bunker/storm shelter

[rockriver]

reading rmpls thread on us/Russian and capt comment about a bunker brought back a project.
I thought this was already posted but couldn't find it...
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fella had a crawl space under house that went from 6 ft to 2 ft.
fella needed more storage and had desire for a "storm shelter"
in his neighborhood the word bunker would not have been a good idea.
so..
he dug out crawl space using pick, shovel and 5 gallon buckets.
as possible, dirt that was dug was moved to areas where dirt would insulate walls so that he didn't have to exit house with buckets walking across white carpet!!

most days, no neighbor knew what was going on under the house.

clear space of 450+ s.f. was dug out 8 ft high.
original foundation was concrete block.

concrete truck with a pumper unit was brought in to pour floor.
neighbors did notice that! answer to nosey neighbors... "reinforcing foundation... I've got some cracks...
house built on sand." solved most of the curious that stopped by.

interior walls were concrete block. with dirt fill from digging floor on exterior side.
1 exterior wall was not double concrete block.. 2x6 framed. load supporting.
(that wall was lined with very heavy metal fireproof storage cabinets that were 5 ft high and 2x4 framed shelves for heavy, closely packed storage items above and around the cabinets.
the other 3 walls were at least 2 concrete block thickness.
1 normal door access. separate hidden access via a crawl only doorway. normal door opened to what appeared to be a small storage area.

since area was under the main house.. water lines were visible and available. hvac was visible and left exposed. a couple of small vents were installed. drain lines were visible and exited house through floor. no access (commode) was installed, but tools to cut into line were left at area for emergency. w/c was in plan but never completed. fella was able to move his supplies/storage to a hidden and very secure area. construction material was stored for emergency use.

fella thought that there would be an increase in electric bill... opposite was true... electric went down! this area had been crawl space. now highly insulated!

fella has now moved... he misses his storage space.
when he sold house - 2 military men looked.. both immediately responded positively. second prospect bought. house was not the fanciest in neighborhood, but sold for more than any other.

digging a new one might just be a good investment in time and resources!

captain, your comment could be real valuable to a bunch of folks. a backhoe! can you see the jealousy?

[Bill Foster]

Bunker time indeed. Here is a recent report from AJ. http://www.infowars.com/report-us-mo...er-to-ukraine/

[rockriver]

fella may be getting ready to rig a few lights in crawl space and getting out the pick and shovel..
--
it sure would be easier just to rent a backhoe for a couple of days
and not dig/build under the house...

hmm. how glad would someone be if they had taken the time to dig a hole "before"

[RobertJ]

I watched those infowars videos (not a big Alex fan) and actually agreed with Putin!!?? Wow this world is screwed up.

I need to start looking into the Cold war history of our area and Locate some older civil defense fall out shelters and the like and make some plans on those grounds. Here in my neck of the woods put a shovel to ground about three to six feet down your hole starts filling with ground water,,, some areas shallower.

[cpt_sfc]

One can always build a root cellar. You can start with a not so deep hole so water table can be missed or deeper if you can. You can start with post and beam construction, or block , rock etc . We have here what is called a Michigan basement door, out side on slant ,steel lockable in and out. A few nice looking décor type blocks laid around to stop sloping of fill. Look up over pressure to allow you to build accordingly. Cover post and beam with spray foam. linex or some water proof material. Cover the bottom with wood, leave dirt, or use cement , whatever you want Put in a few vents that can be opened from inside , one in , one out . Have a air exchange of some sort. Furnace filters will work for taking out air particles Use diff grades together. Plant grass on top . Most areas do not need a permit for such a thing and once the basic structure is there you can do whatever you want inside. Keep at least 3 foot of overburden on top , more is better of course . Have a drain and sump in floor , on and on . Get a book. A book called dooms day survival is still good info and I think a civil defense book is still out there as Well as others. If you have to you will only have to be in it for 3-4 weeks tops. Keep it simple or go hog wild. All depends on how far from epicenter you are. It works as well for a storm shelter , food storage, guest room for noisy guests!!!! LOL. After the first strike we will most likely surrender anyway , DEPENDS.