The Turkish Bath Part 2

_Glazing_ in the hot rooms requires care. The gla.s.s will expand considerably with the heat, and, what is more, if the furnace fire die out rapidly at any time, will contract and fracture. This difficulty, however, is the result of bad management, and does not concern the architect, unless, indeed, it be the result of improper fixing. Even moderate-sized sheets of gla.s.s should be carefully fixed in chamois leather with screwed beading, _putty_ being wholly inadmissible. The sheets of gla.s.s should not be of too large dimensions. Rolled gla.s.s will be found the cheapest in the end, as inferior qualities, where h.o.m.ogeneity of texture is wanting, will crack and split in all directions. Lead glazing should be altogether discarded.

No provision for draining the hot rooms is necessary, as they must, when in use, be kept free from moisture. The floor may, however, if thought desirable, be laid with an imperceptible fall the way the water would be swept when cleansing--viz. towards the lavatorium.

As the best position for a bather to a.s.sume in the sudatorium is one approaching to the horizontal, a bath cannot be considered complete unless a liberal number of marble-slabbed benches be provided. These should run round the solid walls, the risers of the benches being formed of brickwork--glazed, faced with tiles, or plastered--and white marble slabs set thereon. These slabs cannot be less than 24 in. wide, and must be of the ordinary seat height--not lower. In the risers must be provided a liberal number of "hit-and-miss" ventilator gratings, the vitiated air finding its way from the s.p.a.ce beneath the slabs in the way designed, which may be into surrounding areas, into hollow walls, or into a flue or flues running the whole height of the building.

The air at the floor line and that at the ceiling level being of vastly different temperatures, it follows that an arrangement might be designed whereby the benches might be stepped in three or four rows, and, by ascending, the bather could select any temperature he might choose. Such an arrangement was often employed in the baths of the ancient Romans, and has been tried in modern inst.i.tutions; but it should be avoided. The expirations from the lungs and the exudations from the bodies of the bathers _fall_, and it therefore follows that all below the first tier would be breathing air polluted by those above them. The system, therefore, stands condemned.

As regards height, the sudorific chambers should not be too lofty, or they cannot, on the ordinary hot-air plan, be heated with due economy.

The vastness of the old Roman tepidarium would have been impracticable under this system; but with the heat radiating direct from the walls and the floors, there was no difficulty. It is far better to have a comparatively low chamber with a constant stream of freshly-heated air pa.s.sing through it, than a lofty one with a sluggish current. From 10 to 15 or 16 ft. may be taken as moderate extremes of height in a public bath. The small third hot room will be less lofty if the heating-chamber be placed under it; for by raising the floor of the laconic.u.m a few feet, so as to necessitate ascending to it by a few steps from the level of the tepidarium, one can more economically construct the furnace chamber.

This latter, which I have more particularly described and ill.u.s.trated in the chapter on heating and ventilation, should, if the system adopted be on the ordinary hot-air principle, be so placed that an abundant supply of fresh pure cold air can be obtained for the furnace, which, when heated, can be delivered into the hottest room above, not less than 5 ft. from the level of the floor of that chamber, and, also, where a smoke flue of ample section can be constructed. The heated air may be delivered through the gratings in the walls of the laconic.u.m, or a shaft of glazed brickwork, of rectangular section, may be constructed against the end wall and coped at the required level--5 ft. or more above the floor line. Should the exigencies of the site separate the furnace chamber from immediate connection with the hottest room, the heated air must be conducted from the former to the latter by means of a large shaft or shafts of glazed brickwork. Similar means may have to be employed to bring the cold air to the heating-chamber, and at the mouth of this shaft some provision must be made for filtering the air before it is brought into contact with the heating surfaces of the furnace.

Horizontal and inclined flues for conducting hot or cold air may be carried from point to point on rolled iron joists having tooled York slabs set thereon, the flues being constructed of 4-1/2 in. brickwork with glazed face internally, and covered with tooled York slabs.

Provision must be made, in such flues, for effective cleansing, by means of iron air-tight doors.

THE LAVATORIUM AND SHAMPOOING ROOM.

The lavatorium and shampooing room now engage our attention. In elaborate baths they may, for the sake of effect, be distinct apartments, while, where strict economy must be studied, they may be comprised in one room; and where, again, s.p.a.ce is extremely valuable, the plunge bath and douche may be also included. If the first arrangement be adopted, the shampooing room must be connected with the tepidarium, and the lavatorium placed next. Where the combination apartment is used, it will take the position of the shampooing room.

Practically, the combination arrangement is the best. It is putting the bather to needless and undesirable trouble to require him to move from one apartment to another during the was.h.i.+ng process.

The suite of was.h.i.+ng and shampooing rooms may be arranged in either one of the following ways, according to the pretensions and requirements of the establishment:--(1) A shampooing room, a lavatorium, a douche room, and a plunge bath chamber; (2) a combined shampooing and was.h.i.+ng room, and a combined douche and plunge bath chamber; (3) several small combined shampooing and was.h.i.+ng rooms, a douche room, and a plunge bath chamber; (4) an apartment comprising shampooing slabs, was.h.i.+ng basins, douche, &c., and a plunge bath.

A single shampooing room does not present a very complicated problem to the designer. The chief object to be borne in mind is that the shampooers require "elbow-room," and their patient in a convenient position to allow of their practising their art. As this is no light task--if properly performed--it becomes of urgent moment that the apartment should be no less perfectly ventilated than a sudorific chamber. In a vitiated atmosphere, no shampooer can work well for a prolonged period, and, moreover, pure air is as necessary for the bathers when in these places, as when they are in the hot rooms.

The shampooing benches may be similar in description and size to those in the hot rooms. A width of 2 ft. is an ample provision, since the shampooer can more conveniently work with the bather as near him as possible. The benches may be constructed in a similar manner to those before described. They must be arranged on plan so that the shampooer has ample room, whilst at the same time s.p.a.ce is not extravagantly wasted. The benches must be topped with white marble slabs. They may run round the wall, or be placed at right angles to them; or, again, if found more convenient, they may be altogether isolated. Similar means of ventilating the shampooing and was.h.i.+ng rooms as the hot rooms must be provided. The vitiated air must be extracted at the floor level, as the temperature here must be maintained considerably above that of respired air.

Movable wooden-framed marble-topped benches may be subst.i.tuted for those of a permanent type; but the plan has nothing to recommend it except lowness of cost.

The separate lavatorium need not be so large as its adjoining shampooing room, as here the bathers will not recline, but sit or stand before was.h.i.+ng-basins, to which must be conducted the flow pipes of hot water, and branches from the cold water supply pipe. These basins--which may be of glazed earthenware if solid marble cannot be afforded--should be large and capacious. Of water-fittings I shall speak under the head of "Appliances."

In a combined shampooing and was.h.i.+ng room the benches and basins will be required together. The basins may be fixed under a hole in the marble slabs, or affixed to the walls, as may be convenient. Whilst arranging the position of the benches with regard to the room, and the basins with regard to the benches, it will be as well to remember the postures that the bather a.s.sumes whilst being shampooed--viz. 1st, sitting; 2nd, on the back; 3rd, reverse. The basin must be so placed with respect to the slab that the shampooer may, without altering his position, take water from the basin with his handbowl, and pour it over the bather. A shampooer cannot well work with less than 5 ft. 6 in. between his slab and that of his adjoining fellow, when the slabs are at right angles to the wall and the adjoining shampooer is also working in the same s.p.a.ce between the two benches. Where the room is long and a row of benches are placed at right angles to the wall, the shampooers have each their separate s.p.a.ce to work in. Each one can then manage in 4 ft., and the slabs can be set out 6 ft. from centre to centre. Where the long sides of the slabs are against the walls and the basins are sunk into the slabs, there must be at least 7 ft. 6 in. from basin to basin. In the case of slabs at right angles to the walls, the basins are best placed between the slabs.

It is an excellent plan to provide a slight screen in one corner of the was.h.i.+ng room, behind which the entering bather may, if he chooses, have a warm spray from a large rose before proceeding to the hot rooms.

In ladies' baths it is well to provide private shampooing recesses by means of part.i.tions of sufficient height, which may be of wood and obscure gla.s.s. In this way any shampooing room may be rendered more private. Upright marble slabs will often be found useful in dividing the benches.

The walls and ceilings of the apartments now under consideration may, so long as there be a dado of glazed ware, be lined in the same way as the hot rooms. But as regards flooring, still more care is required to prevent slipperiness. The soap and water that will be plentifully spilt around, renders this precaution needful. Moreover, provision must be made for drainage.

The flooring may be of rough tile mosaic, or simple tiles. Marble is too slippery, and glazed tiles are wholly inadmissible. Marble mosaics, roughly set, may be employed. The fall to which the floor is laid must be determined by the position of the gullies.

The drainage system of a hot-air bath is a most important consideration.

In a place where the occupants are, literally, _breathing at every pore_, it is obvious that too much care cannot be taken to prevent all possible odours, and the slightest suspicion of an escape of deleterious sewer gases. The traps employed in the was.h.i.+ng rooms should be of the best possible design and material, and proof against the evil known as "siphoning." The gullies above them are best placed adjoining one of the ventilators in the walls, at the floor level, as then a current of air sweeps over them and up the extraction flues. It is not always that an opportunity is afforded to cut off the waste water from the drainage; where the bath rooms are above ground, however, this should be done if practicable. Where possible, an excellent plan is to construct a culvert under the bas.e.m.e.nt floor. In this the whole of the pipes can be placed--the soil-pipes, the lavatorium and plunge bath wastes, &c., and access gained to them by a manhole. By this means a cut-off could be effected between waste-pipes and the sewerage system. The culvert itself could be ventilated by connecting it with an extraction flue. This is all costly; but the builder of a Turkish bath will do well to be prepared to lay out a liberal sum to perfect the system of drainage of the establishment, and in the end, when the public have appreciated the attention bestowed, he will thank his architect for having impressed upon him the necessity for this extra expenditure.

THE DOUCHE ROOM.

The douche room should be a small chamber adjoining the lavatorium, and fitted with a circular needle bath with shower or douche above, and any other kind of spray bath that may be required. It should not be a dark, cold, uninviting hole. For this reason, and also because a corner is admirably adapted to receive an appliance of the shape of a needle bath, it is better, often, to fit it up in an angle of the lavatorium. But of these additions I shall have much to say anon, as one of the most important points about a bath is the arrangement of the water-fittings.

Needle baths will be found indicated, on the plans given in these pages, by an incompleted circle.

THE PLUNGE BATH.

Though, according to medical authorities, this does not form a _necessary_ appendage to the hot-air bath, it is yet a feature that _must_ be provided in the least pretentious of public establishments.

Ever since, and long before, Cicero observed, in a letter to his brother Quintus, "Latiorem piscinam voluissem ubi jactata brachia non offenderentur," men who have taken the hot-air bath have loved the ample plunge. But although it should be sufficiently large for any bather to take a dive, and for an expert to take a true "header," it is a vast mistake to overdo it, and construct a small swimming bath, out of all proportion with the other features of the establishment. One does not look for such an adjunct: it is a great expense to keep up, requires a lot of s.p.a.ce, and tempts many to stay too long in the cold water. All purposes will be served by a bath which will allow the bather to swim without touching the sides with his hands, and to dive along under water without danger of striking his head at the other end before he rises to the surface. Wherever possible, the bath should be quite 25 ft.

in length and at least 7 ft. wide. In inferior inst.i.tutions it may be as narrow as 4 ft. and proportionately shorter; but in such a bath one can only flounder about, and healthy bathers will go elsewhere.

In deciding the position of the plunge bath there is one point to be strongly guarded against, and that is, that it be not stowed away in a damp, cold-looking, cellar-like place. Such a position may be all very well when the proprietor wishes to conceal dirty water; but from every other point of view it is highly objectionable. The wise man will bring his bath forward into the lightest possible position, where its clear, limpid waters will look enticing instead of repelling. For preference, it should be placed where the bather will take it naturally, _en route_ to the frigidarium, as at the Charing Cross baths, previously ill.u.s.trated. In baths all on one level, it is convenient to place the bath partly in the lavatorium and partly in the frigidarium; but, to most persons, the necessity for pa.s.sing under the inevitable part.i.tion and flap spoils the full enjoyment of the plunge. If placed within the frigidarium, and approached by a door from the lavatorium, some sort of a screen should be provided over the bath, as, at times, the apparition appearing at the above door, in full view of the occupants of the cooling-room, is somewhat ludicrous.

The demands of decency must be borne constantly in mind by the architect of a Turkish bath. If the bather, on leaving the plunge bath, finds himself in the frigidarium, he must ascend the steps under hanging towels. The arrangement that will be found the most convenient--a direct importation from the East--is to suspend a hoop from the ceiling, and from this hang cords attached to towels. The hoop can be swung by an attendant over the end of the bath, and in it the bather can dry himself and be wrapped in towels before proceeding to his couch.

Whether the plunge bath be placed in a separate chamber, in the lavatorium, or partly in the frigidarium, its construction will remain essentially the same. If not in shape and size, in other respects it is a small swimming bath. The weight and pressure of the water must be remembered. A good foundation must be prepared for the bath, with a thick layer of concrete pa.s.sing well under the side walls and covering the whole floor. The side walls should be built of concrete and lined with white glazed bricks. In certain soils, the excavation for the bath may be puddled with advantage, but if properly constructed, this should be unnecessary. The bottom of the bath need not be flat, as the most economical method of constructing a plunge bath is to make its deepest part about two-thirds of its length from the end at which the bather enters. This may be about 4 ft. 6 in. in depth from bottom to water-line. From this point the floor will slope towards either end, gradually towards the entering end, and more rapidly towards the exit.

At either end, where the depth of water should be about 3 ft, must be provided steps for ascent and descent. If the bath be not more than 6 ft. wide, these should occupy the whole width, and be of marble or slabs of some cheaper material on brick bearers, or they may be built solid.

A coping of marble, stone, or purpose-made bricks must be placed on the side walls; and, if the bath be in the cooling room, this may advantageously be raised several inches to protect from splas.h.i.+ng. On the coping may be required metal standards and a neat hand-railing. A water-supply pipe and screw-down tap, an overflow and a waste-pipe will be needed, all of which I have more particularly specified hereinafter.

The plunge bath is at times a source of two difficulties--it may leak, and it may be below the level of drain. The first evil is the result of an error in design, or of bad workmans.h.i.+p; the latter is unavoidable.

The following method of constructing a plunge bath has been adopted with perfect success:--On the bed of concrete prepared for its floor, erect side walls of concrete, and on the floors and walls thus formed spread two distinct layers of asphalt, covering all and running up to the underside of coping. Against the sides build half-brick walls in cement, with glazed face, and lay the floor with glazed bricks flat. The general principles of this construction I show in the accompanying ill.u.s.tration.

Where the bath is lower than the drain, all that can be done is to drain out as much as possible and pump the remaining water from a "sump"

provided in a suitable position. By raising the plunge bath chamber a few feet, the bottom of bath may, in some cases, be just kept above the drain level; but steps must then be placed between it and the was.h.i.+ng-room, and steps in such places are dangerous, being very liable to become slippery.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 4.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: A Plunge Bath.]

THE FRIGIDARIUM OR COOLING ROOM, AND DRESSING ACCOMMODATION FOR BATHERS.

Dressing and cooling accommodation in a public bath may be provided in one of the following ways:--1. A separate frigidarium and distinct dressing room, arranged (_a_) in direct communication with one another, or (_b_) connected by a lobby, corridor, or ante-room;--2. A combination apartment arranged (_a_) with dressing-boxes around the walls, and couches in the centre, or _vice versa_; (_b_) with Oriental divans; (_c_) with couches screened off in pairs or singly by dwarf wood screens; (_d_) with a few private dressing-boxes, a few couches, and a few lounges, and easy cus.h.i.+oned chairs; and (_e_) as a simple room with couches placed therein, by the side of which the bather will undress, and on which he will recline after his bath.

The first of these arrangements may be admirably adapted to unpretentious establishments, where, however, it is wished to employ separate rooms; the second (1, _b_) is only suitable for elaborate baths of the highest cla.s.s, in which it may be adopted with excellent and with practical results. Of the combination arrangements (_a_) has little to recommend it; (_b_) is expensive and extravagant of s.p.a.ce, though it may be made very effective in appearance and very pleasing and comfortable; (_c_) is suitable for ladies' baths; (_d_) is very practicable, and gives the apartment a pleasant, homely look; and (_e_) is best for cheap baths, being the simplest arrangement possible, wholly unsuited, however, to establishments of any pretension.

If the plan include a separate cooling room, it is nothing more than a s.p.a.cious, cheerful apartment, designed with a view to the reception of couches, and the usual accessories designed in connection with it--the refreshment room, hairdresser and chiropodist's saloon. If this separate cooling room be provided, a distinct apodyterium, with little dressing-boxes, must be designed. If the bath be small and easily managed, curtains may be employed to screen those undressing; but if it be a large establishment, with a number of bathers constantly dressing and undressing, doors must be provided, and these must be under lock and key in charge of an attendant. Each dressing-box must be fitted with a seat, rack, and shelf; and looking-gla.s.ses, toilet-tables, and lavatories for general use must be placed in the room, which must be designed in direct connection with the frigidarium.

This should be s.p.a.cious, light, lofty, and perfectly ventilated, the vitiated air being here extracted at the ceiling level, since the temperature at which the apartment will be kept is an ordinary one--_over_ that of the exterior air when the weather is cold, and _under_ when it is at all hot.

Where the cooling room and dressing room do not immediately adjoin, the means of communication should be carefully studied, so that it may be free from cross draughts of cold air, and so that it may be dignified and room-like--not a mere pa.s.sage. It may have the air of an ante-room, but must not be crossed by entering bathers who have not divested themselves of their boots or shoes. Slamming doors should be avoided, having regard to the exposed condition of the bathers.

In spite of the theoretical and sentimental advantages of separate cooling and dressing-rooms, a combined frigidarium and apodyterium seems to have found favour latterly.

Personally, I would gladly enter a protest against the employment of the combined cooling and dressing room as a decidedly uncleanly habit. It is certainly not pleasant to know that, having obtained perfect physical cleanliness, both inwardly and outwardly, one must return to couches whereon previous bathers may, as likely as not, have, however temporarily, deposited more or less of their underclothing or superimposed raiment. But economy of construction is nowadays a question that must be considered at every step, and the combination apartment saves both s.p.a.ce and materials, and is also economical as regards attendance. Moreover, it must be confessed that a cooling room provided with elegant and s.p.a.cious divans, wherein the bather dresses and undresses, may be made very pleasing to the eye and withal comfortable and convenient. The dressing-boxes, too, of the separate apodyterium are not conducive to the general sense of comfort.

In arranging the plan of a combined cooling and dressing room it is necessary to first decide as to how the apartment will be furnished--viz. which of the plans above mentioned shall be adopted.

This is much a matter of individual taste, though, as I have said above, the divan is to be preferred in many cases. It is often well to provide a cooling room of what may be called the "picturesque" order, or the reverse of stiff formality. By this I mean such an arrangement as 2, _d_. The bather can then choose between reclining in semi-privacy or in the open, or, again, resting in an easy chair. With a handsome plunge bath and a pretty little fountain, such rooms may be rendered very attractive.

Whatever be the plan adopted, it must, I repeat, be carefully thought out previously, and not left as an afterthought. The size of the reclining couch will be found to be the governing feature. This should be 6 ft. 6 in. long by 2 ft. 6 in. wide, or 6 ft. by 2 ft., according as luxury or economy is the end in view. Next to this must be considered the s.p.a.ce allowed for each bather to dress in, and also the routes for bathers and attendants. Four feet between the couches is a sufficient s.p.a.ce where couches are screened off in pairs.

Couches may be arranged in pairs or singly. _Two pairs_ of couches screened off with only a small s.p.a.ce between of 4 ft. or so is an objectional arrangement. It is difficult to explain why this is so; but the bather who has made one of four strangers thus closely penned up will appreciate the objection. An arrangement of four couches must expand into a s.p.a.cious divan.