If you recall we had some terrible tornadoes all throughout Alabama on the 27th of April this year. There was a full day of running for cover and not really having any place appropriate to run to.
So, whether or not we could really afford it, we ordered a storm shelter right away! Thing is, so did everyone else in Alabama, and parts of Tennessee and Mississippi too!
We got put on a waiting list.
However, yesterday we finally got a call from the manufacturer and we were told our wait was over! So today they installed our shelter.
It was prefabbed concrete, rebar and wire mesh made by Fain Storm Shelters in Tennessee.
The backhoe began digging a huge pit.
A big hole.
The vault was spun around to the proper orientation and lowered into the pit.
They checked for level, then filled and covered the vault.
For the moment it looks like a big ugly mess, but I was told it will settle in and smooth out in the next rain…
It will make a nice root cellar in the off seasons too! 😉
So, OK… I am not going to live in it, but it may save my life if I get in it when the next tornado hits! And you know me… I’ll be planting, shovelling and making it into a nice Hobbit hole in no time at all!
I can see it all now…
(For image credits click on the photo!)
Life on the Farmlet 
Lynda – 😀 – I love it!!!! I can just see “The Hobbit House” – how perfect. Storm shelter + root cellar + peace of mind. You’ll have food when you’re in it :D. Doug has been talking root cellar – what a terrific idea. We don’t – as a rule – have tornadoes this far north but with climate change one never knows what is going to happen.
Thanks Lindy! I found that the little hill was much higher than the model they had planted in the ground in the manufacturers lot display, but I understand that the depth depends A LOT on your soil type and water table. Had I realized it was going to be such a mountain I think I may have moved it further away from the house. BUT, in an emergency seconds can and do count. So, Hobbit hole it will be when I am done planting and making props!
BTW, there is a book called “Root Cellaring: natural cold storage of fruits and vegetables” by Mike and Nancy Bubel. I found it an interesting and helpful read. You can probably find it at your library too! 😉
Wow! We would have used that, too! We spent some time with five kids and mysef hiding in the coat closet wearing batting helmets. I am glad you have it, but I hope you never need it.
Dare, I am trying to imagine that picture… Would be sort of like piling as many as you can fit into a phone booth or a Volkswagen, I think! I will enjoy having the most expensive root cellar on the block, and hope that it remains a root cellar for many years to come! 😉
Hi, Lynda. Probably the closer to your house the better. Like you said – seconds do count. Besides, when you go out for root veggies in the winter you may be very glad it’s closer.
I know of this book – have it on my list of books to buy (along with too many other books I want:).
I think you will like it and it is a good resource to have. 🙂
You know, what you say about the weather makes me think that the “Hobbit House” is really not such an out-there idea. Berm houses are built into a side hill, and stay comfortable all year round with minimal heating or cooling necessary; not to mention there’s much less for wind to catch hold of.
All very true! I will only be furnishing the inside with benches, first aid, flashlights, and a metal rack for my root cellar storage. Very utilitarian, but I want the outside to be the most spectacular mini-hill in Hazel Green. Most of the storm shelters I’ve seen are covered in grass and weeds with doors hanging askew, so UGLY (although very recently, I have noticed many doors being repaired and/or replaced).
With ours being out front and in such close proximity to our house it behooves us to really make it lovely! 😉 We are also investigating a solar solution to light the inside and run our weather radio too!
Trust you to be inspired by such a heart-rending necessity. As I was reading, I had flashbacks of Aunt Em running to the shelter at the last minute while Dorothy searched for Toto. I too hope that it remains the most expensive root cellar on the block for your sojourn on the farmlet and am looking forward to seeing it transformed into a sweet hobbit-hole.
“I too hope that it remains the most expensive root cellar on the block for your sojourn on the farmlet…”
Thanks Cindy!
I hope to enlist a bit of help from Bob with the fascia for the Hobbit abode. I think it will help to hold the soil in place on the steepest side as well. If I can pull it off it will be an entertaining study in forced perspective! Walt Disney was a master of that craft.