# Quanset underground ?



## rickfrosty (Jun 19, 2008)

Any one used a Quanset 'hut' underground ?
I did search here, but nothing relevant.


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## wharton (Oct 9, 2011)

I seriously doubt that anybody manufactures a quanset style building that would do anything but collapse, when faced with the massive loads imposed underground, and doing so would be dangerous, or even fatal. But, there are culverts available, in huge sizes, that have the same profile, and can be used for underground housing. I'm sure an image search on Google with come up with something. There is one at the end town in Silverton, Colorado. The thing has a cross layout, it's at one end of main street, been there for a long time.


This is something similar to the one I'm referring to. 







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EDIT: Just did a Google Maps search. The house I'm thinking of is at 18th and Greene in Silverton, CO. It shows with flat "False fronts" at each entrance, but if IIRC, having seen it many years ago, it is a series of flat bottom culverts, going to a central room under the Cupola, which shows on street view. Little rough, but a cool place.


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## Halfway (Nov 22, 2010)

I would be concerned with collapse as well.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

There are plenty of examples and photos of how arched bridges are constructed. The temporary forms are massive. If they could use a thin arch of metal instead, they would as a cost and labor saving measure.


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## DaleK (Sep 23, 2004)

I've seen enough collapsed by snow


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

One job I had on the AK pipeline was bolting a huge culvert together. It went together pretty fast and could withstand loaded semi's driving over it.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Galvanized culvert has a 25 to 30 year life span, they rot out....James


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Look up arch plate culverts. Those are the ones that bolt together. They're designed to be buried. If you go that route, back fill evenly on both sides. You may need to do something after it's assembled to prevent water leakage.

Like others, I've seen newer Quonset buildings that collapsed from snow.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

jwal10 said:


> Galvanized culvert has a 25 to 30 year life span, they rot out....James


That's why highway departments order them coated with asphalt.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

fishhead said:


> One job I had on the AK pipeline was bolting a huge culvert together. It went together pretty fast and could withstand loaded semi's driving over it.


Yep....BUT I bet that was a whole lot heavier metal designed for that.

The typical metal building isn't.

Covering one with earth sounds like a sure fired invitation to a disaster.


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## farminghandyman (Mar 4, 2005)

built a cellar out of a 10' foot tank, 1/4 wall.


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## Raymond James (Apr 15, 2013)

I haven't seen one buried deep. Just with soil on the sides and 6 inches to foot the top. They were not the normal huts they were something heavier. 

The above ground huts in Korea were covered with a spray on insulation/ covering sometime prior to 1980 they were still warm and dry when I last used them in 2000. These would have been originally been built in 1957 or 58. 

The huts are engineered, look at the specs and find out the load they are designed to hold up. Then figure out how much if any soil could be on top of them. You need to figure out how to keep water off and away from them. I have seen some plastic products designed to capture water from around a foundation and send it away thru a perimeter drain line that might be used. You would definitely need to use asphalt or a spray foam on the outside.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Here's another idea that would be cheap. fill the bags with a soil or sand cement mixture for additional strength. Use a sprinkler inside and soaker hoses outside when finished. BTW, that's PVC pipe being used for temporary support.










http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/articles/archform.htm


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

TnAndy said:


> Yep....BUT I bet that was a whole lot heavier metal designed for that.
> 
> The typical metal building isn't.
> 
> Covering one with earth sounds like a sure fired invitation to a disaster.


It was a huge culvert not a building. I think it would be very suitable for an underground home.


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## wharton (Oct 9, 2011)

The picture I posted in post #2 IS a culvert house. The flared, curved wall on the exterior is a factory supplied product, known in the industry as a "head wall". If you go to Google street view and look at the address supplied, you can actually "walk" around a culvert house exterior. If you go to Google images and enter "underground culvert house" you will find a wealth of information.
As for the OP's question, the short answer is no. I don't think the average Joe out there really comprehends the forces involved, and the engineering required, to overcome the extreme loads of underground construction. Over the years, On various threads like this, folks have gone so far as to announce that they were planning on burying a mobile home, and a school bus. That gives a bit of perspective as to how little some folks really grasp the physics involved. IMHO, one of the real reasons to gravitate toward a manufactured culvert is that you have a known product. You're not reinventing the wheel, you are purchasing and installing a product in it's intended application. You are not relying on expensive one-off engineering, or seat of the pants guesses, when doing a DIY project of poured concrete, or lesser materials.


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

http://home.earthlink.net/~dectiri/MTQuonst.htm

http://www.buildingsguide.com/faq/what-quonset-hut

I know of 2 buried quanset buildings in Montana. The one I know the details of in north of Roundup. It is a 30x90 building that was covered wit 3-4" of spray foam then shotcreted over before being buried. Top has abou 12" of dirt to support plant life.

The biggest mistake with that building was they didn't but a vapor barrier down under the floor. It has a problem with humidity levels even though it's dry climate area.

The other building I have no details about.

I've also seem quanset collapse from snow. But everyone of them was because the tried keeping the snow cleared from the sides for a driveway or something. They need snow piled up against the sides to keep them from bowing out from the weight of the snow on the top.

WWW


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Adding the shotcrete is the difference. You end up with a cement shell that adds structural integrity.


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## wharton (Oct 9, 2011)

Thanks for the links, Wolf. 

Interesting to note that at some point there had be a rather secretive failure of a culvert dwelling, and that suppliers will not provide engineering support to individual buyer, and refuse to even sell you one if they learn that you intent to use it as a dwelling.

It seems pretty logical to me. They typical buyer is a municipality or other large agency with lots of engineering resources available, so the companies would find little need to assist typical buyers, and avoid the liability of doing so. The other issues is the ugly press that would result if one collapsed on it's occupants. Not hard to see why manufacturers would avoid the whole potential mess.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Here's a manufacturer that provides support.

http://www.conteches.com/products/bridges-and-structures/plate/multi-plate.aspx


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## farminghandyman (Mar 4, 2005)

to a given extent, a lot depends on how one goes about the covering of the building, 

Using it more of a form rather than the support it self, if one uses it and pours a thin reinforced, concrete shell, and if the design warrants one can pour a second shell that is the real support, 

but if that is the case once could make a form and reuse pouring shell after shell and then a finish shell, 

similar to what some companies did with some of the shot crete dome homes, using an inflatable form, cover the form with enough shot crete to form a dome and hen come back and increase the shell until the desired thickness is achieved, 

http://www.scgh.com/success-stories/bubble-buildings-energy-efficient-and-disaster-proof/

http://www.monolithic.com/topics/airforms

years a go I looked at some military storage igloos and bunkers on a old military depot, and they were not that thick but were earth covered, they used a wood form that was taken out of each Igloos after the concrete was set, and moved for the next one, some were round and some were *Quanset *shaped. so it can be done one way or the other,


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## farminghandyman (Mar 4, 2005)

Another option, would be to build a form out of dirt/earth and then pour reinforced, concrete shell over the dirt from (the form could be covered with plastic sheet), and then go in with a skip loader and dig out the form/dirt/earth out from under the poured shell. the covering of the shell could be done before removing the dirt/form.


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## farminghandyman (Mar 4, 2005)

here is a company that uses a steel shell and covers it with earth.
http://www.americansheltertechnologies.com/s_c_earth_covered.html


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

farminghandyman said:


> here is a company that uses a steel shell and covers it with earth.
> http://www.americansheltertechnologies.com/s_c_earth_covered.html


and this is their promotional picture? http://www.americansheltertechnologies.com/earth/earth_house.jpg
Yikes!:runforhills:


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## farminghandyman (Mar 4, 2005)

the one I saw was, 
http://www.americansheltertechnologies.com/images/earth_covered_large.jpg


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## gobug (Dec 10, 2003)

This is something that has my interest. I asked a similar question on another group. One guy said the Quonset he spent time in while serving in Iraq was covered with 2ft of sand. He said it was a lot more comfortable winter and summer than other military barracks. 

A friend in VA said he had advised a fellow in IN who had a problem with the metal deforming since the excavator used too large of machinery on top of the Quonset.

Since I need a permit to erect my Quonset, I will ask the engineer I must employ to get the permit OK'd if I can bury the thing. My circumstance would have a pit dug 8' deep. Then after the Quonset is erected I will fill in the sides. This will leave only about half of the Quonset above grade. I think this will be adequate, but the engineer must bless it.

Not only is condensation also an important issue, but radon in my area too. I am thinking of a cellulose product (K-13, IIRC) that can be applied up to 5in thick and will prevent the condensation.

The thing is so large (45ft x 74ft x17ft high) that I will not use it all for a habitat. I am thinking that I can build rooms inside the Quonset which are 6 sides of MgO covered SIP's. I am also thinking of a small HRVU for each room. 

I must have windows of egress for each room too. That will be easier if I make the hut in 3 small sections forming a "Y". Then I won't have to get the "window" segments from the manufacturer. I just have to deal with the intersections.

I don't think a Quonset has to be covered with a layer of cement. I suppose an engineer would be needed to answer that question.


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## liangxin (Aug 12, 2015)

http://www.corrugatedsteelculvert.comHere is a supplier for corrugated steel pipe underground. Maybe it can help you.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

A standard metal Quonset hut made for above ground use should not be buried at all. It will lead to problems or collapse.

There are numerous types of corrugated metal structures like that that can be buried, but they are engineered differently, heavier gauge material, heavy fasteners, deeper corrugations, special coatings, special foundations and anchorage systems, etc.

I'm sure a quick online search for corrugated metal structures could lead you to a manufacturer of this sort of thing. Best to explain your application with the manufacturer, then let them do the engineering.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

I see the web links to American Shelter Tech is no longer a viable link.


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## rickfrosty (Jun 19, 2008)

wy_white_wolf said:


> http://home.earthlink.net/~dectiri/MTQuonst.htm
> 
> http://www.buildingsguide.com/faq/what-quonset-hut
> 
> ...


Oh, I again asked a question then failed to come back to HT for a long time. Thank you all for your answers.
I also didn't mention that I would not only have a timber frame inside for support, but would add shotcrete on top for extra strength.
AND I pd $78 for a used (yep) book at Amazon about building underground w/the 'Passive Annual Heat Storage' method that will keep building dry for sure . Also have the Rob Roy book that stresses the weight of dirt on a roof .


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## rickfrosty (Jun 19, 2008)

Oh, I again asked a question then failed to come back to HT for a long time. Thank you all for your answers.
I also didn't mention that I would not only have a timber frame inside for support, but would add shotcrete on top for extra strength.
AND I pd $78 for a used (yep) book at Amazon about building underground w/the 'Passive Annual Heat Storage' method that will keep building dry for sure . Also have the Rob Roy book that stresses the weight of dirt on a roof .


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