how are coffins made

[kelfoan]

Not sure where to post this.. Are all coffins lined with lead or is it just something done for the rich and famous. If they are purely wood, how long would it take for the wood to totally rot away

[RATTER15]

Lead is not used these days, it was used years ago to seal a coffin if someone died of a contagious disease. Most coffins these days are just chipboard unless you wanna pay big bucks.

[maviscoull]

then why was princess dianas lined with lead ?

[Toureman]

Because whoever paid for it could afford it and she was buried below the water table as she was buried on a small island in the middle of a lake.

[saxy_jag]

My mum-in-law's aunt famously had her coffin lead-lined. From what I'm told, she had money and was anxious that her body should not decompose after her burial - not sure what the science is on that score.

[Ethel]

It is impossible to determine how long the coffin would take to rot.

It depends on many factors: type of wood, time of year the burial took place, the sort of soil it was buried in.

Some coffins are quite well preserved after many many years.

[maviscoull]

thank you toureman

[heathfield]

All coffins (containing a dead person, that is!) crossing international borders are required by regulation to be zinc or lead lined.

[RATTER15]

I done a lot of grave digging years ago and frequently had to remove bodies from graves of varying levels of decay, in dry soils the body and coffin would last for a few years with not a lot of decay but in wet ground they would both decay very quickly, especially with modern chipboard coffins.
Not a lot of fun lifting a half decomposed body from a grave when its falling to bits I can tell you!!
Puts you off your sandwiches anyway!!

[boink]

unless there egg sandwiches Ratter? so im wondering, becasue i was thinking this before, are you allowed to make your own coffin? say of steel? i'm young and had the idea to start making my own coffin, a very gothinc looking one, with like a steel frame in the main shape then panel it with engraved wood. But someone said about contaminating the ground so would steel be allowed?

[RATTER15]

Boink, Well that's a novel idea!! I think you would need to speak to the local council authority or a local undertaker, I hope you are not a large guy as a metal coffin will be a tidy weight itself, I am a metal artist myself so perhaps I could knock one up on the cheap for you, I can do Gothic!!