DaveL we are thinking along the same lines with a contractor and his price. And we are leaning towards the tornado shelter but we are waiting to hear back on quotes from others we contacted. Won't happen until next week sometime.
Jim we cannot afford 2 storm shelters but maybe 2 septic tanks. We do like the idea of the storm shelter because of the home value increase.
The fellow that makes the shelters is the manufacturer of the mold and that is his primary business. He ships the molds all of the USA. He has 15 molds going to TX on Monday.
There is a runged ladder that leans against the shelter which we would replace with most likely removable wooden steps. Fema requires a runged ladder, why I have no idea.
When we had a tornado here about 2 years ago he had tons of phone calls to build the actually shelters, so he did. He actually had orders for 45 of them after that tornado. But soon the tornado damage faded from the news and folks forgot about the shelters and only a handful did actually buy them.
We spent 2 hours talking to him at his home yesterday so we know the whole history. It took many protocols to finally get them approved by FEMA. And FEMA has specific condtions that had to be made to give their approval. He has one set in the ground at his home that is how we were able to get to actually go into one.
I believe he told us on shelter weighs 12,000 pounds. But they have the equipment to bring here, dig the hole, set it in place and fill it back in.
Jim we both loved the 2 videos! What a hoot!
OK so we have had 3 days of heavy rain and when we were in the shelter it was dry even though it was tightly closed for about a week. No signs of water or humidity inside. What he did was cover it with shredded bark where we would probably cement over the one part which would help keep it cooler. and then bark over the door that could be brushed away for access. He did say it had been in his side yard for a few years and he has never seen water or humidity when he takes folks to his house to see how they are buried. His is buried 3' into flat ground where ours would be 3' into a large hill and maybe a bit deeper. If we decide to go that route we will go there and seal coat it before they deliver it because they bring all the needed equipment when they bring out the unit. Once in the ground we can seal coat the inside if we feel it is necessary And at this point we are not sure that even needs to be done because of the 2 air vents which should allow humidity to escape.
One thing he did say he only had one vent and Fema required 2 for air exchange so he had to go back and add a 2nd vent. We do not recall the reason why the 2nd vent had to be added.
The Sams Club wine racks hold 168 bottles each and the dimentions are 36"W x 14"D x 63"H so we feel we can get at least 5 of the wine racks in there.
I have slowed down on my wine making because I am not shipping any more to family in MI. So I am only making 2 to 3 gallons at a time. And I am experimenting with making 1 gallon carboys. I will post more on that when I have finished my experiments in 1 gallon carboys. We only open one bottle of wine a day and occasionally two so I figured we need about 400 bottles in a years time. We have no family here except one older daughter and very few friends because of the hours we work. I occasionally give an elderly neighbor a bottle but it takes her a week to drink it.
DaveL I am curious how close your cost comes out to what he and other contractors actually come up with. Thank you for taking the time.
TahunaJR we have only been making wine about 18 months and new nothing about making wine. In fact we rarely ever even drank. And now for health reasons our doctor only allows us 8 oz a day. We do occasionally drink a little more but not often. My experience here is everyone is extremely helpful and many are very knowledgeable. There are folks here from every profession and walks of life. So don't worry about asking questions because everyone is very nice.
TahunaJR we like your idea of everyone showing up for a wine cellar building. We are not able to do any of the work because we both have torn rotatory cuffs in opposite shoulders so we must hire the work done.
I hope I did not miss anything because there were a lot of post to get through.
We both really appreciate all the help and ideas.
I did not proof read this so excuse any errors. It took me a few hours because I had to work on this post between business phone calls.
