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Root Cellars
By Steve Maxwell
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As you plant your vegetable garden this year, consider a basement improvement project that will let you make the best possible use of what you harvest. Consider a root cellar.
I know what you’re thinking. Modern basements are way too warm for potatoes, carrots, beets and squash, right? True, but they don’t have to be. At least not every square corner, anyway. The trick is creating a space with a year-round temperature range between 1ºC and 15ºC, plus a ventilation system that allows fresh air and humidity control during winter. Bring these things together in your basement and you’ll get the most from what you pull off the vegetable patch this year.
In it’s simplest form, any root cellar building campaign involves two main tasks: walling off a section of your basement, and equipping the new space with a simple vent system to keep veggies at an optimal temperature during the winter storage period.
Since you’ll need access to the outdoors for fresh air, it’s best to choose a cellar location that includes a window. Simply remove the glass from a window frame, create an insulated panel to replace the glass, then run your vent pipe through it. Laminating a layer of 1/2-inch-thick exterior-grade plywood on each side of a piece of 1- or 2-inch-thick extruded polystyrene foam is a terrific way to get the job done. Polyurethane construction adhesive is perfect for holding this foam-and-wood sandwich together.
When it comes to any cellar, the exterior walls of the basement create ideal interior temperatures. This is what delivers cooling action, and the more masonry surface you’ve got, the better. A corner location does this best.
After you’ve picked the best spot and replaced the window glass, turn your attention to interior walls. But before you get busy with tools, grab a sheet or two of plywood or wafer board and a helper, then get ready to use your imagination. It’s amazing how temporarily propping up sheet materials can help you get a sense of the ideal floor plan of a new room, leading you to better finished results. How long should your cellar be? How wide? Is a 3-foot-wide door big enough? These kinds of questions become much easier to answer when you’ve got something to hold up, look at, move around and tweak.
With the footprint and door location of your cellar finalized, mark the relevant outlines on the basement floor with a big felt-tipped marker. Although you’ll need to build some kind of wood frame for the wall and doorway, it needn’t be as beefy as a typical load-bearing wall for a house.
Basement floors are often cool and damp, and that’s why you should consider using composite deck material for the bottom edge of the wall frame instead of wood. Choose a brand that’s solid all the way through (Trex is my favourite), then cut and nail it just like regular lumber. Composites are rot-proof and won’t contribute musty smells to your cellar, even if they get wet. The best way to anchor the bottom edge of the wall is with construction adhesive and concrete nails or Tapcon screws driven into predrilled holes.
Insulation is your next challenge, and there’s good reason to consider using rigid sheets of foam instead of the more traditional fiberglass batts. The main issue is moisture resistance. Foam is also a highly effective thermal insulator. Just be aware that you’ve got to cover it to meet code specs. As you plan your insulation strategy, be sure to include the ceiling of your cellar. Warmth coming down from heated areas in the floor above could raise cellar temperatures too high.
A key feature of any good basement cellar is the two-vent design. To function optimally, space the interior ends of the intake and exhaust pipes as far apart as possible inside. You’ll also need to install hardware to close the pipes in very cold weather or when it’s humid outside.
Storing root crops in a passively cooled cellar for year-round consumption is one of the most efficient ways to preserve food. It’s also fun, safe and very reliable. All you need is a little material, a little time and a commitment to making the most of your homegrown beets, carrots, turnips and squash.
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Root Cellars
By Steve Maxwell
|
|
|
As you plant your vegetable garden this year, consider a basement improvement project that will let you make the best possible use of what you harvest. Consider a root cellar.
I know what you’re thinking. Modern basements are way too warm for potatoes, carrots, beets and squash, right? True, but they don’t have to be. At least not every square corner, anyway. The trick is creating a space with a year-round temperature range between 1ºC and 15ºC, plus a ventilation system that allows fresh air and humidity control during winter. Bring these things together in your basement and you’ll get the most from what you pull off the vegetable patch this year.
In it’s simplest form, any root cellar building campaign involves two main tasks: walling off a section of your basement, and equipping the new space with a simple vent system to keep veggies at an optimal temperature during the winter storage period.
Since you’ll need access to the outdoors for fresh air, it’s best to choose a cellar location that includes a window. Simply remove the glass from a window frame, create an insulated panel to replace the glass, then run your vent pipe through it. Laminating a layer of 1/2-inch-thick exterior-grade plywood on each side of a piece of 1- or 2-inch-thick extruded polystyrene foam is a terrific way to get the job done. Polyurethane construction adhesive is perfect for holding this foam-and-wood sandwich together.
When it comes to any cellar, the exterior walls of the basement create ideal interior temperatures. This is what delivers cooling action, and the more masonry surface you’ve got, the better. A corner location does this best.
After you’ve picked the best spot and replaced the window glass, turn your attention to interior walls. But before you get busy with tools, grab a sheet or two of plywood or wafer board and a helper, then get ready to use your imagination. It’s amazing how temporarily propping up sheet materials can help you get a sense of the ideal floor plan of a new room, leading you to better finished results. How long should your cellar be? How wide? Is a 3-foot-wide door big enough? These kinds of questions become much easier to answer when you’ve got something to hold up, look at, move around and tweak.
With the footprint and door location of your cellar finalized, mark the relevant outlines on the basement floor with a big felt-tipped marker. Although you’ll need to build some kind of wood frame for the wall and doorway, it needn’t be as beefy as a typical load-bearing wall for a house.
Basement floors are often cool and damp, and that’s why you should consider using composite deck material for the bottom edge of the wall frame instead of wood. Choose a brand that’s solid all the way through (Trex is my favourite), then cut and nail it just like regular lumber. Composites are rot-proof and won’t contribute musty smells to your cellar, even if they get wet. The best way to anchor the bottom edge of the wall is with construction adhesive and concrete nails or Tapcon screws driven into predrilled holes.
Insulation is your next challenge, and there’s good reason to consider using rigid sheets of foam instead of the more traditional fiberglass batts. The main issue is moisture resistance. Foam is also a highly effective thermal insulator. Just be aware that you’ve got to cover it to meet code specs. As you plan your insulation strategy, be sure to include the ceiling of your cellar. Warmth coming down from heated areas in the floor above could raise cellar temperatures too high.
A key feature of any good basement cellar is the two-vent design. To function optimally, space the interior ends of the intake and exhaust pipes as far apart as possible inside. You’ll also need to install hardware to close the pipes in very cold weather or when it’s humid outside.
Storing root crops in a passively cooled cellar for year-round consumption is one of the most efficient ways to preserve food. It’s also fun, safe and very reliable. All you need is a little material, a little time and a commitment to making the most of your homegrown beets, carrots, turnips and squash. |
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