Underground shelter

[Sandman]

So I've been researching underground shelters lately in leu of the crazy weather we have had here. My wife is from Oklahoma and she freaks out with weather and let's be honest, it gives me a reason to prep. I have looked into concrete vs shipping containers and it seems that both have their issues. Concrete being easy to crack due to water and pressure and shipping containers not being as solid as they say. Anyone have any suggestions on an AFFORDABLE shelter?

[peejman]

Depends on your definition of affordable. This is a coworker's wife, they used to live in OK as well... http://www.stormsheltersoftennessee.com/ They're not what I'd consider inexpensive, but they're well constructed. I doubt you could DIY something similar for much less $.

[Sandman]

Those are awesome! I'm actually looking for that but bigger...mine as well be able to live in it if I'm gonna throw out money on it.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

There was another thread on this not too far back, perhaps in general interest section.

I dunno nothin but would seem easier to make something big and nice if one's terrain included an easy to access heavily-sloped section of the property. Just dig in part way up the slope and build a well-sealed, well ventilated basement on a slab (of whatever size you like) then cover it back up with dirt except the entrance. Minimal drainage problems. Years ago met a fellow in Soddy Daisy who had built a real nice big underground house with slab and block, on a big hillside lot. Just an asphalt driveway halfway up the hill, and a nice big paved flat spot for parking cut out of the hill, and the only part of the house visible, was the little porch overhang and entrance door. Other than sealing and ventilation, it was like building a basement and not bothering to build a house on-top.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Lester Weevils

[JReedEsq]

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/45595-storm-shelters-in-east-tennessee/page__hl__%2Beast+%2Btennessee+%2Bstorm__fromsearch__1

[Guest 270win]

There are some storm shelters that are built outside and some can be put in your garage slab. They are not cheap but are well worth the money if you get a lot of tornadoes.

[UncleJak]

I wouldn't mind a old school tornado shelter. I think most of them were just concrete blocks in a dugout hole. Not fancy but would provide enough protection from a storm.

[Caster]

You can find an old school bus cheap. It wouldn't even have to run if a wrecker bill wouldn't be too expensive. Dig you a trench, irrigate it very well. THEN, bury it. A school bus is designed to support a good bit a weight in the event of a rollover. It will take a 24-36 inches of dirt easily. I'd take the wheels off once in position to prevent settling off level. A gutted school bus has a LOT more room than you think, especially if you link a few together.

[MP Miller]

In Afghanistan we used shipping containers for bunkers. We would place heavy timbers across the top to keep the weight on the frame before putting several feet of dirt down on top of them. The frame of the shipping container is very strong it's the sides and top that are weak.

Then if you want to get real fancy you can plywood box in the inside (or even dry wall) and make it like a room. Some of ours were Plywood all around and had bunks built in along the wall so we were always protected.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Have been reviewing twilight zone episodes on netflix, watching some I didn't remember and "skipping thru" the rest to recall the plot line.

This one is a classic and seemingly remains relevant.

The problem is having the wisdom to determine whether an emergency will be short-term or long-term. If one KNOWS FOR A FACT that the emergency will have a forseeable ending, the neighborly behavior is to distribute as much of one's supplies as are necessary to minimize harm for the entire neighborhood. Good karma. What goes around comes around and all that.

If one KNOWS FOR A FACT he is facing a long-term emergency then one might decide to conserve one's resources for one's own family. It would be a shame to mistake an emergency for short-term and hand out all the supplies, only to discover that the emergency is gonna last a long time. In that case one could only hope that one's own good karma would at least pay off by other people returning the charity.

Another variation might be a short-term emergency where you give away your supplies helping others, followed shortly afterwards by an entirely-unrelated long-term emergency catching you flat-footed and depleted. Maybe you deplete your supplies helping neighbors after a flood and then shortly afterwards there would be war, civil breakdown, or global-scale disaster of some kind.

Either way, it seems best that the neighbors not know what you have in the way of emergency supplies. At least thataway it would be your decision whether to share, rather than the neighbor's decision what you are gonna share, OR ELSE.

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[Guest Lester Weevils]

Final part--

[gjohnsoniv]

Final part--

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Moral of the story, build a much stronger door.