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At about the 2 minute mark you mention you are using all DC power in the structure, but using a standard AC load center. I hope you found DC breakers to use in the AC load center because you absolutely can NOT use AC breakers with DC power. DC and AC breakers are completely different animals in how they 'extinguish spark' when breaking the circuit pathway. Please consult a electrician with solar DC experience if this is what you are planning. DC and AC behavior and characteristics are completely different.

Steve, thank you so much for sharing your projects with us. This is all amazing. Surely it will last for generations. Some lucky person in the year 2200 will wonder how you built that bunker and retaining-wall.

Well done

I'd guess $120,000

Hello, do you ever make videos of the further construction of your greenhouse or did you give up after building the basement? Greetings from Berlin

It looks good. How much are those blocks? what was total cost of wall?

Merry Christmas Steve , God bless you 🙏

Very nice set up, something I have been contemplating for some time. Though I have to ask, in round numbers what do you think you have tied up in this project ? How is your power going to run, water drain lines and well you know all that silly stuff,,

A lot of work for, what 200 sq ft.

I like that rear tire that you got that’s pretty slick

These are great man....keep them coming

My thought would be to build your concrete form side walls. Pour or fill your side walls. Then cover with concrete pre-cast. The panels can be secured and sealed. If you wanted it would support enough wieght to be able to drive over. But for sere you could build over the precast.

Your project looks great. We are building in the Capac, MI area and plan to build an outdoor kitchen with a similar root cellar. Did your local twp/city already have experience with this system or did you have to educate them before getting approval?

How much weight can the concrete floor carry and how do you calculate it? How do you determine which rebar to use?

That roof/deck design seems very heavy duty for such a short span. Better to do it right though so just asking for confirmation that what you did is the prescriptive method by Build Block or is there special Michigan code requirements that prescribed that much rebar? [Thank for answering at the end of the video.]. Wouldn’t it have been wiser to use FiBar since water will wick and steel will rust inside the concrete and rust causes premature concrete sprawl and degradation. Very important to consider the moisture problem since it reduces the lifespan of concrete by something like 80%. You got 20 years and then maybe gonna have some problems. Beautiful work, nonetheless.

This man has built a few things in his life. Absolute mastery of his art.

Absolute Perfektion 🌟

Great job! I'm a G.C. in utah been using ICF for all my foundations for 27 years would never go back to forms and diesel great r-value with the thermal mass

The one thing I will add is an exit, with a passage that will allow all the water from a flood to run through whilst we're inside confortable. That's what scares me the most. Have you thought of metal isolation like faraday to be undectected. I am actually worried about the future. Thanks for the video.

❤

Great video! I was planning on doing the same thing! Do you have a slower detailed version? I love the way you did this.

Beautiful! My family lives in Kapaa. I’ve never done this hike. Let me know next time you’re on Kauai!

Steve. I’ve got to say that I’m very impressed. You are doing most of the work yourself and probably saving ton s of money along the way. Your energy and positive disposition are a breath of fresh air. I just wanted to take the time out of my day to say that you are an awesome guy! Keep on doing what you’re doing!!

Well hey, Steve - I think I'm caught up to where you are in re-uploading these videos. I REALLY like this project and I'm always eager to see more progress. Thanks for sharing this wonderful project with us.

Way to go steve! Jack of all trades now. Nice.

Haha. Had me fooled. Clearing up old footage. Got it. Great work.

Quick question, what software did you use to plan all of this out? Did the ICF forms come with a CAD file of some sort, or are those just assembled on site to fit whatever the drawing needs?

Great video. Everything was planned meticulously. I used to be an apprentice carpenter working with concrete forms, and while I don't have a ton of experience, I know enough to tell you have a lot of experience.

Use metal stud wall parts from Lowes to cap ICF tops when pouring. Caps them and protects them while screeding also, better then tape.

Enjoying the videos and learning a lot of tips for my future build. Thanks for sharing Steve!

8:14 That brick is sand paper. It’s one grit. 😂

I saw that you pushed some rebar into the wall, the wall that the stairwell shares with the cellar. From what I can tell, this is the only thing currently supporting the weight of the stairwell ceiling in that section (besides the removable bracing). The other two sides of the ceiling will be supported by the wall and ceiling concrete integration. It seems like the ceiling that adjoins the ICF wall where your cellar door is, is just free floating. Am I understanding the situation correctly? These videos are great. I really appreciate you putting them together in such detail. Thank you for your hard work.

The planning alone was probably more impressive than building it😅 But the efficiency and build was just as impressive and inspiring!!

Looks good, man. Watching from all the way down here in Fl👌🏻

Good morning, Great video. Can you tell me who makes the big landscaping blocks? Thanks Tom

Wow Steve, that was a heck of a lot of work AND concrete! Out of ignorance I have a few questions. I figured the insulated sides and the thermal mass of the earth on the bottom level would maintain a constant temperature. Why did you put pex in floor radiant heat on the bottom floor of the cellar? Also, could you have used less concrete on the job by just building thick enough floor/ceiling joists to fill the space up with some form of insulation and made your ceiling/floor system out of wood vs concrete? Don't you want high humidity in there to keep your fruit and root veggies moist? With all that sand for soil, the floor drain, AND the drainage around the foundation, why the water proofing membrane on the outside of the buried walls? Was that more to protect the exterior styrofoam walls or to actually prevent water ingress? Many you're going to get a TON of use out of that space! What are you planning on building on top of it? Great job!

Thank you

Awesome job Steve 👍

Thing is - a real root cellars shoul be vapour permeable. Moisture and temperature are essential for many storage strategies.

Nice, a wealth of building experience on show here. What concrete mix did you settle on for the build?

WHOA!! Nice!!

Thats a boat.

Holy freakN ell man !!! I must have missed it: What problem did all this EXCEPTIONAL planning & work solve? Dang, wonderful job man!!!

For anyone doing this in the future. 1. Cut the excess foam with a hand saw and remove it before the pour. 2. Immediately after screeting is done, take a flat shovel and scrape the wet concrete off the footing. It is much less time consuming this way than trying to clean after the concrete is set. 3. Don't cut the membrane to length. Take the full roll into the excavation along with a piece of plywood to set it on instead of the ground. Pull the loose end up to the height you want to start and peel about 1 foot of the backing. Stick the top of the piece to the wall then go back to the bottom and cut the piece to length, long enough to wrap over the edge of the footing by 1/2". Peel the backing and install like seen in the video. I would be able to do this entire job in 2 hours. (After years of practice on hundreds of foundations)

Seems like a great place to survive a catastrophic event. I highly doubt his location is a direct ICBM target. 3’ of earth with the concrete will be enough to protect from most radiation. Surviving for 7 days in the shelter is the next objective, not 3 days. If he can have enough food, water, oxygen and hvac for however many people will be inside. He’ll be in great shape. The humidity must be felt with otherwise it’s a sickness trap.

Why are your beams separated from the walls? All your decking will be hanging on the steel rebars

God bless Steve

❤

Looking forward to the greenhouse.

Question...I am not a concrete guy, but is there a reason you decided to put the vertical rebar in after the pour instead of tying it all in before?