> Paul Stevens wrote:
>> "Olin"
comcast.net> wrote in message
>> news:bYKdnYzNna3SgTDanZ2dnUVZ_h2pnZ2d@comcast.com...>>
>>
>>>> I've seen longer lengths (I think they were 8 foot) at Lowes, but Lowes
>>>> and Home Depot aren't always the lowest price sources for stuff that's
>>>> beyond the usual weekend project level. I'm hoping to find a bargain,
>>>> but scrap metal prices have gone up, so I won't be surprised if I can't
>>>> find that bargain.
>>>>
>>>> Pour a footing with rebar. Attach longer lengths of rebar to the rebar
>>>> sticking up out of the cured footing, then bend them over to meet in
>>>> the
>>>> center (think quonset hut with rounded ends). Attach layers of wire
>>>> mesh to the rebar, then cover the structure with plastic. Apply
>>>> something similar to shotcrete to the interior, then remove the plastic
>>>> when that cures. Apply shotcrete to the exterior (probably need
>>>> about 2 inches, inside and out). Cover with foam insulation and a
>>>> moisture barrier. Cover entire structure (except for doors and
>>>> windows)
>>>> with at least 2 feet of dirt (I think 4 feet would be better). Install
>>>> metal storm shutters on windows. Install stout steel doors.
>>>>
>>>> Yup, it'd probably be a little on the expensive side, but considering
>>>> how
>>>> much lumber has gone up in price...
>>>>
>>> IF you've got the time and the ability, doing the work yourself would
>>> make it considerably cheaper and what you've described could possibly
>>> survive even a direct hit (depending on direction) from a really big
>>> storm. It might get entertaining in there if the storm hit what would
>>> have to be a relatively large front, for ingress and egress of those
>>> project materials of which you spoke, but sides or back and it should
>>> survive just fine and dandy.
>>>
>>> If you build it, I can guarantee you that you WILL get to know your
>>> neighbors very well once word gets around. On the farm where I grew up,
>>> we had the only root/storm cellar still usable, and every time it came
>>> up a cloud, we could count on company. I've seen as many as fifteen
>>> people down in that hole in the ground and it was not much bigger than a
>>> small bathroom.
>>
>> Time would be an issue, but I tend to at least plan projects with the
>> intent that I not hire the work out (I do know of a Kubota with a
>> bucket on the front, that I could probably borrow for moving the
>> dirt). The garage door would require some thought. Some protection
>> could be provided by making an arched entry that extends several feet
>> out from the main structure (essentially, a short tunnel leading to the
>> door), but the door would still need to be a strong door - maybe a
>> steel tube frame, covered front and back with 1/8" steel plate, hinged
>> at the sides and barred during storms.
>>
>> The surrounding hills generally keep the wind coming from one of
>> two directions. Southeast is relatively safe from the wind, and is also
>> a good direction for using windows for solar heat gain.
>>
>>
> Drainage would have to be addressed, as well. If the floor of the
> structure is below grade, you might have to dig a dry well, unless the
> property slopes away from the entrance. Also, codes are pretty specific
> about the number, nature and placement of exits. The garage is indeed an
> issue in extreme wind conditions, but it sounds like you've got that
> covered.
>
> jak
The floor wouldn't be any farther below grade than a garage of more
conventional construction. The idea is to build the structure, then create
an artificial hill by covering it with dirt. The exits would require some
additional thought... emergency exits could be dry wells that were capped
with a hatch placed a foot or so above the surface of the dirt 'roof' (with
a conventional steel exterior door connecting the interior of the garage
to the dry well).
