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Cob: Cob Swimming Pool & Bathtub??jenniferponder at earthlink.net jenniferponder at earthlink.netWed Sep 18 11:52:08 CDT 2002
Paula, Cob pool reminds me of something I saw posted when I first joined this list. One of the members had posted info on a "dew pond". (Stay with me while I explain my idea.) I did some research on these dew ponds which have been built in Great Britain and a little in Canada. There is a widely believed myth that they are formed from condensation of water(dew)--it is a myth based on an erroneous old text which describes a pond made of layers of clay and straw in which water almost impossibly appears from dew. The ponds do exist but from my research I have found that the water they contain comes from rain not dew. (No offense to the original poster--I had to find at lest a half dozen cross-references to root out the truth.) Anyway, what they are are in fact artificial ponds created efficiently with local materials before the existence(or to avoid the expense) of cement ponds. Their purpose was to provide a water source on high chalk cliffs where the land drained water so fast no streams or lakes could exist naturally. The ponds had to be carefully constructed with first a layer of dry straw, then a lipped basin of clay, then a layer of rocks to prevent cattle walking through the water from puncturing the clay and ruining its water barrier. These ponds were vital to allowing ancient people to live where there was no ground source for water. And only really worked in a place that rained enough to keep the pond full. Here's where this relates to you. If you want to build a sunken pool out of cob, what you really are doing is creating a artificial pond. I saw recently articles in both Mother Earth News and Natural House Magazines(in the US) that described how to make your own "natural" swimming pool. What you want to do isn't exactly what has been done, but is similar to these ideas I've mentioned. What I would suggest to you is to think of your swimming pool like a little pond not a bathtub. Let me point out that since you won't be draining your pool and it (probably) won't contain chlorine and have a filter(the mud would clog it) then you must include aqueous plants that will naturally clean your water or you will end up with a toxic water mess. So check out these magazines if you can for info on how to build and plant a natural pool. The thing is that most natural pools use a plastic pool liner to prevent the water from seeping into the surrounding ground. What you could do if you want is to use the straw and clay construction of the dew pond. It won't be cob exactly, but well you'll already have the ingredients if you are building a cob house. Anyway, just a thought...hope it helps... ----- Original Message ----- From: Paula Moss To: coblist at deatech.com Sent: 9/16/02 11:40:06 PM Subject: Cob: Cob Swimming Pool Bathtub?? Hello everyone! My hubby I will be building a mud brick house within a year. We just got the land, well almost, still have to sign the contract. We live in Sydney, Australia the land is in Cowra. 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? I have tried to look on the net for some info, but have found nothing. What do you guys think? Thanks! Paula -------------- next part -------------- <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=windows-1251" http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.3314.2100" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Paula,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Cob pool reminds me of something I saw posted when I first joined this list. One of the members had posted info on a "dew pond". (Stay with me while I explain my idea.) I did some research on these dew ponds which have been built in Great Britain and a little in Canada. There is a widely believed myth that they are formed from condensation of water(dew)--it is a myth based on an erroneous old text which describes a pond made of layers of clay and straw in which water almost impossibly appears from dew. The ponds do exist but from my research I have found that the water they contain comes from rain not dew. (No offense to the original poster--I had to find at lest a half dozen cross-references to root out the truth.) Anyway, what they are are in fact artificial ponds created efficiently with local materials before the existence(or to avoid the expense) of cement ponds. Their purpose was to provide a water source on high chalk cliffs where the land drained water so fast no streams or lakes could exist naturally. The ponds had to be carefully constructed with first a layer of dry straw, then a lipped basin of clay, then a layer of rocks to prevent cattle walking through the water from puncturing the clay and ruining its water barrier. These ponds were vital to allowing ancient people to live where there was no ground source for water. And only really worked in a place that rained enough to keep the pond full. Here's where this relates to you. If you want to build a sunken pool out of cob, what you really are doing is creating a artificial pond. I saw recently articles in both Mother Earth News and Natural House Magazines(in the US) that described how to make your own "natural" swimming pool. What you want to do isn't exactly what has been done, but is similar to these ideas I've mentioned. What I would suggest to you is to think of your swimming pool like a little pond not a bathtub. Let me point out that since you won't be draining your pool and it (probably) won't contain chlorine and have a filter(the mud would clog it) then you must include aqueous plants that will naturally clean your water or you will end up with a toxic water mess. So check out these magazines if you can for info on how to build and plant a natural pool. The thing is that most natural pools use a plastic pool liner to prevent the water from seeping into the surrounding ground. What you could do if you want is to use the straw and clay construction of the dew pond. It won't be cob exactly, but well you'll already have the ingredients if you are building a cob house.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Anyway, just a thought...hope it helps...</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A href="mailto:paula at drdave.com.au" title=paula at drdave.com.au>Paula Moss</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To: </B><A href="mailto:paula at drdave.com.au" title=paula at drdave.com.au>coblist at deatech.com</A></DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> 9/16/02 11:40:06 PM </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Cob: Cob Swimming Pool & Bathtub??</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT size=2> <P> <DIV>Hello everyone!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My hubby & I will be building a mud brick house within a year. We just got</DIV> <DIV>the land, well almost, still have to sign the contract. We live in Sydney,</DIV> <DIV>Australia & the land is in Cowra.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My question is: Is it possible to make a swimming pool & bathtub out of cob</DIV> <DIV>or clay?</DIV> <DIV>I know we would have to seal them very well. But, with what? I have tried</DIV> <DIV>to look on the net for some info, but have found</DIV> <DIV>nothing. What do you guys think?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks!</DIV> <DIV>Paula</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <P></P></FONT> <P></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV> </DIV></BODY></HTML>
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