cut points, level the surface of the assembled boards, etc. This will require tools:
- saw or jigsaw;
- a plane (preferably electric);
- grinder or sandpaper;
- manual milling cutter or machine;
- chisel;
- metal and rubber hammers.
Taking accurate measurements. Despite the existing drawing, it is better to take measurements from the inside of the box again before starting work.
Useful advice! When taking measurements, it is necessary to take into account that a slight expansion of the wood is inevitable at high humidity, therefore it is necessary to leave a gap of at least 4 mm at the junction of the door leaf to the frame.
DIY wooden door: processing and joining material
Laying out and connecting the boards. The sawn boards must be laid out on a workbench (or on a table with a flat table top) and assembled into one canvas.To ensure that the joints are free of gaps, it is recommended to tap the boards with a rubber hammer and use wood glue. How to make doors not only geometric, but also beautiful? To do this, it is necessary to lay out the boards not arbitrarily, but to try to create a certain pattern from the natural structure of the tree. This will add decorative effect to the product.
Processing of a wooden board. The tongue protrusion remaining on one side is cut off, the surface is processed. Then, in several places, the web is pulled together with clamps and left until the glue is completely dry. Then surface irregularities are removed with a plane, the shield is sanded. The ends with the help of a milling cutter are brought to perfect condition.
Fastening with dowels. The key is a trapezoid-shaped beam. Its length should be equal to the width of the door. The key is placed on the shield with the wide side, marks are made along which cuts are then made, preferably having a depression of 1.5 cm. Then the wood between the parallel cuts must be removed using a chisel. The surface after sampling must be made as flat as possible so that the key fits snugly.
Helpful advice! The groove prepared for the key should be treated with an antiseptic to prevent the appearance of fungus, swelling and other damage in this place.
Then you need to apply wood glue to the surface of the recess and hammer the key with a rubber mallet. At this stage of making the door, you can show your creative imagination by making this part not in the form of a straight prism, but narrowed on one side. It is better to insert the key not perpendicular to the height of the door leaf, but raise it up or lower it down. This will complicate the process, but add decorativeness to the product. Next, you need to embed the loops. It is recommended to install the handles after hanging the door.
Using the method described above, you can also make wooden entrance doors to the bath. The thickness of the boards for such a door must be at least 50 mm.
A bold project: making a glass door for a bath yourself
The glass door to the sauna is modern, comfortable and stylish. Can you make it yourself? Yes, but the process requires proficiency in glass cutting and certain conditions. You cannot buy a jumbo format and cut it yourself. It is impossible to cut tempered glass, and this is what is used for doors, as it will fly into pieces. But if there are used sheets left after dismantling a showcase, glass partition or shower, and there is no other use for them, then you should try. You can use two methods.
Carry out anti-hardening by placing the glass in water and bringing its temperature by heating the oven to the hardening temperature (above 600 ° C). Then it is necessary to cool the glass to room temperature and, using a diamond glass cutter, do the same thing that is done when cutting ordinary glass: mark it with a marker, cut it off with a glass cutter, put a small round wooden rod (6 mm in diameter) under the cut line and press.
To restore strength to the glass, after cutting it must be tempered again by placing it in water and heating the oven to the required temperature (repeat the process), then instantly cool it using the cold blowing method.
The second method is less laborious. The glass should be transported by a professional who will try to cut it with a laser.
It should be borne in mind that neither the first nor the second method guarantees a positive result. The main reason is in the peculiarities of the primary hardening process.The situation is further complicated by the lack of information on the technical characteristics of glass. But if you succeed in cutting the material, you need to grind the edges with a special stone and purchase interesting accessories that will decorate the product. A self-made glass door to a bathhouse will be a worthy addition to the interior.
Features of installing doors in a bath made of various materials
Doors made of different materials differ in the installation method. But there are several rules, the fulfillment of which is a prerequisite for any design:
- compliance of the door with the dimensions of the box;
- the technical characteristics of the hardware must correspond to the potential mechanical stress on it;
- external opening method.
Failure to comply with the first two requirements may result in a skew of the structure, which prevents the doors from functioning properly. Neglecting the last rule is a violation of fire safety regulations.
Wooden door: installation sequence and possible problems
As practice shows, it is not easy to install the door to the bathhouse. Accuracy and a good eye are important here. The purchase of a block (boxes and doors) is the most acceptable option. In such cases, the dimensions are adjusted and there is no need to adjust them. It is better to assemble such a structure in a horizontal position: there is less chance of making mistakes when placing awnings. In the box and the end part of the door, using a chisel, recesses are made for the thickness of the canopy.
The canopy is fixed with self-tapping screws, the structure is completely assembled on the floor. In this position, the dimensions of the gaps are clearly visible. Then the door is removed from the hinges, the box is inserted into the doorway and fixed. It must be installed using a level. Then the door is hung again.
If the box was made separately and already installed, it will be more problematic to hang the door. The main difficulty is usually the layout for the loops. Hanging the doors in such conditions requires two people. It is better to choose hinged canopies of the appropriate size, with a good anti-corrosion coating. For a door made of 50 mm thick boards with dimensions 170x70, it is recommended to use three hinges.
Helpful advice! The gap between the frame and the door must be the same on all sides. This is important not so much for aesthetics as for the normal functioning of the door. Even with the slightest subsidence, it may not enter the loot.
Installation details of a glass door for a sauna
A glass door, which is not used in a bath, is often installed not in a wooden frame, but in an aluminum frame. In such a situation, it is almost impossible to make a mistake (curvature, inclination). But metal is unacceptable for a sauna, therefore, it is possible to install a door to the bath, both wooden and glass, only in a wooden box. It should be fixed to the wall with self-tapping screws and have perfectly even corners and lines.
Since the threshold is not mounted when using a glass door, it is necessary to leave a gap of up to 5 mm between the door and the floor so that the door can open and close freely. The hardware is attached to the door leaf in specially designated places. Precise marks should be made on the box bar so that the hinged door is level in the horizontal plane and has clear right angles. A silicone seal is placed in the groove of the box, which ensures tightness and soft closing.
Helpful advice! For a do-it-yourself door for a bathhouse made of glass, the choice of fittings must be made taking into account the weight of the door and the quality of the surface. When fastening, a special gasket must be placed between metal and glass.
Installation of a plastic sauna door
Plastic doors have become widespread, among other things, due to their simple installation. The PVC door block never has flaws such as obliquity or curvature. Everything is adjusted to the millimeter, so it's easy to mount the product. The main condition is to align the doors. But practically no one installs such blocks on their own. The company that sells such doors always offers an installation service that is not expensive to pay.
The dimensions of the doors to the sauna are also removed by the company's specialists, so mistakes in this regard are practically excluded. If, nevertheless, the installation is carried out independently, you must adhere to the basic sequence of actions characteristic of the installation of any door block. It is imperative to control the clamping of the door strips to the trays: it must be the same along the entire perimeter. If necessary, remove the decorative trim from the box and adjust the distance using the fixing bolts.
It requires certain skills rather than installing a PVC door block, but adjusting the fittings. The door handles should be pressed smoothly and effortlessly. If they creak when moving or the canopies make sounds, you should definitely call a specialist. Such signs may indicate defects in the fittings made during manufacture. Adjustment of fittings operation is a warranty service.
Bath door price: cost of door leaf and ready-made blocks
An important point when choosing a door model for a bath is the price. Among the large number of offered wooden products, you can choose an option that will satisfy the cost and design.
A door for a linden bathhouse with a minimum of artistic processing costs 4000 rubles on average. If the door leaf is purchased as a block, together with the frame, the price increases by 10-15%. The presence of carving significantly increases the cost of a wooden door. Paneled doors and doors made of grooved boards made of the same type of wood will differ in price by about 40%. In this case, the cost is influenced by the peculiarity of the manufacturing technology - the paneled structure will cost more. Exactly the same alder and oak models will cost 8,000 and 19,000 rubles, respectively.
Glass doors for saunas and baths can also vary significantly in price. For example, a 6 mm thick transparent tempered glass door without a box costs 3,500-4,000 rubles. The presence of the box increases the price of the product by about 1000 rubles. If the thickness of the similar glass is 8 mm, the cost increases by 1,500 rubles. The average price of a glass door to a bathhouse is 5000-7000 rubles.
The cost of a structure with a decorative pattern is 8,000-10,000 rubles. Spraying, toning and the presence of a drawing significantly increase the price. It largely depends on the manufacturer. The cost of glass doors 8 mm thick with artistic processing of Turkish production exceeds 20,000 rubles. The price for plastic doors for a bath starts from 4500-5000 rubles.
Sauna door: creative and design ideas
Solving the problems of how to make the door to the bathhouse and from what material, at the same time it is necessary to decide what its appearance will be. With a wide variety of tastes and preferences, the main material for wall decoration, and the main building of the bath, is wood. If a wooden door structure is installed, its color should not differ from the color of the walls. The acceptable difference is one or two shades lighter or darker. Do not get too carried away with carving, so that there is no feeling of demonstrating artistic creativity.The bath is a place of mental and physical relaxation, so the interior should be soft and create coziness.
Glass doors naturally coexist with wood, especially from tinted and frosted glass. It is worth choosing options with a pattern (for example, with flowers) if the room (for example, a rest room) does not have flower arrangements in the design. In the bath, oversaturation is unacceptable.
It is necessary to think carefully about the neighborhood in the bath of wood and plastic. It is better to choose a plastic color that imitates wood. But white doors are also possible. In their hearts, they should create a composition with interior decoration rather than exterior. Shower rooms (and hence doors) are usually located remotely and have little effect on the overall design style. The rest of the doors are in close proximity, so they should be presented in the same style.
Usually a bathhouse does not have many windows. In some rooms (in a steam room, shower room, changing room), they are most often not installed at all. Soft, flowing artificial light creates comfort. Bath doors and windows do not have to be made of the same material. A traditional white plastic window will suit any space. And if it turns out to be a "loner", the situation can be corrected with the help of various curtains, including blinds.
If there is no desire to make a door with your own hands, then you can purchase a ready-made structure. Currently, there are many different models developed by professional designers. It remains only to take advantage of the offers. And for this you need to look through the photo of the doors to the bathhouse and choose the option you like, which will make the interior unique.