Dear Mr. Rawles,
My husband and I live in rural North Central Florida. We have been working on our food storage and supplies for years. I keep everything in my house but my husband and I are frugal and we keep the air at 80 degrees in the summer and 68 – 70 in the winter. Not ideal for long preservation.
We have been discussing a storage shelter for years and I would like your readers and your input on an ideal that I’ve been kicking around. I was thinking of purchasing a steel freight CONEX container, coating the outside of it with tar and burying it underground.
This particular part of Florida is higher about sea level so a rising water table would not be an issue. I would pack gravel or sand around the unit after setting it on a cement foundation. I would ideally pack about 2 feet of soil on top and eventually build a shed over the entrance. These particular containers are stacked on ships so the reinforcement of the structure would allow vehicles to drive over it without impact. I am interested in is an insulated refrigeration container that no longer runs. This would give me the insulation to keep the underground temp. Some of these containers are 8 ft wide by 10 ft high by 40 feet long. If this idea would work we would have plenty of space for food and emergency items. What are your thoughts on this particular approach? – Karla D.
JWR Replies: Yes, it can be done, but the short answer to your question is No. This because CONEX containers are designed to take tremendous loads on their corners, but not on their sides or tops. Two feet of wet soil would easily crush the middle of a container! You could add a lot of extra bracing, but with the amount of material required you are better off building a reinforced concrete structure from scratch.