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These unique root cellar plans show you how to build a root cellar for food storage by
adapting a new concrete septic tank.
April/May 2014
http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/buildings/root-cellar-plans-zm0z14amzreb.aspx
By Steve Maxwell
Make this root cellar by burying a new concrete septic tank into a hillside.
Illustration by Len Churchill
The cool, moist and dark conditions of a root cellar make it the perfect place to keep
many fruits and vegetables crisp and delicious for weeks even months of
storage. And while there are myriad ways to store vegetables, our innovative root
cellar plans show you how to build a root cellar by modifying a new, precast concrete
septic tank. By following the plans, you'll cut an entrance, install a door, add a pair of
vent pipes and cover the tank with soil to bring an old-fashioned, walk-in cellar into
your modern life.
Crushed stone is easy to move around to make a level surface for your tank. Suppliers
usually offer a delivery service using a boom truck to set down the tank wherever you
want. Check the tank with a 48-inch level after the boom-truck driver has set it into
place. If the tank isn't level, have the driver lift the tank so you can get a rake
underneath to move the crushed stone. Keep setting, checking, adjusting and replacing
the tank until it sits flat and level.
The tops of concrete septic tanks have access hatches that must be sealed. Apply a
generous bead of polyurethane caulking around the perimeter of the hatch openings
and close the hatches for the last time. Next, use a hand-held grinder to cut off the
hatches' protruding metal handles. Now that the tank is flat on top, you'll need to
apply a watertight barrier to prevent roof leaks. Use a heavy, self-adhering water-andice shield designed to be used as roofing underlay. The best shields are thick and have
a peel-and-stick adhesive backing my favorite products include Blueskin selfadhesive water-and-ice barrier, and Grace water-and-ice shield. Apply two layers of
shield that extend over the top in overlapping sheets and fold down the sides 4 inches
lower than the joint where the tank's top and sides meet.
Because your tank will be tucked into the earth, you'll need a secure way to hold back
the soil at the entryway. The drawings in the slideshow illustrate how to build a root
cellar retaining wall using 6-by-6 timbers, with a lintel across the top to stop
backfilled soil from falling down over the door. Find instructions on building a timber
retaining wall anchored by T-shaped tiebacks at How to Build a Retaining Wall With
Crossties. Another option is to construct a retaining wall using interlocking concrete
blocks. Retaining walls ensure the best cellar performance in cold climates because
they maximize the amount of soil contact on both sides of the door, and soil's
insulating factor is what stabilizes the temperature inside a root cellar and makes it
suitable for storing vegetables.
If your climate doesn't experience severe winters, an easier alternative involves
banking up the soil as steeply as possible on both sides of the doorway while leaving
some of the front wall exposed. Instead of building a tall retaining wall, you could
install horizontal layers of geogrid (a polymer material used to reinforce soils) in the
dirt as you backfill around the door, building as steep a slope as possible.
Haul in soil and spread it around the sides and top of your tank. Because backfilling
by hand is hard work, you'll probably want to hire the backhoe and operator for
several more hours. Sandy, light soil is best for backfilling because it reduces soil
pressure on the sides and top of the tank, drains better, and is easier to shape and
contour. Aim for a layer of 1 to 2 feet of soil on the roof.
Plant grass on the backfilled soil, build shelves and bins inside your cellar (learn how
to construct wooden storage shelves at our DIY blog), load em up with your healthy,
homegrown foods and you're finished with these root cellar plans. Money cant
buy the feeling of security and satisfaction youll get from a winters worth of good
eating sheltered by your own root cellar.
Cutting Concrete
These root cellar plans require you to cut through the walls of concrete septic tanks.
To do so, youll need to rent or borrow a gas-powered masonry cutoff saw spinning a
14-inch-diameter diamond wheel to make the door opening, and an electric rotary
hammer with a 4-inch carbide coring bit to bore vent and drain holes. Be sure to use a
saw that accepts a garden hose because water injection will tame the clouds of dust.
The rotary hammer with coring bit needs no water. Septic tanks usually have
reinforcing rods embedded in the concrete, so ask for a coring bit and masonry blade
that can handle metal.
Contributing Editor Steve Maxwell is an expert builder and stonemason who stores
his garden produce underground in Ontario, Canada. Find his homesteading advice
at RealRuralLife.com. Maxwell co-authored The Complete Root Cellar
Book, available at a 25 percent discount until April 30, 2014 at the MOTHER
EARTH NEWS store.