Build A Bunker!

[Broondog]

Broony, how far from St Louis are you?

i'm about 60 miles south of the metro. there's acreage down here for sale and the taxes are cheap. do a search in Sainte Genevieve or Saint Francois counties if'n you are interested.

i know there is a fair sized parcel just down the road that has been for sale for quite some time.

[El Jefe]

i'm about 60 miles south of the metro. there's acreage down here for sale and the taxes are cheap. do a search in Sainte Genevieve or Saint Francois counties if'n you are interested.

i know there is a fair sized parcel just down the road that has been for sale for quite some time.

Well I'm only looking for 20 to 30 acres.

Say, how far are you from Memphis? I could look it up but I'm lazy right now, plus I'm building my post count.

[L1A1Rocker]

there is one other bonus to this house. the guy who built it made it as his retirement home so since most old folks don't walk so well there is not one single stair in the entire house....not even at an entryway. oh and i figure the bathroom was intended to have "chair" access. i could put my full size recliner in there and open it all the way up and not hit a damned thing!

That's how my folks did their retirement house. Extra wide interior doors and no stepps. Had to have a five foot tall foundation at one end of the house but there are no stairs. They did come in with a lot of fill dirt after it was built. There just is not a whole lot of level ground in the TX hill country.

[Broondog]

Well I'm only looking for 20 to 30 acres.

Say, how far are you from Memphis? I could look it up but I'm lazy right now, plus I'm building my post count.

Memphis? oh that's just down the road a piece.

[JTHunter]

Broondog - if you're down that way, there's a place that might make a good temporary shelter. Has running water (not sure how safe), limited access, good southeasterly view. It's called "Cave Winery".

[Lysander]

I live in a forested area so I could bury a conex container in the woods and any sign of it would vanish quickly. However there would be noticeable things also. Although the vents would get overgrown; however, the trail to it would stick out. Cooking smells are noticed also.
However, for a hurricane, tornado etc type event a bunker would be a good thing to have.. As hurricanes usually bring a lot of rain I'd consider how to keep it from being flooded also.
AFA the unlikely SHTF events; a bunker's value would depend on if anyone finds it. If found a buried container with one entrance and no firing slits isn't a good thing.

As there isn't anything here I live so I can stay in the house and adjust accordingly.

I think in the end a lot of folks will have to take a 2 pronged approach.

1) Secure "bunker" for natural disasters.

2) BOL with fighting positions (though I would argue the best first line of defense is not being noticeable). Then underneath that, a "safe room" with a crawl space leading to an area where you can evac away from the main structure.

For us city dwellers, bugging out really isn't an option. Rush hour in any sizeable town is a miserable experience. It's even worse when you multiply that by 100, which is what any bug out situation would be like, if not worse. So my idea would be to bug in until the initial storm passed, then evac if and when necessary to your secondary location.

[old Grump]

Normal traffic Friday night or Sunday night going out of and into Chicago for 20 years is more than enough preknowledge to know what it would be like if the whole city tried to leave. Figure 3 days worth of complete and total deadlock before people abandoned their vehicles and either headed out on foot or tried to make it back home which is where they should have gone first. If your block isn't on fire then it would be best to use the time to plan what you need and how you are going to get out of there. I'd sit tight for a week at least if I could then come out with what I needed for traveling. Biggest thing is to secure your bug out vehicle and fuel supply during that wait out time.

Now that I'm a bit slower and older I'm glad I am already where I want to be.

[Broondog]

Now that I'm a bit slower and older I'm glad I am already where I want to be.

+1000 to this! i'm not that old but i am damn sure glad i'm not in the city anymore. i don't even feel right when i'm there anymore. too much chaos and idiocy for me. i prefer the slower pace of the countryside now.

[Infidelski]

I have been considering a shipping container would make everything much faster and I think its pretty strong, I was thinking of putting at least 5 feet of packed earth on top so I guess I just wander if it is structurely capable..

Not to confident in the structural ability of the roof of a shipping container, was up on top rigging a NEW 40' container this past week, roof was flimsy at best, lots of bounce walking on it, a good jump may dent it. Floors, walls and near watertight features are good..

[hawk1911]

Not to confident in the structural ability of the roof of a shipping container, was up on top rigging a NEW 40' container this past week, roof was flimsy at best, lots of bounce walking on it, a good jump may dent it. Floors, walls and near watertight features are good..

Yeah, the more I think , the more Im moving away from the container, Im thinking more about either slab base and roof and block walls, or pouring the walls as well in molds. Stronger, thicker and wont rust. Just have to worry about making water proof.

[swampdragon]

Memphis? oh that's just down the road a piece.

LOL.....

Down the road like in a whole other state.

[HDR]

I think in the end a lot of folks will have to take a 2 pronged approach.

True, apply more pressure points to already limited assets.

1) Secure "bunker" for natural disasters.

2) BOL with fighting positions (though I would argue the best first line of defense is not being noticeable). Then underneath that, a "safe room" with a crawl space leading to an area where you can evac away from the main structure.

If it would happen and if it lasted because of the need to grow food everyone would be noticeable or nomadic. If a group is growing food, the harvest will need stored and so will everything else. If you aren't a nomadic guerrilla warrior, you will be growing food to survive and whatever you grow will be stored as your means of survival which means you must protect it.

There are too many "it depends" with this subject so it would take a book to have a reasonably informative discussion. For example of "it depends;" hiding works if you aren't found; but if you are found it makes it harder to see intruders and limits fields of fire. If your fighting positions aren't close enough to your bunker/storage area to protect it; the bad guys get what they came for without a fight.
IMO, if a group grows food, has a source of water, some chickens and a herd of goats; in time they will be forced to dig fighting positions surrounding their treasure to protect it from the hungry nomadic guerrilla warriors.
lol

For us city dwellers, bugging out really isn't an option. Rush hour in any sizeable town is a miserable experience. It's even worse when you multiply that by 100, which is what any bug out situation would be like, if not worse. So my idea would be to bug in until the initial storm passed, then evac if and when necessary to your secondary location.

What and where is the destination for all those city dwellers bugging out? As there will millions of displaced people I can see a world where people will find others already occupying their secondary locations.. So now what?

All of those sort of thoughts starts reminding me of Mad Max movies.

[hawk1911]

You are right on the money HDR, there are so many if/thens that it boggles the mind and feels a bit overwheelming. It would take years and tons of money and time for one to have a multipoint plan setup. I have only really started thinking and acting since 2005 after seeing the Katrina incident go down. But a start is a start and I know that what I have thus far is better then finding myself in front of the super dome.

[Broondog]

LOL.....

Down the road like in a whole other state.

when the grocery store is 30 miles away, "down the road a piece" really is another state. what's a couple o' hundred miles anyway? i do half that just to go to a gun show.

[skorpion]

I think I will be making the effort to see if I can make this thing a reality may be around next spring. It will be good working weather and I should be able to finalize the research and come up with an actual finalized plan.

I have been considering a shipping container would make everything much faster and I think its pretty strong, I was thinking of putting at least 5 feet of packed earth on top so I guess I just wander if it is structurely capable. I would think so since they are stacked one on top of another on the boats.

Anyone have diagrams, plans, or just some advise that can help chime in I would greatly appriciate it.

One thing to realize with shipping containers is that when they are stacked, the four corners are what support the weight of the shipping container above, not the actual "roof". Depending on how much and what kind of material will be covering the roof, you may or may not need extra structural support in the center of the container. The only other things I'd be concerned about with shipping comntainers is rust prevention and ventilation.

[Lysander]

True, apply more pressure points to already limited assets.

All of those sort of thoughts starts reminding me of Mad Max movies.

Well, what would you do?

You can shoot holes in everyone else's ideas, but if you don't have a better working plan, then we're all equally fucked.

[HDR]

You are correct I shouldnt lie, directly anyway, I will have to say Hurricane thought its a little more likely in Houston.

Tornadoes?

How about a root cellar?