Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption
 


       Downsizer Forum Index -> Energy Efficiency and Construction/Major Projects
jema

Is this a crazy idea?

Put a 4x6 shed into a big hole/cutting, use railway sleeper as lintels above it, flood the outside with waterpoof expanding foam, cover sleepers with earth.
Instant cold room?
sean

Re: Is this a crazy idea?

Is this a crazy idea?


Yep. It is. Well spotted.
onemanband

I've heard crazier plans.
I would dispute the 'instant' bit tho.
Given the useable space in a 6 x 4 shed, I would suggest getting 4 upright fridges/freezers and burying in the face of bank is far more instant.
Or burying a refrigerated 'Luton body'.

Proper (but not instant) job, I'd say, insulated concrete floor,insulated block walls and concrete beam and block roof.
dpack

Or buying a refrigerated 'Luton body'.

and hiding it with a fast growing hedge

buried seems a bit crazy but you may have reasons Rolling Eyes
sean



buried seems a bit crazy but you may have reasons Rolling Eyes


Wanting to play with a mini-digger is my guess.
dpack

Laughing

moat?
Slim


buried seems a bit crazy but you may have reasons Rolling Eyes

Lot lower power needs, yeah?
jema

Buried means it's hidden, insulated and interesting as a feature.
I have mostly dug a deep trench path that looks like it will hit about the right depth for something like this.
dpack

rather than a wooden shed it might be better to use a non rot "box"of some sort.scrapheap challenge could provide a suitable thing to re purpose

are you certain it wont flood?

a really stylish option would be one of

these or for a simpler option ?
Tavascarow

I thought the theory of a root cellar is to use the temperature of the cooler underground.
Wont the insulation stop the cooling?
I would use a cheap steel shed or an uninsulated van body painted with plenty of rust inhibitor & a plastic damp proof layer before backfilling.
Maybe insulate the exposed door.
A wooden shed is going to rot quickly IMHO.
jema

on the flooding front, the position is on a slope going down down down, so so long as the base allows run off it should be fine.

Metal shed sounds a good idea.
Behemoth

Remember you're not creating a cool box. You need fresh air and humidity. Timber won't work for long. Hairyloon

Timber won't work for long.
Does it need to?
If the space is filled with expanding foam then that will form the box: the shed is basically just acting as a former.
Nick

Timber won't work for long.
Does it need to?
If the space is filled with expanding foam then that will form the box: the shed is basically just acting as a former.

HL seems to suggest it's not totally mad. This should tell you everything you need to know.
Ty Gwyn

Remember you're not creating a cool box. You need fresh air and humidity. Timber won't work for long.


http://www.aditnow.co.uk/cache/Thoresby-Colliery-Coal-Mine-User-Album/Thoresby-Colliery-Coal-Mine-User-Album-63864.jpg


That`s sorted,lol.
Hairyloon

Timber won't work for long.
Does it need to?
If the space is filled with expanding foam then that will form the box: the shed is basically just acting as a former.

HL seems to suggest it's not totally mad. This should tell you everything you need to know.
Exactly so. You want a compost powered absorption refrigeration system to make it totally mad.
Jam Lady

http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/root-cellaring/fundamentals-of-root-cellaring-zm0z91zsie.aspx chez

Look up root cellar links. I've got a book somewhere. Root cellar good. Shed bad. Minidigger games brilliant. Behemoth

Timber won't work for long.
Does it need to?
If the space is filled with expanding foam then that will form the box: the shed is basically just acting as a former.

HL seems to suggest it's not totally mad. This should tell you everything you need to know.
Exactly so. You want a compost powered absorption refrigeration system to make it totally mad.

I've no idea about the structural capacity of expanding foam although builders seem to use it with a care free abandon.

Would some form of prefab garage be better?
Hairyloon

I've no idea about the structural capacity of expanding foam although builders seem to use it with a care free abandon.
What structural capacity does it need? it isn't supporting anything nor subject to wind loading.
jema

http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/root-cellaring/fundamentals-of-root-cellaring-zm0z91zsie.aspx

Quite interesting
Mistress Rose

Is a root cellar what you are after Jema, or do you want a very cold store. The article Jam Lady posted should give you details of the former, but I would look up details of ice houses if the latter. Not sure your initial idea sounds too practical, but we should be able to knock it into shape here if we know what you want. Laughing Behemoth

I've no idea about the structural capacity of expanding foam although builders seem to use it with a care free abandon.
What structural capacity does it need? it isn't supporting anything nor subject to wind loading.

Without knowing much the details, I'm thinking of slumping. As described it's wide-ish deep trench. How wide, how deep, how stable are the sides? With my H&S hat on I wouldn't want anybody working down an unsupported trench.
jema

It's early days, not even sure I can get quite deep enough for this to work anyway.
Purpose is also a little up for grabs, this is something of an exercise of.

I have a rather big trench.
I can use the removed soil to remodel the garden.
I like the idea of a hobbit hole type structure.
tahir

I have a rather big trench.

Show off
chez

Why not just build a proper hobbit hole and make guests sleep in it when they come and visit? crofter

Hairyloon

http://www.boredpanda.com/hobbit-holes-eco-friendly-houses-green-magic-homes/ jema

http://www.boredpanda.com/hobbit-holes-eco-friendly-houses-green-magic-homes/

One of the first sites I visited. Sadly I think my ambitions have to be a lot smaller, and looking at the trench progress today I am getting doubtful I can make this work at all.
dpack

ty gwyn might not be far off with that giant anderson shelter with its own train set , perfect for any garden.

a smaller version using corrugated sheet could be just the thing,the stuff arches quite well along the grain .
Ty Gwyn

That photo was just to give an idea,they would be 16ft high by around 20ft wide,
Steel ring`s were available in 6 and 8ft span`s,held together by tie bar`s 3ft apart,and like the photo steel sheeted behind,
And to fullfill the HSE,one would set up a pair and partly sheet,and advancing debris would be throw behind making room for another set to be erected.
One could always brick arch between the ring`s as often was the case in older Collieries.
dpack

55gal oil drums with a lengthways cut and the ends cut out so as the next one will slide through the last one are more my sort of scale Laughing Ty Gwyn

On that theme,go a little larger,steel cylindrical tank`s used as the entrance to Collieries in the FOD. dpack

that might also serve for jema's bunker if the local scrappers have anything suitable chez

Why not just bolt together a frame out of three by threes and two by four, screw planks to it, cover with waterproof membrane and put the topsoil back on top? dpack

Why not just bolt together a frame out of three by threes and two by four, screw planks to it, cover with waterproof membrane and put the topsoil back on top?

having built grub huts and such like it takes a lot,i do mean a lot,of timber to support wet earth .
all soils get denser when wet but when it rains some soils are extremely dense and will crush all but the most sturdy roofs.i know this cos i was under one in the middle of the night when it went from dry leaf litter and a bit of soil to several tons of creaking squelch and then tried to kill me,i managed to grab a 3 legged log stool as an emergency pit prop and then crawled from the wreckage.the dog moved out for a few days.

and it is still timber in a hole so rot will be a problem.

another though re the "box" is to use a section of large pipe should one be available.
Jam Lady

Perhaps start at the other end - what and how much of it will you store in the space? Perhaps begin with a non-working refrigerator buried on its back with the door upward, at ground level. Store things for a season, decide how it works for you, and then think about building a larger version.

Consider also making a clamp: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_clamp and http://www.organic-gardening-and-homesteading.com/storing-root-vegetables.html
       Downsizer Forum Index -> Energy Efficiency and Construction/Major Projects
Page 1 of 1
Home Home Home Home Home