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Not everyone wants to build the walls of the cellar – this is a long time, and there is not always time. To store vegetables in small quantities, you can make a cellar of concrete rings. The largest diameter of such products is 2 m and 2,5 m, so they can be used.
Vertical cellar made of concrete rings
If you find rings with a diameter of 2,5 m for the vertical version, it will be very good, otherwise it’s a bit crowded in the two-meter one after the shelves are installed. There are already ready-made plastic cellars, but their price is several times higher than that of home-made from reinforced concrete rings.
Before installing the rings, it is advisable to treat them from the outside with coating waterproofing. Even if the groundwater is low, when it rains or when snow melts, the concrete will dampen, the humidity in the cellar will rise. To avoid this, it can be treated with bituminous mastic, molten tar, deep penetration impregnations of the Penetron type, or any suitable composition suitable for properties.
buried
The way to build a vertical cellar from concrete rings is straightforward: you dig a cylindrical hole of a suitable size. You can immediately go to the full depth (this is about 2,5 meters), then install the rings with the help of a loader or friends, ropes and a winch on a tripod.
The second option is to use the technology that is used in the construction of wells – to remove the soil inside the ring, gradually deepening. At the same time, the ring will fall under its own weight. For wells, 8-10 rings are buried in this way; for a cellar, a maximum of two or three will be needed (depending on the height).
The number of rings – depending on your desire, but it is better to dial such a height that you can stand inside at full height. At the same time, add at least 15-20 cm to the arrangement of the floor, and 10 cm to ensure that there is at least a minimum gap above your head. The height of the rings can be different – these are 40 cm, 60 cm, 80 cm and 1 m. Of these, they gain the required height.
When buying reinforced concrete rings for the cellar, make sure that they have a lock – a ledge and a recess at the ends. These locks make the structure more stable and easier to seal.
Before installation, the ends of the lower rings are cleaned of dirt (with a brush), a layer of cement-sand mortar is applied. After that, put the second ring. After installing everyone, the seams and technological holes are well coated again.
The lid can be bought ready-made – there are separate round plates with a hatch, but the hatch is round, and usually small in size – 70-80 cm. Not everyone can just climb into it, and it will be generally difficult with a load. So this option is not for everyone.
If you need a square hole, the floor slab (ceiling) of the cellar can be cast independently. To do this, a frame is cooked from the corners, into which it will be convenient to lay the formwork boards. Used corner 40*40*4 mm. The formwork will be fixed – it will also be the ceiling of the cellar – as in the photo. In this embodiment, pieces of laminated chipboard 21 mm thick are used, a board 35-40 mm thick is suitable.
A metal wire mesh is laid on the wall formwork. Since the dimensions of the concrete slab are small, the corner is a good shock absorber, you can take a bar of 8-10 mm. Tie a reinforcing frame from it – a step of 15 cm.
Pass pipes for ventilation through the cover (in this case, there is only one, since the volume is small), we start the wires for lighting, which we put in a corrugated hose or in a piece of pipe, under which we make holes in the formwork shield. We fasten the mortgages well.
The next step is to make the formwork for the cellar floor slab. We expose a flexible but durable material around the circumference. It is most convenient to use a strip of metal 10 cm wide (thickness from 3 mm). The installed strip must be well fixed (weld pins that are driven into the ground), additionally around it can be supported with bricks. Cut the strip evenly – we will level the solution along its upper face. From the boards we make a formwork that encloses the entrance to the cellar, after which we pour concrete of the M 200 brand (this is a brand of concrete, do not confuse it with cement).
Concrete is usually made by themselves. This will require good Portland cement grade M 400 (500). For 1 part of cement, 3 parts of sand and 5 parts of crushed stone of medium and fine fractions are taken, water – to a state of medium plasticity, but usually 0,6-0,75 of the volume of cement.
After the concrete has gained 50% of the design strength (a week should pass at +20°C, two weeks at +17°C), the entrance can be raised to the required level by building a manhole out of bricks.
Next up is the waterproofing of the cellar lid. We coat the slab and the walls of the manhole twice with bituminous mastic. Now you can start arranging the cellar inside. The first thing to do is to make the floor. It can be left earthen – this is if the groundwater level is low. Broken brick mixed with clay is driven into the ground. All this is well rammed. It turns out a good floor.
The second option is to make a concrete floor. Pour and compact crushed stone, on it – a layer of sand, spill, compact (10 cm each), then lay the film (so that the water does not go into the sand). On the film – a reinforcing mesh and pour everything with concrete.
The third option is to put the bottom ring down. There are some. In this case, no problems with getting wet at the bottom.
One more thing: if the groundwater is close, before installing the rings in the pit, they must be coated twice on the outside with coating waterproofing. The most commonly used bituminous mastic. You also need to pay special attention to the sealing of joints. Then, when buying rings, look for those with locks (as in the photo above). A little cement mortar is placed on the lock of the lower ring, when the upper ring becomes, the squeezed out mortar is removed. After a few weeks, the seam can also be smeared with bituminous mastic for reliability.
For areas with high groundwater levels
It is not always possible to dig a cellar 2,5 meters deep and not meet water. In some areas, water is already at a depth of 60-80 cm. For such a case, it is possible to make a cellar of concrete rings shallow. Bury to the depth at which there is still no water, and cover the part protruding above the ground with heat-insulating material (EPS is the best for this) and fill it with soil (make a dike).
To accurately divert water from the cellar, you can make a sleeve of crushed stone around – sprinkle with a layer of at least 40 cm. On top of the embankment, you need to spread the turf, which must be carefully cut before filling the soil.
With such a device, the question arises: how to make a cover so that water does not seep through it, cold does not enter, and also so that it does not catch the eye. The way out is to make a double cover. To do this, a brick edging (option above) or monolithic concrete (pictured below) is laid out above the entrance. At the same time, two covers are made – one is light insulated (wooden, sheathed with XPS, polystyrene foam), the second is metal with locks.
Another option is to make a small building above the entrance, such as a barn or a hut. Not to say that it will be imperceptible, especially at the top of the hill, but it will close the entrance from precipitation.
Some owners of such cellars arrange a flower garden, an alpine hill on the embankment, make a waterfall. Then by planting plants around the entrance, it can be made almost invisible.
Everything is not bad, but this option has too many disadvantages: climbing into such a cellar of concrete rings is inconvenient, the amount of work is large. In this case, it is better to consider the next option – vertical. The amount of work is about the same, but the comfort of use is much higher.
Horizontal (unburied)
There is another cellar made of concrete rings – horizontal type. This is a shallow or above-ground cellar. This design is suitable if the groundwater is very high. They dig a shallow pit (at least 50 cm deep, but it can be deeper – as conditions allow).
A foundation slab is made in the foundation pit (10 cm thick and 20-30 cm larger than the dimensions of the future basement). 10-15 cm of crushed stone are poured onto the compacted bend. Pour in layers, 5 cm at a time, each layer is carefully rammed. Then they pour and compact about 10 cm of sand. A film is spread on it, a formwork is placed, a reinforcing frame is placed in it (one belt of reinforcement 10 mm in increments of 20 cm). In the center, a “seat” is left for the rings laid on its side (make a layout of the lower part from plywood and boards and use it as formwork). When the concrete has set, you can roll the rings into place.
The back ring can be with a bottom – then there is no need to invent a back wall. If the ring is without a bottom, the wall is laid with a brick (one and a half bricks), not forgetting to bring out the exhaust pipe for ventilation. Then the supply hole is made in the opposite wall near the door.
By connecting the fragments with the help of building brackets and sealing the joints with mortar, they get an almost finished cellar. The laid rings are covered with soil, forming a hill.
Now all that’s left is to install the doors and fill in the remaining gaps. They put metal corners or a wooden beam treated with impregnation (working off), to which doors are attached. It is most convenient to lay the remaining gaps with bricks or fill them (with natural stone in mortar). The front wall must either be insulated from the inside, or it must be made thick – this is the only wall that goes out.
Ventilation
In order for supplies to be well stored, ventilation must be organized in the cellar. With the active movement of air, the humidity inside is naturally regulated. There are two ways to organize ventilation in the cellar:
- With two pipes located at different heights – supply and exhaust.
- With one pipe – supply and exhaust.
Cellar ventilation methods
In order for ventilation to function normally, two pipes are needed – supply and exhaust. They are carried to opposite corners of the room, placed diagonally. The supply pipe starts at a distance of 40-50 cm from the cellar floor. It can be brought out through the wall or up to the level of the roof (cover). The exhaust pipe should remove as much exhaust air as possible, because it starts almost under the ceiling – 10-15 cm lower. It is displayed strictly upwards, rising at least a meter above the roof (lid). To prevent foliage from falling into the pipes, they are tightened with a net, umbrellas are put on, a deflector can be placed on the exhaust pipe to improve traction.
How does this ventilation work? Due to the difference in temperature, pressure and due to the force of the wind. In the cellar, the autumn-winter period is warmer than outside. Plus, due to the fact that the exhaust pipe is raised above the roof, a pressure drop is created. These reasons cause warm air from under the ceiling to move up the pipe. In place of the removed part of the air, fresh air enters the cellar through the supply pipe. This process happens all the time at different speeds. Sometimes in winter it is too active, it is necessary to reduce the cross section of the ventilation pipes. To do this, you can put a damper like a gate or an oven view, but usually they do it easier – they close the pipe from above, with some kind of plate, partially blocking its clearance.
In small cellars located on a hill, you can get by with one pipe. In this case, the air is alternately drawn out, then supplied.