Here is a library of YouTube clips featuring an earthbag root cellar. The homestead is in Alaska with climatic conditions typical of that geographical area. The root cellar is large and represents a considerable investment of time and resources to construct, but it does demonstrate impressive storage capabilities. I posted this series of clips as inspiration for one option for root cellar storage. The principles demonstrated could be used to create a scaled down version of the project. In some places, particularly areas subject to tornados and other adverse weather events the root cellar could do double duty as a refuge. (Though a more robust door / entry hatch ought be considered than the system featured in the earthbag root cellar videos) From a survival perspective, camouflage and concealment ought to be a consideration, particularly when humanoid feral pests are a nuisance. Given that there is no means of water to drain away through natural fall, and although they mention using a sump pump should waterlogging occur, I didn't notice any sump at the cellar's lowest point...it is a design feature that I would recommend, with some kind of water level alarm, if there is no automatic sump pump installed. The Simple Living Alaska channel has a whole bunch of other interesting and inspirational self sufficiency and self reliance videos...well worth bookmarking and subscribing to. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3FHvW16m_i117IqPnb0nmA
In most of the world, drain under floor and besides walls are very important. As Chellovick said, saw no sump pump or pit, walls are not water tight, floor is both open and stone so water entry would be easy. Mr. French makes a good argument for drains protecting all foundations and a root cellar full of water or mold is of no use. In most of the world you would either have more problems with rock or the danger of cave ins. In last 70 years have been to two funerals of people who thought it took to long to shore up walls before doing cement work or laying pipe and conduit. Would expect birch to rot out in a few years as plastic doesn't protect them from dampness, walls have no real transverse load bearing factors, roof not tied to walls, etc, If I turned in a plan like that in an Agricultural Engineering class, I am afraid the Prof would have given me an F.. Will it work, yes, is it cheap to build,yes, can you store food in it, yes. Will the roof cave in, in time, will the walls collapse, in time, will frost heave the walls inward, in time, will it withstand an earthquake, no, could you make it tight enough to keep out airborne and waterborne radiation, no. Soil cement, metal reinforcing, Hessian boxes, concrete roof tied to and reinforcing walls, it is a good start for a lot of ideas. The more I look at it, the more it looks like a fighting position, glorified fox hole. Sand bags, logs, dirt, the Japanese made an art out it in WW2, but the expected design life was a year or so and a lot of them were converted by the US Marines into very expensive coffins. Best lesson in the whole series, use what you have and get thru the winter. If SHTF you may well be using garage doors with 2 by 10 or 2 by 12 for supports for the roof and above ground swimming pool reinforced by 2 by6 or so tied from roof to floor to support the wall loading, etc, or parts of a metal garden shed and you might have the old style one with a roof and insulation for the ceiling. Here is another more post SHTF friendly root cellar. Metal roofing, 2 by 4 bracing to withstand soil load on walls, insulated roof with wooden supports, rubber roofing for water sealing roof and couple feet of dirt over that. Scrounge it in my area if the SHTF after about 6 months or so. Not meant to be plans, just ideas that open up new doors to your thinking. Thanks chelloveck for getting me to think in a fresh way about Root Cellars. The main idea is to get you thru a couple winters alive, and then you can worry about a structure like the Etruscans built that are in use 2300 years later. Building the Root Cellar; detailed building notes
Yep.....5-10 years from now, those logs will have rotted out and caved in. Scary what people will build and then go into ! And that entry.....OMG.....carrying all that stuff down a ladder and then back up it ? Stupid even when you're young to spend that kind of effort.....wait until you get OLD....ahahhaaaaaa Build the thing into a hill with a walk in door, or mound up enough dirt on top to make a hill if the terrain doesn't work.....and it cures the need for a sump pump as well. The roof to mine, which I suspect will be here longer than the house. I used a temporary beam and 2x10's for support to pour the concrete, which also filled the block walls with rebar down in them. 6" of 4000PSI concrete on top. The other thing is storing things like jars with metal tops/rings. A true root cellar needs humidity along with low temperature to store root crops. Anything made of steel can, and will, rust in that space. You want a root cellar for storing root crops or apples (and you have to watch storing apples with potatoes due to offgassing from the apples sprouting your potatoes), and you want a DRY pantry for storing canned goods. Best not to get the two confused.
Excellent display of doing it right, only thing left open is scale and humidity options. Like dry basement for canned goods, closed cabinet with insulation is what the folks always used. Lots of good tips. Chelloveck just made close to the post of the year, while we debated what would fail first, 2 out of 3 things happened. After TSHTF moment, they would not be filling in the root cellar, they would likely be buried there after starving to death. Not really surviving in the woods, excavators digging holes, loads and loads of fill and crushed stone, very pricey John Deere tractor, no real evidence of source of income or having problems with both money and goods apparently available on demand. Used to call them "hippies" in the old days. Very strong about vision, lots of babies made, lots of drugs ingested, lots of domes built that either burned down or rotted away due to constant leaks, big gardens planted and never weeded, the list goes on. Strong take away, make your own mistakes and learn from others fails. As preppers we tend to stress the positive, but in my very limited experience, a shade of negative feelings may prolong your life. The first video's made it look like a real good solution to a major problem after the fall, then Mr. Murphy raised his head and it all fell apart. How many other well meaning and well shown examples may lead to real disasters in the long run? Wood stoves, chimneys, water filters, pest protection in garden, herbal medicine, water bath canning, and the list could keep going on.
