DIY concrete cellar – refrigerator without electricity

Constructing a concrete cellar is a useful and effective method for making an energy-free natural refrigerator. A do-it-yourself concrete cellar can be a sustainable way to store food and drinks in the modern world, where energy conservation is becoming more and more important. This underground area is ideal for storing fruits, vegetables, and other perishables because it makes use of the earth’s natural insulating qualities to keep a cool, steady temperature all year long.

An eco-friendly and rustic storage solution, a concrete cellar can be a great addition to any house. In contrast to conventional refrigerators, which use energy and release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, a concrete cellar uses the ground’s inherent cooling power to keep food fresh. This kind of storage can be a fulfilling project, regardless of whether you’re a gardener with an abundant harvest or just trying to lessen your carbon footprint.

Although building your own cellar may seem difficult, it can be a simple and satisfying do-it-yourself project with the correct preparation and supplies. You’ll need to select a suitable site, assemble the necessary supplies, and adhere to some fundamental building procedures. Excavating the cellar, building the concrete walls, and making sure the drainage and ventilation are adequate are all part of the process. You can build a dependable, long-lasting storage solution that helps your home and the environment with a little work and dedication.

Step	Description
1. Choose a Location	Select a cool, shaded spot in your yard with good drainage.
2. Excavate the Area	Dig a hole deep enough to accommodate your cellar, about 6-8 feet deep.
3. Build the Foundation	Pour a concrete slab at the bottom of the hole to form a stable base.
4. Construct the Walls	Use concrete blocks or poured concrete to build the walls, ensuring they are sturdy and waterproof.
5. Install Ventilation	Place ventilation pipes to allow air circulation and prevent mold growth.
6. Add a Roof	Cover the cellar with a reinforced concrete roof, leaving space for an entrance hatch.
7. Create an Entrance	Install a hatch or door to access the cellar, ensuring it seals tightly.
8. Waterproofing	Apply a waterproof sealant to the exterior walls and roof to prevent leaks.
9. Insulate the Interior	Line the walls and ceiling with insulation to maintain a consi

What you need to know about the cellar before construction

The most valuable space is the cellar, without which country and rural life would be extremely challenging. The fundamental ideas and exterior design of these buildings have not altered over the course of their more than a century of use by humans.

Such a storage facility doesn’t freeze because it’s positioned deep enough, and if the cellar is properly insulated from above, it stays cool even during the summer. Energy sources won’t be needed, and the building’s service life will only be constrained by how durable the concrete is.

• Based on location and depth, cellars can be divided into several types: located inside the house and free-standing, above-ground and underground.
• A cellar that is completely hidden in the ground is very effective, but it will cost you more due to the high labor costs of developing the pit.

• As an option, the structure can be made partially recessed (by 50% of the height), which will allow for a convenient entrance. At the same time, the energy of the soil at such a depth will be quite enough to provide the required temperature for storing vegetables and canned food, without fear that everything will freeze from the inside.
• Such buildings can be insulated with the same soil that remains after digging a pit.

Any material can be used to build a cellar, including clay bricks, reinforced concrete rings, and both heavy and light concrete blocks, but not porous ones (aerated concrete cannot be used to build a basement).

Counseling! Aerated concrete blocks are too porous to be used for building a basement because they will actively absorb water and fill the space with moisture. It is unacceptable that the cellular blocks will start to actively deteriorate at the same time. To elaborate, this material should not be used in above-ground cellars because of the same soil contact. Of course, you could add layers of waterproofing all around, but we don’t think that would be a very cost-effective solution.

Certain manufacturers provide prefabricated plastic solutions that need to be buried in a pit dug and surrounded by a thin layer of concrete to protect the product from soil pressure. Although this solution is pricey, it is incredibly practical because it eliminates the need to worry about the ceiling, is 100% moisture-proof, has a hatch, shelves, and a handy ladder included in the kit, and has a ventilation system as well.

Nonetheless, if you have unrestricted access to river gravel or sandy soil for your construction, solid concrete walls offer an indisputable advantage in the form of greater strength, and in certain cases, such a solution is trivially less expensive.

• The roof of the cellar can be flat or arched. The first option is worth doing if the cellar will be completely hidden in the ground, and the second is used for above-ground and partially buried structures. Rainwater will flow down it perfectly, without lingering on the surface.
• The floor in the cellar can also be poured from concrete, but you can also leave it earthen, but only on the condition that the groundwater level is lower, so that you do not get flooded in the spring.
• If there is a risk of flooding, then the entire bowl of the cellar will need to be carefully waterproofed. We will talk about this in the course of describing the work.

Technical preparation for construction

The groundwater level (GWL), the site’s geological characteristics, and the relief of the area all play a role in the cellar’s design. The size of the designated construction site plays a significant role in selecting the dimensions, which are determined by the volume of products to be stored within.

Counseling! The cellar should not be placed at the base of a hill because rainwater running off the slope will continuously flood it. Consequently, it makes sense to locate construction at the summit of a hill, where groundwater issues are never an issue.

• Not every site has hills, so the problem of flooding will have to be solved in a slightly different way.
• First of all, you need to know exactly at what depth the groundwater is. More precisely, find out if they are at the depth we need.
• To do this, you will need to make a hole 3 meters deep in the ground (exploratory drilling). The work can be done with a regular garden drill. The complexity of the process will directly depend on the type of soil. If there are a lot of stones in the soil and it is not possible to drill normally, then you can hire the appropriate equipment for this matter, or ask for help from neighbors who have wells on their plots.

• According to state standards, there should be a distance of at least 50 centimeters from the lowest point of the basement to the wet soil. The depth of the cellar usually does not exceed 2-2.5 meters. According to this data, you can understand to what depth you need to drill, but the mentioned 3 meters are usually always enough.

• A special device is used to determine the water level – a well level gauge. It is inexpensive, and if desired, you can build it yourself or replace it with an ordinary wooden pole.
• The lath is driven into the well and left in this position for several hours. Afterwards, it is removed and inspected for moisture. If the lath is dry, then you can safely begin construction.

Crucial! These tasks need to be completed in the spring or fall, when it’s the wettest of the year. You should never begin in the summer or the winter as the groundwater level rises during the wet season and snowmelt, making it impossible to get accurate measurements that could have serious repercussions.

• If it turns out that the groundwater is too close, then it is worth thinking about it – you may have to abandon the idea of ​​​​building at all, or prepare for large expenses on organizing good waterproofing, ring drainage or installing a plastic version of the cellar.

There are situations when it is possible to locate groundwater without drilling. In these areas, marsh plants predominate. Occasionally, dense grass and a profusion of midges, which prefer humid environments, can also be found.

Drainage for a modest investment

Whether you like it or not, the best way to prevent flooding is through drainage. Although it has previously been stated that it should be ring-shaped, there are more affordable options.

To combat backwater, for instance, a network of trenches will be sufficient. This kind of solution will only work in situations where surface water is involved.

• In order to make drainage, we need special pipes called drains. They must be laid around the perimeter of the cellar, insulated from the ground with layers of geotextile and gravel (see. photo below). These layers serve as coarse filters so that the pipes do not get clogged with sand.

• Like sewer pipes, drains are laid at a slight slope to ensure natural water flow.
• Drains are connected to a common pipeline that leads to a storage well. It is good if you can bring the pipes directly into a ravine or pit, otherwise you will need a drainage pump that will pump water as soon as the water level in the storage well reaches a certain level.

For anyone who wants to store food and drinks without using electricity, building a DIY concrete cellar can be a game-changer. Because of its underground construction’s natural ability to keep a cool temperature, perishable goods can be stored there all year round. You can build an affordable, environmentally friendly refrigerator substitute with a few basic building supplies and abilities. We’ll walk you through the steps of designing, constructing, and maintaining your own concrete cellar in this post, so you can maintain fresh produce and cheap energy costs.

Calculation of concrete composition

Construction of a cellar

Now that the preparatory tasks have been completed, let’s discuss a DIY concrete basement in more detail.

For the task at hand, we will require:

• Heavy equipment (read, an excavator or tractor) for excavation work;
• Hand tools for engineering work, that is, shovels, crowbars, a pickaxe;
• A good concrete mixer;
• From power tools – a grinder with a metal disc, a drill or a hammer drill, a screwdriver, a circular saw;

• Any device for tying wire (if desired, you can also use a welding machine);
• Measuring and carpentry tools: tape measure, cord, pencil, hammer and ax;
• Wheelbarrows, buckets;

• Tools for working with concrete: trowels, graters and a deep vibrator.

Base of the cellar

Our pit’s bottom serves as the cellar’s base, and there are rules that apply there.

• Its bottom and walls must be level, and the structure of the soil must not be disturbed. If during digging you have to uproot trees and bushes, then all the resulting loose soil must be removed.
• During construction, when it is supported by a water main, it is necessary to cut grooves to drain water, which will be connected to the pit. Such a simple drainage system allows water to flow away from the work site by gravity.

• Regardless of the depth of the cellar, its bottom must be equipped with a gravel-sand cushion, of course, if you are not going to limit yourself to an earthen floor.
• When deepening into wet soil, about 10 more centimeters of clay (preferably oily) must be laid on top of the organized cushion – this material is perhaps the best natural waterproofing agent. The clay is leveled and thoroughly tamped.

• Next, it is necessary to arrange a layer of waterproofing film – this will additionally protect the cellar from moisture penetration and allow the concrete to dry under normal conditions, without quickly giving water to the soil. Otherwise, the strength of the monolith will be poor, cracks may appear in its thickness over time, and it will serve much less.

• Roofing felt is usually used as insulation, but if you do not want to spend a lot, you can save money and buy a thick polyethylene film. In case of construction on wet soil, waterproofing must be made multi-layered. You should not skimp on the material, otherwise all the savings will come back to haunt you.

Counseling! Recall that moisture, or humidity, is the biggest enemy of vegetables kept throughout the winter.

• It is recommended to cover not only the floor, but also the walls of the pit, especially if you intend to use them as permanent formwork.

• Next comes the preparation for pouring the foundation, that is, the floor. It will have a thickness of 13-15 centimeters in order to cope with the load from the concrete monolithic walls without much effort.
• A reinforcement frame is made over the entire area of ​​the pit. Such reinforcement will allow the floor to withstand seasonal heaving of the freezing soil without becoming covered with cracks.
• For reinforcement, steel corrugated (profile) rods with a diameter of 8-10 millimeters are purchased. They are laid in a grid with cells of a certain size. The connection of the elements can be done with knitting wire or by welding.
• The reinforcement frame must be raised above the ground, so brick or plastic pads are made under it (this option will have to be purchased).

• Now the floor is ready for pouring. We begin to prepare the concrete mixture, using all physical strength and a concrete mixer. In buildings, M200 grade concrete is used for pouring basements, but there the building frame exerts significant pressure on the foundation. There will be nothing like this in the cellar, so M150 concrete is quite sufficient.
• You can easily find the recipe on the Internet, but we want to draw your attention to the fact that when mixing, be sure to add water-repellent additives to the composition, the choice of which is very large in stores today.

• Then the pouring process begins. Make sure that the work proceeds without interruption – any breaks will affect the integrity of the monolith.
• The concrete is evenly distributed over the floor and leveled with a rule. To make the floor strong, the mixture must be well compacted, releasing all the air. A deep vibrator is used for these purposes, with which the entire floor is evenly passed. If you do not have a device at hand, then use the classic bayonet tamping with shovels and reinforcement rods.

Counseling! Vibration has the benefit of causing the concrete surface to self-level.

• After 8 hours from pouring, excess moisture will be removed from the screed and it can be rubbed and sanded to obtain a smooth surface.

Only after 28 days can more construction be started. This is the exact amount of time needed for concrete to reach its maximum strength. It’s true that pouring concrete into a basement takes time, but it’s not very difficult, so you shouldn’t rush.

Construction of cellar walls

Now that our floor has solidified, we can move forward with the construction. Except for a few minor details, the fundamentals of building concrete cellar walls are the same as those of creating a corresponding strip foundation.

• First of all, the formwork for the walls is erected. It can be of two types – removable and partially removable. In the first case, a double-sided box is assembled with two walls, which are tied together for strength.
• In the second there is only one wall, while the second is replaced by the wall of the pit. This method is easier to implement, but you may use more concrete, plus you will definitely need to waterproof the walls. It is also worth understanding that such a solution is only suitable for an underground structure, while even a partially recessed box requires collapsible double-sided formwork.
• As a material for the formwork, you can use edged boards, plywood, OSB boards, etc. The main thing is that the structure is easy to work with and does not let water through. The formwork made of boards is usually lined from the inside with polyethylene, which is subsequently removed.
• The thickness of the concrete cellar walls should be 10-15 centimeters. Thicker walls are just an unnecessary waste of material.
• A reinforcement frame is mounted between the walls of the formwork, which consists of vertical ties located at the corners and horizontal crossbars. All elements are also tied together with wire.

• Pouring the cellar with concrete begins. It is not done all at once, but in layers. About 20-25 centimeters of concrete is poured at a time, provided that the mixture is compacted by ramming. If a normal deep vibrator is available, then a one-time pouring of up to 60 centimeters is allowed.
• After laying each layer of concrete, it is necessary to install embedded loops or hooks from reinforcement on top of it so that the frames are ultimately connected. Thus, the walls rise to the desired height.
• The formwork is dismantled after 6-7 days. After this, the concrete must be looked after for several days – water it and hide it from direct sunlight. Violation of technology is fraught with the appearance of cracks in the walls.

The walls require a similar amount of time to dry—28 days. Should you be limited in resources, it might be wiser for you to forgo the monolith and construct a cellar using concrete blocks by hand.

Hollow blocks UBD are used for this, which are filled with concrete from the inside. The final strength of such a structure will not be much inferior to the considered option, and you can mount the floors on it almost immediately.

Roof of the cellar

Thus, the walls and floor were already constructed by us. There is just the roof left to do.

• The pouring principle is the same, however, the suspended location introduces certain difficulties.
• The work begins with the installation of the formwork bottom. We must support it on the floor, using strong posts, so that our slab ultimately lies on top of the walls.

• First of all, boards are placed on the edge along the perimeter of the cellar, which should protrude from the edge of the walls by about 10 centimeters. If you want to make the roof vaulted, lintels of the appropriate shape are placed across, as in the photo above.
• Lintels, also known as crossbars, are tied to the perimeter box and additionally supported from below by posts along the edges and in the center.
• A continuous sheathing of boards is knitted over the crossbars, which is covered from above with a layer of roofing felt or polyethylene so that the formwork does not leak.
• Two ventilation ducts are immediately arranged in different parts of the cellar. 110 mm sewer pipes are perfect for this. One pipe should reach almost to the floor, and the edge of the second should be under the ceiling.

• Next, the reinforcement is laid. As you can see, when installing a vaulted roof, the rods must first be bent to the desired radius. For this, you will need a special device. In the case of installation in a plane, we do everything the same way as on the floor.
• The ends of the reinforcement are connected to the embedded parts that we released when pouring the walls. The frame must be in the thickness of the concrete so as not to suffer from corrosion, so the rods are also raised, but small pieces of wire are used as pads, forming legs. Again, see the photo.
• After this, the outer walls of the formwork are installed, and the pouring of concrete begins.

• Nothing new – everything according to the same scheme, except that a vibrator cannot be used on a semicircular roof, because of which the mixture will flow down, and we do not need this. We bayonet the evenly distributed concrete and smooth it with a float.
• A drying roof requires the same care as a floor and walls.
• A separate reinforced concrete slab can also act as a cellar ceiling. By installing it, you will save a lot of time, but you will need to hire equipment to deliver the reinforced concrete to the site and lift it. See for yourself.
• After the concrete has hardened, the roof is covered with a layer of waterproofing material to prevent water from flowing inside during rains. Polyethylene is no longer suitable here – we use roofing felt.

Finally, an insulation layer is applied to the reinforced concrete cellar. Some stick to just a layer of turf and dirt, while others also use stiff polystyrene foam. I assure you that while a small amount of material will be required, the cellar’s efficiency will increase significantly. We are wrapping up our story, but the video in this article will showcase all the work in progress. Best wishes!

Constructing a concrete cellar of your own is a gratifying endeavor that offers a dependable method of food storage devoid of electricity. With a little bit of planning and some natural insulation, you can make a room that will keep your perishables cold all year long. This not only lowers your energy expenses but also gives you peace of mind about how safe and eco-friendly your food storage is.

You’ll learn about construction methods and get practical experience mixing and pouring concrete throughout the process. To make sure your cellar works well, every step—from picking the ideal spot to adding ventilation—is essential. If you take the time to meticulously organize and carry out every step, the cellar you create will fulfill your needs for many years to come.

Long-term benefits outweigh the initial effort and investment, which may seem overwhelming. You’ll benefit from a useful storage option that raises the sustainability and market value of your house. Accept this project as an opportunity to advance your knowledge and abilities while making a cost-efficient and functional space.

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