forgeblast
Elite Member
Good luck!!
Project Root Cellar ......out of a 8' tall x 14' metal culvert
- Thread starter MotorSeven
- Start date
bindian
Super Member
OP
MotorSeven
Elite Member
I do admit I am not a "concrete guy" so I am winging a lot of this. The last and only retainer wall I formed up did not hold and split at the top of the form(3' high & 12" thick), so this time I am going to build the forms like Fort Knox.
In ground and this is when the walk in door will be:
I have to move a lot of dirt with a shovel to get the proper height of the sidewalk that connects to the basement sidewalk. I will not use forms for this walkway, just dig down and let the slate contain the 'crete:
In ground and this is when the walk in door will be:
I have to move a lot of dirt with a shovel to get the proper height of the sidewalk that connects to the basement sidewalk. I will not use forms for this walkway, just dig down and let the slate contain the 'crete:
scott_vt
Super Member
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2004
- Messages
- 6,076
- Location
- east wells,vt
- Tractor
- 1986 MF 1040, 1942 Farmall A, 1949 Farmall Super A
Good Afternoon Rick,
Hey thats looking real good, keep the pics coming !
Hey thats looking real good, keep the pics coming !
OP
MotorSeven
Elite Member
Ok...I dug all day with a shovel, then shot the lines to make sure the sidewalk would slant down from the house and down from the cellar door. Then I got a pencil and drew out the door......and stepped back and looked at it. Holeey crap it would take a huge chunk out of the side of the culvert(30"x 68"). I knew the door would somewhat compromise the structural integrity of the culvert and I was prepared to reinforce it. However, after looking at it, the little voice says..."DO NOT CUT A BIG HOLE IN THERE". Add to this, I would need two trucks twice. A concrete truck and a belt truck(we don't have pumpers here for some reason). 3-4 yards of crete for the retaining walls and roof. Then on another day 3-4 yards for the sidewalk and entry door roof. Then I still need some kind of retainer walls(2) to get around to the house ...another 15'.
Soooo, I punted and spent 2 hours studying the problem. What I came up with is easier and cheaper.....a dog house on top of the concrete lid and a stairwell going down to a landing.....no retainer walls, no sidewalk, no ginormous hole. I will have to cut down from the top 2'ish and into the lid 2'ish to make the entry. The dog house will have a outside door and be insulated, then another door on the cellar that is also insulated.
On a good note, Laymon the BH guy had a good idea. Since you must have fresh air circulating he suggested using the drain tile as both drain and fresh air intake. Most cellars have two 3" or better vent pipes, one from the roof down almost to the floor, the other on the opposite side just at the roof. There is a good flow of cool air coming through them since the runs are both 30' underground. Stale air in a cellar causes rot and mold/mildew, so I will have 2 - 4" intake pipes and one 4" exhaust(maybe two) on the ceiling:
Soooo, I punted and spent 2 hours studying the problem. What I came up with is easier and cheaper.....a dog house on top of the concrete lid and a stairwell going down to a landing.....no retainer walls, no sidewalk, no ginormous hole. I will have to cut down from the top 2'ish and into the lid 2'ish to make the entry. The dog house will have a outside door and be insulated, then another door on the cellar that is also insulated.
On a good note, Laymon the BH guy had a good idea. Since you must have fresh air circulating he suggested using the drain tile as both drain and fresh air intake. Most cellars have two 3" or better vent pipes, one from the roof down almost to the floor, the other on the opposite side just at the roof. There is a good flow of cool air coming through them since the runs are both 30' underground. Stale air in a cellar causes rot and mold/mildew, so I will have 2 - 4" intake pipes and one 4" exhaust(maybe two) on the ceiling:
Last edited:
bindian
Super Member
Rick,
I might be reading it wrong, but won't the drain pipes possibly have a low spot that might trap moisture and draw in musty, damp air? Grandpa's storm cell in the Panhandle just had two vents on top. But it was always musty smelling down there.
hugs, Brandi
I might be reading it wrong, but won't the drain pipes possibly have a low spot that might trap moisture and draw in musty, damp air? Grandpa's storm cell in the Panhandle just had two vents on top. But it was always musty smelling down there.
hugs, Brandi
Ok...I dug all day with a shovel, then shot the lines to make sure the sidewalk would slant down from the house and down from the cellar door. Then I got a pencil and drew out the door......and stepped back and looked at it. Holeey crap it would take a huge chunk out of the side of the culvert(30"x 68"). I knew the door would somewhat compromise the structural integrity of the culvert and I was prepared to reinforce it. However, after looking at it, the little voice says..."DO NOT CUT A BIG HOLE IN THERE". Add to this, I would need two trucks twice. A concrete truck and a belt truck(we don't have pumpers here for some reason). 3-4 yards of crete for the retaining walls and roof. Then on another day 3-4 yards for the sidewalk and entry door roof. Then I still need some kind of retainer walls(2) to get around to the house ...another 15'.
Soooo, I punted and spent 2 hours studying the problem. What I came up with is easier and cheaper.....a dog house on top of the concrete lid and a stairwell going down to a landing.....no retainer walls, no sidewalk, no ginormous hole. I will have to cut down from the top 2'ish and into the lid 2'ish to make the entry. The dog house will have a outside door and be insulated, then another door on the cellar that is also insulated.
On a good note, Laymon the BH guy had a good idea. Since you must have fresh air circulating he suggested using the drain tile as both drain and fresh air intake. Most cellars have two 3" or better vent pipes, one from the roof down almost to the floor, the other on the opposite side just at the roof. So I have is a good flow of cool air coming through them since the runs are both 30' underground. Stale air in a cellar causes rot and mold/mildew, so I will have 2 - 4" intake pipes and one 4" exhaust(maybe two) on the ceiling:
OP
MotorSeven
Elite Member
That is a possibility, and I plan on putting in an extra roof vent pipe just in case this doesn't work out. But, this shale here is just about waterproof 8' down and this floor is 13'....so I hope the surface slope will shed all the water off before it can reach the floor.
forgeblast
Elite Member
You might want to hook up a dumbwaiter so that you can lower the fruits/veggys with out having to navigate the ladder while holding things.
I was wondering if the drain was to be used for air from the start. I think with a roof vent you should get a bit of a thermosiphon draft...I know the root cellar plans I have seen all seem to be set up that way, with an upper vent and a vent to floor level.
Just be sure to "vermin proof" the daylight ends. I have a bad enough time with chipmunks and squirrels in my fruit trees and veggies as it is (and if the gardens weren't fenced, I'm sure the rabbits and woodchucks would also help themselves). We stored potatoes in the basement one year...mice found them.
I like the dumbwaiter idea, but here's another possibility: just a series of well spaced shelves.
Open the doghouse, set crate on top shelf.
Climb in, down a bit, then move crate to next shelf.
Climb down some more, next shelf.
I'm envisioning them spaced stairwise on either side of the ladder/stairs, but you get the idea...separate moving the crate from moving you. Just a thought, I don't know how it would work in practice.
Just be sure to "vermin proof" the daylight ends. I have a bad enough time with chipmunks and squirrels in my fruit trees and veggies as it is (and if the gardens weren't fenced, I'm sure the rabbits and woodchucks would also help themselves). We stored potatoes in the basement one year...mice found them.
I like the dumbwaiter idea, but here's another possibility: just a series of well spaced shelves.
Open the doghouse, set crate on top shelf.
Climb in, down a bit, then move crate to next shelf.
Climb down some more, next shelf.
I'm envisioning them spaced stairwise on either side of the ladder/stairs, but you get the idea...separate moving the crate from moving you. Just a thought, I don't know how it would work in practice.
kubota6040guy
New member
Be sure to put the intake air vent as far away as possible from the exhaust vent so that air will move across the entire area of the room.