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.