We talk about the features of the wood frame, beams, rounded logs, and other materials for building a bathhouse. Most often, the walls of a bathhouse are based on a wooden structure. Only in forest-poor regions are brick and block baths built along with frame ones, although a stone wall always requires a stronger foundation than a wooden one.
A frame construction with clapboard cladding on the inside, a 100 mm thick middle layer of mineral wool, and facade material on the outside will be inexpensive and will allow you to quickly heat the bathhouse. It is being built according to the technology but with some adjustments regarding the choice of materials (foil vapor barrier is chosen for a bathhouse) and the construction of the floor (additional protection from moisture is required here).
Mini-timber is the name given to boards 50 mm thick, placed on edge, and assembled into a log house with corner outlets. This is one of the most economical solutions for bath walls. The load-bearing wall should be insulated from the inside with mineral wool slabs 100-150 mm thick and sheathed with clapboard, taking into account the possibility of dimensional fluctuations of the board due to changes in humidity: the sheathing should be sliding, and gaps should be left near the floor and ceiling. The insulation in such walls not only provides a vapor barrier from the inside but also protects against atmospheric moisture, which can penetrate through the cracks between the boards.
The barrel sauna looks unusual and arrives at the site completely ready. But products with one-board walls can only be heated in the summer, and with internal insulation, the structure will cost significantly more than a classic frame structure. In any case, we are talking about a very cramped steam room for a maximum of three people and a tiny dressing room.
Logs in forest regions are still inexpensive. You can purchase a ready-made log bathhouse 4×6 m, with a steam room, a dressing room, and a porch terrace. The main disadvantages of a log house are that it will require caulking and will shrink within a year or two, which will complicate finishing, installation of doors and windows, as well as installation of equipment, including a sauna stove (sliding sheathing systems, elastic passages, etc. will be required).
Four-edged timber with natural humidity is one of the most affordable lumber. A timber frame, as a rule, does not cost more than a regular log frame. In practice, it is better to cut into a bowl (with outlets), having first planned the timber along the street surface, so as not to then sheathe the building from the outside. To make the building look more solid, you can use a beam with a cross-section, for example, 100×200 mm, placed on a narrow edge.
Glued laminated timber does not shrink, does not need external cladding, walls made from it are not blown through, and the glue that holds the lamellas together is heat- and water-resistant. The material, in principle, is suitable for both a traditional bath and a sauna. Alas, it is not cheap and is constantly becoming more expensive. Walls made of laminated timber with a thickness of less than 150 mm need to be insulated from the inside with a layer of mineral wool 40-70 mm thick.
A carriage is a log sawn on both sides, and a two-edged beam is a very beautiful material, the production of which requires large-diameter trunks. Cutting bowls and grooves, as a rule, must be done by hand, which further increases the cost of construction. At the same time, a log house made from a carriage has all the disadvantages of a conventional log house. Lafet, dead kelo pine, and cedar logs belong to the category of super premium wall materials.