On Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:16:06 +0100, OG wrote:

"ARWadsworth" wrote in message
om...

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
Frank Erskine wrote:
On Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:13:22 -0700 (PDT), Tim Decker
had this to say:

I am interested whether any of the keen DIYers on the group have built
or considered building a coffin. I like to think I have a few years
left in me, but I thought it might be a good project, particularly
considering the horrendous prices charged by undertakers for a simple
wooden box, often with some appalling faux brass fitting, more worthy
of a cheap kids football trophy.
Any guidance on rules, regulations and other considerations would be
gratefully received.

I think there's a lot more than simply the wooden box. There's the
cost of collecting the corpse, laying it out (perhaps embalming it),
the shroud, transport, standing by during a service at a church and/or
crematorium, negotiations with graveyard owners if the body's to be
interred, and so on.

Of course; but a few months ago IIRC the itemised cost of MIL's coffin -
the cheapest on offer (and no, it wasn't me who chose it!) - was north of
400 quid. And just veneered chipboard or something. Total bill was IIRC
2400 quid, and I'm sure that had I produced a DIY coffin, then the 400
would not have been chargeable.

Especially for cremations, I don't know[1] why you can't just rent a
coffin TBH, by far the most eco-friendly and economical route. You could
have a flashy, polished outer which is used for the funeral, then when
Hector the Rector presses the button at the service and the coffin slides
away or the curtain closes, the crem staff out the back whip out the
deceased, enclosed in a sealed body-bag or cardboard liner or something,
and pop him/her into the oven. Outer goes back to the undertaker for the
next punter.

David

[1] Could it be related to the exhorbitant purchase price of a coffin,I
wonder?

I do not think that these can be beaten for value

http://www.funeralsearch.co.uk/cardboard-coffins.php#a3

It would do me.

A minister friend has experience of a funeral turning into very distressing
event for family and friends as a result of a cardboard coffin failure. I
know funerals are distressing anyway, but the body falling out of the coffin
made the whole thing much worse for everyone.

For that reason, they're usually handled through the proceedings inside a
temporary wooden coffin.