Building a Home Mud Pit - what to use

[Fred588]

For anyone interested in actually SEEING (but not USING) the Studio mudpits before attempting to build one, there is no charge for that. The only stipulations would be no use of the pits, no other use of the facility, and a visit must not interfere with any shoot or other rental.

[qsemergency]

Is there a lot of maintenance involved with making a pit with the Wyoming bentonite clay??
Do you need a pressurized source of water in order to keep it from settling? Or is there a lot of mixing before use?
Was surprised to see a dealer on that list within 10 miles of me - peaked my interest being that I was considering a peat pit (4x4x4).

[Fred588]

Virtually no maintenance if you keep the leaves and other junk out of it. At the Studio 588 pit it will need some manual mixing after a rain to get rid of the puddle formed on top. If you leave it unused and uncovered in dry weather it might get thickened somewhat at the surface but it takes minimal effort to mix it up. NO pressurized water is needed whatsoever. The only water I add is hot water in the spring to bring it up to temperature faster.

[QSMud]

Is there a lot of maintenance involved with making a pit with the Wyoming bentonite clay??
Do you need a pressurized source of water in order to keep it from settling? Or is there a lot of mixing before use?
Was surprised to see a dealer on that list within 10 miles of me - peaked my interest being that I was considering a peat pit (4x4x4).

Highly recommend you try some. It’s amazing. Even 1 bag mixed with the sandy clay soil here has produced amazing results. Although I know the sand will eventually settle, I kind of like the resistance it provides. I considered emptying the pit I made and starting with pure bentonite, but for now I am happy. I got the extra high yield bentonite. The supplier is a well company and asked if I was using it to seal a pond. I said yep! (It is good for that too).

The soil where I live is high in clay so I didn’t put in a liner and can gradually make my pit deeper. One of these helps a lot:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Truper-Tru-Pro ... ar/3055439

[QSMud]

Be sure not to breathe any bentonite when it’s dry. It’s very fine and is a carcinogen if breathed in in it’s dry form.

[Mynock]

Just out of curiosity I called a couple equipment rental places over the weekend and priced out Backhoe rentals (told them I was building a fish pond). I found a mini model for rent (basically an oversized lawn tractor with bucket attachments) for $100 a day. Won't work for everybody but if your dig site is accessible would save you a huge amount of labor. You'd pay pretty much the same for a good wheelbarrow, a shovel and a bottle of aspirin.

[QSMud]

Only problem with that... it would be easy to get carried away and make a swimming pool sized pit. Then you will pay more to fill it.

Hmmm... wonder if anyone in the world has filled a swimming pool with mud or clay. The Dirty Muse pit was close.

[dlodoski]

I actually used one of them last time I dug a hole. It was so small, it was on a single axle trailer.

Digging was very precise. In fact, I was concerned about not getting deep enough because the forward arm did not fully swing. It was articulated more ore less in the middle, limiting its reach. (The unit I really wanted to rent that day was unavailable due to a problem with the trailer). But I got the hole dug and dropped the required container in it. The fit was so nice that backfilling by hand took less than five minutes.

I do recommend these for small projects. Just make sure you have enough vehicle mass to safely tow it.

[Fred588]

A lot will depend on the nature of the ground. That micro back hoe would not get more than 18 to 24 inches down with the rocks here at Studio 588. When I had the new part of the house built the excavation for the tornado shelter had to go down about six feet below the eventual level of the elevated concrete slab for the house. That meant about four feet below the original ground surface. It was done with a MUCH larger back hoe but even then part of the work had to be done using the back hoe to pound the rocks into submission with a giant hammer. And with that it took several hours.

I actually used one of them last time I dug a hole. It was so small, it was on a single axle trailer.

Digging was very precise. In fact, I was concerned about not getting deep enough because the forward arm did not fully swing. It was articulated more ore less in the middle, limiting its reach. (The unit I really wanted to rent that day was unavailable due to a problem with the trailer). But I got the hole dug and dropped the required container in it. The fit was so nice that backfilling by hand took less than five minutes.

I do recommend these for small projects. Just make sure you have enough vehicle mass to safely tow it.

[Mynock]

So to do a 6 foot deep clay pit, if the sides have to be sloped at 45 degrees to make a self sealing surface, that means I'd need a 13 foot diameter pit, which would give me a funnel shape with 1 foot wide flat spot in the middle (the deep spot).
Doing math on that volume I'd only need about 265 cubic feet of hydrated clay, at Freds prices that's about $900. Equipment rental to dig the hole and a liner (optional) would put the cost at around $1200 for a pit I could sink all the way under in. Expensive but not out of the question.......