How to build an outdoor shower yourself in the country

The issue of hygiene in the country or in a private house is very relevant - not everywhere there are amenities in the form of round-the-clock water supply, sewage and other luxury available to residents of apartment buildings. But this does not mean that the problem is unsolvable. Why not build a time shower out of scrap materials? Or maybe erect a capital building? It is not necessary to call a team of builders for this, it is not the gods who burn the pots. The article will tell you how to build an outdoor shower on your personal plot with your own hands.

Preparatory stage

How do all more or less significant construction usually begin? That's right - with planning. The first step is determined with the following questions:

• the location of the building;
• the capacity of the water tank;
• the size of the structure;
• its type is temporary or capital.

Seat selection

When choosing the location of a building, the biggest and most common nonsense is the idea of ​​placing it under the crowns of trees, or somewhere behind the house. If you arrange a summer shower in this way, firstly, in the shade, the tank will be very heat up badly, and secondly, the building will soon be chosen insects, for which moisture and shade are the best conditions you can imagine.

To ensure a good drainage of water, the shower room is located on the dais, or at least on a flat area, but not in the lowlands.

So, on the one hand, the shower must be located in an open, illuminated area, but at a short distance from the main building. After all, no one is reluctant to make their way to the house through the entire plot in cool, windy wet weather?

Building dimensions and tank capacity

In height, you need to design the structure so that the tallest of those bathing in the shower does not cling to the watering can with his head. Recommended building height - from 2.5 to 3 meters, and the capacity of the water tank can be calculated like this - for each bather there is about 40 liters of waterif he splashes in the shower for about ten minutes. So, you need to multiply this figure by the number of people washing at a time - this is the desired capacity. And this is provided that the tank must be refilled after bathing.

The minimum size of the shower room itself should not be less than a square meter, otherwise there will simply be nowhere to turn around. And then, the area is given excluding dressing roomwhere you could easily change clothes.

Little trick - if the tank is painted with black paint, then it will heat up in the sun much faster than if it were of any other color.

Temporary or capital?

There are three criteria here - the availability of material or funds for the construction of something serious, construction skills and the capacity of a water tank.

If the farm has bricks from old buildings, or it is planned to intensively exploit the shower, and the funds allow you to fork out, it is better to make a capital construction. But in the absence of these, you will have to use what is at hand.

If the owner does not know how, say, to use a welding machine, or it simply does not exist, even if there are pipes and corners, the frame for the building cannot be welded from them. Therefore, you need to initially calculate your strength, and if you plan to build a building on your own, proceed from what can be done and what not.

For the tank - if its capacity is 200 liters or more, you will have to build a solid structure, otherwise the frame may simply fold under its weight. And it's good if there is no one in the room at that moment.

Foundation construction and drainage

Before you start digging a hole for the foundation, you should make a markup. Let's say the dimensions of the shower will be 120x120 cm, even a small elephant can be driven there if desired. Pegs are driven in at the corners of the alleged foundation, and a cord is pulled between them around the perimeter. After that, using a tape measure, check that the diagonals of the resulting rectangle were equal. Further actions depend on what kind of building is planned to be erected - a temporary hut or a capital structure.

Simple temporary hut

In this case, large labor costs will not be required. It is only necessary to remove the top layer of soil by 15-20 centimeters over the entire area of ​​the resulting rectangle. Then they organize a cushion for the removal of moisture, consisting of sand and crushed stone. They act this way - either mix the components in equal proportions and sprinkle the entire area with the mixture, or make the lower layer of sand, and the upper one from rubble. Thanks to this scheme, most of the soap will remain on the pebbles when washed, instead of falling into the soil.

Wooden pallets are placed on top of the pillow, serving as a floor in the shower room. Recommended to extend the life of the wood by treating it antiseptic impregnation and water-repellent compounds, for example, hot oil or linseed oil.

Capital construction

In the event that intensive and long-term use of the shower is expected, and not by one or two people, but by the whole family, it is better to dwell on the option with capital construction. True, you will have to make a solid concrete foundation.

The pit needs to be made deeper - thirty centimeters. At the corners of the rectangle, mortgages are placed from old pipes or wooden beams. When using wood, it must be treated with a water-repellent compound and an antiseptic. It is also recommended to wrap the timber with roofing felt.

When pouring the foundation, you need to follow evenness of the flooras water will accumulate in the pits. An even surface is achieved when using a level and rule in work, as when pouring any screed. Do not disdain beacons - the task will be greatly simplified.

Drain - cesspool or drainage well

When arranging a cesspool, get ready for sampling a couple of cubic meters of land, since it makes no sense to do it in a smaller volume. At the bottom of it, a drainage pillow is made according to the above technology, with sand and gravel. The walls of the cesspool must be airtight and keep moisture out. For these purposes, they use ready-made concrete rings, bricks, even rubber tires from trucks.

The disadvantage of the design is the need to periodically pump out sewage from the pit. Two nuances are taken into account - the access to it of the appropriate transport, and the characteristic aroma emanating from the cesspool. Therefore, it is recommended to locate it at least 3-4 meters from a residential building, closer to the road.

If the shower is not used too often, dig right under it as an option. drainage well. It is a pit a couple of meters deep, at the bottom of which there is a cushion of sand and gravel. A perforated plastic pipe is inserted into the pit, into which a mixture of broken brick, crushed stone, slag and similar materials is poured to the top, acting as a filter element. Geotextiles are laid on top of the pipes, and they are covered with a layer of soil. A wood pallet is already installed on top of this structure, in which drain holes are made.

Tank Recommendations

The simplest option would be to install a black tank on the roof of the shower room, which is heated by solar heat. A hose is brought to the tank for filling it with water - you won't be carrying buckets of, say, two hundred liters. There is one misfortune in this version - the sun does not always warm the way we would like. And what to do in this case? There is a way out - heated tanks. There are three types of them:

• Metal tank with built-in pump and heating element. This is generally a song - it is filled automatically, and the heating element maintains the required water temperature. Minus - you can use such a miracle tank if there is a water supply system in the country.
• A flat steel galvanized tank for low shower rooms, there are options with a capacity of up to two hundred liters. It works like a boiler, has a small shower head, and also needs running water.
• A heated plastic tank does not need a constant supply of water, but there is also a minus here - if the heating element is not automatic, you need an eye and an eye behind it.

The simplest shower options

It is not always required to erect a stationary building. In cases where the shower will be used once every five years, you can use portable options:

• A portable shower, where a kind of large heating pad serves as a container for water, with a nozzle on which a small watering can is mounted. There is a special loop on the "heating pad" that allows you to hang it on a tree branch or on some kind of hook. The capacity is small - about 15 liters, and it will heat up very quickly in the sun. But dabbling in such a soul will not work for a long time.

• Shower column, which is a metal pipe with legs, with a shower head and a hose attachment. The downside of the design is the lack of a container and the need to connect a hose for washing. Plus - you can, after washing, take and bring the structure into the barn, out of sight.

Wooden outdoor shower

To make a structure, not so much is needed:

• in fact, timber - timber, board, lining, slats - in a word, what it is planned to build an architectural monument from;
• wood screws or nails;
• rubber hose and watering can;
• crushed stone and sand for the organization of the drainage cushion.

We have already discussed how to organize the foundation for a temporary hut, we will not repeat ourselves. A wooden beam impregnated with appropriate compounds will be used here as mortgages. To protect the wood from rotting, in the corners, or generally around the perimeter of the pit, formwork should be made of brick or cinder block with a height of about 15 centimeters.

Planks of at least 30 mm thickness are used as the base of the structure. The size of the base corresponds to the perimeter of the pit. Four beams with a section of 100x70 mm are attached to the base, and then the resulting frame is tied up with at least two jumpers. The top of the design is also mandatory tiebecause there will be a tank of water there.

You can sheathe the frame at your own discretion with clapboard, blockhouse, slats - what God will put on your soul. The main thing is to leave a gap of 2-4 mm between the boards, since they will swell from moisture. Approach the question carefully protection of wood from decay - there is no need to save on antiseptics, primers and varnishes. Ideally, it is best to paint over all the details before assembling the structure.

After assembly, it is the turn of the tank assembly. The simplest option is to put it on the crossbars and secure it securely with straps. But here, whoever invents something, it will be so.

Other options for temporary huts

The above example is essentially a template for the rest of the options. First of all, a frame is typed, then something is sewn onto it. So, if you have time and money, you can sculpt yourself a summer shower from:

• Polycarbonate - in addition to this material, which is often used for the construction of greenhouses, you will need a profile pipe, say, 40x20 and a corner of 50x50 mm. The frame is made of metal, after which polycarbonate sheets are sewn onto it. For work, you need a welding machine to weld the frame.
• Corrugated board - the design is similar to polycarbonate, the principle is the same. But the frame is sewn up, as you probably already guessed, with corrugated board. Fastening of sheets, both in the first and second cases, is carried out using specialized self-tapping screws for metal.

These are the most popular, but far from the only options.

Capital brick building

Briefly about the procedure for the production of work:

• The strip foundation is being equipped around the perimeter of the building. The depth of the trench should be at least 20 cm, width - about 40. The bottom of it is sprinkled with crushed stone or broken brick. Then the formwork is placed, and a concrete solution is poured, liquid enough to seep into the stones.
• After the foundation has settled for at least a couple of weeks, they begin build walls of bricks, controlling the verticality of the structure using a plumb line or level. When laying the top layer of brick, they put mortgages from a wooden bar. They will serve as a support for the tank, and they will also hold the roof of the building. The doorway is reinforced with a metal corner or channel. A small ventilation window is made in the room. The roof is covered with corrugated board or slate.
• Draining equip according to the scheme described above, it is recommended to make a drainage well in such a room, from which to make a branch to the drain pit. The well is covered with earth from above and poured with concrete, bringing out the drain pipe. To facilitate the draining process, the floor is made with a slight slope towards the middle. A wooden pallet with drain holes is placed on top of the concrete floor.
• Tank in a capital structure, it can be supplied for 200 or more liters, if the water supply on the site allows, then with a heating system. Everything, as usual, depends on the means.

That's probably all. It is simply not possible to describe all the subtleties of construction within the framework of the article - you will need to write a book.