• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • John F Dean
  • Timothy Norton
  • Nancy Reading
  • r ranson
  • Jay Angler
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • paul wheaton
  • Tereza Okava
  • AndrĂ©s Bernal
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
gardeners:
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • M Ljin
  • Matt McSpadden

earthbag indoor pool/water storage?

 
Posts: 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
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).

Any suggestions or comments?
 
pollinator
Posts: 3828
Location: Massachusetts, Zone:6/7 AHS:4 GDD:3000 Rainfall:48in even Soil:SandyLoam pH6 Flat
558
2
forest garden solar
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
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.
 
pollinator
Posts: 4154
Location: Northern New York Zone4-5 the OUTER 'RONDACs percip 36''
67
hugelkultur fungi books wofati solar woodworking
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
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
 
Posts: 9002
Location: Victoria British Columbia-Canada
709
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
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.
 
allen lumley
pollinator
Posts: 4154
Location: Northern New York Zone4-5 the OUTER 'RONDACs percip 36''
67
hugelkultur fungi books wofati solar woodworking
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
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 !
 
Posts: 3
Location: Girard, pa.
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
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!
gift
 
The Humble Soapnut - A Guide to the Laundry Detergent that Grows on Trees ebook by Kathryn Ossing
will be released to subscribers in: soon!
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic