What is the purpose of this room?

[hypervalent_iodine]

I live in a fairly old house in Brisbane, Australia; or old by suburban Brisbane standards, at least. I'm unsure of exactly when it was built, though my guess would be the 60's or 70's. It's seen maybe a handful of updates since. In this house there is a room built within the downstairs area / my bedroom whose purpose has puzzled me since I moved in a few years ago. I've not been able to find anyone here who could tell me what it was for, so I thought I'd branch out and ask here in the hopes someone has seen something like it.

 

The room itself about 2m in each direction and looks kind of like a giant wooden box sitting in the corner of part of my room (its walls and ceiling fall short of reaching the ceiling of my room by about a meter). Much like the part of the room it was built in, I don't think it was an original feature of the house. Inside of it there are 3 long and slender cylindrical elements (I guess for heating) that extend floor to ceiling in three corners. Other than those, it's completely empty (or it would be if I didn't use it to store things) and doesn't even have so much as a light source. The ceiling has a small cut out with a piece of glass sitting in it, which I think is removable. On the outside next to the door there is a panel (picture attached) with an on/off switch and controls for the elements inside.

 

Has anyone seen anything like this before or have any idea what if might have been for? I only have a photo of the control panel at the moment, since the elements are hidden by a tonne of books and other bits and pieces that I don't feel like moving.

 

[Spyman]

It could be a Sauna, which is often a small room, (for heat efficiency), where you can relax in a high temperature environment.

Picture of a modern Finnish sauna with light sources in the corners and an electric stove in center.


A sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities.

A sauna session can be a social affair in which the participants disrobe and sit or recline in temperatures typically between 70 °C (158 °F) and 100 °C (212 °F). This induces relaxation and promotes sweating.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna

[hypervalent_iodine]

I thought that, but it seemed odd to have one with zero lighting and electric heating elements in the corner of a wooden room instead of something like the central stove in your picture. It also doesn't have the built in seating you'd normally see in something like that, though I guess that doesn't mean terribly much.

[Klaynos]

Sounds like a wanna be airing cupboard.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupboard#Airing_cupboard

 

My other suggestion would be for letting loaves rise.

 

In both cases not sure what the glass would be for.

[Phi for All]

I want to be very clear that I'm not an expert. I don't want to be accused of mixing engineering with opinion.

 

The piece of glass in the ceiling may be there to protect a light source from moisture (can you poke up there and check or is the glass clear?). On the other hand, since the walls allow light from another room to enter, it may not be necessary, but I can't think of another reason why you'd need to protect a bulb.

 

The room itself sounds like it was made to dry something. Separate element controls suggest it's not for an all-or-nothing procedure. The walls ending before the ceiling suggests a need for ventilation. You probably get a lot of humidity being on the coast. My first thought was some kind of temperature controlled room for clothing storage, but furs should be stored at between 40-60F degrees and I can't think of any other clothing that would need this kind of treatment.

[hypervalent_iodine]

There doesn't seem to be any fittings around or near the glass, so it may very well be there to let in some light from my bedroom light since there is no other way for light to get in.

 

Looking at it just before I realised that it also has a small vent near the ground, which supports the airing cupboard idea (I actually had no idea such a thing existed). If that is the case, I sincerely doubt it would have been for furs. If you have the cash for that sort of merchandise, you probably don't live where I live.

[Phi for All]

I misinterpreted the "its walls and ceiling fall short of reaching the ceiling of my room by about a meter" bit. Can you see the top of the box? Is it's ceiling just a board with a cutout for the glass or is there a space between the glass and the top of the box?

 

Have you disconnected the wires to the elements? If they're anything like the panel, they're external so you should be able to remove the leads so it doesn't accidentally get turned on and harm your books. I doubt the elements for an airing cupboard would get hot enough to start a fire but you shouldn't take the chance.

[hypervalent_iodine]

I misinterpreted the "its walls and ceiling fall short of reaching the ceiling of my room by about a meter" bit. Can you see the top of the box? Is it's ceiling just a board with a cutout for the glass or is there a space between the glass and the top of the box?

 

Sorry, I should have been clearer. The ceiling of the box doesn't reach the ceiling of my room, but the walls of the box do reach the walls of the box's ceiling. I can see the top of it if I have a step ladder. The glass is sitting in a frame that is attached to the ceiling; it's basically a removable sky light.

 

 

Have you disconnected the wires to the elements? If they're anything like the panel, they're external so you should be able to remove the leads so it doesn't accidentally get turned on and harm your books. I doubt the elements for an airing cupboard would get hot enough to start a fire but you shouldn't take the chance.

 

I'm pretty sure the wires are disconnected or the heaters themselves are broken. We tried turning it on once before I had all my stuff moved in and nothing happened.

[Phi for All]

It seems likely it's like Klaynos said, some kind of airing room for keeping things (most likely made of cloth like clothing, linens, etc) from getting damp in the humidity. Or maybe a toasty place to relax after a snowball fight in those brutal Brisbane winters.

[Moontanman]

Could it have been a room to hang smoked meat?

[hypervalent_iodine]

That occurred to me, though I imagine you'd need somewhere to attach hooks or the like. I couldn't see anywhere that would have been achieved, unless there were a portable rack involved. As well, the room looks to have been built around the same time the external room it's sitting in was converted to a bathroom; I'm not sure anyone would intentionally build a small smoke house in their ensuite. Or maybe they would, who am I to judge?

[Spyman]

Have you disconnected the wires to the elements? If they're anything like the panel, they're external so you should be able to remove the leads so it doesn't accidentally get turned on and harm your books. I doubt the elements for an airing cupboard would get hot enough to start a fire but you shouldn't take the chance.

I would not recommend removing the wires to the elements unless you are well versed in electricity and its hazards!

 

Those wires more than likely carry lethal voltage and it is possible that one or more of them are hot even when the on/off switch in the off position, which is not even marked on the panel and the indication lamp can be broken.

 

A safe disconnection includes: 1) Identification and removal of all fuses powering the device, 2) Measuring or by other safe means secure that all wires to be disconnected and every other close connection point are free from harmful electrical potential and 3) Isolating the ends of the disconnected wires such that they can't do any harm in the future, either by someone touching them and getting a direct electric shock or by causing a short leading to a fire.

 

A professional would find the fuse box and only remove the fuses, because it would make a future reconnection much easier.

(Depending on type of fuses even that can be dangerous for a non experienced.)

 

 

I'm pretty sure the wires are disconnected or the heaters themselves are broken. We tried turning it on once before I had all my stuff moved in and nothing happened.

It is very likely that the fuses have been removed already to prevent unnecessary electrical costs if someone should accidentally switch it on or to remove the risk of fire.

 

I think it could be a good idea to find the fuse box and check if they have been removed, if the equipment still have power then it continues to pose a fire threat, especially if it is broken or wrongly disconnected.

 

Sometimes fuse boxes have a detailed list of what the fuses deliver power to and that could leave us a tip on what the room have been used for.

[Phi for All]

I would not recommend removing the wires to the elements unless you are well versed in electricity and its hazards!

 

Those wires more than likely carry lethal voltage and it is possible that one or more of them are hot even when the on/off switch in the off position, which is not even marked on the panel and the indication lamp can be broken.

 

A safe disconnection includes: 1) Identification and removal of all fuses powering the device, 2) Measuring or by other safe means secure that all wires to be disconnected and every other close connection point are free from harmful electrical potential and 3) Isolating the ends of the disconnected wires such that they can't do any harm in the future, either by someone touching them and getting a direct electric shock or by causing a short leading to a fire.

 

A professional would find the fuse box and only remove the fuses, because it would make a future reconnection much easier.

(Depending on type of fuses even that can be dangerous for a non experienced.)

Great points. I stand corrected.

[pwagen]

Am I the only one who's really intrigued and want to see what the room looks like?

[Klaynos]

Am I the only one who's really intrigued and want to see what the room looks like?

Not at all.

[michel123456]

_Does the room have a different floor from the outer area?

_The inside walls are plain solid wood? or painted?

_the glass in the ceiling is in the centre?

_the door opens outside?

_is there a regular knob on the inside of the door?

_What is the diameter of the supposed heating elements?

_are they water pipes with an electrical heating element inside?

_is there water inlet somewhere?

_is there an air exhaust in the ceiling somewhere?

 

_and maybe there is a central fuse panel in some other place that says what it is? At least how many amperes?

[hypervalent_iodine]

Am I the only one who's really intrigued and want to see what the room looks like?

 

I was going for mystery and intrigue, but since you insist.

 

 

It is very likely that the fuses have been removed already to prevent unnecessary electrical costs if someone should accidentally switch it on or to remove the risk of fire.

 

I think it could be a good idea to find the fuse box and check if they have been removed, if the equipment still have power then it continues to pose a fire threat, especially if it is broken or wrongly disconnected.

 

Sometimes fuse boxes have a detailed list of what the fuses deliver power to and that could leave us a tip on what the room have been used for.

 

I went and had a look at it just now and it looks as though the fuse box, which is actually a circuit breaker, might have been replaced some time after the room was built; or it seems a bit newer, at least.

 

_Does the room have a different floor from the outer area?

_The inside walls are plain solid wood? or painted?

_the glass in the ceiling is in the centre?

_the door opens outside?

_is there a regular knob on the inside of the door?

_What is the diameter of the supposed heating elements?

_are they water pipes with an electrical heating element inside?

_is there water inlet somewhere?

_is there an air exhaust in the ceiling somewhere?

 

_and maybe there is a central fuse panel in some other place that says what it is? At least how many amperes?

 

1. Yes.

2. Painted wood.

3. Yes.

4. The door opens into my ensuite.

5. Yes. There is also a lock.

6. I just had a look. They didn't go floor to ceiling as I thought they did, but rather floor to about a meter and 20 cm up. The unit is about 10 cm wide and 7 or 8 deep.

7. The only pipes I could see going into the room are the ones containing the electrical wires from the control unit.

8. Not into the room, no.

9. There is a vent near the floor and the removable glass panel, but that's about it.

10. See above. It looks like the fuse box was replaced sometime after it was built. I couldn't find anything about electrical requirements on the heating elements, though I can only see one and only the top of it.

[Moontanman]

That has got to have been a sauna...

[hypervalent_iodine]

I don't think that it is. Or at least, I've never seen a sauna with three standing heaters you can't pour water on.

[Moontanman]

I don't think that it is. Or at least, I've never seen a sauna with three standing heaters you can't pour water on.

 

 

these is something else similar to a sauna that doesn't use steam, i can't think of the name of it now but it uses dry heat...

[zapatos]

I'm going to go with a dry sauna...

If you build an indoor sauna near your bathroom, you can use the bathroom shower facilities to cool off in addition to using the bathroom as a convenient change room. Indoor home saunas also give you added privacy and eliminate the need for a reinforced foundation, as the existing house floor serves this purpose. Most saunas are built as indoor saunas to allow their use 12 months of the year.

The most popular sauna sizes are 5'x7' and 6'x7'. A sauna height of 7' for the ceiling will permit the best levels of soft even heat in the entire sauna room.

...we recommend that the sauna controls be located on the outside of the sauna for convenient access.

Sauna doors always open out for safety reasons. A standard size sauna door measures 24"x72" to minimize the amount of heat lost when the sauna door opens.

Sauna venting (in the sauna) must include an intake vent near the floor

http://homesaunakits-since1974.com/Sauna-Building-Aids/106-sauna-building-how-to-build-a-sauna.html

[Klaynos]

But why the lock?

[michel123456]

Hammam

 

But why the lock?

I guess because it is home-made, they put a closing system available from the market.

 

------------------

(edit)

 

Dry heat is sometimes used as a way of cleaning yourself without water:

you step entirely naked into a very hot & dry place for a few minutes. That makes you sweat. Then you step out and get a peeling massage that removes all the dirt that goes out with the sweat.

In use in countries where there is water shortage.

[CaptainPanic]

I have to agree that a sauna is still the most likely. It's a weird sauna for sure, but it seems the most likely explanation.

In the days that this was built, saunas were perhaps not so common and the people just built their own custom-made hot box? Right now, you just call your local sauna construction company (perhaps even in Brisbane?)... but 30-40 years ago, that was not common at all.

 

My main argument why I think it's a sauna goes something like this: Why else would anyone want to build a hot box in a bathroom?

 

But I have to admit that your photograph with the towel and the towel rack makes it look like a sauna more than you want for an unbiased opinion.

[hypervalent_iodine]

I guess I had never considered the possibility of a dry sauna.

But why the lock?

As michel said, it's possibly because it's homemade and that's what they were able to get a hold of. And actually, all this mention of the lock prompted me to investigate another mystery I didn't care too much about looking into until now, which was, 'what are these three old keys I found in my room for?' Turns out one of them is for that door.

 

I have to agree that a sauna is still the most likely. It's a weird sauna for sure, but it seems the most likely explanation.

It is definitely weird. Probably some attempt to coordinate with the rest of the house.

 

Thanks all for your help, my curiosity appreciates it.