Old school bus for root cellar??

old · Mar 25, 2012

Ok so I have this 1965 GMC bus and thinking maybe I could dig a big hole and set the body in and then cover with the dock foam I have and then dirt to make a storm shelter and a root cellar. Ya I would need to cover the windows but figure doing it with the bus sure would save some $$. Just not sure if it would be strong enough to hold up say 2 foot of dirt. I would leave the back door out so as to be able to get in.
Ya I know crazy idea but hey

Anonymous-0 · Mar 25, 2012

Old, did you get this month's issue, of Farm Show Magazine? Good article, on the same subject. The story in it is about a guy, who did exactly what you are proposing, 20 years or more ago. So the answer is yes. Apparently he covered the windows with roofing tin, prior to burial. Turned a perfectly good chicken coop into a tornado shelter!

James Williams · Mar 25, 2012

Old,WV wouldnt allow that

jimmy

old · Mar 25, 2012

WV ??????????????? Do not know what your saying and since I live so far out who would know till it was done and then they would not know how long ago it was done

old · Mar 25, 2012

Well since I have it on the place and people keep braking the windows out I figure why not use it for something other then bait for stupid people. Plus with the way the weather has been and all might be a good thing to have and if needed could live in it if the house got blown away. Ya not the best way to live but then better then a tent LOL

JRSutton · Mar 25, 2012

Interesting idea. If it does hold, you might want to give some thought to ventilation too.

Not sure how much breathable air a bus would hold and for how long - but certainly worth thinking about.

Especially if there's now way for it to ever circulate.

Anonymous-0 · Mar 25, 2012

what you going to do when buried bus fills with water?

Richard G. · Mar 25, 2012

Old, go for it. I am going to build a root cellar on my place soon which will also be a storm cellar.
A friend used an old ice cream truck to do the same thing a few years ago and it worked well. I plan on digging into a hill for mine. I talked to the building code office about what I would need to do a year ago. They said they have no jurisdiction over root cellars. Do what I want. I was going to do that anyway. Thanks for your service to our country. I always look forward to reading your posts.
You and I are very much alike.
Richard in the foothills of SC

Anonymous-0 · Mar 25, 2012

I have a root cellar in NW Ark constructed of concrete,supposedly built about 1925, that I have a humidity/water ingress problem. I have read of Bentonite clay being one of the best waterproofing.
Does anybody know how this is applied and a source?
Thanks for any info.

wfw · Mar 25, 2012

might want to add some sort of ventilation system, the air can become "dead" as in no oxygen in it. company I used to work for had two men checking cable air pressure in a manhole run. they were doing it as quick as possible. dropped a ladder down one, man went down and collapsed. other man went down to rescue the first and collapsed. both died. if we were caught in a manhole without blower on we were fired on the spot, safety violation. just saying better safe than sorry.

frank

Duner Wi · Mar 25, 2012

I think well driller use bentonite to seal abandoned wells. Comes in bags I believe.
Not sure that is what you want.

PJH · Mar 25, 2012

I don't know how you'd use bentonite to waterproof a root cellar. Looks like it would require a lot of excavation around the cellar to get the bentonite in place. After that much excavation, you might as well install either drains or a sump, and then backfill with open graded gravel and forget the bentonite.

We used to use kitty litter to seal cofferdam leaks on bridge construction sites. After the sheet pile were driven, and the pumps were making some headway, the leaks would show, and we'd pour kitty litter right out of the bag into the water outside of the cofferdam. It would be swept into the area that was leaking and swell up to plug the leak. Always an interesting part of the project.

Anonymous-0 · Mar 25, 2012

Search engine. "waterproofing concrete tanks"
maybe of interest.

rodgernbama · Mar 25, 2012

There was a guy on the news from my area that used a school bus for a storm shelter. I think he left his on top of the ground(wheels removed) and covered it with dirt. Entered it from the rear door.

big fred · Mar 26, 2012

Isn't that what the Branch Davidians used for a shelter where the feds killed all those kids?

Chris(WA) · Mar 26, 2012

If you live so far out and away from others, who is breaking out your windows?

sammydwm · Mar 26, 2012

a proper root cellar should have a very high humidity. For instance potatoes like better than 90%. Having old iron as walls could be a problem.

oldironman · Mar 26, 2012

Great idea. Just dig it into the hillside and leave the back end sticking out so you can use the door. Coat the roof with roof sealer and put a drain under it for draining and you will be all set.

Steve in VA · Mar 26, 2012

A note of caution. The NIST gives the density of dirt as ~120 lbs/cuft. If the bus roof is 7' wide and 20' long then every foot of depth adds 8.4 tons. I would seriously question if a bus roof is designed and constructed to carry that much weight; even when new. If the roof fails I don't believe anyone would get out.

GeneMO · Mar 26, 2012

I was in Texas and went looking for the Branch Davidians place. It was a pretty strange experience.

Gene

GeneMO · Mar 26, 2012

Old, I know how rocky it is in your area. Can you dig a hole that deep?

Main problems would be water. I would think you would need a good drain system, then maybe put several feet of gravel over the drain system.

Then maybe seal the bus with basement sealer? Cover the windows with something.

as others have said, Ventilation of some type.

Finally, I would seem that you would have to shore up the roof to hold the weight.

You may be money and time ahead to dig a good hole, form it up and get a concrete truck.

I have wanted a good concrete storm shelter, root cellar, bomb shelter for years and still don't have one.

Good luck, Gene

showcrop · Mar 26, 2012

To me the first step would be a test hole to the depth of the bottom of the bus. This would tell you the mean high water, and you can also test percolation so you know what your drainage concerns are..

DownSouth · Mar 26, 2012

The pine trees are throwing their cones at the bus windows?

greygoat · Mar 26, 2012

I saw a photo, once, of a buried school bus for
a tornado shelter. Precast steps had been put
in for access, with retaining wall blocks on
eather side, and the rear of the hole.

rustcollector · Mar 26, 2012

Old,

Dad did something similar with a bus about 20 years ago, except he left the roof and one side exposed( on south side). Even in a good clay bank with good drainage away from the bus body, he had moisture under the floor about year round. Was able to keep plants and potatoes during winter in central Alabama. Don't know why you need 2 ft of dirt over the top? Just some for insulating purposes would be adequate?

641Dave · Mar 26, 2012

I was just told to use sodium bentonite to seal my pond. Interesting.

Old, are you going to sink the bus on the side of a hill or something so that it doesn't trap water?

I'm wondering how long it would last before it starts rusting out?

They sell small storm shelters down here that look like a septic tank with a door for $4,500. :shock:

I was thinking about one of those 20' shipping containers as a storm cellar. They are going around $2,000 these days and seem pretty strong.

old · Mar 26, 2012

Where the bus sits right now it is close enough to the neighbors driveway that they can see it and yep some one who comes in to there place seems to like to brake windows and of course they will not say they are but they have to be or the windows would not be getting broken.

old · Mar 26, 2012

Water would not be a problem since I would dig in a hill side and have it up above water line.

Soilfarmer77 · Mar 26, 2012

A friend of mine buried one of those shipping containers in the side of a hill to be used as a storm shelter. As he was back-filling, the sides caved in. He had dig it back out and jack around from the inside. He then braced it with more steel and back-filled again. Never even tried putting any dirt on top. Everybody that came to look couldn"t believe that it buckled like it did. They sure look stronger than that.

old · Mar 26, 2012

I have a spring area that I have been digging in on and off for over a decade so if nothing else I could just set the bus body by the hill and then use the stuff I have been digging out to cover it up. Lots of big rocks say 3X3 and lots of dirt that is nothing more then fill

641Dave · Mar 26, 2012

Going that route, I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to incorporate a french drain of sorts so as to make sure you have adequate drainage from the end that is farthest from the open end.

Would you wrap the bus in some 6 mil plastic or anything before you cover it up? Paint it with something? Just curious.

old · Mar 26, 2012

I have a lot of old dock foam I would lay on the sides and on the roof so as to help keep it drier and also insulate it real well and sound proof it also. As for the way I would bury it I would use a lot of rocks along the sides so to make a natural drain system

Ralph Bauer · Mar 29, 2012

Some former member/supporter actually has it open to the public, sort of a memorial for folks to visit...I think they planted trees for the dead people, one per person... plan on stopping one of these days when on my way to Houston, if I can find the time. Was in College when the thing went down... was glued to CNN when not in class, IIRC. Ralph in OK.

Old school bus for root cellar??

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