The choice of insulation
Nowadays, a lot of different types of insulation are produced. However, not all of them are suitable for a bath. As a heater, you can use fur from old jackets, the outer fabric of a coat.
There are two main methods of insulating a sauna door:
- insulation material is placed in the inner chamber of the door;
- the insulating material is attached to the wooden door by means of dowels; to give the appearance of aesthetics, it is closed with some decorative elements.
The main criterion when choosing a heater for a bath door is flammability. Another important indicator is vapor permeability. Materials such as polyethylene and polystyrene foam cannot pass through the steam coming out of the bath, therefore they immediately create a "greenhouse" effect. As a result, a wooden door insulated with such a material quickly becomes wet and its quality decreases.
How to choose the right door to the dressing room
In the room dividing the dressing room and the street, it is necessary to select the door carefully, paying attention to the details. After all, the comfort of the pastime directly depends on what quality the design will be. Of course, it is best to give preference to doors that are designed specifically for the layout of the dressing room. Such structures are pre-fabricated from the required material and have many advantages over standard structures.
An example of a door trim with leatherette
A lot depends on the door to the dressing rooms. Care should be taken to this issue for the following reasons:
- It is thanks to this design that temperature stability can be ensured in a space that is close to the street;
- In the room, you can create a cozy atmosphere thanks to the correctly selected materials from which the door is made;
- And also with the help of proper processing, insulation and thinking about what the design should be, the owner of the bath can use the room for its intended purpose for a long service life.
The appearance and design of the door to the dressing room
What nuances need to be taken into account before buying a door to the dressing room in order to acquire such an element for arranging a bath, which will last a long time and will fully fulfill its functions:
- The size of the doorway. This is very important, because if the structure is larger or smaller than the connector, difficulties may arise, both during installation and during operation. Therefore, before you go shopping or start the independent production of a door, you should carefully and with millimeter accuracy calculate what size it should be.
Diagram of the device of the doorway and door - Material. Of course, it is very important to select the right raw materials for manufacturing or when choosing a finished structure. The ideal material for the door to the dressing room is wood. It is imperative to take this fact into account when purchasing elements or when buying a finished product. If you take into account plastic, which is sometimes cheaper, then you should immediately exclude this idea from the list. Plastic is a material that does not tolerate regular high air temperatures and high humidity.
Also, with the constant influence of factors negative for raw materials, such a door can smolder, deform and cause other troubles. It is better to give preference to carved wooden door structures, they give a unique aroma - natural, and serve for a long time.The best option is a door made of alder, linden or aspen, this material is ideal for both quality characteristics and impact on human health.
Preparing a wooden door for the installation of insulation - Warming. This moment is especially important. After all, only insulated timber walls, floor, ceiling and, of course, doors are the key to organizing the right space. By correctly insulating the door structure, it is possible to maintain the stability of the air temperature in the space, the durability of the room and a harmonious atmosphere.
All the nuances are very important, so each of them should be given due attention.
Creation of a frame for insulation
The most popular option for insulating a door to a bathhouse is to nail a frame made of bars 1.5–2 cm thick on the door. Between the outer border of the frame and the edge of the door leaf there should be a distance equal to 1/4 of the narthex (about 1.5 cm) plus another 1 cm The insulation is folded in half and nailed to the frame with small nails.
It will not be superfluous to place a sheet of hardboard inside the frame, but this is not necessary. As a result, when the door is closed, the insulation material rests against the door block, while it bends slightly outward, this allows completely blocking the path of cold air. With this method of insulation, the door always remains dry and cold air does not enter the bath room. In terms of time, this work takes about 1.5 hours.
What material to choose
Today there are many heaters on sale, but not all are suitable for the steam room climate. This room is hot and humid. Considering these criteria, the product must be:
- fireproof;
- does not emit toxic substances when heated;
- waterproof;
- steam conductive.
All this is necessary for the safety of users, the health of the host of the bath and the durability of the door leaf. Even if the product absorbs moisture, such as:
- felt;
- seaweed;
- ecowool.
it should give it away just as quickly when ventilated. For this, ventilation gaps are arranged to facilitate natural evaporation.
For the safety of moisture-absorbing materials, a hydro-barrier is created. It is better to use foil for the steam room door. It reduces heat loss due to its reflective effect. At the same time, the material reliably protects subsequent layers.
In most cases, foamed polyethylene with a foil layer is used for insulation from the inside. To prevent the wood from getting wet, it is mounted on it by gluing. The adhesive must be resistant to high temperatures.
If the door is upholstered on the outside, almost any material is suitable, be it expanded polystyrene or mineral wool. The main thing is to make good waterproofing on the inside. Someone gets out of the situation by upholstering the outer part:
- old coat;
- a carpet;
- leatherette and other unnecessary but suitable things.
The cost savings with this approach does not pay off. Indeed, in such insulation, fungi and mold develop. As a result, the entire room can be contaminated with dangerous bacteria.
It is best to use inexpensive but reliable foam. It:
- easy to install;
- has good insulating performance;
- available;
- common;
- has a large selection of thicknesses.
Energoflex
The easiest and fastest way to insulate the door to the bathhouse is to use the energy flex pipe insulation. It should be positioned along the edge of the door and secured with construction tape. Everything must be done in such a way that the door can then be closed freely. Then, metal slats are attached to the fixed material so that during operation nothing leaves the door. This work will take only 10 minutes.
The result is quite effective, since the material will spring with the surface as needed, and if the door is not very flat, it will repeat its shape. If the insulation deteriorates in any way, it can be easily repaired.
Material for insulating the door to the bathhouse
Do-it-yourself bath door insulation is a short-lived process, and there are more benefits than you think. To begin with, discard the idea of insulating the doors of the bath with old rags, such as an unnecessary coat, a leaky blanket, and so on. This is not only useless but also fire hazardous.
When buying material for thermal insulation of a door, remember that you are going to insulate the door for the bath, which means that you should pay attention to such points as fire resistance and vapor permeability.
Properties of the "correct" insulation for the doors to the bath:
- Light weight (so that the door does not deform and sag over time).
- The material should not absorb moisture.
- Vapor permeability (so that condensation does not form).
Ecowool, felt and energy flex can be a good material. Whichever material you choose, it is very important that it is treated with special fire-resistant agents.
Insulation of the door in the bathhouse should not be made with materials such as polyethylene foam and expanded polystyrene. Although these materials are cheap, it is because of them that condensation forms, because they do not allow steam to pass through. Then puddles appear under the door. And the door itself from this begins to rot and collapse.
Warming with a thermal curtain
There is another way to prevent cold air from entering the room - creating a thermal curtain.
To do this, perform the following sequence of actions:
- A sealing frame is manufactured. Let's look at a specific example. Suppose that the door is 80 × 180 cm.It is necessary to cut strips 10 × 100 cm and 10 × 200 cm in size from the soft seal for the bath door, two pieces each, that is, you should get 4 strips. The cut strips are nailed with small nails along the perimeter of the door frame at a distance of 2 cm from the edge.
- Bars are sawn with dimensions 184 × 2 × 2 cm and 80 × 2 × 2 cm, 2 pieces each. Then they are installed on top of the insulation and fixed. Then they need to be wrapped with the same insulation material. All unnecessary is cut off. The edges are closed from the outside with a casing. The result is a neat rectangle.
- A curtain with dimensions of 1.20 × 2 m is made. For this, you can use dermantin or tarpaulin. On the left, the fabric must be tucked up and hemmed in such a way that a 2 × 2 × 200 cm block fits into this lapel. A block is placed in the fabric and fixed.
- About 10 cm recedes from the cashing and a bar is screwed to the wall. Then it is covered with a decorative element. Several rings (6-8 pieces) must be sewn to the upper edge of the curtain.
- A distance equal to the diameter of the rings is laid up from the decorative strip. A self-tapping screw 60 mm long is taken and screwed in so that about 20 mm remains outside. On the other hand, similar actions are taken. A strong wire 1 m long should be attached to the self-tapping screw and pass it through the curtain rings and fasten the end to a free self-tapping screw.
- To the left of the door, you need to attach two springs or hooks. Exactly opposite them, rings are sewn to the curtain. This makes it easy to move the screen to the side and secure it.
In the unfolded state, the screen is tightly adjacent to the sealing frame. In this case, the door from the inside will not fog up and ice.
The above methods of insulating an entrance bath door are easy to implement and allow you to reliably protect the room from the penetration of cold air from the street.
Manufacturing of insulated doors for a bath
Photo. Thermal insulation of the bath door with foam
As a result of high humidity in the steam room and a large temperature difference, an ordinary, even high-quality insulated door will get wet. Condensation will flow down the curtain and freeze, making it difficult to close or open the door. In the manufacture of insulated doors for the dressing room and steam room, this problem is solved. This door can be made on your own from bars, OSB sheets and any foil insulation.
To make a door, you will need a bar with a cross section equal to the thickness of the thermal insulation plates, from which the frame of the door leaf of the required size is made. On one side, the frame is sheathed with moisture-resistant OSB boards. Further, thermal insulation is placed in the door frame, filling all the voids, and the entire structure is sheathed from the second side of OSB or fiberboard. Attach the awnings and place the door in the opening.
Methods for attaching the door leaf to the frame
To begin with, let's go through the structure of the door structure. Yes, they are different and when choosing this should be taken into account - both in material and in structure, but at the same time the basis is preserved: it consists from canvas and box, which are connected by hinges and locks.
Doors with boxes on sale
Box Are what we usually call jambs. U-shaped structure framing the doorway. If you look closely, you will notice that it has a ledge against which the closed door rests. It's called a quarter. This creates a tight seal.
Pay attention to this diagram shows the “quarter” - the selected ledge in the jamb
Doors can be made of wood, metal, plastic, glass... And also from their combinations. The easiest way to connect canvases and boxes is at wooden doors. For this, there are several types of loops... You can learn more about the types of loops in this article.
Here, suffice it to say that the owner can still choose hinges and awnings for a wooden door himself. But the glass door of the bathhouse, plastic and iron will get to it already with hinges already installed. Well, the plus is that you don't have to choose.
Installation external overhead hinges and awnings will not cause problems - it is enough to place the canvas and the box evenly horizontally and mark the attachment points, which is made with ordinary screws. Then you can put the box in the opening, the door in it, and all that remains is to screw in the screws according to the markings.
Card loops you have to cut - for this you need a chisel. Outline the markings with a pencil, then carefully remove 2-3 mm (it is better to measure the thickness of the immersed part of the loop in advance).
Screw hinges require overlap on the canvas. Such doors are very rare in baths. Therefore, we will not consider them.
Internal "butterfly" invoices easy to install - they are thin and do not require chisel work.
IMPORTANT! The box is placed in the opening without a canvas. In some cases, it can be hung almost immediately after leveling, because it is used to resist the expansion of the polyurethane foam. But most often the canvas is hung according to the markings made in advance after the box is installed in the opening.
Castle insert - a rather complicated procedure, for which it is necessary to have a special cutter, although you can work with ordinary chisels. However, inside the bath you only need latch or magnetic lock. The latter is on the handle, you do not need to cut it. And the process of installing the latch can be seen in the following video:
