As a site for the bath, I chose a place where the compost heap used to be. At the same time, there was a reason to disassemble the accumulated trash. The first problem I encountered was the soil. In the area from it is represented by decomposed peat, whose bearing capacity is very low.
Therefore, I decided to make a shallow foundation. This required:
1. dig a shallow trench;
2. fill it with sand;
3. place the formwork on top;
4. pour it with concrete.
I fell asleep sand for two days, in one of which there was an emergency. It started pouring rain, and a large puddle formed in the same place. But since the experts recommend moistening the sand before sprinkling, I wasn't too upset about what happened. The sand absorbed moisture and everything ended well.
I have no carpenter skills, so the formwork is of average quality. I used substandard boards for it. To strengthen the structure, he took everything that came to hand. I do not recommend repeating my experience.
The concrete was kneaded and poured by hand over the pieces of iron poured into the formwork.
Due to the fact that the foundations for the bathhouse and for the veranda were made separately, sad consequences awaited me. The leaders for adhesion of the foundation were damaged due to the movement of the ground in the first spring.The door is twisted and now it opens every other time. Wintering the foundation was my second mistake. Cracks appeared on it in three months. I fought with them by installing a reinforcing mesh and a brick base.
I left a few holes in the foundation for air circulation to prevent fungus. Because of these holes, mice became interested in the bath. Fortunately, the roofing material scared them off, and the rodents moved to another building.
It's time to dry the moss for caulking the log house (I used Kukushkin flax). The material was collected in the forest in several visits. It got into extraneous parts in the form of lingonberry branches, heather and sticks of unknown origin.
I was looking for a budget bar for a bath. I stopped at specimens with a cross section of 100 * 100 millimeters, because I did not want to overpay for excessive cubic capacity.
Finding such a bar turned out to be a real challenge. As a result, I ordered it from a master who was engaged in the manufacture of custom-made lumber. From the finished set, only two beams have cracked.
The plaster base was dry after a week. I treated the lags (bar 200 * 50) with an antiseptic, wrapped it with roofing material and inserted it into the basement grooves. Under the basement boards (150 * 50) I laid a tape of roofing material along the width of the foundation. The log house was attached with a corner to the foundation with 60 mm screws.
The crowns of the timber were attached to each other on nails of 150 millimeters. Before that, I treated the timber with an antiseptic "2 in 1" with fire and biological protection. If you plan to sheathe the walls, it is better to buy a mixture with dye. It will help you track unpainted areas.
When all the preparations were over, I started laying the first beam. I checked the diagonals with a tape measure to exclude any curvature. I cut out a corner with a chainsaw, spread the moss and used the angle to check the vertical.
I continued to measure the diagonals with a tape measure. I decided not to go to the doorway - I was afraid that the blockhouse would lead. I limited myself to a cut in the two upper crowns and started installing ceiling logs.
The walls were growing right before our eyes. Soon I took up the rafters. For the rafters, I used two bonded inch boards (width - 150mm). The lower edge is attached to the upper rim of the log house, and the upper edge is fixed on a U-shaped rack made of timber.
For this purpose, a 50 mm corner and screws are taken. On the rafters, I laid an edged board (150mm) and covered it with a temporary roofing material. Autumn came and I left the construction site for the winter.
Continued in the next part, like it if you like it and other parts will be released soon.