Community is almost as important as family, although it could be argued that family is community and community is family! On this page I’m going to feature friends and family and the amazing things they do and accomplish! I hope you enjoy!
First up is my friend Jim Browns root cellar project. A friend of his documented his progress over a 2 1/2 month time period. He almost got it finished before the freezing weather set in. We’ll finish up documenting it as soon as temperatures warm above freezing in the spring. 🙂
Jim working on the back Corner
Friends Projects
Root Cellar
My friend Jim Brown built a stone root cellar this year. I’ve been fascinated watching his progress via the photos his friend Brian Elliot took throughout the build. I’ve documented it here for your viewing pleasure. If you have any questions I’ll pass them onto Jim and post the answers here.
Jim lives totally off grid so it’s amazing to see his projects taking shape using old-school methods.
Just goes to show that you don’t need a bunch of fancy tools to build something crushingly awesome!
Jim used a standard mortar to set the stones. The front wall went up first and he worked the front side corners into the front wall mortar.
It takes a lot of patience to build something like this. You have to find the right stones to fit as you go along, and fill in with mortar if they don’t fit just right.
Measuring plumb.
The corners require extra attention to make sure they are square and plumb.
It’s getting a little chillier during the day so hat and jacket required until the day warms more.
At the 4 foot high mark now.
Jim is a Welder, metal worker, so it was interesting to see how he crafted the frame to build the roof. I visited Jim one day just to behold how he was doing this. It was simple really, just steady working away, mortaring row by row.
Jim backfilled as the mortar set, that way it gets packed down enough to keep frost pockets from forming and heaving in the sides.