Summer shower for outdoor recreation

Where is it more convenient to place a shower?

There are 2 options for making a summer shower at the dacha: with water supply from a tank or with a cut-in into the central water supply. The second method is more comfortable, there will always be hot water in the shower stall, regardless of the weather outside. But then the summer shower is placed near the house or bathhouse – a building from which pipes can be brought out.

If there is a water tank on the roof, then the most illuminated place on the dacha plot is chosen for the summer shower. Due to the fact that the water quickly heats up in the sun, and water procedures will be comfortable.

The cabin must be installed not only in a sunny place, but also in a place protected from the wind, so that in the future it will be comfortable to go outside after washing. And finally – to facilitate the arrangement of the drain, the structure should be raised artificially or placed on a small elevation. This way, excess water will flow down and not stagnate in the shower tray.

The photo shows a shower near the house

Owners of small summer cottages should consider connecting an outdoor shower to other buildings: a house, a bathhouse, a toilet, a shed. Usually, combined utility buildings are located in the corner of the plot or near a fence.

The photo shows a combined shower and toilet

What types of designs are there?

The next nuance in designing a shower in the country is to decide on the type of design. Shower sets can be mobile or stationary, let’s consider the advantages of both.

Stationary

The complex design of a non-mobile summer shower requires solving several problems at once:

1. Calculations. At a minimum, you will need simple drawings with dimensions.
2. Drainage. Drainage or a cesspool is required, and more often both.
3. Location. Since stationary systems usually work without a pump (it is cheaper), the cabin is placed in the sun, and a water tank is hung on top.
4. Construction features. The technology requires a foundation (pile or strip), high-quality finishing, a well-thought-out drainage system, etc.

You can make a shower in the country yourself, but if you have never done construction work, be prepared to study a lot of information and correct errors that will most likely be discovered during operation.

So, a stationary structure has only one drawback – the relative complexity and high cost of implementation. In addition, it will not be possible to move the shower from one place to another.

This summer shower has many more advantages:

• Durability. If all recommendations are followed, the summer shower will last an unlimited number of years (especially if the base is made of brick or foam block).
• Practicality. The presence of walls or a curtain, as well as doors, protects from prying eyes, splashing water, allows you to organize the storage of bath accessories – put soap, hang a washcloth.
• Comfort. In the warm season, a homemade shower outside replaces a regular one in the house and if there are a lot of guests at the dacha, you can avoid queuing for bath procedures before going to bed or in the morning.

Portable

A mobile summer shower, unlike a stationary one, is not made from scrap materials, but is often bought ready-made. The simplest design contains a tank, a foot pump, a hose and a watering can. Most often, the pump is a vacuum pump that starts pumping water after several presses, but there are also automatic ones.

Advantages of a portable system:

• Can be used in different places. Be it a deck near the house, a changing room, etc. For example, in the heat it is comfortable to rinse off outside, in the rain – in the changing room or entryway, placing a basin underneath.
• No installation. The maximum that can be done is to hang the watering can on the bracket. But usually mobile hoses are manual. No foundation or fences.
• Possibility of warm storage. To prevent the elements of the sink from being damaged during winter frosts, they are brought into a warm barn or stored in a bathhouse.

Disadvantages:

• Minimum convenience. The absence of walls does not allow you to wash completely naked, it is convenient to place bathing accessories.
• Low functionality. A portable shower head with a tank is more likely to be used as a preliminary preparation for water procedures – for example, to wash off the main dirt from your feet before entering the house.

Above, we described the pros and cons of the most common portable system, but today you can find more advanced ones on sale: in fact, they are mobile cabins that do not require a foundation, and the time required for their assembly is a maximum of 15 minutes.

The kit includes a prefabricated plastic or metal frame, a waterproof curtain, a shower head, and a tank. The operating principle of such a summer shower is no different from a stationary one, but it can be moved or disassembled for convenient storage in winter.

The photo shows a collapsible summer shower

What can it be made of?

You can build a stationary summer shower for your dacha from almost any material. The most common designs are made of wood, polycarbonate, corrugated board, brick or concrete blocks.

Wood

It is not without reason that boards have become one of the favorite building materials of summer residents. On the one hand, they are environmentally friendly, aesthetically pleasing, easy to process and inexpensive. On the other hand, they are capricious. For use in “wet” areas, the wooden frame and paneling must be treated with impregnations against mold, fungus and pests.

But if you are ready to spend additional money, effort and time on preparation, as a result you will get a durable summer shower that fits perfectly into the natural landscape.

Polycarbonate

A lightweight material with a cellular structure is similar to plastic panels: easy to process, inexpensive, hydrophobic. From a practical point of view, polycarbonate is an ideal option for a shower. Its advantages:

• It is not afraid of water.
• It is easy to install without special tools.
• The sheets bend well (you can make a round cabin).
• It can withstand temperatures from -40 to +120 degrees.

If you look at it from an aesthetic point of view, its disadvantages are revealed:

• Inexpensive appearance. You cannot hide the plastic, although if there is a polycarbonate greenhouse on the site, the summer shower will go well with it.
• Transparency. The shower will have to be supplemented with curtains or a second layer of panels inserted so that people inside are protected from prying eyes.
• Short-lived. With prolonged use and exposure to the sun (the latter is required to ensure heated water in the tap), the coating begins to crack and deteriorate.

The photo shows polycarbonate on a metal frame

Corrugated sheet

As a third simple option for a summer shower, many people use corrugated sheet. Firstly, sheets are often left over from other work, and secondly, even if you buy from scratch, the material is quite inexpensive.

In addition to being cheap, corrugated sheet has the following advantages:

• Durability. The strength of the material, supplemented by an anti-corrosion coating, makes it virtually immortal even in the summer heat.
• High assembly speed. Having prepared everything you need in advance, you can install the structure in just one day.
• Large selection of shades. You can choose the option that best suits the design of the site.

Disadvantages of corrugated sheets:

• High noise level. Water from the shower or raindrops will make a loud roar.
• Rapid heating. Since the cabin will be in the sun, there is a risk of getting burns if you accidentally touch the metal.
• Low aesthetic properties. Still, metal “slate” looks worse than the same wood or brick.

In addition, to make the summer shower stronger, it is better to use a welding machine. And not every craftsman has the ability to weld.

Brick

Brick buildings are an option from the series reliable and attractive. The main disadvantage of brick is weight, for the structure it is necessary to provide a solid foundation. But such a summer shower is truly “for centuries”, so it is suitable even for a private house, and not just for a summer house.

The bricks are attached to each other with cement mortar: in order for the masonry to be neat, a certain skill is required, and better yet, experience in construction.

Blocks

The second inexpensive capital option is foam block or aerated concrete block. Block buildings are erected quickly, but require a serious foundation. In addition, they look unattractive: for a more aesthetic appearance, you can finish the inside with clapboard or tiles, and sheathe the outside with stone or siding.

Permanent buildings usually include not only a summer shower, but also an outdoor toilet, a bathhouse, or a utility room such as a boiler room or pump room.

How to do it yourself?

Making an outdoor shower is not a difficult task, but even it requires preliminary preparation and development of a construction plan. It’s time to understand the process of creating a summer shower step by step.

Step-by-step instructions

In order to correctly calculate the costs of labor and financial resources, as well as not to miss anything important, we will conditionally divide the process into 7 stages.

Planning

As the well-known proverb says – measure 7 times, cut 1. First, the dimensions of the shower cabin are calculated, after which you can determine the optimal location for placement, the amount of materials.

The minimum width and depth are 80 cm, the optimal dimensions are 100 * 100 centimeters. The height to the tank is 200-210 cm. In such a shower, it is comfortable to bend over, stretch your arms up, move them to the side. For greater comfort, equip not only a washing area, but also a changing room: its dimensions can be more modest – 60-70 by 100 cm.

Important! Based on your dimensions, calculate the required amount of timber (it is recommended to use timber with a cross-section of 10 cm), sheathing. Buy lumber, treat with impregnation and dry before use.

Foundation

Use a profile pipe (100-160 cm high) as a base.

1. Dig the required number of holes around the perimeter of the future shower;
2. dig in the posts so that 20-30 cm remains outside and 70-100 cm is dug into the ground;
3. fill with crushed stone and pour in cement;
4. wait until completely dry.

Important! From here on, we will provide calculations and recommendations for creating a shower in the country with your own hands from wood (in the photo). For brick, concrete buildings, all stages, starting with the foundation, will be different. If you are planning to build a shower on a frame made of metal profile, go to the “Video” section and watch the detailed instructions there.

Frame

You can assemble the frame on the finished piles. Start with the lower trim (bottom), attaching the crossbars along the perimeter at a level of 20-30 cm from the ground. Next comes the fastening of the main supports, on which the upper trim is assembled.

The frame is reinforced with partitions (braces) – keep in mind that the finished grate will have to withstand a heavy water tank installed on the roof.

Water supply and drainage

Based on the conditions of the garden plot, choose 1 of 2 possible options for water supply:

• Cutting into the water supply system. In this case, you will have to bury the supply pipes at least 50 cm, insulate them, install a special pump (if you are going to pump water from a well or a borehole).
• Installing a tank over the shower. Due to the upper location, the water will flow due to normal gravity: a pump will be needed only if you need a strong pressure. In general, you can get by with just a container.

Water drainage causes more problems. In order for the outflow to be effective, and the water not to wash away the soil next to the summer shower, a special drainage system is required. There are 2 ways to organize the drain: drainage + waterproof layer or septic tank.

• In the first case, the water is essentially “sucked” into the ground. For this, the floor is made in the form of a grate, through the holes in which the moisture will go away. And under the drain in the open ground, a drainage pit is organized, filling it with various stones, large branches, etc. Such a shower is comfortable in warm weather – the grate provides not only the outflow of water, but also ventilation. When it gets cooler outside, the holes will start blowing and it will be simply cold to wash.
• In the case of a cesspool, you need to choose where it will be located – directly under the cabin or far from it. A tray is placed on the floor: ready-made or made independently from concrete and tiles. Read more in the “Tray” section.

Water tank

A summer shower is called a summer shower because it can only be used during the warm season. And in the summer there is a lot of sun, which warms the water in the tank with its energy. But the water is mostly warmed up by the sun from above, and gets into the shower head from below, so it turns out that cold water flows first during bathing. To fix this, you will need a few tricks:

• Dark color. A black or blue tank with walls of sufficient thickness will not only strongly attract heat, but also retain it.
• Upper fence. For this, various devices are used, the simplest one is a hose with foam plastic, which is needed as a float, which will hold the nozzle at the upper edge and supply heated water to the shower.
• Additional coil. If you assemble a simple structure of pipes on the roof between the container and the shower head, the water will be heated directly in them. A more accessible, simple way is to roll a long hose in several layers, put it on top of the shower.

Finishing

Interior finishing is not always required, for example, shower cabins covered with polycarbonate or special fabric do not need additional protection. A wooden shower also doesn’t need to be decorated.

If the walls still need to be decorated, choose paneling pre-treated with impregnation, PVC panels, tiles (for brick, concrete showers).

Tray

If you don’t want to bother with calculations and cement mortar, buy a ready-made one in the store. Didn’t find a suitable one? Pour the required one yourself, but observe the main condition – a slope towards the drain by 1-2% of the total length. The drain is made like in a regular shower – using a siphon and pipes.

Video for beginners

Watch all the secrets of creating a summer shower from corrugated board in the video:

Inspiring ideas

Finally, we want to share original ideas and show that a summer shower is not necessarily a functional box with walls and a tray.

For example, if you choose an unusual material for construction, such as untreated logs, you can get an unusual eco-shower.

The photo shows an original shower made of logs

Wood in general is a universal material. With its help you can achieve both a fresh modern design, and a traditional or rustic one.

Dreaming of something more unusual? Pay attention to open showers in the thickets of greenery – such a shower looks tropical. Stands made from scrap materials look original – in the photo there is a surfboard, but you can choose something more suitable for the dacha theme.

When designing a summer shower, remember: it should be comfortable for all family members! To avoid mistakes and provide for everything, first create a project, and then gradually implement it.