Ferrocement Water Tanks: A Comprehensive Guide to Domestic Water Harvesting

Learn how to design and build your own domestic-sized water tank to collect, store, and use rainwater for your home and garden. Save money with this low-cost method of construction and reduce your water bills too!

The combination of cheap, easily available materials, margin for error, suitability for amateurs and flexibility in terms of size and shape, make ferrocement tanks an ideal choice for anyone looking for long-term water security on a budget, and they work well in all but the harshest environment.

With hands-on experience, the authors provide a detailed guide to enable confident and safe construction by anyone interested in building their own ferrocement tank. Felicity and Lee share their reasons for choosing these tanks, how they calculated their water needs and how they constructed and maintain the tanks that cater for all their needs. With our weather patterns drastically shifting between drought and flood due to the changing climate, it is vital to have reserves of water to rely on. Felicity and Daniel self-built their own house and included water tanks, achieving water security for less than the cost of joining the local water network!

Whether you are creating your own off-grid home, or want to reduce your carbon footprint and reliance on mains water, the ferrocement tank offers a simple, achievable and robust DIY solution.

Felicity Lee and Daniel Coleman live in a self-built, off-grid strawbale house on 2.8 acres in France. They offer an online consultation service for those exploring the option of building their own tanks, and share their off-grid journey at https://lesvignesbasses.org