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timberrattler |
Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 1:37 PM EDT
I recently got the chance to sit down and watch the "Doomsday Bunkers" TV series that I DVR'd.I gotta say, that's preppin' for the big boys. I don't have the kinda money to have this guy build me a bunker but it did get me to thinking. What if I did have the money? Would I have something like this built for a BOL? Or would that even be a good idea? I'd like everyone's opinion on bunkers. What do you believe are the pros and cons of this very secretive method of survival? Are there any inexpensive ways of building a bunker that someone with a construction background could build themselves? Oh BTW the show is on the Discovery channel and I belive its worth checking out. Do you find this valuable?
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bunkers
discovery channel
doomsday bunkers
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Carnack |
1. RE: Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 1:48 PM EDT
Well it depends on the bunker bu one issue is sustainability.Yes you can store X years worth of food and water but then what? What if you prepped for 10 years and the crisis goes on for 20? Do you have means of procurring more food without compromising your bunker? And have you seen how SMALL they are? Cabin Fever will become Coffin fever in a hurry. betcha money. They are very secretive if they are not put on Discovery Channel that is :3 And a cheaper way could be using steel shipping containers. Low-tech but if you want it... 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
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timberrattler |
2. RE: Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 1:57 PM EDT
Shipping containers! Glad I thought of that. Sometimes I amaze myself.I'm with you on the cabin fever. That wouldn't be a big deal at first but over time it would become a big factor. Having the blinds closed in the house gets on my nerves. I can't imagine months of no windows or fresh air. Also agree on the whole "secretive" part. When SHTF and these people bug out they'll be a caravan of neighbors behind them following them to thier bunker. Do you find this valuable? |
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Carnack |
3. RE: Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 1:59 PM EDT
| Post edited: Mar 23 2012, 2:19 PM EDT
Well the thing is that if you can get cabin fever in a regular house what happens when you're shoved into something smaller?
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=jesse= |
4. RE: Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 2:18 PM EDT
It's a neat idea. If I had an extra half million to throw around I might do it. Or I might just go to Vegas and go out with a bang.I don't get some of these bunkers. They have massive blast doors, but a single pipe coming out for air. Couldn't you just put a piece of plastic and rubber band around it and wait them to open the doors cause they're suffocating?......not that I've thought about doing that to flush them out... 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Carnack |
5. RE: Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 2:21 PM EDT
It's true though Jesse."See dem blast doors? Would take a bomb to get through them. Oh and over here we have the tube for your air. It would take a peace of plastic or a big storm to seal that assuming they don't just poison it." 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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=jesse= |
6. RE: Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 2:47 PM EDT
"It's true though Jesse.Glad I'm not the only one who noticed it. For the money they're dropping you would think there would be some sort of air recycling system or some type of back up for oxygen. Every time the owner goes "So what's important to you"?, I"m thinking to myself "breathing". 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
RainofMails |
7. RE: Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 2:54 PM EDT
If I spent that much money on a fancy bunker, I would live in it year round. Hell, if I spent enough money to get some shipping containers put together with a toilet and electricity I would live in it year round.
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timberrattler |
8. RE: Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 4:33 PM EDT
"ROFL. Agreed. Do you find this valuable? |
Oakspar77777 |
9. RE: Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 4:33 PM EDT
First, you need to think about what it is that you need - do you need to be able to sustain a direct or near hit nuclear blast? do you need to be able to survive in it for several weeks while the fallout fades?Blast shelters need thick doors and walls rated to withstand the pressure of the blast. Fallout shelters need to be thick enough to soak up the radiation (3' of packed earth or 2' of concrete). Now, not all blast shelters are airtight fallout shelters (built for conventional exsplosions) and not all fallout shelters are built strong enough to survive a blast. Most, however, are built to do both. A good fallout shelters will have air pipes whose purpose is to cycle air through a filtered air pump (bio, chem, dust filters). You could intentionally clog them - but these bunkers are not built to repell people - but to keep people alive when people outside the bunker could not be alive to mess with you. In the pre-apoc they make great root cellars. A decent, homemade, inground shelter is going to cost a little over $10,000 for the do-it-yourselfer. You can do it cheaper and, of course, the sky is the limit on cost. I'm not in a blast area, so I built mine above ground as part of another building - the 2' thick walls are rather material intensive - but I don't have the drainage for something in ground. I probably spent around $5,000 on block, concrete, gravel, and rebar as well as $250 for a concrete mixer. It also took me about 8 months to do the job on the weekends and vacation. Pros: I have a great place for stockpiling and a fall-back location from my house. Con: The downside to fighting in a basement arguement is the same for a bunker. Do you find this valuable? |
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=jesse= |
10. RE: Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 4:40 PM EDT
"I probably spent around $5,000 on block, concrete, gravel, and rebar as well as $250 for a concrete mixer. It also took me about 8 months to do the job on the weekends and vacation.This is pretty cool. Do you have any pictures of it? My wife and I have been on the fence about buying a 10-20 acre plot of land out here. They're secluded, peaceful being right by the mountains and streams, and an awesome camp ground. They're so cheap since there are no utilities and no where near civilization that I've often considered about trying to do what you did out there. Any lessons learned would be much appreciated. Do you find this valuable? |
Zee-Man |
11. RE: Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 5:17 PM EDT
With the premise of "If I had the money" then my answer is yes, I would buy and refurbish a missile silo. Heck, if I won the lottery I think it would be cool to have that kind of property. I think the folks on the show are living outside their means. Or, if they are not, then they are using it in under-educated ways.Do you find this valuable? |
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Oakspar77777 |
12. RE: Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 9:27 PM EDT
If you have any slope, I would suggest in ground. I'm flat farmland out there, so there was no drainage and I had to go above ground.For mine, I cleared the area for a barn, then dug in some serious footers (about 4' wide and 3' deep) and filled them level. A few chaulk lines later and I had a 2' thick wall area lined out. I layed out two lines of CMUs (cinder blocks) on the inside and the out with 8" in between. I then went through with a long drill bit thing (made for the job, the HDepot carries them) and drilled and put in a rebar through each CMU hole. I then filled in the CMUs with more concrete. (This is a method called "dry stack" CMU masonry). Once the CMUs were filled, I did a different mix for the inner wall (adding several shovels of gravel to each batch - made the stuff cheaper - and I was using A LOT of concrete. Every so often I would drill through the CMUs and put a piece of rebar through the center section of the wall to tie the inner and the out walls together. Of course, like all dry stack, I also would occasional rebar through blocks along the wall to tie it together. I also made sure that my block was all "double end" or "pillar block" so that both ends were flat and would be flush. I know some use standard block, but the smooth ended stuff always works better for me. I spent a lot of time picking pieces out of mixed pallets once the block I ordered direct ran out (about 500 block shy of the job). Other buggers of the job were getting the plumbing, drain, electrical, and airflow pipes in - in part because they cannot go straight through - they have to go into the center wall in one place, cut a 90 degree angle, go a foot or so, then 90 again back out of the wall. A PAIN. Once I had the walls up, and the door hole blocked around (I custom made two timber doors offset in a 3' X 6' entry room. 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
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Oakspar77777 |
13. RE: Bunkers. Pros and cons.
Mar 23 2012, 9:44 PM EDT
I put in a timber roof (4"X6" posts, on edge, and 6" apart sitting on the inner wall). I had to put in two extra support colums of footer, core filled CMUs, and 4"X6"s to brace the middle.I covered that with OSB (pressboard). Covered that with tar paper (to stop dripping). I then ran the outer wall another 2' up. I covered that with chicken wire, hog fencing, and some purchased rebar-fencing and poured a massive top slab bucket by GODFORSAKENBUCKET, using every bit of gravel, broken block, old brick, and metal trash I could put in (as I was running out of money for the project and it was a lot of concrete. It did not get down in one pour (as it should have). It has developed a few cracks over the years, but they patch easily enough with a thin mortar. Finally, I went over all the CMUs with surface bonding cement (a standard for drystack CMUs and far too exspensive for cement with fiberglass fibers in it). When it was done, plumbed up, wired, and the doors set in - it was a very impressive block of concrete. Two years later I put a barn up around it. Today, it holds part of my stockpile, works as a decent root cellar, and is a fallback from the house if necessary. Me and the wife take a "staycation" for a few days there every year (well, most years). Do you find this valuable? |
