Cob: Cob Swimming Pool & Bathtub??

[Darel Henman]

While not a swimming pool, though probably more useful is a pond. 
Aquaculture, fish, etc. can be had.  Maybe you could swim in it, after
its settled down.  Here's just some ideas for you.

An interesting thing is that you should be able to build a pond out of
cob, if the soil of the cob has sufficient clay content, without any oil
treatments.  In old times ponds were made by putting down a layer of
clay to line the area to be the pond.  Some recommend animal dung be
added to this as some did for dams, as it ferments and creates a
waterproof type material.   The clay if it is always wet will stay bound
together and help keep the water in the pond from leaking out.  If the
pond loses water and dries however, cracks will arise that will not hold
water.   I saw this when looking through pond information a while back.

Here is an interesting article about ponds, repairing them.  Look at the
sections entitled:
"Clay", "Bentonite", "Gley" and "Livestock". 

Darel

Amanda Peck wrote:
> 
> Charmaine Taylor at www.dirtcheapbuilder.com put a message on the ESSA list
> a while back that she'd heard a rumor that hemp oil would successfully seal
> a cob bathtub.  I don't know if she posts here.
> 
> It's pretty expensive, and you might well have to renew it a couple of times
> a year (which would make it fine for a bathtub that you empty right after
> you use it, but not a pool).
> 
> Paula Moss wrote: (heavily snipped)
> My question is: Is it possible to make a swimming pool & bathtub out of cob
> or clay?
> I know we would have to seal them very well. But, with what?
>