Underground Bunkers

Any thoughts on underground bunkers? What is someone looking at to build an underground bunker that will protect them from everything up to radiation? CAN it be made strong enough to survive a nuclear bomb...from enough of a distance from its destination? Is it worth it, given today's weaponry?

 

I was talking to a raider type survivalist once and the topic of underground bunkers came up!
His responses to dealing with survivalist bunkers was
Ping them with metal detectors then either
smoke them out
insert LPG/gas and ignite
Dig and breach with acid then the above!
Build a levee around and flood irrigate
OR JUST COVER WITH DIRT lots and deep then return in a decade or two or just not return!

I have decided against underground bunkers!

 

here comes the apocalypse, I'd best not forget my metal detector, batteries, headphones, shovel and a big bag of dirt....it would have to be a pretty poor bunker to get taken out like that and I can't see someone carrying all that crap about on the off chance of discovering a bunker. I think your buddy may have been dropped on his head before he came up with that plan He was bullshitting you Arkane

 

Nah mate he plans not to be on foot or alone! Back then there were nine 4x4 plus trailers in his group, each vehicle had a different speciality!
One was very well armoured, very impressive for the day!

 

Sorry mate, you're wasting your time, I ignore bullshitters

 

That's ok I bow to your superior knowledge on bullshitters

I nearly joined that group back in the 80's but way too trigger happy for me.

 

An eBook the OP might find interesting is Fighting Chance: Ten Feet to Survival. It is now online for free here. You'll need a DJVU viewer for the browser of your choice, but those are also freebies. Cheers.

 

I think that I would rather try to survive in a cave than in an underground bunker, and I think that there is a lot better chance of getting back out of a cave than there might be from a bomb shelter.
Back in the 1950's, everyone thought that the Russians were going to attack us any day, and many places had public bomb shelters for when this terrible event happened (which of course, it didn't). There was a kind of triangle sign with 3 black dots (or something similar to that) and that meant that there was a bomb shelter under that building.
The cost of constructing one was out of the range of most people's budget, even assuming that they had enough room to build such a shelter, so the rich people had them, big office buildings had them, and the rest of us just read the news and waited for Russia to start dropping their bombs.
If you have never read the book "Emergence" by David Palmer, it is a great story about a young girl who accidentally was locked into a bomb shelter, and survived the nuclear attack. It is just a little fiction novel; but very well-written. (I know..... off topic; but just thought I would throw that in here.)
I now live in northern Alabama, and we have tornadoes out here sometimes. There are a lot of underground tornado shelters, and they have probably saved lives; but if a tree was blown down on it during the tornado, then you could be trapped in there with no way to get out, even though you survived the tornado.
I think that a bomb shelter underground could have those same issues.

 

Many of those bomb shelters have since been decommissioned and sold of for development. One massive regional administration bunker in Wiltshire ended up as an underground grow room for a dope farm.
Some of these bunkers cost tens of millions to build but came onto the open market for a tiny fraction of the build cost....you've got to love the government and how they wisely invest your money building a bunker to protect themselves then sell at a massive loss.
If you build/buy a bunker in the UK just be aware that your government or its representatives can requisition it for their own use during a state of emergency.

 

I think I would rather have a tornado shelter than an underground bunker. I mean they are both meant to withstand intense forces. My area is prone to tornadoes anyway, and I don't have a basement. We had one maybe 10 years ago and I hid in the walk in closet. yeah, combo tornado sheter and survival shelter might do me fine~

 

Very wise of you, I'm sure you would gain reassurance from a really well built tornado shelter

 

Thanks, I think it would be pretty good. I plan to sell this house, but if I can't, I might look into something like that. It would be kind of a multi purpose shelter. I have actually seen such things for sale online. Why not? It seems to be a good purchase especially if your area is prone to tornadoes. I wouldn't even know how to build a bunker.

 

Depends on the place you live in, but a bunker wouldn't be able to survive extreme situations like a really bad earthquake or a nuclear disaster. For things like tornadoes or crazy floods I think an underground bunker would be extremely important. It wouldn't survive bombs or nuclear attacks but everything else will be fine. Plus it can also act a hiding spot.

 

I am very skeptical of bunkers. Even though they might be the only thing we can count on against a nuclear menace, on any other survival situation I'd certainly avoid them. First of all what prevents it from caving in on our heads? Second once the crisis is over what guarantees me that I will be able to get out? Third but not less important how long can we survive on stocked food and underground water? Just a few things that bother me.

 

I like the idea if a bunker. The costs can be overwhelming. But if you can keep it concealed & secret, it could be an excellent retreat. At least until the early stages of TEOTWAWKI have passed. Maybe less than a year? If your bunker is discovered you would be trapped like rats.

 

For 2 person a 10 15 sqm bunker 1 m deep cost in materials somewhere maximum 2000 dollarsprices for materials are about the same in developed countries dont know how much is the work .well hidden entrance, an guerilla garden, night vision for occupants 100 bucks each, acces to a pumped well 10m deep maximum 200 dollars, led lights and an 200w panel is another 200 dolars, and food for whatever you prepare, and a smal tlud for cooking.i build them in eastern europe.

 

I can't imagine that being locked up underground in a small bunker with several people for an extended period of time to be a very good experience. Doing it during an apocalypse with the stress and tensions...I might be safer taking my chances on the surface!!

I would really like to have a rather large tornado shelter though. The problem we have here though is that if you dig a hole it will fill up with water. There are no basements here even. I saw an in ground swimming pool float up out of the ground one time. It was empty and when it rained the thing just came up!! It was strange looking to say the least. I read later that this is not all that uncommon in wet places.

 

Go with a undeground water tank made from propilene....well anchorated in the ground because if the water from the ground raises, might throw your bunker out.i said 2 person bunker 10 15 sqm.means 2 good buddys or a family...i will take my chances inside.

 

Why not consider a concrete building above ground that is earth covered?

 

There are a lot like that, built of engineering brick over a re-bar skeleton, I used to play in them as a child. Usually they were built as ammunition stores. There are some huge ones at Pendine in South Wales where they used to manufacture munitions

 

Hello fellow preppers, I am new here.

check out the ultra bunker here

http://www.ultradeertowers.com/

A couple of other ideas - rain water collection tanks - I have a chicken coupe made out of one- also if you berm it at the right depth they make great cellars.

 

If I had the money I would like to go at least partially underground. I say partially because I would be a little leery of a totally underground shelter. It would be too easy to turn it into a trap with no way out. Partially underground would have the good points of a fo hole without having me backed into a corner.

The advantage of underground is that it is bullet proof where as almost any normal building material is about as bullet proof as a paper sack. Even most brick homes are only brick veneer and only slow down a bullet.

I am seriously considering building a fo hole under my house on piers that would allow me to shoot from a safe place to cover the approach to my home. I am thinking of lining it with tires full of sand with gun ports. The last thing that I would want to be is trying to defend my home from a frame house with nothing thicker than plywood, sheetrock and siding between me and the bad guys.

 

I am wanting to build an under ground bunker . with a 6 inch thick concrete slab with 3/4 inch metal springs embedded in the concrete and sitting on top of those is four shipping containers with 6 inch pour concrete walls with 3/4 inch steel plates on the other side of the walls .with gavel at the bottom of the walls with 4 inch pvc drain pipe and sand the rest of the way until a foot or two form the top soil. I know that the metal roof of the shipping containers need to be reinforced and idea of how to do this.

 

No underground bunker will protect you from a direct nuclear blast. So to survive something like that you'd want to live in bumbfuck no mans land with no major city, military base or missile silo near by. I was thinking somewhere North in Iowa. I don't think there's a military base near by for at least 150 miles or more. I could be wrong though.

Bunkers are great for near by blasts. Mostly for radiation and then you need a good air filtration system and well water.

Here in Colorado we have the famous Cheyenne Mountain with NORD buried withen it. They say it won't survive a direct strike with today's modern nuke yields.

 

A great bunker can be made of shipping containers stacked and welded together. May need to tarp the whole thing and paint it to prevent rust. Inside build walls out of standard wood and sheet rock. You'd need to partner with a construction company. Especially on depth considerations. I'd have at least three exit/entries and maybe even a fire sprinkler system with adequate ventilation.

Shipping containers go for real cheap now a days because they just stack up at harbors now with our mass imports form Asia.

There's a lot to consider, but consider backups and redundancy on all phases of construction.

 

Are the shipping containers the full 40foot long? If so I would at recommend at least bracing them in the centre with a dividing wall to hold the structure square (if this is compatible with your proposed use for them) Shorter containers are less likely to need as much bracing. The weak spot of all shipping/storage containers are their floors, any structural additions need to be situated to take advantage of the existing supports.
You'll need to pay a lot of attention to ventilation because condensation can be a real issue with either containers or underground structures.

 

Thanks for the info I didn't even think about the condensation factor, and being that it will be below freeze point in the ground am I will have to deal with that . I did think about the bracing on the inside of the container and was thinking I got use metal I beams wielded like they use to do in the mines. not building it to take a direct hit from a nuke I am more worried about bio chem .the fail of the system. A nuke no matter how much you prep for to ride it out you still have the long nuclear winter and by the time life is able to live again on the earth I will be dead and gone so not to worry about that.I have 120 arces of land with fresh water pond fully stocked and there is deer wild hogs and etc... to hunt for food and clothing if need be.

 

A welded steel wall with a doorway the same gauge steel as the rest of the container would be sufficient bracing. No need for heavy RSJ type steel girders, if you can keep it square the side walls and dividing wall bear all the load. Replacing the end doors with a fixed section (the same as the rear of the container) is also essential if you intend to bury it.
The deeper you go the warmer it will be, this effect can be utilised to help the air flow through the interconnected stacked containers.

 

Containers structural points are the corners, you can stack piles of containers on top each other without issues as they are made for that. If burying deep under soil the center of the roof will need to be supported as it will eventually bow in. Ventilation is also important as different things such as rusting or other reactions in nature can cause the oxygen to be used up underground.

 

are you very rich, sound very expensive .

 

...certainly not a casual investment.

 

thanks for the input yst. I looked into the steal I beams little more than I really want to spend and the ones I looked at were way to wide for what I wanted. So looks like back to the drawing board for me . Here is a question and maybe you will know the answer I was told that if I build something like a pour concrete foundation like I planned to around t shipping containers that should work just about the same is this true or just some random bs

 

no I am not rich but how can you put a price tag on your live or the lives of your love ones . To protect them and myself I would go broke without a care in the world to make sure my family is protected wouldn't you

 

You could use shipping containers, but you NEED to employ the expertise of a construction company to build it. You don't know what the weight requirements are, etc. Then you need air, water, sewer and fire protection. You can't just do this yourself and burying a bunch of shipping containers fifty feet underground without any engineering behind it.

So the question on whether you're rich is a valid one. It will take thousands of dollars to do. Probably have to pull a second mortgage and the bank may not even approve of such "nonsense" to them. If you have the money then all the more power to you.

 

That's where the electronic idea of a CMOS sensor, i.e. a camera comes in at. I'd have several hidden around the property. Perhaps they'd be fiber optic cameras to mitigate EMP.

 

If anyone is looking to purchase a bunker here is some info of one for sale:

Our display bunker is FOR SALE. Currently, this is the last of bunkers. It is a Class III with over 30′ of living space. Below are some key features about this bunker:



Stairwell Entry

Mud Room 5×5

6″ Blast Door

Bury Depth of 8′ Overhead

Convenient Underfloor Storage with LED Lighting

Custom Cabinetry

Custom Upholstery

Medium Density Foam Mattresses

NBC Filtration

Commercial Grade Carpeted Living Area

Emergency Exit

Multiple Overhead Lights with Dual Control Settings

Accent Lighting

110v and 12v Outlets

Two (2) AMG Battery Absorption Glass Mat

2000w Prosine Inverter Charger

200 Gallon Water Resevoir

42″ Flat Screen TV

1600w Microwave

10′ Diameter Steel Tubing

Overall length over 38′

TOTAL: $79,999

Click below link to request more information

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Eight containers in a circle with a dirt berm around and fire positions between each container would work well.
Central courtyard no exterior windows,only a dirt wall seen from outside, well protected from tornados storms etc
but don't forget drainage.

 

Since you are probably only going to be underground for between 4 and 12 weeks there isn't much point in building a huge complex structure. Since you will be well below the level of sewers you will need to use a chemical toilet or a maceration unit that can pump waste up to the level of the sewer. This in turn requires power, probably from batteries and inverter. The whole idea of a shelter is to survive an initial blast and then minimise exposure to radioactive fallout by staying under cover, you don't need acres of space or loads of entertainment.

 

SOMETHING YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER , IT WOULD ONLY TAKE A 10 CENT GARBAGE BAG OVER YOUR AIR INTAKE TO FORCE EVERYONE OUT OF THE BUNKER IF SOMEONE WANTED YOUR RESOURCES .

 

True, that or a can of spray foam. The best bunker designs that I have seen have air intakes that are shielded for two purposes. 1. To prevent outside interference and 2. To prevent heavier than air radioactive particles entering the intake.