M14 Forum

Packing a 45

Concrete pipe what ever size diamiter works for you. Whatever length you can handle. Roll to where you want it stand it up jump in and start pitching out the sand, as sand is removed pipe will sink. Go as deep as you like with more pipe on top. KEEP toes out of the way. Dump in rock cover with plastic then sand and plastic for moisture barrier to finish use plastic cement. If you have a lot of water in the ground put in a frinch drain. for the top?

This also works for water well s, I have seen them 20' You have no chance for cave in's.

Hope this helps you. Packing

GeneCo

... stand a pipe on top of the ground and put a water hose in it and it will liquify the sand and sink the pipe, by itself. This made it possible to build in Florida and to this day is how pylons are sunk to Coral( that's our bedrock) for bridges, etc. They sink a pipe, then remove the liquid sand and then fill it with concrete.


Btw, if you sunk the pipe, how would you get in and out? How would you store stuff?

sac troop

A buddy dug his well this way. Something to do when your young. Later he dug out under his foundation and made a basement. We're starting to worry about him.

M1A's r BEST

Mom and dad don't live in the flat lands but the "last" cellar we built will long outlast them. Dad used old rail road ties (not the real old ones cut square by hand but some old machine cut ties). Those ties were used (dad said they put that side track in back in the early 40's and they pulled the rails off of it in the 70's) and dad's had them in the ground since 1980 or 1981 when we built the cellar. That creosote stuff really works.

The ties are nailed together (wood drill bit used to drill a hole partially through the tie so a big nail can hold one tie to the next one below it. The joints are offset and he put old mine belt up on the inside to channel any water that comes through downward to the gravel floor with drain pipe under the gravel.

Treated lumber would probably do as well but the ties were free (except for the labor of digging them out, loading them in the truck, unloading them from the truck and carrying them across the creek to the cellar site. Do you ever think back on the things you used to do when you were young and stout that would just kick your butt to try to do today?

CharlieEcho

It would depend on what you planned on storing and for how long as to the size tile you might need. Why I suggest corregated tile is because I have seen water tables push empty tanks right out of the ground. The corregation would help to hold the tank down once settled.

A ceptic tank of concrete would not have to be very deep into the ground, and then covered with soil. Not being greatly familiar with Florida, I'm not sure what the soil temps might get to below the surface.

Another thing I though of was the plastic 55 gallon barrels. Then again it depends on contents and amounts.

If I get a chance I'll post some pictures.
Root/Storm cellars,
Examples; My grandparents had one, my parents have one, and my brothers have one, my sister has one. They are all used now for just storing gardening tools and maybe wood. Each is a poured cement, round topped cellar. Some have a cement tank along the wall some have a poured shelf along the wall. All are about 24 to 36 inches set into the ground with earth covering any where up to 12". Except my grandparents is concrete not covered.

Each has a "chimney" of some sort or other. Most are a red clay tile up through the ceiling, with a "T" cap some have been capped over.. We live in central Illinois and the frost line is supposed to be around 30". Each has a drain or sump. Water can be a problem, in the spring usually. It is also possible for things inside to freeze if not wrapped some way. I recall my grandparent putting some things in straw. They kept home canned foods in their "cave" as well as some raw vegetables. Except in the warmest of years it is always cooler inside one of the cellars.

huntinghawk

What I intend to store is mason jars of stuff I can.

HH

mo mauser

Hey, from south Georgia just below the clay line so sand is what we have to contend with to. I remember my grandparents storing their vegetables on bedframes suspended from the ceisl of several store rooms off their barn. Mainly red potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions. I can't be certain whether or not they were there for later consumption or starters for the next season. Granny always saved seed for the next year. Still it worked.

I've also heard of storing vegetables in metal drums or trash cans with layers of straw in between. This was confirmed as a viable option for me recently when "Backwoodsman" magazine had an article on it. It included an article on canning meat to if you can find it. They sell back issues if not. If interested I'll see which issue it was and let you know. Mo

CharlieEcho

I'm only familiar with Florida in the areas South of Jacksonville to Dayton. Great race last night by the way. I would think an easy and quick way to store canned food stuff would be in the plastic drums. Buried nearly up to the top with the soil packed around the top. Some place shaded. You can easily cut the plastic top and make an access door.

Some food stuff I know has to be kept cool while some only need stay dry. I'm not sure how humidity would play out in the plastic drum, but I don't think it would effect can goods. Wooden, whiskey, kegs store things well in a cool location and I've found them to store grains well. I make the tops out of heavy plywood. We use them to store grain for our animals.

M1A's r BEST

I'm sure it depends on location, elevation, soil types, etc. but let me tell you what my dad said they used to do when he was a kid. The was in the mountains of WV, Greenbrier County.

In the fall (this is late August/early September at those elevations as the frosts have started and the gardens are dying) they would cut the corn stalks and pile them beside the garden. Then they'd dig a hole across the garden a couple of feet deep and pile the dirt up beside the hole as they dug. They'd throw some of the corn stalks into the bottom of the hole to line it. Then they'd put potatoes, apples, cabbage and canned stuff that they didn't have room for in the cellar under grandma and grandpa's house (small cellar under the back bedroom) down on the layer of cornstalks. Then they'd layer the remaining cornstalks over the vegetables and jars and cover them up with the dirt they'd piled along the hole while digging it. He said this food would last up into late December/early January before it was all gone. They just went up, dug some dirt off the top of the pile (snow first if there was snow lying on it), pulled out what they needed and put the cornstalks and dirt back till they next trip to the "dirt cellar".

Something like that would work pretty good on sloping ground (most ground does have slope to it up home ) and its not sandy either but there is some clay down about 1.5 to 2 ft. down in that holler (I could have spelled hollow but that ain't how its pronounced ).

30shtur

My friend has a railroad-tie root cellar, which his father placed in 1969. The railroad ties sit on top of very course rocks, for drainage. The roof is two layers of alternating railroad ties for structural support and air flow. It is about six feet tall, with only five feet below ground. The oddest thing, this is in the backyard of a town house lot.

huntinghawk

I think a chest freezer or refrigerator kept in the shade is going to work best for me. Freezers are better insulated then refrigerators. But I think a refrigerator will be easier for finding stuff in. I'll use whichever I find at the dump.

HH

CharlieEcho

I use an old refrigerator in my barn to store chemicals, bug spray, weed spray,fertilizer and some paint & caulk. Sometimes we would have a problem with sweating. I bored a couple of 1" holes in the door and put vent caps in the holes. This helped. I used to have the light on a timer during the winter. I have since gone with a "goldenrod". This has kept things frome freezing and I don't have to worry about the bulb burning out.

A freezer in the shed for storing cloth, leather, plastic items during their non-use periods. The freezer keeps the mice from chewing holes in things. Haven't noticed a moisture problem with the freezer, I suppose because the shed has concrete floor where the barn floor, where the fridge is, has gravel.

Earthquake

How about a small shipping container? you could bury it half way in the ground and cover it with earth and have a access panel in the top, you could put a spiral stair case in one corner to get inside or just a ladder. if you could coat the outside with brush on bed liner it should be water proof.

Casey

Benlee

Find out who makes the septic tanks in your area. A lot of them make septic tank size storm shelters. If not they probably will. The cost will be the cost of a septic tank installation without the drain line.

dwight55

Personally, . . . I like the tire idea, . . . tree/beams overhead, . . . and I would build one like it if I was in your area. I would try to find even a slight slope and put the opening on the north side.

Back years ago, . . . we all had cellars, . . . dug into the hill side, . . . rock or dirt floor, . . . walls of whatever rocks you could find & some mortar, . . . tree/beams overhead, . . . an occasional black snake or copperhead would also come around

Here in Ohio and Ky, . . . mason jars go to the pantry or basement, . . . so they don't freeze, . . . taters / carrots / turnips / cabbage / onions can all be "heeled in" by digging a hole down about 20 inches, . . . line it w/straw or leaves, . . . lay in the food, . . . cover w/straw or leaves, . . . use dirt from hole to cover over that.

Food will keep all winter in those holes, . . . just don't forget where you put em

May God bless,
Dwight