Bunker building

a reply to: crazyewok

Don't second guess the plans (oh and get a hold of the plans) they're well done for the DIY'er.

a reply to: SubTruth
yes,they do it all the time....improperly! Shipping containers are NOT designed to have weight on the roof or sides,only on the corner posts,thats how they stack,like legos.Without proper roof and side support,they will collapse,with or without corrosion.

a reply to: crazyewok

It's probably a pipe-dream to build a legit bunker in England. Particularly if you're a working or middle-class person or family. Yeah, some farmers might have enough land to accomadate a bunker and there are a few middle-class folk with big enough back yards to do the same.

For the rest of us, it's a dead-end straight off. You'd need to have the bunker far enough away from other buildings that they wouldn't collapse and bury your entrance, exits or ventilation. Using cellars or underneath garages would pose the risk of these being blocked.

A lot of us ATS Brits have the Pennine moors as a common middle-ground. They're desolate and parts are often empty of hikers at certain times of the year. However, I think the chances of excavating the cubic metres and disposing of them would be nigh on impossible to accomplish without getting reported. It'd take a few 16 ton skips and a backactor to shift it all. The same would go with having the local builder's merchants delivering tons of concrete for the float and brick/breezeblocks for the structure.

Then there's the backfill...

Maybe it's worth looking at the website 28dayslater to see where your local underground tunnels are? Some local tunnels have areas that are extensive and free from flooding.

a reply to: Kandinsky

Lets put it this way.....planning permission is er of a secondary nature

And we have land though there some interesting plans for building under a garage im looking at

As for getting rid of soil remember this is not meant to be a big live in bunker just a man cave/ storage area.

Actually the garage idea cause not one can see what your doing and no one will think twice at a skip.

I dont see a cave in risk unless we screwed with the foundations which we would avoid at all costs.

I used a Storm Tec-LS20 for my family. Good for 20 people if you are very, very close friends. Really good for about 6 adults for over night or a couple could live in it. It's water tight and storm proof. I stocked mine with MRE's, weapons, medical gear, water, extra clothes, a solar charger, and rum, don't forget the rum. You can't put a generator inside, so I used gel cell battery' bank to backup the LED lighting.
This isn't as large as you are looking for but for $8,500.00 I couldn't complain.

originally posted by: Nickn3
I used a Storm Tec-LS20 for my family. Good for 20 people if you are very, very close friends. Really good for about 6 adults for over night or a couple could live in it. It's water tight and storm proof. I stocked mine with MRE's, weapons, medical gear, water, extra clothes, a solar charger, and rum, don't forget the rum. You can't put a generator inside, so I used gel cell battery' bank to backup the LED lighting.
This isn't as large as you are looking for but for $8,500.00 I couldn't complain.

Actually that looks quiet suitable. Its just getting over here that's the problem.

Size im flexible on.

In a lot of the USA south and mid-west, a lot of smaller firms sell tornado shelters. I grew up where a lot of folks had home-made cement shelters. My friend's dad built one, and the friend told me that it was secretly a bomb-shelter (it was the 1970s), and more than just for tornadoes.

I would recommend buying a house with a basement, and reinforcing plans. FEMA has a document for improvising a fallout shelter in a basement, and makes suggestions for building a basement outright.

i canlt remember who makes these this is the only reference i can find,

inflate , spray with water and Bamn!!! instant concrete underground bunker!

Military bunker

Concrete canvass

Q

a reply to: crazyewok

Whatever you do, ask a reputable builder for an estimate before picking up a spade. It'll cost you nothing and give you a clearer idea of what it'd take. Foundations are not to be messed with and a garage's footings might not be up to modern regs anyway. You'd never know without asking someone who does.

I don't want to sound like your mum! A lot can go wrong digging holes in buildings.

originally posted by: Kandinsky

I don't want to sound like your mum! A lot can go wrong digging holes in buildings.

Yup hence why il be a cautious as a cat that's entered a competition for most cautious feline award

Another idea was to find some very seldom travelled land out in the woodlands near me and dig a small shelter into the chalk.

Chalk pretty stable and also acts as good drainage. Shore it up with some steel and concrete blocks to be safe.

originally posted by: Kandinsky
a reply to: crazyewok

Whatever you do, ask a reputable builder for an estimate before picking up a spade. It'll cost you nothing and give you a clearer idea of what it'd take. Foundations are not to be messed with and a garage's footings might not be up to modern regs anyway. You'd never know without asking someone who does.

I don't want to sound like your mum! A lot can go wrong digging holes in buildings.

you will of course like the ancient Egyptians have to bury the builder alive in the bunker so your secret does not escape.. after all when the emergency situation hits don't want a hoard of builders descending on your safe spot

Q

and here is another question....could you "dig" through chalk using acid? I could get my hands on unlimited supply's of HCl.

The other idea is a cut and cover sort of idea.

Dig a big whole. Lay down some heavy duty scaffolding and support beams the use concrete canvas wrap and wrap that around the scaffolding.

Or even excavate a chalk small cavern and shore up the wall with the concrete wrap for extra structural support.

Nope people do it all the time many preppers have already done this. They are rated for the weight and have special sealant I believe to fight off rust. Google shipping container bunkers and check it out.

Yep, and if you look closely, you'll see entire parts of them that are unusable, as they are filled with buttresses to keep it from collapsing. I see this all the time on Doomsday Preppers episodes. They are only rated for weight on the top and corners, because that is their designed purpose. They are weak on the sides.

If building underground, either get a bunker designed for this purpose (typically light and made from corrugated metal in a tube style shape), or build it the way we usually build underground (i.e. concrete block and rebar with poured concrete).

By the time you factor in the cost of a container, and then the equal cost of having it moved and put in place, you'll be well over the material cost of the blocks, rebar, and concrete.

a reply to: Gazrok

Or just build in solid chalk which is what my area is made of.......

We have chalk tunnels build in the early 000AD's by Romans and Saxons that are still standing strong today. They also survived the Blitz as air raid shelters and RAF bunkers with limited re-enforcement..

I would say a chalk tunnel would not be too hard to excavate and keep stable.