Storm shelter makeover.

[BilletHead]

On ‎6‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 9:39 AM, fishinwrench said:

A home for wayward spiders and copperheads.   How nice. 

        Wrench I got it sealed real well now so we will be safe. I am on the other hand developing a catch and containment system for creepy crawlies and slithering pit vipers and will relocate them in your neck of the woods . 

  BilletHead

[tho1mas]

I agree there are better options but this is our only option that will do for us,

Same here on options. We have used ours numerous times over the years. I have a heavy extension cord that I plug in on the way. Two battery/AC radios,water bottles, cans of foods of choice, extra light bulbs, flashlights with extra batteries & a five gallon bucket/lid for you know what.

[BilletHead]

27 minutes ago, tho1mas said:

 

Same here on options. We have used ours numerous times over the years. I have a heavy extension cord that I plug in on the way. Two battery/AC radios,water bottles, cans of foods of choice, extra light bulbs, flashlights with extra batteries & a five gallon bucket/lid for you know what.

    Yes Tho1mas we are in the process of making a kit like this. Have another tub like we have the water in here in the house that is being stocked. Have really thought of making a couple bug out type of bags we can just grab and not leave too much stuff in there all the time. No doom and gloom here people. Not being a pessimist just being am optimist and just in case persons,

   BilletHead

[fishinwrench]

37 minutes ago, BilletHead said:

        Wrench I got it sealed real well now so we will be safe. I am on the other hand developing a catch and containment system for creepy crawlies and slithering pit vipers and will relocate them in your neck of the woods . 

  BilletHead

One of my neighbors bought and installed one of those cool underground SHTF capsules. Totally sealed but has a wind driven recirculation fan and is lined with crystals that are supposed to keep condensation at bay.  Somehow it still stays full of centipedes, crickets, spiders, and those tiny green grass bugs. He has to get in there every month with a shop-vac and suck them all up.   How they get in is a mystery because that thing seals up tight and the ventilation system is filtered.  

Nevertheless it's comforting to know you have a place to crawl into when the fear of a few spiders is overcome by the fear of something else.  

[rps]

On 6/9/2017 at 6:15 PM, BilletHead said:

   What can I say? The BilletHead needs a project or hobby going all the time. This was a project and kind of a hobby and yes garden related.  We got a concrete storm shelter put in a few years back thanks to a tax refund. I think I posted the paint job we did on it. Well still not happy I told Mrs. BilletHead of my plan. I always get a really and what do you think it will look like? Most projects I do turn out pretty well. First thing I did was clean it out and build a bench. We had a couple of chairs in there just in case we needed to use it. No real seal around the door and a couple of mice made it in, died and dried up. Got that taken care of and figured out a seal. took care of future bugs, spiders and mice. Made a bench with storage underneath. Got a case of water in the box. The 2x4s you see in the upright have a cross member above them where I will hang this years harvest of wild garlic.

  Now to the outside . Using treated decking boards I built what is now a sod roof. Got some sweet potato vine in there so it will be neat when it fills in and drapes over the sides. Some ground cover in there too. This will be an annual flower bed from here on out. Then the sides were built all the way around and then a cover for the door. There is no point of attachment made into the concrete shelter or door to compromise its integrity.  Looks like a sod house kind of. Now that it is done Mrs. BilletHead says I don't know what i question you .I would say this may be one of a kind but then again I have been told I am one of a kind. Don't know if that is a good remark but I will take it. There will still be some dirt work around it and then I will try a year round ground cover. Thinking a crown vetch. It is tolerant of dry weather. The Department of transportation plants it on roadsides. Mostly on off and on ramps. I have found some along some dirt roads that is a bright yellow. About time for a digging wild flower trip,

    BilletHead

That is more dirt in what you have piled on the sides, than I have on my two lots here on the bluff.

Vinca makes a nice controllable ground cover and flowers nicely.

[MOPanfisher]

Transplant wild strawberries onto it, then when they go crazy and out of control spray them with roundup and plant vinca or Perry winkle.  I have transplanted wild strawberries twice and ended up spraying them out both times after they got a taste of fertilizer and went crazy.  Thought I would have wild ones to pick, nope just a lot of wild strawberry plants.

[ness]

On 6/11/2017 at 10:34 AM, jdmidwest said:

I have noticed that unless they are a part of the house, they don't get used often enough. Basements, safe rooms, are better choices. Who wants to run across the yard in a storm?

Party pooper. 

 

[fishinwrench]

Around here there are at least 2 storm chaser crackheads on every lake road, and everytime a dark cloud blows over they see "rotation" and set the sirens off.  Therefore nobody takes the sirens seriously.  The one time we actually had a F2 rip through here, guess what?......No siren.  No need for it either because you couldn't help but hearing the twister coming about 40 seconds before the house started getting ripped to pieces.  Sounded like a 747 coming in for a landing in my yard.

[ness]

Storm chasers used to have credentials. Now it's anybody with a car and a phone. It's just a matter of time before we see a YouTube video of some knuckleheaded storm chaser getting killed.  

Oh, and I second vinca. 

[Gavin]

Add crawl spaces remodeled to your resume😀!