A Flatlander's Root Cellar

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

GROUND CREW

Naturally, I was now faced with the problem of excavating a hole for my food storey. I didn't have a backhoe-or feel like renting one for $50 an hour!-so I needed to devise an alternative system. Well, once again fate was on my side: There just happened to be a construction crew equipped with all manner of heavy equipment working on the property adjoining mine. So I walked right up to one of the machine operators to find out the "lay of the land".

I soon learned that he was a freelance equipment operator whose crew was pulling out that night. What's more, they were all a bit dismayed that the nearest town was so far away, because they were feeling a mite thirsty. Hearing this, I thought quick lye specially quickly, since he and his workers could carve out in 15 minutes what would take me well over a week of hand-digging-and offered him a case of beer in exchange for his making the hole for my new root cellar. You guessed it ... no more than 20 minutes later, the job was done!

THE SETUP

The following day, after the tank pieces were delivered and put together in the hole, I carefully grouted all the cracks (inside and out). That done, I painted the exterior underground portion of the concrete container with roofing cement, covered it with a layer of black polyethylene, and finished up by coating the plastic with another round of cement.

When the cellar walls were ready, the septic tank crew backfilled and leveled the ground for me (as part of our prearranged contract). To promote proper drainage, I had the cellar protrude 2 feet above the ground. That still left a good 8 feet in the earth, more than enough to keep the air cool within the tank. To polish off the project, I made a ladder, flooring, and shelves from rough lumber ... attached wire mesh over the vent ... and made a sump-a 2' X 2' X 4' hole filled with gravel-under the floor to drain any water that might leak into the cellar.

Today, I couldn't be happier with my prestressed-concrete root cellar. It cost me only an amazing $181.99 to install, and it's able to maintain a comfortable year-round temperature averaging 52 °F. What more could I ask? I'm so fond of my creation that this year I fancied it up by constructing a miniature barn like structure over the top of it. You'd never know by looking that beneath that unobstrusive, little wooden house lies a "septic cellar" chock-full of garden produce! 22 BILL OF MATERIALS precast concrete expansions and top $120.00 (delivered and installed) excavation (one case of beer) 5.50 roofing cement 10.00 black polyethylene 10.00 lumber 35.00 grass seed and wire mesh 1.49 TOTAL $181.99

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print