Nahara Radu

Hello,

I want to build a wofati/earth bermed/earth sheltered building.
I have access to some dead standing oak trees.

My question is, are dead standing oak trees structurally sound enough to withstand 3 feet of earth on top of the building?

This week's update contains:
- added more earth on the top and sides of the build
- dug out some stairs(very hard to dig dried up clay), in the future we are planning for some flat rocks for the steps
- made the inclined mold for the exterior door
Still a lot of work to be done.
The hygrometer points at 16° Celsius (60°fahrenheit) during the day, outside around 25, with the north side of the root cellar opened as can be seen in the photos.
The humidity is around 60% (59-64) which I hope will go down or I m guessing I will need to add a fan for venting. Any ideas on this part?

[quote=Burl Smith]https://permies.com/t/223095/a/222164/IMG_20230916_171629.jpg

A bottomless bucket under the drain outlet might be convenient for a solar bilge pump [/quote]

Thank you for your idea but I don't fully understand the principle . Could you make me a sketch? Or doodle? To fully understand,please? Thank you!!

Quick update: started to cover it with the excavated earth.

Hello there, some more updates:

Hello again!

I have new updates on the root cellar project.

- I have completed the frame of the build
- built the retaining walls (3-4cm thick fir wood)
- added a standard membrane for water insulation
- put in place a 11cm diameter vent from the bottom to the top of the root cellar (the orange one in the pictures)
- added gravel to the sides to help with the drainage, among other functions

Plase see the pictures attached and give me some feedback. How can I improve?

I will continue by building the roof out of round timber fir (~10-13cm diameter) over it the same membrane and all the dugout earth.
Also I will add another vent on the top on the other side.

Started to frame the walls, this is what I have done so far. The posts are black locust and the beams are oak.

Hello, I m trying to keep a project -journal: Not much progress happened because of the lack of time, I only finished digging the drainage trench, 12 m long and with relative depth because of the slope. It leads to an old dried up well.

Sebastian Köln wrote:If you can cut it with a spade, the clay is probably too wet.
But there should be a good chance of drying it out over time with sufficient ventilation. If it does not get new water.

I am worried about water getting in through the top soil and then running down the walls. So I would remove the soil and ensure all water drains away from it.

Ventilation as in passive ventilation or with a fan?
I was planning in adding gravel between the walls and the earth, și all that water that seeps through should go down the dravel into de drainage pipe... hopefully

thomas rubino wrote:Hi Nahara;
So for those of us in America, your excavation is apx. 9' x13' x 5' deep.
I like using black locust as posts and beams, but I have concerns with pine as roofing unless it is thick and straight-grained.
I would be very sure of proper drainage.
Are you building a north-facing entryway ( mud room)  with double walls and double doors?
Ventilation is a must or you will have mold issues.
Were you planning on covering your wood roof with anything before backfilling?

Have you considered a double-wall root cellar? A building inside your building with insulation between?
This would make for a very long-lived cool room.

Pictures please as you progress.

Hello  Thomas,

Thanks for your comment.
The pine is round timber ,dry and peeled , diameter ranging around 4-6 inches.
I am building behind a building on the north side and I am considering installing 2 insulated doors.
The wooden roof I was planning to cover with a second hand truck canvas for waterproofing and afterwards to backfill.

I do not know what a double-wall root cellar is? I can't imagine.

I only have pictures with the dig(I have dug just a little deeper than the picture shows):