THE PARTHENON OF ROOT CELLARS

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Apples and pears demanded harvesting . . . frostbitten tomato plants needed a home where their fruit could ripen . . . turnips, potatoes, rutabagas and kohlrabi yearned for release from their earthly confines (the parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes stay in the ground over winter) . . . and still the work went on. Lest this sound as if the cellar was an allconsuming three-month project, it should be noted that during the same time a goat pole barn was under construction and those 21 foundation holes were progressing slowly.

By September's end the cellar's shelves were in place and its roof was going on. Ties were laid—best side down—from wall to wall to create the ceiling. We fitted a length of 6" bule flue in the center for ventilation, with a butterfly draft control installed near the top of the cellar. (During times of extreme cold we just shove a gunny sack into the pipe.)

Then we laid a 2" X 12" ridgepole on the flat roof of the ties, followed by a double layer of tar paper with dirt atop to create an insulation barrier grading from 12" at the ridge to 4" at the eaves. This same contour was carried through on the vestibule where 3 X 12's were used for the ceiling instead of ties. Both roofs were then decked with 1 X 12's and covered with tar paper, with 90-pound, green roll roofing over all.

Our early plans called for mounding dirt completely over the roof, but so much earth was used in changing the grade around the cellar to insure runoff of rain and snow-melt that there wasn't enough left for cover. In summer, when grass has been planted right up to the eaves, the green roofing will match the surroundings nicely. When the grasses die . . . voila! Farm-style Astroturf.

The steps leading from grade down to cellar level were also made of ties, set directly on sculptured hardpan and held by 3' lengths of pipe driven through and into the ground. They were further reinforced by pouring the base of the small retaining walls directly onto the ties. Adhesion of the concrete to both the timbers and the vestibule wall was insured by a number of large spikes driven into all mating surfaces, leaving adequate shank exposed to mate with the pour.

The steps and retaining walls served as a foundation when we framed up the storage room's entry to accommodate the double exterior doors. Salvaged 1 X 12's served as both in terior and outdoor siding, with fiberglass insulation between. The inner door (between the dead-air space of the vestibule and the main cellar) is an old hollow-core type once used as a table. It seems to be ideal, as the air cells between the veneer faces make an excellent thermal barrier.

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