We'd are in the design stages of our project. We'd like to put in a long pool inside the house with 2 purposes, if that is possible: use as a lap pool and another as storage. Not sure if that is possible to build with earthbags. Would anyone know of a design that would store water indoors like a pool?
We would like to do it as a natural pool, filteration and all, but not sure how possible that is indoors. Failing that, we'll go with a salt water pool for exercise and water storage (emergency, via filtration).
Earthbag and a 1inch layer of ferrocement sprayed on will work.
For filtration you could go with a aquaponics like setup. with the plants outside/greenhouse.
Many homes in the New England and upper midwest used to have basement cisterns, we still call the tank that holds water to flush a toilet by that name, usually they were cleverly
built into a corner of the cellar so that the cellar walls made-up two or even 3 sides of the cistern, The kitchen was located directly over the cistern so that water which was often
stored rain water could be brought up from the basement with a simple hand pump.
I never looked closely at the construction, usually the extra wall to 'finish' off the cisterns wall(s) was made of a hand laid up concrete ! I never paid any attention to whether it was
plastered on the inside ! A few had some kind of plug or cap low down in the cistern to allow for the cistern to be drained so that it could be cleaned out periodically ! Failure of this
plug was an instant Crisis, andusually caused the farmers wife to campaign for a new well and an electric pump in the basement - or connection to "town water "
In some locations where the water table was low and only a few 10s of gallons a day could be pumped out of the well before the 'Pump Failed- sucking air ' and the well 'required
resting'. One of the younger Family Members would have the duty of giving the hand pump that fed to cistern well water 20 -50 strokes 3-4 times away ! - That and filling the wood
box, failure to perform these functions was cause for not being allowed outside to play after school ! It was an unhappy mother who faced an Empty Cistern 'on a Saturday Night !'
No wonder that lying in bed and listening to the Rain on the Roof was often reported as a great pleasure, it probably saved many a truant young child from a Switching ! Big Al
Your greatest challenge will be in controlling indoor humidity. I like to see pools separated from the main living area. Patio doors could link the spaces.
Soa : As I considered Dales point, I realized that most of those cellars were probably at 50-55 degrees year round, not an ideal temperature for swimming but not much problem
with evaporation, or high humidity Big AL !
Soa, you can use earth bags to create a cistern if you plaster your structure with a sand/Portland plaster. I also build pools and am going to pitch a project that will be an indoor pool housed in an earth ship structure. Please feel free to contact me. Good luck!
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