Making Shelters

Being able to make a shelter will make a big difference in your survival.

Once you realize you need shelter, start looking for a spot as soon as possible. When you are looking for a spot to pick to make a shelter you must make sure..

1. The material you need to make it is close by.
2. The area is large enough and level enough so you can lie in your shelter comfortably.

You must also make sure the spot is safe (Dead trees falling/rocks falling/insects/poisonous plants). You must also be safe from environmental problems (flash floods, avalanche or rockslides, bodies of water that could rise dangerously high).


Once you find a good spot you have to figure out what kind of shelter you need. You have to consider...

1. How much time & effort it will take to build it.

2. Will the shelter protect you from wind/sun/rain/snow?

3. Do you have the tools needed to make it? If not, can you make your own tools?

4. Is food and water close by?

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If you are in a wooded area and have enough natural materials, two types of shelters you can make are a Lean - To or a Debris Hut .

Lean To's take longer to build but will protect you from the elements.

One Way To Make A Lean - To Shelter

1. Find two trees about 2 meters apart.

2. You will need one pole about 2 meters long and 2.5 centimeters in diameter; five to eight poles for beams; cord or vines for securing the horizontal support to the trees; and other poles, saplings, or vines to crisscross the beams.

3. Tie the 2 meter long pole (branch) to the two tress about waist high. (For the horizontal support)

4. Place one end of the beams on one side of the horizontal support. (The side the wind is coming from)

5. Crisscross saplings or vines on the beams

6. Cover the framework with brush, leaves, pine needles, or grass working from the bottom up.

7. Make bedding inside with grass/brush/leaves.

And there you go, a lean to shelter. You can also make a fire reflector wall to keep the heat from a fire inside the shelter.

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The second type of shelter is a Debris Hut . This type of shelter is very easy to make and will keep you warm.

1. Start getting a good, strong ridge pole and place it against a tree or stump.

2. Lean branches of deadwood against the pole to form a sloped roof.

3. Thatch the shelter with leaves/grass/sod or anything else you can come up with.
Make sure you pile it on thick for warmth and to keep water out.

Very easy and very simple.

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There you go. Two shelters that can keep you from the elements in a survival situation. Hope I helped a little bit.

All you really need for shelter is a large tarp. It’s real simple. Lay the tarp out on the ground, prop up a stick in the center of one side to create an opening and head space and place rocks/firewood around the edges of the other three sides to hold it down.

Once your tarp is in place, you can work from the inside to lessen the amount of any water that may be entering at ground level.

Never place your tarp in a rain wash.

You can use your tarp to cover a pickup bed if one is available.

Fire retardant tarps are best.

Waterproof tarps are necessary.

You can line the ground with pine needles for a little comfort, so long as you keep them away from your fire. Pine needles contain turpentine and are highly flammable.

You can create a small fire near the entrance of the tarp that will help to keep you warm. The smoke from the fire will also help to mask your sent from animals. This is important, because it is always nice when dinner walks itself into your camp area. Remember, animals do not fear the smell of smoke. Smoke is a natural smell in the forest, and they will not run from a whiff of smoke smell like they will from your BO.

Stack wood around the sides of the fire that are not facing the tarp. The wood will help to deflect the heat back to the tarp. It will help protect against wind gusts blowing embers into the tarp. If you can, use wet or live wood as the heat from the fire will help dry it out.

Well if you don't have a tarp it's good to know how to make one with the things around you.

I want to make a safe room in my home and I don't know how to do it.

Can someone tell me?

I have a small bedroom that has one window and a closet in it.

How do I cover the window and how do I make a bathroom in this room?

I live in Florida so Hurricanes are a big worry but I also want this room in case of radiation etc.

Here are some websites that have info about protecting yourself from radiation and nuclear attacks

www.ki4u.com...

www.nukepills.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com... - This thread has a ton of info

www.survive-nbc.org...

www.radshelters4u.com...

www.oism.org...

www.slate.com...

www.hps.org...

www.english.ilstu.edu...

Originally posted by enjoies05
Well if you don't have a tarp it's good to know how to make one with the things around you.

What? No tarp? Why would anyone leave home without a tarp?

Step in my office.

I have traveled extensively across the globe and spent a good amount of time deep in the Amazon, living with the native Yanomami people. Where ever I have been I have always been a huge fan of living under a tarp. It is easy to set up, configures in a multitude of situations, lightweight, can be made virtually invisible with minor camouflaging, and cheap as heck. Mind you I have slept in some pretty nice hi tech tents, and for winter camping an enclosed space like a tent or snow shelter, is necessary, but for me, it always comes down to a very simple roof over your head. I can build one with what ever is at hand when necessary, and built many shelters when living with the Yanomami from natural materials, but I always take a tarp with me whenever I head out into the bush. In the tropics I bring along a hammock, and in temperate regions I add a ground cloth to my kit. Home is where you rest your head.