Project Root Cellar ......out of a 8' tall x 14' metal culvert

bindian · Mar 23, 2015

GLyford said:
Well at least you're giving that concrete plenty of time to cure...

:laughing::laughing::laughing:
hugs, Brandi

docrocky · Apr 1, 2015

MotorSeven said:
Well.........this happened, so I am in "recovery mode":

The injury you have is called an acromial-coracoid separation most likely a grade or class 3 separation. Most often happens when someone falls head first and strikes the round of the shoulder first. The knob looking thing on the x-ray is called the coracoid process and its distance to the outer 1/3rd of the collar bone (clavicle) is usually about 1 inch. The tip of the collar bone is attached to the acromial process by a thickened capsule but the main suspension ligament is a heavy band which you tore. Without treatment, your arm then sags down and your collar bone sticks up and out. I can't see any rib fractures on your xray. Go to Google with the diagnosis I gave you and there will be an excellent rundown on the injury with good drawings etc and discussions as to the treatments.

Boy, you never know who is spying on your personal life...I have been thinking about a root cellar so I got hooked into your thread. I an certainly going for a horizontal one, no ladder climbing for me...too old ,78.

Hope everything is going well and you have a speedy recovery. Don't push it, let the ligaments heal and harden before you get macho...

docrocky

MotorSeven · Apr 1, 2015

Doc, spot on...except mine was a grad 4 out of 5 with 5 being the worst. Turns out, the Dr that did an elective surgery on my left elbow last year invented a device to repair this exact injury and I feel very fortunate to have such an expert work on me. Here is a video of Dr Paul Brady's procedure...pretty fascinating stuff:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCxaxAievDA&list=TLANPxXYUoDSs

And here is my shoulder now...you can see the Dogbone washers that hold the surgical rope:

MotorSeven · Apr 1, 2015

Oh, and the rib fractures are the lower three and one of them has the cartilage popped off....in the "right" position I get a "clunkclunk" every time I breath. Ribs are much better now, it's just the next 3-4 months of babying this shoulder that is killing me....could have been much worse though!

scott_vt · Apr 1, 2015

Good Morning Rick,
Get well soon !

MotorSeven · Apr 1, 2015

'morning...thanks!

Dr_Zinj · Apr 1, 2015

I'm with slicing it in half length-wise for two arches and build knee walls. You nearly double your floor storage cube-age that way, as well as preserving more walkway room. Even setting it on end "requires" you to put in a footing to put it on, otherwise it will settle into the soil it's resting on. It know it's more work and more expense, but doing it on the cheap at first means you spend decades grumbling about it afterwards.

MotorSeven · Apr 1, 2015

It's already in the ground vertically resting on about a foot of 57 rock. Under that rock is extremely hard packed slate...almost concrete...it's not going anywhere. I agree, splitting it would have made for a bigger cellar, but the thing is huge as-is with minimum work. Concrete roof is also poured & I just need to finish the stairwell before backfilling over the whole thing. Then I am building a cedar log garden shed/solar panel structure over the entrance. Plans are for a 3KW battery system before the end of the year. This will run the well pump, 2 freezers, a fridge, the wood furnace blower and some lights completely off grid.

bindian · Apr 1, 2015

Rick,
Please post a link here when you get the 3kw battery system thread up.
Take care.

bindian · Apr 1, 2015

Rick,
Please post a link here when you get the 3kw battery system thread up.
Take care.

bindian · Apr 1, 2015

Dr_Zinj said:
I It know it's more work and more expense, but doing it on the cheap at first means you spend decades grumbling about it afterwards.

Dr_Zinj,
You need to read the other threads, Rick (MotorSeven), has started here. I don't think anything he does is "cheap".
hugs, Brandi

MotorSeven · Aug 12, 2015

This is by far the longest i have taken to get a project done. Progress the last few days....finished raising the entryway and the stair case. Added a LED solar light inside. Pt down roofing foundation (tar) first, then Black Jack(tar w/fiber) over the wood, then back-filled.

MotorSeven · Aug 12, 2015

All covered up:

MotorSeven · Aug 12, 2015

Got sidetracked by mama's brand new porcelain cast iron claw foot tub. Here it is in the "paint shop" getting changed from white to sage green:

Depmandog · Aug 12, 2015

Awesome! Are you planning on installing a couple of handholds towards the bottom of the wood entry and perhaps a narrow shelf to unload one hand of jars on your way down?

What's your plan for the lid? It would be cool if you could find (or make) a fiberglass cover and use hydraulic struts to aid in lifting!!

MotorSeven · Aug 13, 2015

Dep, for now, I am gluing a left over 2" high density foam panel to a piece of scrap tin. This winter, I hope to build a round cedar log shed over the root cellar which will double as Les's potting/garden shed. Inside I think I can build an insulated lid that is counter-weighted, & when rotated open reveals the first few steps to get down inside.....and yes a grab rail all the way down on one side for sure.

Here is the lid with weight on the panel as the glue sets:

MotorSeven · Aug 13, 2015

Out with the old, in with the new:

Of course none of the bronze fittings would work on the new tub....had to buy all new stuff....grrrrr

Porcelain on the antique tub was in rough shape, only one small chip, but it looked to have been etched off by years of scrubbing....any dirt would just grind right in and was impossible to clean. It is a prefect candidate for a interior re-finish. The new tub at 6' long will fit us tall folk a lot better. You would not believe the difference in weight between the 5.5 and the 6'....WOW!