First off, let’s start out with the idea. The fortress is to be your home, your safe haven, your stronghold from the undead, from the dangerous people, from everything that wants you dead. It must be safe, it must be sustainable, and hopefully, it should be comfortable to live in for the res t of your life, should you need to. All these must be kept in mind when designing your future home, and respected when you build it

An important factor to consider when designing your future home is: What are you going to be fighting? Most likely, you will be pitted against the legions of infected and the packs of raiders. The defenses must be designed to combat aggressive human attackers as well as hold off a large number of zombies.

Another factor to consider in your fortress is how many you plan on supporting. A ten person group doesn’t quite justify a ten acre compound. How would ten people protect the entire perimeter at once, let alone on shifts? The size of your compound, while it has some leeway, must be decided with population in mind.


Let’s discuss your resources. Let’s start off with what you don’t have:

• You DON’T have mines for minefields.
• You DON’T have machine guns.
• You DON’T have unlimited gasoline, flamethrowers, oil, etc.
• You just don’t.
• “But I - ”
• NO.

Now, for what you DO:

• A good head on your shoulders.
• A good pair of hands.
• Some help.
• The resources around you: dirt, wood, maybe cement.
• Time to design and plan.

Used right, these can be all you require to create a fortress of impenetrable magnitude. For a page on barricade materials, some that are better suited to building a fortress, and others that are more for fortifying a house as a temporary location. One must be smart as they peruse the Barricade Material page.

Preparing Pre-Zombie is a surprisingly different situation, as compared to building your defenses Post-Apoc. The materials, costs, and difficulty will be incredibly difficult.

• In a Pre - Z condition, one will be forced to pay for materials, more-often that not, in a monetary exchange. In terms of how we as humans live at the moment, and depending on the material and design, it is likely one would end up paying an unmanageable amount. However, you will certainly have access to what you need much easier, as well as help and equipment. Perhaps most importantly, you will have fuel and electricity to help you construct this fortress.
  

• Post - Z, on the other hand, you may end up paying nothing at all. The problem with this, however, is that you may not even be able to find the supplies needed, not to mention the danger involved in not only gathering the supplies, but actually building the defenses as the zombies are attacking. The amount of people needed to build will have to increased to accomplish the task faster, and even more to keep watch. You will not have access to electricity, and fuel will be limited. How easy will it be to use screws with no drills?
  

Thus, when considering what one can accomplish now, vs. what needs to be done Post - Apocalypse, it would be advise that one completes as much as humanly possible beforehand, and doing only what must be done Post - Apoc.


Location is a very important factor to keep in mind when designing and building a fortress.

The location must be able to feed the defenders. Sufficient land is required, not only for enough crops, but extra fields, so that the crops can be rotated, and the soil is not damaged. Additionally, you may have an amount of livestock, be they cattle, chickens, or even goats or horses. These critters will require land of their own, for grazing, pecking, and running. These must be kept in mind when laying out the defenses and other fields.

Additionally, the area needs to to be able to supply water to the defenders. Building a massive wall will not help any inhabitants survive if a drought comes around. A well can be dug, or a spring can be utilized, as long as it can be depended upon. It would be possible for a stream to be rerouted; however, if you come under attack, consider that any attackers could easily contaminate the water upstream, spreading sickness and disease, if they don't stop the flow altogether.

Additionally, the spot in question should posses some defensive qualities, depending on one's personal situation. For example:

• If one has enough weapons, a spot on top of a hill will not only provide a view of the surrounding area, but also give an advantage in a firefight.
• If, however, firearms and such are unavailable, a spot in a valley, by comparison, provides cover, and doesn't draw the same amount of attention as one would on top of a hill.

At the same time, other natural elements need to be taken into consideration when choosing a location.

• Will the area flood? And if it does, can you compensate and survive?
• Will wind do damage to your crops and homes, and can it be blocked by structures or trees?
• Will crops get enough sunlight to grow properly? Or do those hills cast too much shadow?
• If there is a fire, can you build something into the fortress to fight it?

All are factors that must be taken into account when choosing where to build this new home.




When most people imagine a fortress, they think of monolithic walls, towering over the heads of any attacker. Massive, unmovable, and unmistakable. No doubt, the walls are one of, if not the, most important defensive aspect in your fortress. They should be able to stop the horde of shambling zombies, the packs of sprinting infected, or the attack of a raider.

The thickness, height, and length of this wall must all be determined by your needs and by the material from which you are building. For example, a one foot thick concrete wall will stop most small caliber rounds, and three feet should stop up to a .50 caliber. The foundation must be strong enough to keep this heavy structure standing.

The only real drawback to the wall is the amount of work involved in it's creation. The manual labor need to place bricks 10 feet high, or pour concrete over your head, is immense. A traditional wall made of these two materials would likely require building before any apocalyptic situation; although the monetary cost would also prove expensive at this point, the odds of finding the required material after the world has been ravaged are far from in your favor.

To find more on actually building these traditional walls, try the Comprehensive Wall Construction Page.
To find more on cheaper walls that still get the job done, try: The Plank Wall Page, or the Rammed Earth Wall Page.


The concentric wall design consisted of a second, smaller wall, at a good distance away from the fortress's main wall. The idea was to create a first obstacle that the attackers would have to make it past; however, the main wall would still be tall enough to shoot over this wall. As they climbed over the top of the wall, the defenders were free to take shots at them; after the attackers finally made it past the first wall, they would find themselves in a clear area, devoid of anyplace to take cover or hide. This kill zone was the strongest point of the concentric walls. With no way to run, and no way to go forward, the attackers were at the mercy of the defenders.

There are two main drawbacks, however, to this type of defense.

• The first is that, when the attackers are directly outside of the first wall, the defenders will not be able to shoot them. The attackers can take cover at this point, and work without fear until they get over the wall.
• The second drawback is the work in building it. It is basically creating an entire extra perimeter. As such, even if one chooses to work with this design, it should be a lesser focus, as it will draw resources and work from all other aspects of one's fortress.

It has been suggested that, to defeat the problem of the blind spot outside the outer wall, one must simply place defenders on the outer wall, an idea with great merits. The greatest considerations in this defense would be that the defenders must have a method of retreating, should the outer wall be breached, to the inner wall behind.




The machicolation is a type of design where the upper level of the wall extends out, leaving a horizontal gap between the wall of the first floor and the wall of the second. This gap is used to drop rocks on, shoot, and otherwise kill any attackers at the very base of the wall, which would otherwise be in a blind spot for the defenders.
















The common archer’s slot. A tall, narrow slot in the wall that angles out as it goes in towards the inner side of the wall. The smaller outer profile gives anyone on the outside a smaller target to shoot at; however, with the larger angle in the back side, the defender is able to move back and forth, and maintain a decent field of view.

As seen in the one on the right, a small horizontal gap also greatly adds to the range of motion. It can give the defender who is using it a small movement left or right, greatly increasing the size of the firing angle.

















The entrance is not a defensive structure, structurally – quite the opposite, it may be considered a weak point.

However, it is necessary if you want to move vehicles, large animals, etc into the compound. This point, designed to let people move through, will undoubtedly be the target of those who want to get through, even when you don’t want them to join you.

Reinforcing it, along with vigilance and competent defenders, are some of the most basic and useful things you can do (provided you are not leaving the rest of your defenses weak). However, there are some structural and design additions you can create to make the job of defending easier.


It sounds cliche as can be, but the benefits are obvious. Instead of just closing the door, you are removing the ground in front of the door, taking away the place any attackers would need to breach it.

This method does require an open space below your door, but in the long term, it is well worth the work. This can be accomplished by either digging a large trench in front of your wall, or all the way around. Another method would be simple to create a ramp on the inside of your fortress. The outer door would simply lower down at an angle to allow vehicles to come and go.

The usage of a drawbridge would require a system to open it, preferably manually powered, so that, should you run out of fuel, it can still be opened and closed.



Another well known symbol of the medieval times, fewer know the name of the portcullis. This device was the large, crisscrossed gate that was often lowered into place as the main gate of the castle.

More often than not, a portcullis was crafted from wood, and both held together and reinforced with metal backing. It is still a viable method, but with the right resources, a full metal portcullis is very possible. It should offer the same strength as a wooden, and possibly even cut down on weight, depending on it's design. If one is feeling especially brave and adventurous, it may be possible to create a garage-door-like system, where the portcullis actually rolls up, instead of simply being lifted stiffly out of place.

When a castle came under siege, the portcullis was often temporarily reinforced to withstand even greater attacks than normal. A few methods included:

• A portcullis often had a bracket on the back, that matched with one on each wall at its sides. If the attackers had some kind of battering ram, which they almost always did, a large wooden beam would be laid in the brackets as extra bracing against a horizontal motion.
• For even more horizontal support, beams and logs would be placed, angled from the ground up to the midpoint of the portcullis, helping to brace it against the ground.
• Finally, the defenders would also have a way to lock the portcullis in place from above. The horizontal bracing would do little compared to the vertical bracing above, keeping the attackers from being able to simply lift it up and out of the way.

Finally, portcullis often worked in pairs. The first portcullis would work as the primary defense, stopping any attackers outside the main gate. If the first is breached, there should be a second portcullis after the barbican (below). These defensive structures can also be used to keep newcomers in a spot where they are harmless, should they need to be checked over. Also, only one should be raised at a time, to keep any possible attackers from bolting straight past all your defenses.


The not-well-known barbican became a popular design in European castles during the 13th century. The design calls for a covered entrance of a castle to grow narrower, forcing the attackers into a smaller area, with no way out. At the same time, murder-holes, arrow slots, and places for boiling water and tar to be poured in.

This idea can and should be easily incorporated with one or several portcullis. The outer should serve as the first line of defense. If you can defeat the attackers without them ever getting in, why not do it? The next should be at the end of your hallway-like barbican, to keep them from gaining actual access to your fortress. A third portcullis should be placed almost directly next to the first, so that, should the invaders pass the first, and arrive at the second, the third can be lowered, simultaneously trapping them in, and preventing any backup from assisting.




A relatively popular method of defense is the trench. It is often theorized that a zombie will fall into said trench, and be unable to climb out. However, for such a situation to be applicable, the trench must be extremely deep. After the topsoil is breached, the rocks beneath will certainly give trouble to anyone trying to dig any deeper by hand. Thus, the amount of manual labor required is immense; much, much greater than most would take into account.

Another issue is maintenance. The zombies killed in said trench must be removed and otherwise disposed of. To leave a pile of rotting corpses would not only be a health hazard, but would eventually pile up high enough to allow those still animated to climb back out, thus defeating the defensive purpose of the trench.

However, they do have their strengths. A trench would easily stop a raider’s vehicle; even if they made it across, the vehicle would most likely be severely damaged, keeping it from directly attacking your next defense in line.


This is where the trench shines. When paired with another layer of defense, such as when it is placed some distance in front of a wall, it slows down the attackers, buying more time, damaging them, and giving the defenders a better chance to shoot. If placed directly in front of a wall (hopefully without compromising the wall’s integrity), it can raise the height the zombies need to rise to make it over said wall, thus boosting its usefulness.



A less popular, although just as effective, use for the trench is for waste disposal. Outside of your perimeter, a purpose-built trench can be filled with bodies and waste, and then buried, negating the possible health risks of leaving these bodies exposed.

Therefore, trenches, while possible, are relatively inefficient on their own, and require more work than most realize. It would be well advised to not try anything of the sort, unless using heavy equipment, such as a backhoe. However, when properly aligned in a series of defenses, they can prove their worth.


It has been discussed many times: “Why not light them on fire while they’re in the trench?!” The answer? Several reasons, many of them posed also by the normal trench. The work required to make it deep enough to trap the zombies would be immense. The fire may easily burn out of control. The amount of accelerants (i.e., gasoline, oil, etc) required would be large, and irreplaceable – once you run out of gas, then what? The fire trench cannot be easily combine with other types of defenses, as the defenders need to easily access it to ignite the fires and keep them going.

In summation, the fire-trench, using renewable sources of fuel, such as dried manure or firewood, is an effective tool for sanitation and waste disposal. In defense of a direct attack, however, it leaves much to be desired.




Basically the same principles of the trench, the spear pit is lined with spikes. Ideally, this incapacitates the zombie, or kills the raider, further trapping either at the bottom of the trench. Even if the zombie is not killed, its own weight will likely hold it still for the defenders to execute.


The only major drawbacks with this style is the work require to build it, and the bio-hazard. With all of the holes poked into the victims, undoubtedly, there will be a good amount of blood – on the bodies you will have to clean up, on the spikes, on the bottom of the trench.

To create a spike trench, you must simply construct a trench, as usual. Afterward, re-bar, sharpened or not, must be pounded into the ground at the bottom of the trench. It can be angled, vertical, or whatever direction best fits your scenario.



Moats are quite possibly the very signature of the medieval castle; the defensive river that surrounds the castle, keeping the attacking army from getting to the walls. Sure, it stopped knights in heavy armor, and siege machines, but would it stop a zombie? Having never seen one, we cannot know.

Assuming that the moat is on its own, it would have to have a very strong current flow to stop an attacking Zed; carry it downstream, or else it would swim, walk, or even flail its way across. If coupled with a wall, the moat could serve to drown a zombie that still requires air, or slow a zombie down.

However, unless it is part of an already-present stream, the water will be stagnant, if it remains there at all. Worst of all, when you kill a zombie in the water, the entire source of water will become contaminated. This makes disposal more problematic. You then have to worry about contact with the water when you remove the bodies, as well as the chance that the water will escape and contaminate the groundwater in the area. You have to worry about more than just becoming a zombie – there are all sorts of infectious diseases that will kill you before the zombies get a chance.


There is nearly an unlimited number of styles of fencing in the word. Plastic decorative fences, wooden privacy fences, chain-link security fences, and barbed wire war fences. Each one of them can serve a purpose in the post apocalyptic world.


Barbed wire and Razor wire are two different thing, that preform, for the most part, the same task. Barbed wire, deployed in a defensive use, serves to slow and injure attackers, and perhaps even funnel raiders into locations you want them.

In its most simple setup, wire can be strung up between posts, almost as if done for containing cattle. Certainly, it won't stop many attackers, or any attacker for very long, but it will very easily slow them down. As long as someone is nearby to keep an eye on the perimeter, it should certainly help your chances to add a little wire to the lines of defenses.




Concertina is a spring-shaped setup for razor wire. It allows it to be compressed for easy transport, and then opened up again immediately, for a quick defense. The most common deployment for this is the Triple Concertina, as seen below. The odds of it being simply sound are slim, but the best places to look are modern prisons, which often use them in the outer perimeter.








An advantage of chain link is the gaps. You can easily stab a small-tipped, long melee weapon through the links to finish a zombie, without the expenditure of ammo. The corpse would still need to be removed, but this could be done once all threats are disposed of.



This is, perhaps, the second most common kind of fencing seen, after chain link. It is often spotted guarding the backyards of suburban and urban dwellers, from the dangers of the neighbors yappy dog, or those ugly woods right behind it. Not only does it accomplish these jobs very well, but against a hungry, shambling zombie, it can also prove as an effective defense. It is not a structure that should be built, and simply left alone with trust. It must be patrolled and maintained, much like the chain link fence.







There are countless ways to secure a shelter for you and your own, inside the security of your defenses. Depending on the location, shelters may already be present, some may need building, or you may be able to scavenge some. As important as your defenses are, and although they should be completed first, do not underestimate the necessity of a good home. Certainly, you will need it to keep warm in the winter, perhaps to get out of the sun in summer, to sleep in a controlled environment, and for a communal gathering spot.

Many members decide they want a barracks-like setup for the entirety of their community, or to use straight shipping containers as a place to live. When making these decisions, consider how comfortable you live now. Do you really want to live in a cold, uninsulated steel box, or a open, no-privacy room for the rest of you life? Keep these factors in mind when counting your options.


It is entirely possible that you will be building you defenses around an already existing structure. If the structure is in good condition, then this will cut down the amount of work required by a large amount.


Building from scratch certainly has it's advantages. You know everything about this structure. Every beam, stud, and vent are mapped out in your mind. In any sort of last ditch fight, you should certainly have the advantage. In addition, you can make this house fit all and any of your needs. If you have a large number of defenders, you are able to focus mainly on a dormitory area. If you have a large amount of farmland, you can create a large enough kitchen and store rooms to handle the amount of canning and jarring required.

Obviously, the downside to creating a home from scratch is the amount of work required. Building a house is NOT an easy undertaking. If you so desire to do so, you would require a large amount of expertise, not to mention manual labor, and invaluable building materials.

A valid strategy would be to build around, or bring in, a smaller, temporary shelter. This smaller shelter will give you a place to stay while your defenses are brought to life, and then as your custom home is brought to fruition.



A large amount of survivors feel the need to use large, rough containers as shelters, such as shipping containers. These massive boxes are relatively safe, easily divided into living spaces, and, in some places, abundant. However, the downfalls are many. They are only abundant in some locations; in others, they are unheard of. They are uninsulated, offering no warmth in the cold winter, and no cooling in the summer. While they would undoubtedly make a wonderful temporary shelter, as a long term solution, there are certainly better paths to walk.

An alternative is: RVs and campers. A camper trailer is not the best shelter; it is not the coolest in the summer, it is not very warm in the winter, and it is not the most structurally sound. However, it is very easy to set up and ready to live in. As a temporary shelter, a place to stay while you prepare a better place of residence, it could be one of the best, considering its speed and simplicity. Similar to this, is the RV. The RV offers the same advantages of the camper trailer, only better. It is warmer, stronger, and all around better suited to longer, more comfortable living.

Perhaps a better solution would be a mobile home. No, they are certainly not as impressive as the building-block shipping containers, but they are already insulated, furnished, and meant to be lived in. Perhaps not as cool, they are certainly a hundred times more comfortable than any container you will find, for roughly the same amount of work. What would you rather spend your life in? A small house, or a metal box?