Under ground shelter/root cellar

[Brent S]

I spent the last two days working on the forming and rebar on the shelter. I'm beat, but it feels good to be able to work on it again. Between a shoulder injury and a bike mishap (couple broke ribs) I didn't have the drive to do anything on it for six weeks or so. Anyways, I'm back at it! I got it ready to pour, and have a truck coming on Friday just before lunch. Here's a couple Picts.

 

[jontte]

wow,when it's done...you can be proud of your self

 

[Brent S]

wow,when it's done...you can be proud of your self

The storm shelter is just a perk, I mostly want a cool dark place that uses no electricity to store my canned goods and wines.

 

[Brent S]

I got a couple more Picts of the framing inside. I'm going to add two more beams in it today, just to be safe as the wet concrete will be a couple tons. It's a shame to have to take all this out after the pour. I thought about leaving it but it cuts down on the headroom. It would be a great place to insulate, but ten inches of dirt should be pretty good insulation.

 

[Gazrok]

Can't wait to see it all done!

One helpful hint is don't put full size rebar all the way up the walls. I went half way up, and when the blocks got high enough, I tied together the rest of the rebar to reach the roof. Sliding heavy block all the way down 8 ft of rebar would be tough

Oh, that's damn clever. I was wondering about this when I was brainstorming building one. Alas, it's far down on my list though. Still, my mind is always cranking on these things.

 

[Brent S]

Can't wait to see it all done!



Oh, that's damn clever. I was wondering about this when I was brainstorming building one. Alas, it's far down on my list though. Still, my mind is always cranking on these things.

I'm always trying to figure an easier way to 'skin a cat'! I just saw on the news it's going to be 39 deg when I pour the concrete tomorrow, yuk! Wish I had a plan to make that better.

 

[Brent S]

Yeah! I got the roof and walls poured today. It took less than an hour, partly thanks to a good concrete truck operator. He kept the chute moving really well and I hardly had to rake at all. The biggest fear was the form collapsing, but I honestly had it double what it needed to be. With the cold it will be a week before I start removing the supports under the roof, but at least this phase is done. The inside will never see the light of day again! My daughter in law helped me tremendously with the framing and pour. Due to the cold I have covered the door opening and put a space heater inside. I'm also going to lay some insulation over the top and cover it once the water dries off the surface. I miss Fla. as we didn't have to deal with the cold!

 

[jimLE]

it's looking great

 

[Gazrok]

Awesome. That thing (with the right door) would double as a radiation bunker, should the need arise (though doubt you'd want to be in there for two weeks, and not sure if you put any ventilation in there.)

 

[Brent S]

Awesome. That thing (with the right door) would double as a radiation bunker, should the need arise (though doubt you'd want to be in there for two weeks, and not sure if you put any ventilation in there.)

Pretty observant! I agonized over an escape hatch and even ventilation. In the end I decided not to do either. This space is really small, and once all the walls are lined with shelving it would be pretty claustrophobic. So basically I really don't want to hunker down in it for any length of time. I think #1 use is a root cellar, and secondary is a storm shelter. The problem with any opening is potential leakage, so I opted out at the last minute for any holes in he main body of it. I will have some tools in it so if something blocks the door I can make my way out pretty effectively. I decided for ventilation it will be in the door, and openable from the inside if needed.

 

[bgoldstuff]

Very Nice !

 

[Gazrok]

Good idea (ventilation on the door), which also makes it fairly easy to change as the mood strikes you.

 

[Brent S]

Good idea (ventilation on the door), which also makes it fairly easy to change as the mood strikes you.

Another thought I've had with the design was the door. An outward opening door is way stronger, for storm resistance, but debris could trap you inside. I think I'm going to do an outer sliding door with tracks at top and bottom, and then an insulating door that's inward opening. A sliding door should be a little easier to get open if debris is piled up next to it. I want to be a little safer for the storm shelter part of it. That also gives me 8" to make a thick inner door that won't affect the temperature inside as much.

 

[jimLE]

Great idea..but the glass is towards the middle of the wooden/metal frame.so you'd have that to contend with if the snow piled up against it.and became packed.so you might fill that space in with ply wood..or what ever..

 

[Gazrok]

I don't think he means a sliding glass door. Just a sliding door.

 

[Brent S]

Yeah, most likely a sliding steel door. Then a thick multi layered wood door on it inside. Something like a 4in thick wood door made of tounge and groove 1x6's on the outsides for looks and 3 layers of 3/4" plywood inside. Not only strong but a decent insulator too. I think the sliding option is best for debris as with a good pry bar sliding it should be easier than a swinging door. With any luck I'll never have to test this theory.

 

[bgoldstuff]

Yeah, most likely a sliding steel door. Then a thick multi layered wood door on it inside. Something like a 4in thick wood door made of tounge and groove 1x6's on the outsides for looks and 3 layers of 3/4" plywood inside. Not only strong but a decent insulator too. I think the sliding option is best for debris as with a good pry bar sliding it should be easier than a swinging door. With any luck I'll never have to test this theory.

IMO>>> A sliding door will be the same as a door that swings out! ANYTHING that gets against it, will be a resistance when trying to open it. All doors should open inward to keep from being trapped inside without having a 2nd way out.

 

[Brent S]

IMO>>> A sliding door will be the same as a door that swings out! ANYTHING that gets against it, will be a resistance when trying to open it. All doors should open inward to keep from being trapped inside without having a 2nd way out.

the problem with inward opening doors is you loose more than 50% of your strength. I'm trying to go somewhere in the middle of safety and storm resistance. Everything has some sort of compramise, unless you have an unlimited budget!

 

[jimLE]

i just remembered the home next door to to where i grew up at.one bathroom is between 2 bedrooms..the doors leading from the bedrooms to the bathroom,is on 2 tracks.1 track at the top.and the other at the bottom.in which the doors would slide/roll into the wall when opened..the outside part of the doors are flat and smooth when comes to the wood..(cheap panaling i think)..but yet something like that might work if done up right..

 

[Gazrok]

What about an inner sliding door. With an outer (opening inside) door?

 

[jimLE]

good idea on that.i was thinking of having it the other way around.but yet,have the sliding door on the inside will add strength and security to the door that opens inward..

 

[Brent S]

What about an inner sliding door. With an outer (opening inside) door?

That's a possibility. For a strong blast resistance it would have to have a really good steel frame well attatched to the structure. A tornado is the worst thing I could be up against, hopefully, and whatever I do will be for that goal. Whatever I decide I will post picts. I'm leaning towards a steel frame around the tracks of a outside sliding door to help protect things from leaning up against it. With the cold we are dealing with it looks like it will be a while before I get back at it again.

 

[Gazrok]

If the steel frame had a welded edge on the outside, that overlapped the concrete, and then on the inside too (you'd have to weld that after inserting the frame, that should make it pretty secure.

 

[Brent S]

If the steel frame had a welded edge on the outside, that overlapped the concrete, and then on the inside too (you'd have to weld that after inserting the frame, that should make it pretty secure.

I'm not quite following your idea, but do have two welders, stick and mig, so am open to ideas. Sketch something?

 

[Gazrok]

Think of it like a window frame. Same principle.

 

[Brent S]

I dropped all the forms last weekend! If you noticed I put some rebar along the top front edge. I'll form a 4" thick x 6" high wall to hold the dirt on top of it soon. I will do the same for each side as well. Eventually I'll lay some stone on the front, but that's down the road. This weekend I'm hoping to finish applying the fibered tar to the outside for waterproofing and hope to pour the dirt retaining wall on top too. I jumped up and down on the roof and it dosen't vibrate at all, yeah! I'll pressure wash the inside and seal it with dry lock primer and a couple coats of paint as well before long. So far I have right at 1000.00 in it. I am pretty good at recycling materials to do the finish work inside, but the main structure was all retail purchase. I also paid a little extra for the smaller stone in the concrete, as it pours inside the walls better. I have all the wood for shelving allready in that amount too. I need the dry lock, and of course the door still to purchase materials for. I hope to have a secure shelter/storage room before too long.

 

[Gazrok]

Awesome job!

 

[Brent S]

Awesome job!

Thanks! Hopefully I won't start any more labor intensive jobs too soon, again.

 

[Brent S]

I poured the top ledge to retain the dirt on the roof and removed the form for it. I also got a warm enough day to put the final coat of fibered coating on the outside of the shelter. When it's dry I will do a topcoat of roof cement and put tar paper onto it, glueing it to the sides and top. I still need a retention along the front of each side to keep the dirt in place. I guess I'll form and pour it shortly. I'm really looking fowards to covering this thing up with dirt!

 

[jontte]

WOW ...and a big sigh...want one tooooooooo