Restocking the C.H.U.D before it gets crazy again.

I burned through a few of the critical reserves over the last year and a half of Covid Mania. I am still in a good place as far as general food reserves go and will be refilling the rotation shortly with frozen and canned meats, fruits a vegetables.

Over the weekend though, with all of the talk and news about returning to restrictions and lock downs...... I thought it would be a good idea to head over to the C.H.U.D. (Cheap Human Underground Depository) Or as Mrs. as Mrs T5R calls it..... Mike's Expensive HOLE IN THE GROUND and do the inventory about 4 Months Early. Usually do the inventory and restock in October or November. The C.H.U.D. is the 40' shipping container that I buried and enccased in 8" concrete top to bottom, very low humidity, usually dark inside and stay a fairly constant 50-55 degrees and divided into 4 compartments 8.5x10' (Food/Drink, weapons/ammo/reloading, Coms/ sec cams/TV, and a small living area with bunk beds, table, chairs and vented cooking area and a sink. I do need to upgrade the 12v lighting down there to LED bulbs as the old bulbs light kind of sucks as do any pics I take down there

Being near zero humidity and consistently in a stable temp range makes the CHUD ideal for storing dry foods, canned foods and dried foods. It also is very easy to keep free of vermin. Not to be confused with the 20' container I buried 15 feet away that is a root cellar and high humidity. (Side note.... One does not simply dig a hole drop the container in and start pouring concrete.. Unless one wants the weight of the concrete to crush the container like a soda can )

So back to the inventory, enough canned fish, dry rice and beans to feed a small army, water in the external cistern/well hybrid system full and bacteria free solar working great and battery bank fully charged (A little 5000 watt system that runs a straight 12 volt system of pumps, fans and lights and enough to power a desktop, radio, tv for 3-4 hours per day with the batteries. ) No rust on the gun racks, no corrosion in the ammo bins.

Then the horror in the hole appeared! The Critical stock of Mt. Dew Baja Blast was down to 6 twelve packs, my Tostidos cheese was down to 4 jars and not a bag of Frito Scoops to be found any place! Hey I hate Mt Dew but am a total Mt. Dew Baja Blast addict! And this is my SIRSN (Stuff is really serious now) stock pile....... Like head to hole, break out the likker and mix Baja Blast Burners and wait for the world to explode reserves. Only six 12 packs of the 24 that should have been there!!! Then I discover the two empty spots where that should have been fill of Spaghetti Os!!! This is important critical stuff!!! Everything else is pretty much within normal stock with Mrs. T5R raiding the CHUD on occasion for mac n cheese or spaghetti sauce.

So back out and up I go to check the shed just inside the tree line that has the generator and propane tank. 30% of the propane is missing. Now I am getting a pretty good idea of where all the missing reserves went! One of my sons came and spent the Month of April here. So I call him and ask.......... "Oh yeah forgot to tell you that I was using the CHUD to play games on the computer and drank some of the soda and ate some of the food." At least he burned the empty boxes, threw the tin cans in the scrap metal trailer and and crushed the soda can and put them in the bags! And cleaned up the mess in the CHUD when he was done.

Half tempted to replace the abloy locks and change the code on the elctromechanical locks and the hatches! But this is why Inventory twice per year, With 3 other people having access to the CHUD things disappear and don't get marked on the log HANGING ON THE DOOR with the big red letter sign that says MARK ANYTHING YOU REMOVE HERE!!! That nobody but me seems to pay attention to LOL. I am going to lock him out of the high speed wireless and the sat internet......... Now I know why I hit my 60gig limit on the wireless in April hehe and had to suffer through half the Month using the super slow high speed hughes internet.

Lesson here is if anyone else has access to your stock and reserves......... They can and will walk away without you knowing. And then you to will be on a quest to find Baja Blast which is like finding chickens teeth around here!

 

I used semi trailer load locks and timber on the sides, Lots of them. And basement jacks and timbers to support the ceiling when we poured the pad over the top. Also poured the sides in 2' Deep layers let dry and then poured another 2 feet also a rebar grid down the sides supporting the cured concrete. On top used rebar grid between 4" steel I beams every 4 feet the length and poured the first four inches and let it cure and then poured 4 more inches on the top with just welded wire anchored to the I beams. Had one spot that had some minor buckling on one side when a load lock bent under the pressure on the last 2 feet of the top layer on one side, about 2.5 feet long with about 3" of inward buckling. Really not even noticeable unless you know it is there. I was worried the top would collapse but I went overboard enough with the jacks and 8x8 timbers that it didn't dip even a little bit. Could park a Abrams on it now........ or at least 12,000 pound tractor

 

sorry to hear about your MT. dew issues. but I agree with Dune, the bigger question is do you have plans for such a C.H.U.D. you can share? I'm searching the forums now for past posts.

 

Sat pic of it a year after it was buried. Can't tell there is any thing buried there at all 6 years later other than the top hatch and a couple of air flow vents.

 

It will happen again.

 

Friend with a big Cat Track hoe dug the holes for both containers. The hole for the 40' was 16' wide 50' long and 14' deep. I put down a 10" layer of 3" limestone with 4 rows of plastic field drain tile under the rock and the track doe dug a 4' wide 14' deep trench to the low spot of the slope and ran the tile main to there, covered it with 10" of 3 inch rock and refilled the trench, being sure to put the top soil back on top. Then had the concrete trucks start running the spinners and putting the 8 inches of concrete in the hole for the base (Rebar frame in the base) , Waited 3 days for it dry and get good and solid and chained up the container and had the track hoe lift and lower the container dead center of the hole. Lowered the prebuilt concrete frames down the end and sides. Built the block shaft and ladder going down to the main access hatch, then pushed in 2' of 3" rock on the dirt side of the concrete frame and then poured 2' of concrete inside the frame between container and frame. Wait 24 hours and repeat until 4" above the container roof ( Welded the rebar side and end grids together and lowered them into position with the track hoe and 2 bucket tractors on wither end.) Cut notches out of the 4" above the roof rim to place the steel I beams in, welded the top rebar grids to the I beams. Then poured 4" of concrete in between the I Beams Poured both end the same day, the center section poured one section every 24 hours until filled. Waited a week and set up the woven wire mesh across the top while waiting and poured then poured the next 4" on top of the First layer.

Inside the trailer we used load locks to hold 8x8 timbers against the wall every 18 Inches and moved them up after each 2' layer of the concrete wall was dried. As Noted at about 10' in on the last layer one of the load locks completely failed and it was at a point where 2 timbers met and the two load locks to either side of the one that failed bent but did not completely fail causing a couple inches of inward buckling. I did not expect any buckling there but there is where it happened. I could have probably jacked the buckling back out and straightened it up, but had no intention of going in the container with tons of concrete pushing inward on it......... Just seemed like a really bad idea Inside used basement jack with the same timbers bracing the roof instead of the walls ( The jacks you prop a sagging floor in the house up with) Used 12 jacks under each section being poured and they held it without incident.

Pre bury container prep. and parts.
I obtained 2 deck hatches and 2 door hatches from a old retired river tug that was being cut up and salvaged, I bolted and welded on deck hatch to the roof of the container with enough shaft to put the lip of the hatch with what would be the top of the roof concrete and then used big all thread drilled into the concrete to bolt the rim of the hatch to the concrete cut the excess all thread off and tack welded each nut to the all thread.

I welded around the container doors and sealed them and placed them at the back of the hole. On the front of the container I cut out the door hatch built a 4" steel frame on the inside (Same steel frame under the top hatch). Made a rubber gasket out of a tractor tire inertube to fit around the lip of the hatch (Same on the top hatch). Spend way too much time drilling out the bolt holes and then used 1" hardened bolts to clamp the hatch down on the container and frame. The second deck hatch covers the top of the ladder shaft.

I cut the holes for the water intake pipes and the electric conduit and ran the pipe and conduit out 3' below where the concrete and rock would be before filling the sides. I cut the holes in the roof for the air intake and exhaust and bolted the shafts on atthe correct height as well. And a hole and pipe for the retractable antenas. HAM/CB/TV/ Sat Cable/ wireless. Made them retractable to hide them and it would really suck to mow one or all of them Don't have a lot of range on the HAM/CB antena at only 8' high but it works well enough for my needs and a whole lot less conspicuous than the guy a few miles away with a 70' tall ham tower LOL. I don't broadcast on HAM just listen CB I can hit everyone of consequence in my AO. And we relay to about 120 miles out. SO a pretty decent and very dependable com chain there.

I painted the entire container with 4 coats of a rubber flex seal. While the container was up on blocks out of the hole. Maybe pointless and maybe worthwhile but seemed like a great idea at the time. If Need be the entire container can be totally sealed and air tight.

The top layer of concrete on the roof had the crap to allegedly make it conductive concrete mixed in. Guess if there is ever a big EMP we will find out just how conductive it is or isn't.

Basic layout of the C.H.U.D. Solar/Gen/Propane and shed are 60 feet away just inside and on the edge of the tree line. Can't see the solar from N. E. S. or from above but sticks out like a sore thumb from the west. Can get in and out through the top deck hatch via a rope ladder but is best used for lowering supplies in or lifting out with a tripod and pulley system I rigged up to put over the hatch. Sum total of locals that know about thew CHUD Friend with the track hoe, the concrete truck drive (Also a good Friend), me, the wife and my twin sons. Tax man knows I build something but doesn't know what or where and thus far can't find it. He got close when he saw the solar but followed the dummy cables to the hog barn

 

I buried 2 of them side by side locked together on a poured concrete pad covered with about a foot of gravel. Ran cinder blocks down the sides and steel I beams across the tops supported by inner posts! Then a 3 foot layer of fill on top with about 2 feet of dead air, then the house over top of that! They maintain a stable temp of 46 degrees all year, unless we get a deep freeze, and are dri as a bone!

The root cellar is on the back side of the shop next door, a 20x20 concrete "Bunker" we built mostly below grade, humidity is still quite low ( it's a dri place we live) , but the temps range between 50 and 60 deg. normally.

 

I was really hoping for lower temps inside 52-53 is average in the CHUD low record is 49 and high record is 61. The 20' root cellar next to it has never gone above 50 and is usually in the 47-48 degree range. Only thing I can figure is the humidity difference between the two. I have a plan to connect the two with a cinder block and timber tunnel and use the two remaining door hatches there. Should have had the track hoe dig that out and built the tunnel walls before dropping the 40' in LOL.

Have 4 floor vents in the cellar one that draw a lot of humidity up and in and then the air flow intake and exhaust ports........ Yeah I am thinking a made one big Swamp Cooler.

 

LOL I want to put three 40 or even 48' in the ground with a couple 20s and call it the house. Mrs. T5R is firm on that not happening " I AM NOT GOING TO LIVE IN ONE OF YOUR F'ing HOLES IN THE GROUND AND THAT IS FINAL!!!"

 

wow that awesome, thanks for the review, how did you size the air needs for a buried structure? what size vents for root cellar vs living space? is it all just a pasive air flow?
containers have sky rocketed in my area but i still want to do something like this.

 

the Professor used old school buses as concrete forms for creating his Ark projects outside Toronto - engineered to survive rollovers they just need the door& window opening closed up ....

Ark Two Nuclear Survival Fallout Shelter Introduction Page

Ark Two Introduction Page

 

I really didn't size it Just cut two 2x2' holes to fit pair of floor grates I had laying around. Airflow can be cut off completely, passive, single speed 12 volt electric fans on both intake and exhaust, or 120v variable speed electric fans. As a safety of sorts, the 12v lights are turned on the 12V fans come on. If the hatches are not opened for 2-3 months and vents sealed the air in there gets pretty stale and kind of funky smelling. Opening the top hatch, the Ladder Hatch and the door hatch makes bit of a wind tunnel that refreshes the old air in a few minutes time.

Would take more pics inside but between the crappy lighting in there and my crappy camera the pics turn out grainy and crappy like pic of the Baja Blast stash or worse. Really do need to add about triple the number of RV 12V light fixtures and swap out all of the bulbs with LED bulbs. And add 3-4 more 120 outlets to the inverter and 120 breaker boxes. Not planning on every living down there for more than A night at a time when tornado warnings are out and tornado chances are high.

Potential bad out come for it is a strong earthquake. We are in the New Madrid fault line danger zone and have a side fault line that runs right under the farm DEEP down. Unlike most of the area around us we have deep clay that starts at about foot under the surface and goes down 3' to 30' 10feet 100' feet of sand under the clay and then variation between sandstone and limestone under the sand......... LOL it is a aquifer that sits under around 15 square miles of the flat land we are on. And the fault line if down in the 1800-2000 feet deep range. My research in the matter suggest the effects of a 6 earthquake would be pretty minimal between the sand, water and clay acting as a big shock absorber. Had a 3.2 about 5 weeks back centered a few miles SW of us and really couldn't feel it at all a small vibration for a few seconds and water in my glass making ripples.farther SW and NW where the deep clay and sand end and the rock begins I am told it was felt much more and rattles windows and wall hangings.

My biggest problem was locating a spot on the farm that I could dig down 14 feet and it not start filling up with water from the aquifer. Found that sweet spot on that north facing slope that cored fairly dry down to 25 feet and the sand and clay coming together at 28/29 feet. Kind of a unique type of land under the surface for Southern IL Where hills and rocks are the general rule. And the aquifer is a double edged sword, never a shortage of water under the surface in some place can dig a hole 2-3 feet deep and it will fill up with water fast. The water meter base is a good example, it stays full of water 6" below the lid year round. If it had been place 50 feet north of where it is, it would be dry year round. Takes forever to dry out enough in the spring to till the gardens or disc the fields. There is no such thing as the water getting absorbed into the soil here, run off and then what the sun and wind takes care of in evaporation.

My advice is know what is underneath the hole you are digging and your risk of earth quake in your area and how your sub surface will play out in a earth quake. We are fortunate here to have detailed maps of what is under us due to the coal mines and oil exploration. Throw in a couple thousand $$ worth of 40 foot cores to find the sweet spots with those maps and you can get on pretty solid footing. If you are in a no to low EQ risk area no need for a lot of this or if you have 1000 feet of rock under the top and subsoil.

I would have preferred the CHUD only be about 50 feet from the cabin but the cores pulled sand and water 10-15 feet all around the cabin. So out in the field on the corner of the loop road it was Which is a hair short of 500 feet from the cabin. Will be a bit of a race to get there if there ever is a tornado bearing down on us.

 

Im in the same boat as @Thunder5Ranch & @Ura-Ki

 

Oh boy didnt even think of the earth quakes... now I need to do a geological survey... I have always known/prepared for an earth quake but this was some prespective for burying a earth cooled storage... heres what wiki says about my area... i work on one fault and live on the other...

Earthquake Assessment[edit]
Statistically, the Wasatch Fault is overdue for another major earthquake. Experts have given a 57% probability of an earthquake magnitude 6.0 or greater occurring within the next 50 years, however it is important to note that statistical frequency does not necessarily imply periodic behavior, but can serve as a good indicator.[6] Liquefaction due to a strong earthquake is of particular concern because many highly populated areas along the Wasatch Front lie on soft lake sediments, remnants of Lake Bonneville.[7][8]

A strong earthquake on the Wasatch Fault could trigger landslides, cause mass liquefaction, and flooding of low-lying areas forming near lakes due to subsidence and tilting. The quake may also rupture the surface causing displacement of up to 20 feet (6.1 m), and severely damage gas, electric, water, communication, and transportation lifelines.[9] A report released by Bob Carey of Utah's Office of Emergency Services and published by the Deseret News in April 2006 predicts that a strong earthquake occurring in Salt Lake City could kill up to 6,200 people, injure 90,000, and cause US$40 billion in economic losses. Due to the earthquake danger not being well known when many structures were built in the area, at least 42% of the buildings along the Wasatch Front are at risk of moderate to severe damage in the event of a strong earthquake. Many buildings, such as hospitals and schools, are located directly atop the Wasatch Fault. Approximately 50% of hospital beds in Salt Lake City are at risk.[10] Currently, about 80% of Utah's population live along the Wasatch Fault, representing the largest earthquake threat in the interior Western U.S.[11][1]

On the west end of Salt Lake Valley is another fault zone called the West Valley fault zone that spans 9 miles (16 km) north-northwest. Recent trench studies have shown that the West Valley fault tends to rupture simultaneously with the Wasatch Fault, compounding issues such as liquefaction, landslides and flooding. The two faults likely converge into a single fault deep underneath Salt Lake Valley.[11][12] On March 18, 2020, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake occurred just north of Magna, causing moderate damage.[13] In March 2021, a new study based on evaluations of the 2020 earthquake and aftershocks determined that the Wasatch Fault undercuts the Salt Lake Valley at a shallower depth than previously thought. This means that a large earthquake on the Salt Lake section of the Wasatch Fault would likely cause more ground shaking and greater damage than previously expected.[14]

 

Very familiar with what you're dealing with. Grew up in NE MO. Actually saw half a dozen homes near me taken down by a tornado when I was in HS.

Have you considered a smaller CHUD with no equipment in it just for severe weather? As I recall my grandmother had a storm cellar built that was basically concrete blocks set about 5' in the ground, and then a concrete cap and dirt over the top. It was NOT for long term survival, but she did use it as a root cellar and for storms. I'd think something like that is sort of like your pistol...something you have to allow you to survive long enough to get to your rifle...or in this case, your CHUD. You could certainly make it above the water table, and also have a solar sump pump if needed.