The custom of taking bath procedures has been known to mankind since ancient times. In Russia, baths appeared more than a thousand years ago, and during this time people have accumulated vast practical experience in the construction of these hygienic structures.
Since our country has always had a lot of forests, the baths were built of wood. The experience of building baths, these extremely important structures, on which human health directly depended, was transmitted from generation to generation and some of the intricacies of their construction, I will share with interested parties in this article.
Construction features
During the construction of a bathhouse, many people forget that air must move under the floor. Without this, the lower crowns and floors can quickly rot. The attic in the bath should also be able to be blown and ventilated, since the hot steam from the steam room, mixing with air, in case of poor-quality insulation, it enters the insulation on the ceiling and can lead to trouble.
Fearing accelerated decay, in the old days baths were not sheathed from the outside, because moisture accumulated under the sheathing, the evaporation of which was much slower than without sheathing. For the same purpose, the inner surface of a wooden bath is never plastered.
Wood and moisture are poorly compatible things, so special attention must be paid to the removal of liquid from the bath. It was for this purpose that baths were previously placed on the slopes, where the water left the room in a natural way and a dry space remained under it. This was facilitated by a clay castle with a slope, which was arranged under the floor.
Siberian Old Believers arrange baths in a special way. They do not make a foundation under the bath at all, raising it above the ground to a height of up to 30 cm. The entire lower part of the room, including the beams, is impregnated with resin. Such structures have stood in Siberia for hundreds of years, and do not require any repairs.
The lower crowns of the bath were made of larch, and the rest of the room was made of aspen logs. The Old Believers also knew such a secret: they kept larch in running water for up to two years, and the butt had to be located downstream. Aspen is used because it quickly releases absorbed moisture, which contributes to long-term operation.
Bath floors should have gaps between boards and chamfers. Floor boards were not sawn, but pricked. The ax clogs the capillaries of the wood and moisture does not penetrate into it. This process (working with an ax) takes a long time, but baths built in this way last hundreds of years.
Chopped baths are used much longer than baths made of timber or other types of wood. They do not need to be protected from the effects of steam and dampness, and this saves a lot of money.
The main thing: in the chopped bath, water should not accumulate from precipitation on the walls and corners of the log cabins.
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