In hot weather, an outdoor shower for a summer residence is not a luxury, but a necessary outbuilding. The shower gives you the opportunity to freshen up, wash away the dirt after gardening. The presence of a shower on the site provides a comfortable stay in the country, especially if there is no swimming pool nearby suitable for swimming. When designing a country shower, its size, materials used and the place where you plan to build it are taken into account. The cabin should be quite spacious so that you can conveniently place everything you need in it and move freely. A comfortable shower height is 2.5 m, the most common cabs are 190/140 mm and 160/100 mm in size. Want more details? - read on, today we are building a summer shower with our own hands.
Site selection and foundation design
For a garden summer shower, it is better to choose a sunny place away from other buildings. In the sun, the water heats up quickly, it is convenient if you plan to build a shower without heating. If the tank is painted black, the water will heat up faster. Also consider making the shower water comfortable, preferably automated. Climbing upstairs with a bucket of water to fill the tank is not the best way.
So, the place for the soul is chosen. Now you need to prepare the base - remove the top layer of soil, level the site and fill it with sand. To create the right foundation, markings are made using pegs hammered in the corners and a rope stretched over them.
A shower can be a light structure, or it can be a capital building. The type of foundation depends on the materials used. If the shower is made of brick, a concrete foundation is used, the depth of which should be at least 30 cm. Before you start pouring, a place is prepared for pipes - you need to lay a log wrapped in roofing felt. Concrete is poured using guides and a level so that it is level. When the base is ready, masonry can be done. A brick shower will be more hygienic and aesthetic if it is tiled. But this is an expensive time-consuming option.
Option # 1 - budget tarp frame summer shower
This option will allow you to build a summer country shower, without resorting to high costs. After all, if you come to the country only in the summer, you can get by with a simplified option. For example, build a canvas shower using a metal frame.
A metal frame will require the greatest cost, but still cost much cheaper than brick. For the construction of a frame shower you will need: canvas canvas (3/5 m), metal profile (18 m, 40/25 mm), plastic shower tank, preferably black (volume 50-100 l), shower head, ½ and a crane with such a thread. Parts such as a watering can, nuts, squeegee, tap, gaskets and washers are very popular materials, so they are often sold in one set, which is especially convenient.
It’s easy to build a tarpaulin shower, it’s convenient and functional, for the winter you can remove the tarpaulin cloth, cover the frame with cellophane so that it does not rust
A design similar to this one is a flat slate shower. He has exactly such a frame, but the profile in this case replaces a square (40/40 mm).
Water from the base in the shower should drain towards the drain pipe, and a shield (usually made of wood) is laid on top, on which the person stands and performs hygiene procedures.
If you don’t want to build a shower yourself, you can buy a ready-made one - for example, with a polycarbonate booth, or completely open, and enjoy water procedures right in the garden
Tip. It is better to make a water drain with a water-resistant layer - lay a PVC film, hydroglass glass or roofing material on an inclined embankment. The slope is made so that the drain from the shower is directed towards the trench or drainage tank. Well, if the drain is ventilated, it dispels unpleasant odors.
The problem of water flow today can be successfully solved using a septic tank. When installing a septic tank, do not place it directly under the shower cabin. In the summer, when large volumes of water are consumed, the septic tank can fill up, and the drainage will not work well, the result will be unpleasant odors. It is better to arrange the drain at a distance of several meters from the shower, to place a septic tank nearby.
Tip. Plants that grow well in moist soil will be appropriate near the shower - they will perform a drainage function.
Option # 2 - solid construction on a pile foundation
At a fairly high height, the shower structure must have a stable base. To build a summer shower of a strong design, you can make a pile foundation from pipes. Pipes should be 2 meters high (diameter 100 mm), holes in the ground need to be drilled beneath them for a meter and a half depth. The pipe should rise above the soil level by about 30 cm. The dimensions of the timber for the frame are 100/100 mm.
In order to drill holes under the supports, you can call the team that installs the fences, the work will take about half an hour
A rectangle is measured on the ground in terms of the size of the soul, and the foundation supports are installed in the corners. The next step is the installation of the beam and the ligation of the posts. It is convenient to assemble the frame on the ground and fasten the structure with long bolts. Then the dressing is done inside the frame structure - these will be the floor lags in the shower. Rigid elements are placed between adjacent posts in the thickness of the wall.
The floor can be made with gaps between the boards for water drainage. But sometimes you have to take a shower in cool weather, and the air blowing out in the crevice will not add comfort. You can also install a drip tray, from which water will drain through a hose. A shower consisting of a changing room and a bathing compartment, which can be separated by a bath curtain, will be more convenient. In this case, the locker room should be separated by a threshold in order to avoid leakage of water.
As the outer upholstery, lining, sheets of moisture-proof plywood, and fiberboard are most often used. If all the buildings on the site are made in the same style, the shower should not be too different from them.
If you expect to use a shower not only during the summer heat, you need to insulate it. It is most convenient to use expanded polystyrene for this. As an interior finish, waterproof materials should be used - plastic, PVC film, linoleum. The wood paneling needs to be proliferated and painted.
A water tank is installed on the roof of the structure. It can be connected to the water supply or filled with a pump. It is good to equip the barrel with a plumbing valve that will block the water when the tank is full
So that the water in the tank is better heated, you can make a frame for the tank, acting as a greenhouse. It is made according to the size of the container from the timber and is fitted with a film. In this frame, the water in the barrel will remain warm, even if the sun hides. Wind also will not cause a decrease in its temperature.
As they say - it is better to see once:
A selection of schemes and examples of the device shower
The drawings of the summer shower below will help you choose the right size, choose the right material, visualize exactly which shower you want to see in your area.
Options for covering the shower with different materials: boards, clapboard, moisture-proof wood panels, various types of tanks
There are simple devices that allow you to use the shower more comfortably: a - the float intake will take warm water from the top layer; b - a crane driven by a foot pedal (fishing line from the pedal is thrown through the block, it is connected to a draw spring and to a crane that opens at a right angle, which will allow to economically consume water); c - an improved scheme for connecting the heater to the water tank will allow the water to warm up and circulate evenly
Summer shower with heating: 1 - tank, 2 - pipe, 3 - tap for supplying water from the tank, 4, 5 - blowtorch, 6 - watering can, 7 - tap for supplying water from a watering can
The choice of design, materials, work on the drawing are important points to which attention should be paid so that the process of creating a shower is continuous and error-free.
