root cellar/storm shelter? on flat land!!

[rockriver]

there was this guy...
he used to live on a creek bank. house had lots of crawl space so this guy, well... he dug out a 400+ sq. ft root cellar under his house..
two buckets at a time!
then he reinforced the walls and insulated it real well to store his ?vegetables? and other storage items..
well, let's just say this guy moved... to the flatlands...

y'all know the question..
any ideas for this fella to build a root cellar/storm shelter?
ain't no hills near his house. he sure would like access from inside his home...
house is on a crawl space about 3 tapering to 2 feet high... ( and full of hvac)

what say ye?
do you have an associate that has undertaken this project???
can you tell us what he built? details?

[Templar]

How high is the water table???

[rockriver]

Templar,
that is excellent question.
that there fella doesn't know.
he has googled and can't find a map of water table heights.
about a year ago he replaced a well pump.
the pipe started showing signs of water at about 10 foot

great question and answer appears to be troublesome.

[tech]

That sounds a lot like a fellow I know. Last time I had a chat with him, he was getting things lined up to build a concrete structure above grade and cover with dirt to smooth the contours...about the best option that won't float out of the ground.

His water table is around 10 - 12 feet as well.

[Templar]

Flatlander...You may have to go pre-made, or outfit a container and make it heavy enough not to go Dorothying away...

[eeyore]

This might help some

http://www.nssa.cc/files/articles/size-limits-for-above-ground-storm-shelters.pdf

http://www.survivalring.org/FamilyShelter-raf.pdf

[rockriver]

eeyore...
thanks a lot...
the second was written for someone with my level of math!!
I liked the anticipated quotes for costs of construction...
I'm already ready budget wise... at these prices..

lots of good info in these links.
thanks again

[eeyore]

Not a problem, but unless it has updated numbers I think the pamphlet was written in the 70's. Best of luck
There a lot of ways to save money in construction, buy some materials off Craigslist, or get it free from Freecycle. A lot of constructions sites will let you dumpster drive, or even talk to contractors, they may give you a smoking deal on materials, especially near the end of the project.