DIY bath podium

A quite popular interior element for modern bathrooms is the bath on the podium. It is functionality, and not decorative, that is considered the main purpose of this design. This structure covers all pipes, wires and communications that are suitable for plumbing. Today you will learn how to make a podium for a bath with your own hands. But in order to thoroughly understand this work, you must first find out the principles of placement and features of these devices.

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Features of application and variety of podiums

The podium is a section of floor that rises above the rest of the level. Use such structures to separate rooms into functional zones. This allows the bathroom to be zoned in a horizontal plane. But the functions of these structures do not end there.

Podiums are divided into two types:

• Carrier. He takes on the entire weight of the bath. They make such structures from foam blocks or bricks. This solution is especially true for bathtubs made of flexible materials that do not have the necessary level of resistance to deformation, in particular, acrylic.
• Decorative. It allows you to disguise utilities that do not fit into the interior of the bathroom. Often such structures are used for redevelopment of premises. To gain access to communications, they make small hidden hatches that are decorated in accordance with the design of the podium.

Important! Podiums are often used to improve the aesthetic qualities of the interior. They allow you to focus directly on beautiful plumbing, while hiding all its unattractive sides. In fact, there are no strict demarcations, because even the technical podium is able to perform decorative and practical functions.

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Rules for the location of structures

In no case should we forget about the functional tasks of such products. You need to clearly know how to integrate the bath into the podium correctly, appropriately, correctly. In this regard, experts were able to identify several principles for placing podiums:

• It is not recommended to place the podiums right in the center of the bathroom. It will be inconvenient to go around the design, and such a layout does not allow rational use of the available space.
• The area for the arrangement of this island should be dictated by the shape of the bathroom. If the room has not a square shape, but, for example, a rectangular one, then it is better to place a podium in a corner near the wall.
• In too narrow bathrooms it is better to equip the equipment for a bath in width. Thanks to this layout, you can visually push the boundaries of a narrow room.
• The square shape implies the installation of a podium in the corner, it is desirable that it has rounded edges.

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The choice of material for the podium

Having planned to make a podium in the bathroom with your own hands, you need to pay maximum attention to choosing the right material.

You can use for this:

• Logs from a bar. This is a fairly popular version of the material used to equip the podium. From it light, but at the same time strong designs turn out. As a rule, on top of the logs overlap with thick plywood sheets.

Important! Such a device has a significant drawback - a sonorous hum.If you hit the design, there will be a lot of noise. To eliminate this minus, you can fill up the voids inside the device with expanded clay.

• Expanded clay. The bathroom on such a podium will last a very long time. This material is durable and reliable. Pour it as the most ordinary screed for the floor.

Important! Its minus is a lot of weight, so it is not recommended to use expanded clay concrete in multi-storey buildings, since the overlap does not allow such a load.

• Foam block. This material creates a rather large load on the floors, but the equipment is constructed quickly and easily.

Important! The only drawback is that it absorbs moisture, so the foam block must necessarily be treated with moisture-resistant compounds that do not allow fungus to form in the structure.

• Metal carcass. It is considered the best option for the manufacture of the podium. Profiles are fastened together by welding or bolts. Then the structure is sheathed with moisture-resistant cardboard or plywood.

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DIY podium construction

If you think that the built-in bathtub in the podium really looks beautiful, and you want to improve your bathroom in the same way, then the information below will certainly come in handy. The easiest and most affordable option for beginners is to build a device from PVC panels.

Important! If you are interested in the decorative side of the issue, then it is better to dwell on it. In addition, this is the best solution for people who want to save on repairs, but achieve a good result.

Follow these steps:

1. From polymer guides, make a frame, which is then sewn with PVC panels.
2. Mark the line on the floor along which the frame will be located.
3. Measure the exact length of the guides.
4. Use a hacksaw to cut the required number of rails.
5. Measure the exact distance between the floor and the edge of the bath. Cut the walls for the future podium of a given size.
6. Insert the prepared panels into the guides.
7. Degrease the floor so that the fasteners hold securely on the “liquid nails”.
8. Fasten the upper part of the panel directly under the bathtub side; put the lower part on the “liquid nails”.
9. Seal the joints between the panels with the corners. The places where the panels are joined to the walls overlap with guides.
10. Seal the joints between the panels and the sides of the bath to eliminate the possibility of water entering the structure.
11. Carry out a similar procedure at the places where the finished podium is docked with the floor surface.

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Stock footage

Such a podium for a bath, made by yourself in a matter of hours, will look light and aesthetic, despite its monumentality. As you can see, making it yourself is quite real. It is not as difficult as it seemed to carry out a redevelopment of your bathroom, because you can actually use any material for this.