Buggin out to the redoubt.

[Guest Astra900]

Anyone built, building or planning to build an isolated retreat for getting the hell out of the burbs? Myself and a very small group of fellars are planning to build a small hidey hole out in the sticks. We have the land, and supplies, but have not decided how to proceed. We have several ideas. I know there are a lot of books and references out there, but I'd like to share ideas with some of you guys who have/are actually doing it. I don't wanna delve into some tangent about fighting off hordes of zombies or chinese or gubment scum, just a place to go when the creeks start to rise, if ya know what I mean;)

BTW, all you rural folks that don't have to deal with the suburban blues, try not to rub it in please:p

[poak]

Sounds pretty cool Astra. How are you constructing the place? Is it going to be a simple "stick built" construction, or something more.. uh... "fortified"?

Any plans for water or power out there?

[bteague2]

I may have been looking into this. I'll be building with concrete. If you check out the survival section on arfcom they talk about this stuff all the time.

[Guest Astra900]

Like I said, we're fishing for ideas. We have a good place picked out on a several hundred acre track of land.

Not so much FORTIFIED, maybe some thick timbers to keep out the zombies, but mostly with stealth in mind, sneaky sneaky is always better than duking it out. Only fools build fortresses, they are nothing but tombs.

We are more concerned with keeping it hidden, making sure drainage in the area stays at maximum. And of course building it to last for years trouble free.

Water is a non issue. Power is . On the day we go here for good, we will be washing our hands of society, so the grid may not even exist when we go, or it may not last long. Anyway, it's tooooo far from a power source to bury the line, and running above ground power cables is a dead give away.

We are concerned with building a fire source that will dissipate smoke as efficiently as possible. If that is possible at all.

[Guest Astra900]

I may have been looking into this. I'll be building with concrete. If you check out the survival section on arfcom they talk about this stuff all the time.

A concrete platform is a must.

[poak]

Power is . On the day we go here for good, we will be washing our hands of society, so the grid may not even exist when we go, or it may not last long. Anyway, it's tooooo far from a power source to bury the line, and running above ground power cables is a dead give away.

Yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of non-traditional power. Something to provide just enough power for a little light when you might need it, and maybe other tasks, like pumping or filtering water, I dunno.

You should read up on some passive solar techniques.

[Fadex]

For longevity and maintenance you can't beat concrete. Something that stands out today can be completely hidden with growth in a year or so. I would look at building something into a hillside for stealth and insulation properties. Maybe a diesel generator for power. A little knowledge on manufacturing vegetable oil and bio diesel would help fuel the generator in bad times. Solar panels could help suppliment a battery reserve if it's not feasible to run the generator. Might want to construct a cistern at the same time for water storage.

[bteague2]

I've got a bunch of ideas and some doodles laying around. I'll type up some of it tomorrow as I've thought of alot of the same things.

[Smith]

Is this like the grown mans "fort"/clubhouse?

[Guest Astra900]

Is this like the grown mans "fort"/clubhouse?

Welp, we're busted! We're having a He-man woman haters club revival.

[bteague2]

Tons of links and some discussion here:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=17&t=621509

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=17&t=621555

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=17&t=621527

Electricity/utilities:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=17&t=621437

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=17&t=621002

Here are my plans so far:

A - green house

B - chicken coop

C - house

D - garage/work area/guest house

E - 2 1/2 - 3 foot wall

I'll have a septic tank about as far as I can effectively put it. And I'm planning on having well water. I like the idea of having a small cover wall around my house, then I like having a clearing of about 50 yards around the house. I don't think I like having the chicken coop so close, I'll probably move it, but keep it within sight distance. I don't have any sketches on the computer of what the house layout will be, but it's a single room cabin with a wood burning stove in the center. The basic layout is one corner a small bathroom/bed area, another the kitchen, the third an eating area, and the last a living area. For the summer time, since I'm not planning on having heating/ac I'll have an outdoor kitchen. I know there's more but I can't think of it right now.

The garage has a work room and a storage "closet" downstairs. The garage will have a pit like one of those jiffy lube places for car maintenance. Upstairs will be a small guest room with bathroom.

The rest like electricity depends on the location that I end up settling in. Things like the amount of sun light, availability of creeks/river.

On a side note I like using Google Sketch Up when I want to make a more detailed view. It's free, and you can send files between your buddies to see what each other is doing/group work on them.

[ukerduker]

Here's an idea for a power source: http://www.skystreamenergy.com/. Combine this with some solar panels, a bank of batteries, and a small generator, and you might have reliable electricity.

[Moped]

Lately, I've had a yearning to build an underground house. I'd also like to get totally off the grid as well. I'd think that if you had property with a south facing hillside that would be the ticket. Why south facing, because you can use the sun to provide some heat for your house during the daylight hours. An underground house also provides excellent insullation. One draw back though is that they tend to be a bit damp, but there are things you can do to take care of that.

An underground house would also provide fairly good cover if you had to defend yourself. If it were me, I'd keep the dirt that I excavated for the house and build up permanent walls of some sort to the front.

Off the grid electrical sources would probably have to be a combination of different types, as mentioned before. One I've not seen though is wind. If you could setup a couple of windmills, along with some solar panels, that might be the ticket. Another possiblity is if your property has a creek, then you could setup a water wheel to turn a generator. That would probably supply all the power you might need.

Of course a well is a must for water. Not sure I'd trust a creek for my water needs. Another possiblity is rain barrels especially for watering animals and such.

[bteague2]

Lately, I've had a yearning to build an underground house. I'd also like to get totally off the grid as well. I'd think that if you had property with a south facing hillside that would be the ticket. Why south facing, because you can use the sun to provide some heat for your house during the daylight hours. An underground house also provides excellent insullation. One draw back though is that they tend to be a bit damp, but there are things you can do to take care of that.

An underground house would also provide fairly good cover if you had to defend yourself. If it were me, I'd keep the dirt that I excavated for the house and build up permanent walls of some sort to the front.

Off the grid electrical sources would probably have to be a combination of different types, as mentioned before. One I've not seen though is wind. If you could setup a couple of windmills, along with some solar panels, that might be the ticket. Another possiblity is if your property has a creek, then you could setup a water wheel to turn a generator. That would probably supply all the power you might need.

Of course a well is a must for water. Not sure I'd trust a creek for my water needs. Another possiblity is rain barrels especially for watering animals and such.

Got some money? http://www.missilebases.com/

[G27]

Strength lies in numbers and preps - if you don't have both, it would seem you are simply prolonging the inevitable. Not trying to put a damper on your idea, but if you stop and consider it, there are some issues if things get so bad you need a retreat:

1] how many men/people do you need to patrol the perimeter as well as the primary entrance/exit? If you ONLY have two men at each position, that 4-men/shift, which means if each man works an 8-hour shift you need 12 men minimum with no one ever being sick/injured or taking time off.

2] how are you going to build your house structure? If it's burnable, it will take only a very few determined individuals to get you out.

3] will this be a true self-reliable homestead capable of not only keeping folks out but allowing you to survive long term without leaving? If you ever need to leave, a determined party can simply hang out and wait until you are vulnerable - when you leave the property.

I hope this works out for you and you can share you design hurdles and solutions with us, but as I've considered this for a few years, I can't see it working in the real world without SERIOUS training of all those involved. Certainly there's no certain answer to all situations, but all else being equal, strength does seem to come with numbers...

[Guest waffenldr]

Overseas cargo containers work great for underground bunkers and storage. They are rust proof and stackable.

[oldblue1981]

From your drawings looks to me like your building your own sub-division:eek:. what ever happened to the good ol' days of cave dwelling:woohoo:. All in all though it looks like u have really put some good thought into this.

[bteague2]

It's not that bad, that's just a crappy MS Paint drawing, it's a single room cabin with a detached garage/work area. And I'll need fruits/veggies year round so a green house... I know I'm setting my sights high.

[poak]

what ever happened to the good ol' days of cave dwelling:woohoo:.

Ask the Taliban

[oldblue1981]

if you build with concrete, would you not need a road? And if u have a road can't anyone follow you to your place? I thought the whole point of bugging out was to go to a place where it made it harder to find you. just saying.

[Guest Rando]

Yea if the bureau doesnt drive an armored vehicle through it and burn it down! Just dont hog all of the women and they might leave you alone. I would kinda like a setup like dude had on the movie tremors, which is pretty much like what most are talking about I reckon. I do have a few caves picked out that only a kid could find cause thats when I found them, but thinkin about it I was a bit smaller then yee ole gut might not want to go in there with me now, but only cause its afeard of the dark O'coarse:poop: So will this thing be big enough for the whole family or do you figger on startin over when you come back out. I guess mine will have enough room for my daughter and my mom, hey the love of my life the one with the cookin I love beat that at Wal-Mart:D mans got to think ahead you know!!!!

[Guest VolMickey]

:tinfoil::tinfoil::tinfoil:

... but then again. Hmm...

[Punisher84]

:tinfoil::tinfoil:

... but then again. Hmm...

One man's tin foil is another man's saran wrap. Not sure what that means, but oh well.

I like the cargo container idea myself. I don't have land or anything so I'm pretty much out of the loop on a permanent bug-out dwelling. I can't really think of many scenarios where I would need a permanent hidden fortress of solitude or anything. Not knocking the idea, just saying if I need to get out of the metro area I have a place to go.

Honestly, the way I feel about it right now is, I want to be prepared to survive, but I'm not going to spend my days and nights worrying about the end of civilization and such.

If the zombies come, I got this. If the bombs drop on my head, I won't be able to worry about it. If the quake hits, I'll survive or I won't. If the economy fails, an asteroid hits, whatever there is only so much you can do.

I have food, I have ammo, I have knowledge, I have the will to survive, and I am prepared. This is John Connor and if you're listening to this...you are the resistance.

[TGO David]

Unless you're living miles away (as in miiiiiiiiiiiles away) from a populated area, none of this is going to matter much if the SHTF. People will find you and they will seek to either ally themselves with you or they will seek to plunder. The only way you're really going to mitigate those risks is to be somewhere far removed from people. Really far removed.

And let's not even get started on how insignificant most of these preparations would be in the face of determined military forces. An armed resistance from a few civilians wouldn't last very long at all.

Just saying.

[Punisher84]

And let's not even get started on how insignificant most of these preparations would be in the face of determined military forces. An armed resistance from a few civilians wouldn't last very long at all.

Just saying.

LOL baiting the hook?