So I have been wanting to get a personal mud pit for a while now and ive been trying to find a good way to get either a property with mud on it (very hard with tennesee's waterways laws) or making one myself (what im thinking about going with) for anyone who has purchased bulk clay in the past to make a pit out of, where did you get it did you need personal connections to get it? Im thinking of buying pottery clay and intoducing more water but im unsure at the moment.
“Opportunities multiply as they are seized”-SunTzu
Muckbuck said: So I have been wanting to get a personal mud pit for a while now and ive been trying to find a good way to get either a property with mud on it (very hard with tennesee's waterways laws) or making one myself (what im thinking about going with) for anyone who has purchased bulk clay in the past to make a pit out of, where did you get it did you need personal connections to get it? Im thinking of buying pottery clay and intoducing more water but im unsure at the moment.
I have a friend with a lot of land and I was helping him in March move a lot of things around on 6 acres and he had this mani pond and next to it when it rained had so much clay it would eat my shoes I wish I could ship you at least a portion of that kind of clay because I know how much fun I had falling into it. As for bulk I haven't done that yet but I really would like to see how to do it well ordering wise.
Muckbuck said: So I have been wanting to get a personal mud pit for a while now and ive been trying to find a good way to get either a property with mud on it (very hard with tennesee's waterways laws) or making one myself (what im thinking about going with) for anyone who has purchased bulk clay in the past to make a pit out of, where did you get it did you need personal connections to get it? Im thinking of buying pottery clay and intoducing more water but im unsure at the moment.
Check locally first. Luckily I have supply options nearby and it saves my ass on the freight charges (which are enough to make you walk away). Pottery clay works (Prices range from 20-40 bucks per 50 pound bag) but also check with various landscape companies as well as some clays might be cheaper by the yard depending on how deep you want your pit.
Muckbuck said: So I have been wanting to get a personal mud pit for a while now and ive been trying to find a good way to get either a property with mud on it (very hard with tennesee's waterways laws) or making one myself (what im thinking about going with) for anyone who has purchased bulk clay in the past to make a pit out of, where did you get it did you need personal connections to get it? Im thinking of buying pottery clay and intoducing more water but im unsure at the moment.
Check locally first. Luckily I have supply options nearby and it saves my ass on the freight charges (which are enough to make you walk away). Pottery clay works (Prices range from 20-40 bucks per 50 pound bag) but also check with various landscape companies as well as some clays might be cheaper by the yard depending on how deep you want your pit.
What types of places do you get your clay from? Is it quarries, soil companies? Where should i start to look for local providers?
“Opportunities multiply as they are seized”-SunTzu
Search for "pottery supply". They should have a web site so you can figure out what to order. What you want might be listed under "Raw Materials".
You then want to search for clay without grog (which is additional grit they add to make the pots stronger). When I was building my pit, I bought one bag of each of the cheaper clays without grog they had, and tried them all to find the type I liked the most. You might look at Kaolin, Redart, Ball clay.
Wear a mask when you mix the dry clay with water, as you don't want clay powder in your lungs (or clay in your plumbing). Then, once I found what I liked, I bought 10 bags at a time to see how much that made. I ended up buying about 30 bags in total (1500 pounds) to have enough for the depth I like.
If you find a local pottery supply and post the link, I can suggest a few clays to try.
Burrowbear said: Search for "pottery supply". They should have a web site so you can figure out what to order. What you want might be listed under "Raw Materials".
You then want to search for clay without grog (which is additional grit they add to make the pots stronger). When I was building my pit, I bought one bag of each of the cheaper clays without grog they had, and tried them all to find the type I liked the most. You might look at Kaolin, Redart, Ball clay.
Wear a mask when you mix the dry clay with water, as you don't want clay powder in your lungs (or clay in your plumbing). Then, once I found what I liked, I bought 10 bags at a time to see how much that made. I ended up buying about 30 bags in total (1500 pounds) to have enough for the depth I like.
If you find a local pottery supply and post the link, I can suggest a few clays to try.
Nickenzie said: i'm probably an exceptional case (living in northern europe in an apartment with no car) but when i made a whole mud bath in my tub it was a matter of googling "white/red clay" and assorted bulk sizes and finding a shop, making sure it was in powdered form and without chamotte/grog. I ended up finding a place that imported cheap clay from Germany and ordered a whole pallet for delivery. delivery was almost the same price as the clay ( ) but it definitely pays off the more exponential u get with ur purchase. and the workout of getting over a hundred kilos worth up to my apartment was real fun, phew.
absolutely worth the effort though!! so giddy to have ur own personal bath of muck to writhe in whenever. i wish powdered clay was easier to come by in smaller quantities to play with.
Hold on.. you moved a pallet of powder clay in your apartment? I have so many questions
- what did you neighbors said? - is it a permanent installation you made so you dont reset all the time? - how do you get rid of the wet clay? This would clog your pipes..?