This is where the long term planning will start. My designs will grow enough within the perimeter to keep between 40 and 64 people alive, depending on the diet (meat is more intensive on land than vegetables). My defensive perimeter designs cover a rectangle of 51.5 acres. 800 feet by 2,805 feet. Based on medieval castle structures, it is a 6 tiered step structure.

It is not just designed to be a protection from zombies, but from:

Disaster	Minimum Requirements	Reasoning	Specifications
Flood	50' above ground level undamaged	Most hurricanes will create waves of 46 feet, and torrential rainstorms have usually managed about the same levels before subsiding.	Tiers 5 and 6 will remain unflooded. This allows 464,610 sq ft. for crops and livestock until the floods subside.
Earthquake	Withstand a 9+ on the European Macroseismic Scale The Castle should be graded as Vulnerability Group F	The EMS-98 scale classes buildings in 6 Vulnerability Groups (VG), A-F. The damage to the buildings is then Graded from 1 (crack in the plaster) to 5 (complete destruction). Each of the 12 earthquake levels (I-XII) then states the damage grades expected to each VG. The EMS-98 is a more sophisticated scale than Mercalli.	Specially designed quake-proofed foundations, along with cross-braced, reinforced concrete walls and ceiling will ensure that this specification is met. The base foundations should be impervious to all but the most devastating of earthquakes. The Castle should fall into Vulnerability Group F. The houses should fall into Vulnerability Group D.
Hurricane	Withstand 2+ on the Saffir-Simpson scale	Wind speed of up to 110 mph, wave height of more than 46 feet. This covers the majority of hurricanes that have hit that area in the last thirty years. Much of the construction for this is covered by the earthquake and tornado prevention.	Reinforced concrete, cross-braced walls and quake-proofing all contribute to this specification, with the only concern being the glass in the windows and greenhouse. The glass itself will be multiple sheets, alternating with clear laminate for extra toughness. Storm shutters will be installed on all the windows.
Tornado	Withstand an EF1+ on the Enhanced Fujita scale	EF1 category covers 85.1% of tornadoes, and is relatively easy to construct to, with wind speeds up to 110 mph. EF2 is a lot harder to build for, and is not cost effective to prevent, with wind speeds up to 135 mph.	Again, with the walls, ceiling and foundations adequately prepared, this specification should be easily met, although the glass is of particular concern. The glass itself will be multiple sheets, alternating with clear laminate for extra toughness. Storm shutters will be installed on all the windows.
Riots, Mobs, Civil Unrest, Plague	Withstand 200+ people armed with small arms, improvised incendiary weapons	Most rioters are not well armed or well organised. Petrol bombs are more for psychological effect than damage.	High perimeter coupled with tiered defenses allow a small band of defenders to stave off such an attack, providing training and weaponry is sufficient.
Blackout	Grid offline for 2+ weeks	Whilst most blackouts can be resolved within hours, in isolated areas they can often last for a week or more.	Solar panels provide electricity for up to 25 years guaranteed, often for up to 40. Propane and diesel generators provide short term backup, and boost for energy intensive functions.
Famine	International food shortages for 1+ year due to total crop failure	Crop failures have often occurred without warning, due to viruses, weather or other devastation. Last year the global surplus was down to 50 days, from 116 in 1999. At less than 60 days surplus food prices start to rise as shortages start to occur.	Larder stocks 18 months of food for 65 people. Land provides continued sustenance for 57+64+ people.
Nuclear fallout	Reduce 3 Sievert (Sv) to 4 milliSieverts (mSv)	4.5 Sv (4,500 mSv) is fatal in 50% of cases, 3.6 mSv is average yearly dose. 4 mSv is on par with a Barium enema. Nuclear fallout is typically 3 Sv close to the epicentre after 96 hours, with 250 mSv being mid distance and 10 mSv long range.	2 feet of concrete on the larder reduces the radiation by a factor of 1024. 3 Sv reduced to 2.93 mSv. 1 foot of concrete on the rest of the house reduces the radiation by a factor of 32. 3 Sv reduced to 93.75 mSv. Survivable, but outside requirements. 20 feet of concrete surrounding the water supply inside tier 6 reduces the radiation by a factor of 2^100. 3 Sv reduced to 0. There is more radiation from the concrete itself than any outside factor.

Zombies are not on that list, since the danger presented by them is actually a combination of the above. With a worldwide infection, riots are the first concern, from both humans and zombies. This is followed by blackout, as the power stations are abandoned or overrun. Finally, famine and nuclear fallout are the last disasters to be assured. Nuclear fallout will most likely arise from improperly shut down nuclear power plants rather than bombs, but any crops that have not been destroyed by the farmers abandoning them will become inedible from the fallout.

As a guide, a 30 acre plot of land with existing dwelling is currently selling for $350,000 in the US (South Carolina, May 2009). Land prices in each of the proposed locations can be expected to be the same or cheaper. Total budget for land, construction and equipment is expected to be around $3.5 million. A 360 acre Bahamian island is currently on sale for $3.5 million (August 2009).

The calculation for the walls works out like this: If the walls were made of poured concrete, I would need 3,708,237 cubic feet of cement (using a standard concrete mix). 234.489 cubic feet per metric tonne means that I need 15,814 tonnes of cement. At $60 per tonne the cement will cost $948,845.59

This doesn't include the rebar, the cement or the labour required to pour it. But it is a good indication of the costs involved.




The light green areas are farm-able land. The dark green areas could be cultivated until outbreak, but would then have to be given up. Due to the long shadow cast by the walls, this area would not be as productive anyway. That is why things like the grain stores will be placed here. The total area for both dark green sections is 500,000 square feet, or 11.4 acres. Whilst that might seem quite a lot of land to give up, if the design did not narrow at each tier, it would be infinitely less defend-able.



That brown area is not part of the base, that's just the land outside the first wall. I'm going to fill it with zombies to show a sense of scale. Currently there are 307 there.



The top tier will have 5 multi-occupancy dwellings. 1 main, 4 minor. The remaining area will be given over to cultivation. All the lower tiers will also be planted, excepting the lowest tier. This will be grazing for animals, although initially will provide a killing ground if Wall One has to be given up. Each wall is eleven feet when viewed from the lower side, and three feet viewed from the higher side. The exceptions are the first wall, which is twenty-one feet high when viewed from the lower side, and the top wall, which is ten feet when viewed from the lower side. Set one hundred feet back from each wall will be a chain link fence, again the exception being the first tier, which will be set back one hundred and fifty feet. The post-holes will be sunk before the outbreak, but the fence itself will only be erected on Z day. There are gates on the roadway and two smaller doors, one either side about twenty feet from the gate. These will enable people manning the walls to retreat and secure the fence, slowing the progress of the attackers.

Defensive Note:

The lower edges of the walls will be lined with sharp plants. Blackberries, roses, cacti. Tanglefoot and bear-traps have been suggested, and will be included as defense for the outer wall if the budget allows.



The housing provides for up to 12 people in each of the houses, and up to 30 in The Castle. This does not mean that 78 people could live there indefinitely however. That number is still governed by the food supply.

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