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copperhead1971
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# Posted: 10 Dec 2015 09:26pm
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Any body know much about root cellars? Mine is in the bush,built from cinder blocks with cement floor not sure of the ceiling yet ,still more investigation needed .
but what I want to know is should I clear the big trees away so not to let the root get into the cellar? thanks for any info and or opinions.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 10 Dec 2015 10:42pm
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Don't know anything about root cellars, but it looks like those trees are close enough that if they get much larger they might start to damage the foundation and or walls. Also, if one of them falls and gets uprooted, it could yank the building with it.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 11 Dec 2015 06:52am
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The trees should probably be removed. Look inside and see if the walls are already broken. The lid is usually poured and there is usually a pipe vent up through the ceiling near the rear.
If it's in good shape I'd parge it to pretty it up (a "stucco" finish) and fit a new door.
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copperhead1971
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# Posted: 11 Dec 2015 01:59pm
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didn't have time this year to really look at it other then from the door way,both doors need to be fix the inside door and replaced the outside door,. If we would have pushed our way in, the inside door would have fallen in as well so we decided to wait till this summer coming up to poke away at it.. and yes there is a vent sticking out of the top with a rain cap on it,I have more pics here some where...
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copperhead1971
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# Posted: 11 Dec 2015 02:01pm
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and
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copperhead1971
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# Posted: 11 Dec 2015 02:03pm
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in the first and last pic in the second set you can just see the vent on the far right side in about the middle from top to bottom of the pic
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hattie
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# Posted: 12 Dec 2015 12:27am
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Very neat root cellar you have there. Definitely worth fixing up. I agree with the others that you should get rid of the trees nearby. It looks like it was really well built. Too bad you couldn't put a round door on it. It would look like a hobbit hole. 
Do you know how old it is? Have you been brave enough to dare and open any of those old preserves?
A root cellar is a very important thing to have. You will be surprised at how much use you can get out of it!!
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copperhead1971
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# Posted: 12 Dec 2015 06:32pm
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Quoting: copperhead1971 Do you know how old it is? Have you been brave enough to dare and open any of those old preserves?
not sure how old but more then 30 years old.
i think most of them are broken and long lot the smell,couldn't smell anything from the door way.
we have mostly been working on the old building there and reclaiming the yard and garden back and hopefully getting read for a well this summer
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Littlecooner
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# Posted: 13 Dec 2015 07:45am
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Well, this old guy is going to disagree with removing the trees. Way too much of a "back to the old ways" of a couple of hundred years ago when my ancestors settled this great nation in my idea of the off grid rustic cabin setting.
Yes, roots push man's improvements around, but looks like no damage over the years, so looks like not a problem. The idea of the root cellar from those long ago times before refrigeration was to have a cool place to store the canned goods. Mother nature underground is in the neighborhood of 55-58 degrees in my part of the world. Its still a great idea in 2015 in the rustic off grid world and it is "neat". Those huge overstory trees provide shade and a cool effect in the summer. Remove them and let the light in, and you increase heat and also alow mother nature to start covering the ground with all types of vegetation, vines, briers, weeds, new species of trees, here it would be black locust complete with thorns, cedars, sweetgum, etc and then you have to keep the place clean so you can access the cellar and it look like crap in a couple of years. Quit trying to change the world and enjoy mother nature, she is helping to keep the place cool and keep down the vegetation and in the summer months during rain, those big overstory trees pull the groundwater up in the top of the trees instead of leaving it around your block root cellar.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 13 Dec 2015 08:34am
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Trees and roots will destroy a perfectly good root cellar. They were not there during the useful life of the cellar, they grew in after it was neglected. Continue that neglect and they will increase in diameter and break it, just as roots can break rock. The saplings on the lid should go too. The root finds a crack and then grows in diameter. We always have the choice of whether to maintain or neglect, each with costs and benefits. You don't have to clear the forest. The birch will fall in a very few years, it looks to be dead or dying, you can decide where it lands, and the maple isn't in the best condition either although it is further out.
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copperhead1971
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# Posted: 13 Dec 2015 04:10pm
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Like i said this is a summer project and em getting all the info i can find , when we rip open the doors and get a good look inside I will be looking for root damage and moister problems. I know the floor was bone dry and the way they built it ,it has a natural drain from the front door down the side of the hill, great set up from what we could see when were last there,, just to busy to get to it this year,there were windows and doors to fix,the roof and chimney pipe and wood stove needed to be taken care of and the clearing of small tress and bushes that had retaken the yard keep us busy this year. Still have lots of the yard to take back yet but the cabin and laneway and the out house is done enough for awhile .
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offgridliving
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# Posted: 15 Dec 2015 08:07am
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Root cellars are an extremely valuable addition to off grid living. If properly constructed, they will give you years of trouble free refrigeration.
I have a 4 inch diameter PVC pipe for a vent. I covered the top with a rain cap and added a fine metal mesh to discourage rodent entry. The roof support is a couple of treated timbers held up by steel joist jacks, as in the kind you would see in a basement. On top of the timbers, I laid heavy duty livestock fencing, (I cannot remember what it is called but my grandfather called it hog fencing.). The next layer is flat concrete block, after that several layers of rolled roofing material for water proofing. Then, 4 feet of back fill.
Most of what I put in the cellar is fruits, vegetables and home canned goods. (Use brass rings because they take a LONG time to rust) Commercially canned goods will not last as long because of the humidity in the cellar will cause the cans to rust through. You just have to rotate them more often.
If you live in bear country as I do, critter proof the door. It is no fun to come back after time away and find the cellar, or your shed for that matter, looking like a trailer park after a tornado.
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copperhead1971
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# Posted: 17 Dec 2015 10:53pm
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anybody have pictures of there cellars?
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hattie
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# Posted: 22 Dec 2015 12:45pm
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Ours is attached to our house and located under our greenhouse, so it isn't an outdoor root cellar like yours. The first photo shows one of the workers doing the concrete work on it while it was under construction. The second photo was taken this fall showing the preserves we keep in it.
Our neighbours thought we were building a bunker.
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Preserves in the coldroom this fall.
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copperhead1971
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# Posted: 22 Dec 2015 02:00pm
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Looks great that's one thing I will have to figure out shelving ... if we build some day we will likely put a place closer to the cellar about 100 feet from the old building that is there now.
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 9 Feb 2016 09:58pm - Edited by: KinAlberta
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Or go straight down.
http://weburbanist.com/2013/01/24/secret-spirals-underground-home-wine-cellar-spaces/
A section of precast large diameter concrete pipe or galvanized steel ... 
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Bret
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# Posted: 10 Jul 2016 06:05pm
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My friend and I were talking over root cellars today and had the idea of burying a 8x20 cargo container into the hillside. Anyone heard of someone doing this?
Bret
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