Cave Diggers Natalie and Cameron
South Portal and tasting terrace.
Brian after breaking through to South portal.
South Portal from the inside. Light at the end of the tunnel.
Cave dwelling after home demolished for rennovation.
Cameron on the ATV in the cave.
Cave as of 6/16/05, about 15 ft into the hillside just turning the corner.
About 2/3 of the way in, starting to cut the niche a big piece of the roof fell in.
The first cut at the main entrance after getting turned under.
Just at the point of "turning under".
Rock wall of the cave before shotcrete. Note rock is fairly stable to support 10 ft. of forward progress without shotcrete. More details of the Rock in the cave: http://66.82.67.168/geotechpics.htm slow because it is coming via satellite from Napa.
View from the North cave portal, about where the door will be.
Cave just starting turn the corner, coated with shotcrete.
Pumping Shotcrete which gives the cave its structural stability.
Location of main entrance before start of construction. Note this site was probably an old root cellar which eventually caved in and was then used as a dump based on all the wire and metal that was dug up and hauled off. We even found a couple of 5 ft. diameter barrel hoops. Putting a new cave here is a very desirable upgrade to this segment of the property.
Specifications:
Total Floor area: 1452 sq. Ft.
Width 11 ft.
Ceiling 12 ft.
South Door 8'x7.5' wxh
Rise of stairs from 991' elev to 1000' about 9ft. on topo. More like 12 ft. by eyeball.
Scale plan of cave on Topo Map surveyed by Brooks below:
Larger area topo map showing site of the cave
Last edited by M. Holler 11/16/06