Underground Fuel Tank House

Underground Fuel Tank House BUILDINGS Houses 19-6-18 We've seen a lot of unusual uses for old fuel storage tanks in recent years, but never anything like this underground house built by a Mississippi farmer out of salvaged fuel tanks. "It's got all the comforts of home," says M.Y. Haney, of Aberdeen, Miss., about the 1,300 sq. ft., seven-room house it took him and friends two years to build. "We use it as a hunting lodge and for get-togethers. The grandkids use it for class parties. Whenever anyone sees it for the first time, the reaction is always the same - 'amazing, "unbelievable,' 'how'd you do it?'" The fuel tank house is set into a hill over-looking Haney's 300 acres of soybeans, wheat and corn. It started out as a simple hunting cabin but grew more elaborate as Haney had the opportunity to get more fuel tanks from a friend who dug them up for a living. "It was just sort of a challenge," he says. "At first I was going to bury one tank for an underground hunting shack, but decided if I was going to bury one I might as well bury the others along with it." To bury the 10 big tanks used to construct the house, Haney first removed 17 ft. of earth from the hill with a tractor and earth scraper: Then he graded the surface with a slight back slope for drainage. After the tanks had been thoroughly cleaned out, Haney placed three of them side by side lengthwise, with ends facing south, on the front of the hill. The center tank (20,000-gal.) is 30 ft. long. The tanks on either side (10,000-gal.) are 16-ft. long. He cut a 7-ft. high by 14-ft. long section out of both sides of the big tank and cut the same size holes in the adjacent sides of the smaller tanks. He then welded the tanks together, top and bottom, so they form one big, 16 by 33-ft. "great room" in front. That's the room used for entertaining. Two more tanks (18,000-gal. and 10,000gal.) were placed on either side of the big center tank and positioned behind the two smaller tanks. The tanks were used to make three bedrooms. A 14 by 10-ft. kitchen, located at the rear of the big middle tank, is located between the bedrooms and connects to the bedroom tanks through holes cut in the sides. The back of the 18,000-gal. tank contains a 14 1/2-ft. by 10-ft. bathroom. A 4,000-gal., 64-in. dia. tank located rear center serves as a giant air vent. The 2-in. thick pine flooring covered by wafer board is supported by pieces of angle iron mounted 2 ft. up on both sides of each tank. Electricity and plumbing are installed underneath the floor. Floors are covered with linoleum or carpet. Floor to ceiling height is 6 1/2 ft: Walls and ceiling were steam cleaned and painted with enamel paint. Each room is connected by an 8-in. dia. pipe ventilation system. A small electric fan is used to keep air circulating. Completing the house is a front porch made out of a 10,000 gal. tank. It was laid across the ends of the other tanks, which are buried under 5 to 7 ft. of dirt. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, M.Y. Haney, 30241 Old Wren Rd., Aberdeen, Miss. 39730-8715 (ph 601-256-8948).

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