steel or concrete culverts for storm shelter??

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I need to find an expedient, economical way of putting a storm shelter onto my property. In fact, I would like to be able to eventually use the space as a guest-house/bunk-house kind of space after adding appropriate ventilation/heating improvements. Anyway, my thought is that there may be no better, stronger "buy, haul, and just drop into a trench" kind of thing out there to suit my purposes than to get a length of heavy-gauge steel culvert or concrete culvert (you know, the kind that highway departments use for drainage under roads). I'm thinking 12 to 14 feet long, a diameter of about ten feet. Has anyone out there used a culvert or a steel shelter in an earth-sheltered application like this? Any advice? Also, am wondering where I might find something like this fairly cheap--I am in central Minnesota.

-- Vic Rantala (vrantala@concentric.net), December 27, 2000

Answers

Vic- This is probably more than you had in mind, but interesting! Jack

waltonfeed.com/old/cellar3.html

-- jack (atl.jack@mailexcite.com), December 27, 2000.


Checked the site. Great Idea! Thanks for bringing it up.

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), December 27, 2000.

As an alternative, what about a cargo container? They are rugged, fairly roomy and could be anchored down by a mobile home company putting tie downs around them with straps across the top. Put in some small windows for light and ventilation.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), December 28, 2000.

Hi Vic, I'm also interested in the underground building idea. Where I would build is really remote, 10 miles to the nearest town, 30 miles to the nearest town with people. I do not have a supply of logs for interior supports that many styles use. I have been thinking along your lines of using a steel culvert. Maybe a three or five foot stem wall out of rocks set with concrete (possible slip form?) and use a 10 or 12 foot diameter culvert cut in half for the roof, Then bury the whole thing.

-- JLS in NW AZ (stalkingbull007@AOL.com), December 28, 2000.

I've been intriqued with the idea of a "culvert" garage or shop for some time. Around here I've seen them use CMP (corrugated metal pipe) Arch Culverts in places where they need large volumes with a shallow placement. The arch culvert is about half again as wide as it is tall. (Example: if the width is 10 feet, the height may only be 6-1/2 feet.) They have a normal radius on the top portion, but the bottom portion is flattened with a very large radius. The lower corners have very tight radii. They resemble what you would get if you were to squash a round pipe so that only the bottom half was flattened. One could be installed in a shallow trench with sand along the edges to level and support the sides. You could then pour a slab inside without having to make it very thick. Some sand down the center would provide a more uniform thickness to the slab. I suspect however, that these are quite expensive and it wouldn't be cheap to have it delivered.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), December 31, 2000.


I recall seing a website by a guy with BIG y2k preperations. He burried a bunch of old school busses kind of in a circle, with the back doors opening to a "commons" area. One bus was the main entry, the rest for sleeping, food prep, etc.

-- john leake (natlivent@pcpros.net), January 01, 2001.

Vic! Ken has a brilliant idea! By securing a "reefer" box-very little work [insulating] would be required as they are insulated to the hilt. I've seen a homemade, underground house similar to what you've described. It was an old 210 barrell oil tank that was partially burre'd. Heated with a wood stove and the floor was flat and level after some carpentry work was done. Quite large enough for 2 people and it sure didn't move any when the winds blew! Don't know about your area but down here oil production is commonplace and items like this old tank are easily obtained for "junk" price. Probably 100 bucks or so. They would have to have the "BS" cleaned from inside and maybe an end repaired that had rusted through so as to make it no liquid tight. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), January 01, 2001.

try locating companies that deal with gas storage.fiberglass underground tanks that leak are pulled up and replaced.sizes and price vary.the tank I saw was approx. 6'x16' cost:$75 this used tank made a great underground shelter,surprisingly there was no noticable odor.

-- (dksigns@greenapple.com), January 02, 2001.

There is a woman in Utah who has a company that sells culvert bomb shelters - either fully outfitted or bare-bones. You dig the hole (according to rigorous specs) and they deliver a unit ready to bury in a day.

There are many factors you have to take into account with burying culverts - first, they have to be backfilled with a certain size and grade of gravel but they are very strong if buried correctly. They are also very dangerous to weld so her service is worth the cost. The culverts come in standard lengths and widths and she seels different sizes and will give you the info on how many they can comfortably hold....she also has ventilation systems for sale with specs for adding them yourself.

Her name is Sharon Packer - there may still be a link to her website at Walton Feed. I'd have to break out a box of stored info to get her web address but a search at google.com may turn her up. I think Cresson Kearney's book also has good info on culvert shelters.

-- Elizabeth (Elizabethnorgan@usa.net), January 03, 2001.


Here's Sharon Packer's web site address - simpe search turned it up:

http://www.netoriginals.com/uss/.

We have talked to her and she will give you some great info and ideas. My impression was she is in this more for the civil defense benefits and not just to make money....She's written quite a scholarly, well-researched dissertation on nuclear survival....

-- Elizabeth (elizabethmorgan@usa.net), January 03, 2001.



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