In country baths, there is no such thing as dividing a sink and a steam room into two rooms. They are combined into one room to save space and ease the installation of such a structure.
Sometimes an indoor dressing room is added as a "highlight", which is not found in every steam room. Today we will talk about the layout of a standard village bath and its features.
The layout of a traditional rural steam room includes three points:
- dressing room (optional) - in it, visitors prepare for bath procedures and rest after steaming;
- washing - is analogous to a shower room. In it, people take water procedures both before and after going to the steam room;
- steam room - the hottest room for warming up and “Spa treatments” (such as massage with a broom).
The bathhouse is located on a full-fledged foundation. Its area is 3x4 meters, if you count on the outer corners of the log house. A veranda with an area of 2x4 meters. The steam room is represented by one spacious room. The walls of a metal furnace are thick
4 millimeters. The firebox is large, it includes firewood with a length at 60-70 centimeters. On the side there is a stainless steel tank that heats the water. The tank is 2 millimeters thick.The sauna is heated in a "white" way so that smoke does not accumulate in the steam room. This heating option is the most common; there are very few steam rooms left in Russia that adhere to the black method. Despite the fact that I really wanted to visit one of these baths, until a suitable opportunity presented itself. The advantage of "white" heating is cleanliness: all that is required of the owner of the bath is to clean the chimney in time.
Above the stones is a box, the purpose of which was at first a mystery to me. It was clear that it was not intended for storing stones. Later I learned that the main task of this box is to collect the soot that comes from the pipe.
Soot is collected very simply - the pipe is tapped with a hammer, after which all the sediment falls down. This method always works effectively - except in cases where the chimney is tightly clogged. Previously, kerosene lamps were used in baths, but in 2020 no one installs them. Our steam room is equipped with luminaires to protect against moisture.
The room itself is furnished according to the classics - wooden benches for washing, metal (and incredibly loud) basins, ladles and wood grates on the floor. Thanks to the grates, water does not linger, and quickly flows into the floor.
As a result, swimmers' feet remain dry, which makes steaming more pleasant and less traumatic. I think this layout of the bath is rather simplified, but my father and grandfather steamed in such conditions all their lives and did not complain about the cramped conditions.