Wooden shower cabins for a summer residence: building a summer shower with your own hands

It’s hard to imagine any country house designed for long-term use not being equipped with a shower.The installation of such systems is one of the priorities for arranging the infrastructure of summer cottages.

Therefore, do-it-yourself wooden shower cabins for summer cottages always arouse interest among hacienda owners.

In this material we will talk about the stages of building a summer country shower, the materials that will be required for this, and also provide step-by-step instructions for independently constructing this structure.

Construction of a summer country shower

Traditionally, the construction of shower cabins of various configurations for a summer residence begins with the selection of the optimal site within the boundaries of the existing site.

A bush-free area of ​​the territory is recommended here, since most summer hacienda shower cabin designs are made taking into account the heating of water by natural solar heat. That is, it is necessary to ensure free access of solar energy to the location of the structure throughout the daylight hours.

A country summer shower cabin should be placed directly on the sunny side, in a place where sunlight can freely pass through. This solution contributes to efficient heating of water in the tank

An integral component of a country shower is a water drainage and collection system.According to the rules (primarily SanPin) for the construction of such structures, the used water collection must be located at least five meters from the existing main buildings.

The slope must be calculated correctly to create a drainage line that drains water. The drainage system works flawlessly when the location of the shower cabin is selected at an elevated location. Arranging a shower on a hill greatly simplifies the problem of draining used water.

After choosing a site, you should not immediately start building a shower stall. It is advisable to think carefully about all the details and draw up a simple work plan. This plan in the form of a sketch of the future country shower cabin, construction calculations, and selection of materials will help to cope with the task more efficiently and quickly.

What materials and tools will be required?

If the dacha does not have conditions for draining water naturally into nearby ravines, ditches, sewage systems, etc., you will have to make a special drainage hole.

For such a structure you will need:

• crushed stone;
• sand;
• brick;
• cement;
• roofing felt

In addition, the following materials are suitable for the construction of a shower cabin for a summer cottage made of wood:

• timber beams;
• cladding board;
• waterproofing (roofing felt, polyethylene);
• metal corner (45 degrees);
• fasteners (screws, bolts, nails).

From a set of construction tools, it is enough to have:

• shovels (bayonet, shovel);
• wood hacksaw;
• bench hammer;
• measuring tape;
• screwdrivers are different;
• knife, chisel, sandpaper.

The basis for the construction of a summer shower cabin is often wooden blocks and boards. Traditionally, for such projects, timber with a cross-section of 50 x 50 mm and a cladding board with dimensions of 96 x 1000 mm (for horizontal cladding) or 96 x 1400 mm (for vertical installation) are suitable.

Meanwhile, in each specific case of construction, the calculated figures may differ. Often they are directly dependent on the dimensions of the cabin and volume storage tank for water. The greater the capacity of the tank (load on the structure), the more powerful the wooden frame is.

This old, simple design of a summer shower cabin has confidently supported a 200-liter barrel for more than 5 years. Such strength was achieved through the use of powerful wooden blocks with a cross-section of 100 x 100 mm in the frame construction

It is recommended to keep the dimensions of country wooden shower cabins within the base dimensions of 1000 x 1000 mm and height dimensions of at least 2000 mm. This ratio allows you to build a design that is convenient for the user.

Inside the building with the specified dimensions, in addition to space for the shower head and the user himself, there will also be space for placing bath accessories.

An important stage in the construction of a shower stall is the installation of the base. A lightweight wooden building does not require a powerful foundation, but does need strong, reliable support. One of the common options is installation on brick pillars:

Instructions for building a shower cabin

If the space and landscape features allow, building a summer shower cabin for a summer house with your own hands is not difficult. You should start by preparing the base and building a frame - a stable wooden frame.

A short photo guide for home craftsmen

You can build a summer shower cabin from lumber on your summer cottage in a couple of days. To install it, you need to find an area free of tall trees and bushes that is well ventilated.It is desirable that the future hygienic structure be in the shade for a minimum time, preferably in the evening hours:

The assembled frame must be transferred to the installation site, where final assembly and finishing should begin:

The cabin is almost ready to receive hygiene procedures. All that remains is to provide her with water:

Construction of a wooden frame

Using a measuring tape and a wood saw, the parts of the future wooden frame are prepared. Wood beams for vertical supports and horizontal ties are cut to size. In total, prepare 4-6 vertical supports and 9-12 bars for the crossbars.

Connecting grooves or protrusions are made on each of these elements. As a rule, the fastening of wooden blocks for such projects is carried out using the “half-wood” joining method. Metal corners are used to strengthen the fasteners.

The connection of the bars to each other “in half a tree” is considered reliable, but for greater guarantee it is recommended to additionally use metal corners

A simplified summer shower cabin for use in the country is an open structure: open top, open bottom. Instead of a roof, this structure contains a platform for installing a tank under water.The platform is made of boards and secured to strong beams that are part of the frame.

If you plan to use a barrel-shaped water container, it is advisable to install such a tank vertically. Securing the barrel in a horizontal position seems to be a more complicated process.

Variant of the design of a summer shower cabin in the country. Material – wood (bars, boards), water drainage system. A relatively simple, cost-effective project that can be easily done with your own hands

The fully assembled shower cabin frame must be installed on a flat, solid surface, so the installation site must be pre-prepared. They remove part of the soil to a depth of 150-200 mm, level it, dig a drainage ditch, and place it in it. sewer pipes.

The area around the perimeter is covered with a layer of crushed stone, without touching the drain pipe. A metal tray is placed on the crushed stone bed, connecting the drain hole to the drain pipe. A finished frame of the shower cabin is erected above the pallet.

Review of pit design diagrams

If it is possible to drain water outside the dacha plot directly into a natural area, there is no need to construct an artificial reservoir. However, in most cases it does not make sense to build pits to collect water.

In summer, the earth quickly absorbs small volumes of moisture, and 25-30 liters of water are enough for one person to take a shower. But there is one caveat. With this scheme, the sanitary background is disrupted.

This means that the collection and disposal of used water is still necessary, and this process can be organized according to the following schemes:

• construction of a pit directly under the shower stall;
• construction of a pit at a distance from the shower stall (at least 5 m);
• outlet to the centralized sewerage system.

Centralized sewerage systems in summer cottages are rare, so two schemes remain relevant. Meanwhile, installing a pit directly under a wooden shower stall cannot be considered the optimal solution.

Such a project sharply reduces the service life of the wood, as it guarantees the presence of a high level of humidity in the building area. From a sanitation point of view, this is also not the best choice.

There is only one optimal scheme left - arranging a pit outside the area of ​​the wooden shower stall and preferably outside the area of ​​the dacha area.

How to make a pit to collect water?

There are several simple schemes for constructing collections. For example, the method of placing an ordinary 100-liter metal barrel in the ground. To do this, dig a hole with a depth equal to the height of the barrel placed “on its butt.”

The bottom of the pit is covered with a layer of sand and crushed stone and compacted. The tank is placed in a pit. The remaining gap between the walls of the pit and the tank is also filled with fine gravel.

A 100-liter capacity is enough to take a shower two or three times, then the collection will have to be emptied. This can be done using a water pump - pumping water into places for household waste.

Draining water from the summer shower cabin into a barrel, which is placed in an earthen pit. This is one of the possible options for organizing a water drainage system, which is applicable for the design of country shower cabins

A more capacious and solid tank of 2-5 m/cubic. made of concrete (or based on brickwork). As in the previous scheme, a ditch of the calculated size is dug, formwork is constructed around the perimeter of the ditch, waterproofing is installed, after which the formwork is filled with concrete.

The bottom of such a pit is covered with crushed stone mixed with sand, compacted well, a layer of waterproofing is placed over the entire area and a concrete solution is poured on top. Typically, such structures are made not so much for showers, but for a full-fledged bath complex.

The following relatively simple storage design can be built from ordinary rubber tires used on wheeled vehicles. The technology is similar to that used for a metal barrel. A round hole is dug.

Making a reservoir for draining water from a shower stall using used car tires. Advantages: simple design, quick construction, virtually no financial costs

The diameter of the hole is adjusted to a size slightly larger than the diameter of the existing tires. The depth of the pit can reach two meters. To fill it you will need 8-10 rubber products. Actually, tires are needed only as an element to prevent the walls of the well from collapsing.

How to secure the storage tank?

The designs of wooden summer shower cabins for summer cottages are relatively light in weight. Meanwhile, the object of heavy load is the storage tank. The reservoir is located directly above the cabin, which forces you to carefully consider the installation of this element of the structure.

The practice of building country shower cabins with your own hands marks the widespread use of three types of tanks:

• plastic (polypropylene);
• galvanized steel;
• aluminum.

The first differ from the other two not only in weight, but also in the efficiency of natural water heating. Metal containers clearly win.True, owners of modern haciendas are increasingly resorting to the method of electrically heating the contents of the shower tank. In this case, a plastic tank is optimal and safer.

If the shape of the container is barrel-shaped, there is a risk of encountering some difficulties in attaching such a container. It is easier to use tanks specially made for shower stalls. They have a hexahedron shape, which greatly simplifies their installation and fastening on the wooden floors of the shower frame.

It is recommended to secure the water tank in the shower cabin design with clamps made from a metal strip. This mount is considered reliable and durable, suitable for round and other shaped tanks

It is recommended to fasten the barrel-shaped reservoir of wooden shower cabins built for a summer residence using metal strips (clamps). Tapes 40-50 mm wide are cut from thin-walled sheet metal. The length of the strip is calculated based on the length of the arc from one attachment point to another.

If the barrel is placed horizontally, it is necessary to additionally secure at least 4 thrust shoes (2 on each side) in its lower part on the support beams, and then strengthen the tank with metal strips. It is enough to secure a vertically installed container with tape ties.

Insertion of sanitary fittings into a barrel

A homemade tank (for example, made from a metal barrel) will need to be equipped with plumbing fittings:

• shut-off valve (regulator on the watering can);
• pipelines (supply, drain into a watering can);
• watering can.

This is the minimum set for the simplest tank configuration. In practice, a wooden shower cabin tank is often a real technological system.

Such a container has a more complex configuration, for example, it is equipped with:

• level gauge;
• electric heater;
• shut-off valves;
• pump, etc.

For a simple homemade water barrel, first of all you will need to install a faucet regulator. This element can be installed on the side of the container or directly in the bottom.

The first option is usually done with a horizontal arrangement of the barrel in the design of a country wooden shower cabin, the second with a vertical arrangement of the container.

To embed a faucet regulator into a container for a shower cabin, you need to perform simple steps: drill a hole in the wall of the barrel along the diameter of the end part of the faucet, install gaskets and secure the faucet with a nut

The technology is simple: a hole is drilled with a diameter 1-2 mm larger than the diameter of the threaded part of the tap. The tap is inserted into the finished hole, and gaskets must be installed on the outer and inner sides of the tank wall. Fastening is carried out with a brass nut on the inside of the tank.

The shower head can be connected to the tap with a short piece of hose, thus placing this element directly above the head. Or, on the contrary, use a long hose and a holder, which is best secured in a convenient place on the frame or on a plank wall.

In addition to the hole for the tap, the container provides access for collecting water. On a vertically placed tank, it is enough to remove the top cover. For a horizontally located barrel, a hole with a diameter of 100-200 mm is cut out in the central part of the sidewall facing the sky.

The simplest design of a summer wooden shower cabin for a dacha is designed to fill the tank with water without automation.

Door trim and hardware

So, the wooden frame of the shower cabin has been manufactured and installed, the water tank is equipped with fittings and secured. A tray with a water outlet and a storage pit was made. There is very little left to do - sheathe the middle area of ​​the frame with boards and resolve the issue with the door.

Since the wooden shower stall in this case is an example of a summer building, the paneling is seen as an exclusively decorative function. Therefore, there is no need to “sew” the boards tightly to one another.

On the contrary, if you sheathe the frame with a small gap between the boards (10-15 mm), this approach will ensure effective ventilation. After taking a shower, the moisture will quickly evaporate, which will ensure the durability of the wooden structure. This same option makes the cabin more resistant to strong winds, since the drag coefficient of the structure is significantly reduced.

Ready-to-use wooden shower cabin built in a country house. A successful modern project that is easy to do yourself

The length of the cladding boards (for vertical installation) must be calculated so that they cover approximately 2/3 of the total height of the shower stall frame. The boards are laid in the central area, with an equal distance from the lower and upper points of the frame, and “sewn” to the transverse beams.

Installation of the cladding board is also possible in a horizontal plane. Cover three sides of the summer shower cabin with boards. The fourth side can be left open, a canopy made of fine nylon mesh can be used, or a wooden door can be mounted. Making a wooden shower door is easy. To do this, it is enough to take three 50 x 50 mm timber and several cladding boards.

A structure is put together from the beams in the shape of the Latin letter “Z”, cladding boards are placed across the upper and lower beams (with a gap of 10-15 mm) and fastened. Hang a wooden door in the standard way - on door hinges. If necessary, equip with a simple twist lock.

There are several more articles on our website about how you can independently arrange a summer shower on your property; we recommend reading them too:

1. Instructions for arranging a summer shower.
2. Summer shower made of polycarbonate.
3. Heated summer shower.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

The procedure for constructing a shower stall and useful practical tips:

There are many options for installing a summer wooden shower cabin. Here we looked at one of the simple ones, which, if desired, is easy to implement with your own hands. The advantages of choosing a scheme with wood are not only in the ease of its manufacture - this design fits well into the overall project of the ecology of a summer cottage.

If you had to set up a summer shower in your country house or countryside, you can tell us about it and add a photo of your homemade product in the block below. There you can ask questions or share valuable advice on the topic of the article with our readers.