Arbolite do-it-yourself bathhouse

The construction of the bath - one of the cherished desires of many men. It is noteworthy that it can be made not only from wood, foam block or stone. For this purpose, you can use arbolit - a material, which includes sawdust and cement mixture. It is ideal for the construction of baths, as it has high thermal insulation properties. And most importantly - it does not rot and is not subject to burning, as the tree. In the article we will tell you how to build a woodburn bath with your own hands, show photos and video instructions.

Why precisely wood concrete

Wood concrete is a type of lightweight concrete. You can buy it in hardware stores or just make it yourself. To do this, take the chopped wood (sawdust), water and cement, and knead the solution. For quick setting of cement, aggregates must be added to the composition. Alumina sulphate, calcium chloride or lime may be used. Often use lime milk.

But why wood concrete is ideal for building a bath? Because of its properties, and the following advantages:

1. Low weight. One arbolit block in volume is the same as 15 ordinary bricks, but its weight is 10 times less.
2. High frost resistance. The high term of operation, material remains very long.
3. A large degree of heat savings. Due to its heat-saving characteristics, it surpasses the expanded clay.
4. The inflammability of the material.
5. Ideal for machining. It can easily be drilled, hacked and sawed to fit the size. Nails are easily nailed to it and screws are inserted.
6. Plastering arbolitovye walls is very easy.
7. Cracks do not appear even after the building shrinks.
8. The material does not rot, which is an important factor, since we are talking about building a bath.

If you make a bath of arbolita, then you can trim the various materials. All these properties make arbolit an ideal material for a bath. Let's learn how to build such a building.

Foundation building

Considering that arbolit is a rather light material, and the bath is mainly small in size, it is not necessary to make a powerful foundation. For this purpose, you can use shallow-tape foundation or columnar. Which option to choose, decide for yourself. If we talk about the common strip foundation, then it must be erected in several steps:

1. The first thing on earth is marking the future of the building with a cord and pegs.
2. On the basis of the reference point, a trench is being excavated. Choose the width of the foundation so that after laying the walls there is a wide ledge that allows you to put logs under the wooden floor.
3. Then you need to lay a drain pipe through which water will flow.
4. At the bottom of the ditch need to pour sand at 20-25 cm.
5. Then you need to install the formwork at the edges of the trench. It is better when the base will have a height of not less than 40 cm.
6. In a trench, a layer of 5 cm is laid crushed stone, sand or wooden bars - a pillow is formed. A reinforcement mesh is installed on top of it.
7. Now it remains to pour all the concrete solution, tamp it and align.
8. The entire area, where the steam room will be located, must be poured in a layer of 5–8 cm, making a slope that will be directed to the opening of the drain pipe.
9. The final stage will be waterproofing base. It needs to be smeared with bitumen and lay several layers of roofing material.

It is necessary to carry out further work on the construction of walls after about a month, when the concrete mortar will fully gain strength. To avoid the formation of cracks, the first two weeks of the design should be moistened every day.

If you decide to make a pillar foundation, you need to:

• prepare a site for work: level off (remove) the top layer, make a construction layout and dig holes;
• install concrete or brick pillars with strapping on top (grillage). It can be from a metal frame, which is welded from the corners, or from a monolithic belt (the material can also be different: wood, reinforced concrete or metal).

Asbestos-cement pipes filled with concrete can also be used as supports. In this case, the distance from one pipe to another should not be greater than 1.5 m.

At this, the first stage is completed, you can proceed to the construction of walls of wood concrete.

Masonry walls

The walls of wood concrete can be erected in two ways:

• The wall of arbolitovyh blocks.
• Monolithic wall of arbolitovogo solution.

The first method is quite simple. Enough to buy blocks and get to work. The laying is done in exactly the same way as the laying of ordinary bricks. Only there are some nuances. Before installing the blocks, they need to be moistened, as arbolit can draw out liquid from the binder, because it absorbs moisture well. And if they need to fit the size, use a saw for cutting stone. As a solution, you can use perlite mixture or cement-sand mortar.

You need to start putting blocks from the corner. It is also important to ensure that the horizontal line is level. For convenience, you can use the lace. Place the two corner blocks ideally evenly, stretch a rope along their edge, which will be a guide for even laying. Using the trowel handle, the blocks can be customized along the line by tapping them on top. Please note that the thickness of the seams should be no more than 10 mm. After laying the first row, you can proceed to the second. Corner blocks are put in, the rope is stretched, and the laying continues, but with the bundle chosen.

In order to act according to the second method, you need to independently make an arbolit solution and formwork. As a result, you should get monolithic walls. To make the solution, it is necessary to prepare a trough with low sides where the mixing will occur. The procedure for making the solution is as follows:

1. Sawdust and chips are poured into the trough, which serve as filler.
2. All this is filled with limestone milk, after which mineral additives are added.
3. Then this mass must be gently mixed. For this purpose it is better to use a garden hopper, and not a shovel.
4. Now you should pour the cement and mix thoroughly the composition until a homogeneous mass.
5. Gradually add water, stirring the entire solution.

To determine if the solution is ready, take a little mixture and make a small lump of it. If the solution interlocks, then everything is ready. The consistency should not be liquid. If the solution does not adhere well, you need to add more cement and sawdust.

On average, to make 1 m³ arbolita, you will need:

• organic filler (sawdust from coniferous or hardwood) - 250–300 kg;
• Portland 300 brand - 250-300 kg;
• lime - 8–10 kg;
• Calcium chloride (as a mineral additive) - 6–8 kg;
• water - 350-400 l.

Care should be taken in advance to install the formwork. It is better to choose a removable or sliding formwork, whose height is 1–1.2 m. It is better when the formwork is made of asbestos cement sheets (flat slate). Inside it can be covered with limestone milk. It is important to secure the formwork, which is installed on the foundation. For this use the clamping bolts with parallel bars. The edges from the top must be backed up with jibs.

After everything is ready, the arbolit solution can be poured. It is important not to fill the entire formwork to the brim. It is better to pour a mass of not more than 50 cm at a time. Then everything must be tamped down and left to dry. If the temperature is 18–20? C, then the composition will harden in 2-3 days, and if the temperature is lower - in a week.

Once everything is frozen, the formwork is removed. It is important to do this carefully, so as not to damage the composition, carefully removing the bolts and planks. After that, the formwork is fastened higher, already onto the finished wall, and the process is repeated until the wall reaches the desired height. Wood concrete is a hygroscopic material, so the walls need to be covered from moisture so that they do not collect moisture. Inside, the walls are sheathed with the use of vapor barrier, and outside - they are lined with decorative brick or plaster. A ventilation gap must be left between the wall and the cladding material.

When building a bath of arbolita, it is important not to allow its surface to come into contact with water, because of its hygroscopicity (its ability to absorb moisture and water vapor from the air), the entire building can shrink.

Roof

The final stage is the roof device. There are no special features and subtleties in this work. Everything is done as in the usual construction of any building:

1. On the walls you need to install the bars of the Mauerlat.
2. Then fix on them truss legs.
3. Then sheathe the gable.
4. To stretch on a rafter a water-repellent film.
5. Fix the crate.
6. Put the roofing material.

Now your design is completely ready. There remained only minor work on the finishing of the building.

Interior finish

To finish the bath of arbolita very simple. The main thing that should be considered when finishing for a bath is the right choice of material. Finishing material must be:

• resistant to hot air, large moisture and ingress of water;
• hygienic;
• do not contain toxins that are able to stand out at high temperatures;
• strong and durable;
• Do not cause allergic reactions upon contact with the skin.

The most suitable option is natural wood or wooden paneling. But you can use other materials that are suitable for all regulations and requirements.

On this construction of a bath of arbolita completed. Now it will serve you for a very long time, and you can not worry that after a while the walls will crack even after the building has shrunk.

We also recommend that you read the article "Sewerage in the bath with their own hands."

Video

In this video, the author shares his impressions about the use of wood concrete blocks for building a bath:

A photo