9Concluding Thoughts
Here is a picture of a very similar cellar. He used a higher arch, which is something I would do if I had to do it all over again, for condensation does not readily run to the sides of my flatter arch. He was very conservative and used 28 vertical supports. I used only 6. His roof weighed 5,000 pounds wet vs. my 4,000 pounds, therefore his supports were holding only 250 pounds each, while mine were holding 670 pounds. However, his ceiling was much higher than mine, and his 96 inch supports would be more prone to bending under the load than my 65 inch supports. His wood arches are on 16 inch centers, while mine are on 24 inch centers. However, I have a “backbone” made from a 2×4 running along the top, and 2 rows of plywood rectangles fitted in between my wood arches. He tarred his sides, I did not. To tar or not is determined by how wet your ground is. For more info see this.
If your ground is wet or you get a lot of rain, it’s highly recommended that you install proper drainage under the floor and along the outer walls of the root cellar. Instead of backfilling dirt up to the wall, install a french drain on the outside at floorlevel and backfill with gravel to allow rainwater to drain away from the walls.
Originally published here.
