Wofati style freezer, cooler, butcher shop.

Alright I just finished my wofati inspired pig shelter.  It was -20C here this am and above zero and toasty in the pig shelter!!!

So speaking of -20.  This coming summer I would like to attack a wofati inspired freezer, cooler and possibly a butcher room on the end.

Here’s my thoughts
Build on grade because my farm is totally flat.  If I had a hill I would do it differently but stay with me here....

On grade I’m thinking of building a pole barn out of 8x8.   Be 8 feet wide, 24 feet long, and 8 feet tall.
This would be shored with full demensional 2x6 walls and ceiling on the outside.  

Earth would be Bermed up all the way around except one entrance.   The earth will have earth tubs in it to freeze the surrounding earth around the structure hopefully creating a perma frost.  

The structure will have three 8x8 rooms inside.   The deepest hopefully will remain frozen year round.  The middle room acts like a cooler/buffer and the outer room be a 8x8 room for processing.  Meat saw, grinder and work table.   The unit will have hanging beams and tracks installed to move the animals through.  

If I can get the deepest room to remain frozen year round I could use it as a freezer the middle room will be a fridge/“ freezer in the spring” And outer room work area and buffering.  

I’ll run the in ground runs tubes in the back.  The earth berm will extend out to 20 ft alll the way around and insulated from the heat of the summer.  In winter the tubes will be opened allowing the 8 months of cold that we get to cool and freeze the mass.  Hopefully I can mimic perma frost here.

Already?
Should I use foam insulation for the mass?
Or so thing different and ideas?

I have a sawmill so my logs go a lot farther and building is easier then using rounds.   That’s why I like beams and 2x6.

Our winters or quite cold.  Last here had a good week around -50C. We often hit -30-40C.   When it does get warm it’s -20-15C

Our summers can be warm 21-35C day time temps But cool nights.  May June July aug or the warm months

Sept Oc starts freezing at night

Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Definitely winter!

April freezing at nights.  Warmer to cool days

Basically I got 5 months below freezing guaranteed.  2-3 months of buffering temps. Hi

I feel we cold store enough cold in the earth to pull this off if it’s properly designed.

Planning stage at the moment please give me your 2 cents!

I will draw up a sketch when I get a chance

Here’s a quick sketch while the creative juices or flowing

Byron, I'm not able to speak to the wofati freezer aspect of your plan, but I do have a suggestion for the butcher shop portion. I have built a family sized butchershop, and it has the 8 foot ceilings you mention. If I could do it over, I would move heaven and earth to have 12 or even 16 foot ceilings! I've only done hogs and chickens to date, and a 300 lb hog hangs less than a foot from the floor, off my rail. This is fine for aging or storage, but it is a real pain when it's time to put one on the table for butchering. And I don't want to think about a beef, I figure I will have to quarter it before I hang the carcass, to keep it off the floor.

Yes I hear you about making the ceiling as high as possible in the butcher shop.  My plan is to have a skinning pole outside then slide it into the shop.  We’re it would be parted out on a table, cut and wrapped there.  The cooler would be for hanging hogs and wild game that come in.  I will think about changing the ceiling height.   I always said now matter how big you build it you always fill it!

I do have to earth berm all this so keeping the ceiling as low as possible is a huge benefit.  But it still has to be useful.

Byron Gagne wrote:Yes I hear you about making the ceiling as high as possible in the butcher shop.  My plan is to have a skinning pole outside then slide it into the shop.  We’re it would be parted out on a table, cut and wrapped there.  The cooler would be for hanging hogs and wild game that come in.  I will think about changing the ceiling height.   I always said now matter how big you build it you always fill it!

I do have to earth berm all this so keeping the ceiling as low as possible is a huge benefit.  But it still has to be useful.

I absolutely understand the issues with earth berming it! Maybe you could just do a "tunnel" at the higher level for the meat rail?

Yes I’ve thought about this also to go down.  But I’m afraid of water !   Being totally flat here all buildings I plan on having the floor at least at grade if not higher.  Just to play it safe.  

The use of the building will be for 10-20 hogs a year.   Maybe a couple moose, buff or bou hanging to age.   Not a high use facility.  As far as the butchering is concerned.   More freezer storage and fridge that doubles as a place to cool meat before Cutting and wrapping.

Maybe I should build the butcher shop on grade as a attached building and have access into the fridge freezer from there.  Then I could build it as high as I want and. It worry about berm if dirt so high.

Yeah, a small section bermed up to your 8 foot, with a roof popped up another four feet to house the meat rail would make for a great space to hang carcasses. I only do two hogs a year, my shop is 13 feet long and 7 feet wide inside, and four sides of 300 lb hogs takes about 5 feet at one end. It's easy to have one person in it while the sides are hanging, but when my two sons help it's tight with just one hogs worth up there.