So apparently I have an extra septic tank on my property, that's ventilated and rather large, and was somehow based on an underground wine cellar that a used car lot made in the 1930's. Weird stuff. But, apparently it's large enough that you can actually get down in it and it stopped being used over 20 years ago sometime in the 80's. There's tree roots over the opening so I'll have to cut my way in, so I was wondering, could it be worth it to turn into a mini-bunker, tornado shelter, and storage place, or would I be wasting my time? I'm assuming everything has decomposed and drained by now but I have no idea. Surely there's not 20 year old human waste in there? Guess there's only one way to find out, but it's alot of tree roots to cut.
only one way to find out for sure, open er up and take a whiff ... :xeye:
If it was an old wine cellar converted to septic now dormant then it could be converted back, but yur gonna get DIRTY ... and human waste is nasty stuff, full of all kinds of critters that can KILL ... I would suggest you check on info pertaining to waste treatment BEFORE jumping in :thumb:
probably toxic and almost impossable to make it safe. if it is a old system there could be heavy metals and who knows what else dumped into it over the years.
Lets see here hmm.... no way ....start fresh, more structure worthy, better location, pristine location, more Healthy...to Expensive? grab a shovel and pick a different spot... and start digging. IMO
One of my neighbors used a septic tank(concrete) for a semi-buried tornado shelter. He used a concrete saw to cut a hatchway. He let me into it,it was "cozy". Definitely a better spot to sit that out in the tornado.There was room enough for 4 people to sit for a short period of time. I think it was a 1200 gallon unit.
If there's tree roots clogging the hatch, the roots have probably penetrated other places and weakened or broken the walls, ceiling, etc.
I'd knock the ceiling in and fill it, then make a new one. A septic tank, new unused, would make a passable tornado shelter, but be very cozy for more than two or three occupants. Most septic tank walls are much too thin to be a usable bunker. They are usually not large enough to make a useful root cellar, either.
If it was me I would definitely consider a Sawzall and a few blades a worthy investment in the potential of a pre-constructed bunker, especially if you are in tornado country. If it’s icky, just dump some Clorox in a hose end sprayer, spray everything down and wait a few days before proceeding.
And you GOTTA report back on this one…but maybe no pics until it’s clean :xeye:
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