# Root Cellar Question .



## -prepper-

Okay so I have all the materials an space and what not , to build one . But I thought " Well why go through the trouble if I could just put the stuff under my house with all the pipes . There is a little door so I can go in and out with ease . I can't put up shelves. It's cold . Not really wet . But it's also got little insulation vents . Would this work ?! Because I'd much rather do this and it e effective than spend a week or two , building a root cellar that may not be effective .  !!!


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## Bobbb

-prepper- said:


> Okay so I have all the materials an space and what not , to build one . But I thought " Well why go through the trouble if I could just put the stuff under my house with all the pipes . There is a little door so I can go in and out with ease . I can't put up shelves. It's cold . Not really wet . But it's also got little insulation vents . Would this work ?! Because I'd much rather do this and it e effective than spend a week or two , building a root cellar that may not be effective .  !!!


You're in Georgia, right? You write under your house rather than in your basement, so should we assume that you're talking about a crawl space? If a crawl space, then you're basically at ground level (give or take a foot) so I'm having trouble imagining how ground level in Georgia is cold during the spring, summer and fall. Am I off-track here?

Look, everything is a trade-off. How desperately do you want ideal conditions for a root cellar? The closer you get to ideal the more work you're likely going to have to do to bring about those conditions.


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## Dixie

Bobbb said:


> You're in Georgia, right? You write under your house rather than in your basement, so should we assume that you're talking about a crawl space? If a crawl space, then you're basically at ground level (give or take a foot) so I'm having trouble imagining how ground level in Georgia is cold during the spring, summer and fall. Am I off-track here?
> Just a tad. It's not COLD but it's really cool (right now it is down right freezing). What I would worry about in a crawl space in Georgia, would be raccoons! Personally, I would go with a root cellar if you only have a crawl space. It could double as a shelter.


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## -prepper-

Yeah it's a crawl space . And yeah it's pretty cold here . I imagine its stays cold down there year round because its completely shaded and its all dirt . I intend to go dig a few feet so its a little bit deeper . I have also thought about Raccoons . And there is only one door to go under and one little vent like the wall .


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## -prepper-

So yeah . I was thinkin about putting up some wooden shelves in that corner . I could move that plastic if that's an issue of some sorts and that's the little vent thing .and the door (need a lock )


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## tsrwivey

Good question, Prepper, & I'm anxious to see if anyone's ever tried it. We have the same space under our house, 4ft tall in some places. I always thought it'd be neat to have an access to that space from the inside via a hidden door in the floor of the house.


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## Bobbb

I'm still skeptical that in a hot Georgia summer that this crawl space is going to be cool. Why? Concrete blocks are terrible insulators. The vents will allow in the hot outside air.

The reason that the old root cellars were buried was to use the constant temperature of the earth below ground and to use the earth as an insulator against heat.

Have you been down in the crawl space in August and checked the temperature?


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## -prepper-

tsrwivey said:


> Good question, Prepper, & I'm anxious to see if anyone's ever tried it. We have the same space under our house, 4ft tall in some places. I always thought it'd be neat to have an access to that space from the inside via a hidden door in the floor of the house.


Thanks , I'm really excited to see if this works . But I am also concerned about the Georgia heat . Because not only does it get hot here it gets so humid ! And I'm afraid that will really affect it more .


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## -prepper-

Bobbb said:


> I'm still skeptical that in a hot Georgia summer that this crawl space is going to be cool. Why? Concrete blocks are terrible insulators. The vents will allow in the hot outside air.
> 
> The reason that the old root cellars were buried was to use the constant temperature of the earth below ground and to use the earth as an insulator against heat.
> 
> Have you been down in the crawl space in August and checked the temperature?


You're right . Plus the humidity concerns me . And I've never really went to check the temp down there but one time in late June m dog had knocked a line out (little rascal somehow opened the door ) anyways , I had to go down there and I remember it being pretty cool .


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## majmill

Please keep us informed! I would be really excited if it works. Here on the coast we can't dig root cellars, the water table is only 2' down.


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## Dixie

-prepper- said:


> You're right . Plus the humidity concerns me . And I've never really went to check the temp down there but one time in late June m dog had knocked a line out (little rascal somehow opened the door ) anyways , I had to go down there and I remember it being pretty cool .


This house use to have a crawl space and unless you have some unusual surroundings around your house, the crawl space stays cool.....why? I don't have a clue, maybe it's the dirt floor that keeps it cool. I have a basement now but it's not a poured basement. DH and I were down there the other day and, granted it was cold outside, but it was very very cold down there. 
About humidity, I think I read that humidity was good in a root cellar.


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## sewserious

Dixie said:


> This house use to have a crawl space and unless you have some unusual surroundings around your house, the crawl space stays cool.....why? I don't have a clue, maybe it's the dirt floor that keeps it cool. I have a basement now but it's not a poured basement. DH and I were down there the other day and, granted it was cold outside, but it was very very cold down there.
> About humidity, I think I read that humidity was good in a root cellar.


SOME humidity is good but not the 80 to 100% that we get here in the south. A root cellar or crawl space would be good for winter storage of vegetables but that would be all. Humidity is low enough then.

IF your crawl space is wet after a rain or the dirt is really moist even for a good bit after a rain, it will be too humid in there to store even in the winter.


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## PackerBacker

-prepper- said:


> You're right . Plus the humidity concerns me . And I've never really went to check the temp down there but one time in late June m dog had knocked a line out (little rascal somehow opened the door ) anyways , I had to go down there and I remember it being pretty cool .


My question to you would be how long do you want or need to "root cellar" stuff?

My cellar is still cooler in June but is pretty warm for storage by july and august. But that doesn't really matter to me because by then I am eating fresh new crop out of the garden.

If you want to store until late spring I think your crawl space will be plenty cool and humid.


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## PackerBacker

sewserious said:


> SOME humidity is good but not the 80 to 100% that we get here in the south. A root cellar or crawl space would be good for winter storage of vegetables but that would be all. Humidity is low enough then.
> 
> IF your crawl space is wet after a rain or the dirt is really moist even for a good bit after a rain, it will be too humid in there to store even in the winter.


It kinda depends on what you want to store here. Most storage crops like it humid. Onions on the other hand.........


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## Locutus

OP, the dirt next to the walls in your picture looks damp...this could be an issue not only as a substitute for a root cellar, but also the integrity of your foundation, and possibility of generating mold in your house. Better get a foundation expert out there. You may need to have some waterproofing done to the outside of your foundation. Concrete that is repeatedly made wet can disintegrate slowly over time.


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