Underground Shelters

[Anonymous No.125173]

I was thinking about building my own underground shelter.
not sure if I should use shipping containers or concrete I have an area large enough to use say 2 shipping containers width wise as my space is limited.

I did find this online but $80k for a shelter is a shit ton of cash.
http://selfsufficientlife.blogspot.com/2012/01/underground-shelters.html

any tips or suggestions /diy/ ?

[Anonymous No.125180]

Reinforce and bury the containers? Seems like a decent idea to me. Gotta find somewhere remote and have good ventilation etc.

What is the purpose of the shelter what kind of situation do you have in mind?

[Anonymous No.125212]

>>125180


In time I would eventually like to equip it with nuclear / bio hazardous filters because with the amount of nuclear weapons in circulation and ones unaccounted for you can never be too safe.

Aside from that I would like to have it for situations that may require one to spend extended periods of time underground. Even to serve as a "hideout" in times of such like an economic collapse or a catastrophe that would cause national or global disruption.

I have a remote-esc area in northern canada where I am looking to buy property and think it would be a great place to have it. I do plan to move there in the near future. Where I would have a homestead.

[Anonymous No.125214]

>>125173
The roof of a shipping container is not designed to take weight. The side walls are what take the weight.

[Anonymous No.125217]

>>125173
Here's is the general principle for any underground shelter I would be making. This uses large metal culverts that have been split in half and used as the roofs. They rest on reinforced cement walls. The metal culverts can withstand several feet of soil packed onto them. They can also be covered in insulating foam spray on the inside. This design is scalable to whatever length or diameter the metal culverts are. Configuration of the structure's layout can be what ever you wish. Note that this image omits everything except the main structure itself. you'd need to include anything you need or want from a sump pump to ventilation, etc.

[Anonymous No.125231]

>>125217

Okay so, this kinda puts shipping containers out of the question.

What would you reinforce the concrete walls with? rebar?
What thickness of metal culverts would work best?
How much would you estimate this costs?

If I decided to go with one of those 80k containers would it be worth it over building my own, like how you have described?

[Anonymous No.125241]

>>125231
Here's some links,

More on using metal culverts as shelters,
http://waltonfeed.durtschi.com/old/cellar3.html

Concrete,
http://www.livingoffgrid.org/instant-cheap-easy-root-cellar-roll-in-place-and-cover-with-dirt/

Buy new,
http://www.metalculverts.com/

Page for amount of weight the culverts can handle for their sizes.
http://www.metalculverts.com/technical-info_handlingweightscms.htm

Keep in mind that the largest they have is 144 inches which is 12 feet (3.65 meters) in diameter.

>What would you reinforce the concrete walls with? rebar?

Yes, rebar and hidden buttresses (that slantedness of the walls you see in the pic.)

What thickness of metal culverts would work best?

Any thickness will do. All culverts are meant to be buried and run over with vehicles. It's up to you how deep you want them to be buried that determines their thickness and most importantly their diameter.

How much would you estimate this costs?

I don't know. It depends on your location. Stuff like hot pouring concrete from a truck or mixing it yourself and having cold joints because of that to how far away your source of culvert it and of course your local prices. Here's I'd say I could do it with $10,000 USD in the size you see in >>125217 but even that is an estimate because you'd need to call the culvert company to get a proper estimate for your pipe.

[Anonymous No.125242]

>>125217
>>125241
Also, the reason I have my design on top of concrete walls is to give me head room. It would be far cheaper to only use a large culvert like in the first link I posted in >>125241 but I think a little creature comfort and all the extra useable room goes a LONG LONG ways.

[Anonymous No.125245]

[Anonymous No.125246]

>>125245

[Anonymous No.125247]

>>125246

[Anonymous No.125248]

>>125247

[Anonymous No.125253]

OP, please consider the fact that excavation safety is no joke. From the OSHA: "One cubic foot of soil can weigh from 110 pounds to 140 pounds or more, and ..."

Please review this:
http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_v/otm_v_2.html

The amount of people killed by trench collapse during excavation would probably surprise you. Once you get about knee deep, it becomes very difficult for you to free yourself from even loosely packed soil around you. Waist deep is well nigh impossible, and once it gets up to chest deep, it will kill you. Remember that the pressure from the soil makes the walls constantly want to collapse inward, and trench shields and other safety measures must be used.

Soil mechanics is a fairly complex subject, and if you are going to be working by yourself in a hole deeper than 4 feet and that is less than 2 times wider than it is deep, the risk of fatal injury is very high.

This doesn't even cover things like air quality (carbon dioxide sinks, and some soils make more CO2 when exposed to air, which means even an open excavation can have air quality issues), hydrostatic pressure (if the hole is below the water table, the walls will be loose and it will fill up with water quickly) and underground hazards (old pipelines, cables, or even mines not properly documented).

In short, pay someone that knows what they are doing to do the digging and shelter construction.

[Anonymous No.125263]

>>125253
Normally, when you dig out for a building or this type of structure you don't dig a trench or anything that has straight walls. Instead you dig out the walls so they are at about a 45 degree slope. You then build your structure and back fill until it is covered again.

Whenever you see a company digging straight walls of dirt for anything, they are doing it improperly and unsafely. They will bitch to high hell and back if you tell them that too. lol

[Anonymous No.125265]

So OP, here we go.
>If you are thinking of a nuclear shelter
You will have to dig really deep (I don't know how powerful a atomic bomb can be, so I can't really provide you this information, my bad. But you can search for DIY nuclear shelter or bunkers, and other informations by yourself). The problem: you need a solid ceiling, made of steamless steel. Otherwise, the humid soil will oxide the ceiling. Or use commom steel, cover it with concrete, good against any toxic leak. And be prepared to use a shit ton of concrete.

And start things of a geothermal generator, you will need, since everything you be contamined in case of nuclear explosion, so you will need to re-use everything. Plus, thinks of a way, to see, verify radiation, and send radio signals inside your nuclear shelter. I am no pro-nuclear-shelter building, but, sounds reasonable... Recomend a separate place to treat water, food, energy generation, creation of small animals to eat, etc.

>If you are thinking of hiding yourself
Things are easy them. You wouldn't have to dig sooo deep on the ground. And has you wouldn't need to re-use air, etc. Just filters. In this case, make your bunker near a lake, than it will be your main source of water, or reserve source.

Anyway, as a enginner, I recommend building it with a recurve ceiling, made of concrete with thick steel bars inside (as thick as possible). And use some logistic for food, energy, etc. And then build them in separated chambers. And the thinner the chamber, the better, less pressure on the ceiling.

I'm no pro-builder or anything, just a mechanical enginner. And I would recommend a civil enginner IF you want the nuclear shelter, you will need him to build a functional nuclear shelter.

[Anonymous No.125267]

Sorry, for the bad grammar OP, I am asleep for almost 2 days...

[Anonymous No.125284]

OP here,

thanks for all the links and information


this is the property here.

should i build it in the clearing near the house or in the forested area to the right?

[teka No.125307]

http://www.ballew.org/homeland/sheltr01.pdf

If you plan to do this, do it right or get contractor help.
Proper work will make the difference between a clean safe underground area and a crumbling pit-trap full of mud and rusty steel.

Just build a taller wall, skip the culvert segments. Build taller and pour an arched concrete slab over the top. If you use proper spacing of rebar and/or steel mesh the load bearing should be effortless.

And build in the clearing, adjacent to the planned house site. In the woods you would have to knock out the trees anyhow and the shelter would end up farther from your house.

Consider ways to connect this shelter, (with a crooked tunnel, sealing doors etc) to a more traditional basement structure in your house. You would not want to try to dig out a shelter door under the snow while a bomb was dropping, for example.
>i would retain an exit outside and at a slight remove from the house or other structures.
>You would not want to survive a heavy storm or other event only to find yourself trapped under a collapsed house covering your hatch.

[Radiofag No.125323]

The walls MUST be concrete for longevity and strength.

12" thick with rebar is advised for fallout shelters. Thicker is better, but 12" is minimum to provide the most basic level of gamma protection.

[Anonymous No.125333]

>>125307
OP here

thanks Teka firstly for the pdf, that was a good read.

On the whole collapsing of things onto the entrance/exit of the shelter, I would simply build a second entrance/exit or look into a hydraulic door that could move the debris. But again, that's another huge cost factor.

[Anonymous No.125389]

Hey OP, just a thought which most people overlook, from my experience.

If you're really going to invest all this money, you might as well build your shelter/bunker into a full blown underground house. Most underground shelter ideas involve small, confided spaces. If there is a nuclear war, or anything else which will demand you spend an extended period of time in your shelter, you want it to be a bit spacious because you WILL be stuck in there for awhile. Personal recommendation? Build into a hill, with only a foot of dirt covering your shelter. Since you want it to be NBC proof, go ahead and build with concrete 12+ inches thick, as others recommended. Since you're going to be in the middle of bumfuck nowhere anyway, you will not be needing any more earth than that on top of your shelter. And should a nuke hit close enough to you anyway odds are against any civilian bunker withstanding the blast.

Build with the idea of either being prepared at all times (by living in it as your normal home, which is spacious enough not to make you crazy after a few weeks) or being able to quickly access it soon after you discover the need. If you're out at town when a nuke hits, you may very well die in the blast, so your bunker that's 20 feet underground is entirely useless to you. If you survive, hey. Your bunker that's only 1 foot underground did too. Go enjoy your safe haven from the fallout that didn't cost you five million dollars to make.

Try to be smart about this. Being prepared is fine. Over preparing is foolish, unless you plan to live there your entire life from that point on, never venturing outside because it would put you at risk.

[Anonymous No.125397]

>>125253
This. I work for an excavation company, and if we have to dig straight down for any reason we use these huge steel plates that prevent collapses. It's still a scary thing, people do get hurt if you make a mistake. Proper trenching and shoring is very important and will make your shelter stronger if you do it right.

Concrete work is easy, rebar it, form it, and pour it.

Also make sure that everything is to code because if anyone decides to be pissy the city will take you to hell and back with this.

[Anonymous No.125448]

>>125307
You can pour concrete over the culvert segments.

The pics here,

>>125245
>>125246
>>125247
>>125248

Are from World War 2. That is how long the galvanized metal lasts. You must remember that culvert are meant to last a very long time. They are what is under roads to divert run off water and streams.

[Anonymous No.125615]

OP Here.

Read through your posts, but don't have time for full reply. Be back in a few hours.

[Anonymous No.125690]

>>125389

OP here,

I have taken into consideration everything you have said as you do have some good points on the matter.

As for putting myself at risk, well that is an issue with everyday life. Where I plan to move to chances are a nuclear strike would never hit there, it's a small city in northern BC with a small population. I currently live in Vancouver and well the city blows ass to begin with anyways and I want out. Not the mention the difficulty I would have putting in such structures in a heavily populated area.

My ultimate goal is to become self sustaining up there with little no no need to ever leave my property, as for income I have been looking into residual income such as websites. I know it is difficult but I have the money to invest in a site that could pull in a minimum of 2-4k a month, which I am still on the hunt for and not having much luck.

Based on what information I have obtained on here I feel like I will be spending about 20k for my shelter with basic set up needs such as ventilation, storage and housing space.

[Anonymous No.125745]

>>125690
>I feel like I will be spending about 20k for my shelter...

I think I agree. The expensive stuff comes from insulation, wiring, and stuff like that, which nickle and dime you over the course of a longer amount of time.

[Anonymous No.125760]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_protection

3 feet of packed dirt for a 1000 fold decrease in exposure.

Personally Id go with a buried shipping container, they stack them things 10 high anyway so I doubt it would have any trouble dealing with the weight. Tar the outside befor you bury it and, ground water level permitting dig yourself a nice deep sump and fill it with "no fines" concrete.

[teka No.126077]

>>125760
>shipping container

probably not, no.
The only strong part of a common steel container is the edges and corners where they stack (and the floor, somewhat but not much). Bury them and run the risk (certainty) that it will cave in from one direction or another.

Since one would have to dig out a massive trench anyhow, why not get in there and pour a nice concrete foundation. Then build up your walls with cinderblock, fill in the cinderblock with concrete and rebar. Then you are ready for the tricky pour, using (more) rebar and mesh and some kind of curved form supported from below.

Work it all out and you have yourself a little pillbox with a ladder tube or stairway poking out of it. Then you can treat the outside of the concrete against moisture in any appropriate way and bury it up again. Smooth out the landscaping, build a gardening shed on the pilings you built into the structure for that purpose. Or maybe a nice patio with a barbeque. A barbeque that just happens to have a second vent-stack perhaps?

Anything worth doing is worth doing properly. Even fallout shelters/tornado shelters/underground dungeons.

[Anonymous No.126084]

>>125760
As >>126077 said, using a shipping container is a very bad idea. They need to be reinforced majorly. The top and sides do not take weight and will buckle inwardly. It's only thin metal. The stacking strength comes from it's edges and corners.

[Pinzfag, /k/'s resident flashaholic No.126167]

For 80K you could buy a prexisting bunker.

[Pinzfag, /k/'s resident flashaholic No.126170]

>>126167
Here are some blueprints for this facility, detailing its entire construction.
http://long-lines.net/places-routes/SanRafaelCA/

[Radiofag No.126174]

>>126170
I need to go get some pictures of the South Bend long-line installation.

That one is unique because the tower & horns were strike hardened too.

[Anonymous No.126175]

I would like to point out that brochures and stuff from the cold war are fairly pointless. they talk about shelters and what you do in an emergency, but they're just things to make people feel better. If you're going to roast in atomic fire, better to walk in an orderly fashion than have pure chaos.

Those expedient shelters and shit that CD pushed may keep you alive during a blast, but that's about it. You'd starve, die of thirst, or most likely radiation sickness before it became safe outside. The best bet is to build an actual nuclear-hardened bunker.

Good luck with that.

[Radiofag No.126176]

>>126175
>Those expedient shelters and shit that CD pushed may keep you alive during a blast, but that's about it. You'd starve, die of thirst, or most likely radiation sickness before it became safe outside. The best bet is to build an actual nuclear-hardened bunker.


Quite the opposite actually.

Most shelters cannot and will not withstand significant blast overpressure. It simply takes too much concrete and reinforcement.

Radiation protection is quite easy.

Line the walls of your shelter with 5 gallon water jugs full of water.

The water will protect you from gamma and neutron radiation. This should be coupled with 12"+ concrete and dirt shielding. Best of all, as you consume the water, the threat of short lived high energy isotopes is dissipating as well.

Just make sure to have a suitable air filtration system, decontamination procedures, and a way to measure radioactivity.

You only need to stay in your shelter for about 30 days. After that, it would be fairly safe to leave, although you would still want to wear a respirator or dust mask.

[Pinzfag, /k/'s resident flashaholic No.126177]

>>126174
Please do that!
>dem iso anomalies from my buddies shitty sony fakeslr

[Anonymous No.126191]

All you need is some HESCO bags and a shovel

[Anonymous No.126194]

>>126167
>>126170

80k for a bunker? Where can I find these?

[Pinzfag, /k/'s resident flashaholic No.126197]

>>126194
Government and private commercial land auctions.

[Anonymous No.126198]

>>126194
Bunk 'R Us

[Anonymous No.126216]

God dammit OP... I had forgotten for a while my life long dream (well, since 1999 that is) of having a house underground that looks like a vault...

>mfw I'll never have a vault-tec vault...

[Anonymous No.126250]

>>126216
>mfw I'll never have a vault-tec vault...

And just why the hell not? Vault-tec vaults are designed for several families. You don't have enough friends and relatives who you wouldn't mind living that close to that would be interested or willing to work towards that goal? I suppose that's pretty common, but you should be able to make new friends who want the same thing and are trustworthy. As the economic situation worsens, more and more people are gaining an interest in survivalist practices, so it's entirely possible that in a few years those that you would prefer to live with have gained that interest as well.

...Of course, you can always just convince them to work with you on it anyway because it's cheaper. If everyone puts money into property, you could get a very nice "house" for everyone with only partial investments from each party. Cost of living overall would be cheaper if you did do a Vault-tec inspired bunker, as it would be designed to be entirely self sufficient. You would produce your own electricity, recycle water in a similar fashion as the astronauts, and you could easily include space to grow your own food. A greenhouse is the most likely of choices, but it's no stretch to have small animals like chickens or a modest fish farm. Combine all three and you have most of your food needs cared for. Of course you won't be having steak or anything like that, but if those who live in your vault are employed (as opposed to claiming it as a religious commune, exempting you from tax and such, negating basically any need for income [Do research of your own. I may be wrong, but look up the Amish.]) then you can just use your fat stacks of cash to purchase whatever the hell you want because your only expenses would be vehicle related, toiletries, and the occasional clothes or shoes purchase.

[Anonymous No.126255]

>>126175
Bunkers are not for blast protection. If there's a blast nearby, you're fucked. Bunkers are for fallout. They are fallout shelters. When there's a bomb in the next state and the fallout drifts over your state. That sort of thing.

[Anonymous No.126256]

Old Missile Silos.

There are several out there that are for sale and some have already been bought and turned into apartments. lol

[Anonymous No.126269]

>>126255
>Bunkers are not for blast protection. If there's a blast nearby, you're fucked.
A bunker will live thorugh a much closer blast than a wooden house or such.

For fallout, that wooden house, properly sealed with air filters is good enough, keep a huge storage of food and water at hand and comms equipement, perhaps a gun or two also.

[Anonymous No.126272]

Tunnel Digging as a Hobby

I want to find this damn book.

[Anonymous No.126274]

>>126269
And, you would be completely wrong. You need all that dirt and concrete to help keep radiation out.

[Anonymous No.126277]

My regular readers may not even know this…

But, I’ve had a long-time obsession with things like steam tunnels, bomb shelters and other abandoned, underground structures. Not to the point of risking my life to explore them, but they’ve always fascinated me.
Well, today’s Friday Fun Links are all brought to you via Boing Boing, and have an underground theme. First, there’s a giant, underground marijuana growing operation. Hey, if these guys can raise weed underground, maybe we can raise food crops and survive a nuclear war!
Next, we have the urban legend that the infamous Seymour Cray, of Cray supercomputer fame, was a secret, compulsive tunneler. Sadly, this turns out to not be anywhere close to the truth, but it sure made a great story!
The next link is to an actual, albiet less genius-like, tunneler in the UK. I mean, look at that guy in the picture. Doesn’t he look like the kind of guy who tunnel under the neighbors?
And, finally, there’s the infinitely more upbeat and fun, Tunnel-Digging as a Hobby. The peppy 1932 copy and clean illustrations sure make it seem appealing, don’t they?

Sadly, in Houston, if I were to tunnel, I’d probably be underwater before I got more than three or four feet. Besides, I have a lot of writing to catch up on if I’m going to even come close on this NaNoWriMo thing! Enjoy the Friday Fun links! (And, yes, this is recycled from my other blog, Diary of a Network Geek. So sue me, it’s been a busy week!)


http://www.fantasist.net/scroll/2006/11/dig-it/

[Anonymous No.126288]

>>126274
Where can i download this?

[Anonymous No.126298]

>>126288
http://wardomatic.blogspot.com/2006/11/fallout-shelter-handbook-1962.html

Seems the guy scanned the images. I don't know if it is that complete book yet or not. I want it in PDF form though.

[Anonymous No.126299]

>>126272
Anyone got this?

[Anonymous No.126303]

I've just spent the last hour on a very strange trip through the world of Disco Dave, master protest tunneler. Apparently, and I never knew this, in England they tunnel out of protest and make the police send counter tunnelers in after them. It's all quite mad and very British as you will see. It's all written in very small sections and very specific with quips, notes and anecdotes about the process and the protest mindset of the day.

Here is the chapter index.

http://www.discodavestunnelguide.com/intex.htm

Pic related, it's supposedly a vietnamese tunnel operation which I tend to doubt. How would they dig that low without hitting the water table?

[Anonymous No.126312]

>>126303
That's ridiculous. I think Dave just likes to dig tunnels.

[Anonymous No.126316]

>>126312
The guy is a real tunnel nut, yeah. He loves the tunnel. He makes off-handed poetry about the tunnel. I'm in Chapter 21 and it's just getting crazier.

Before eviction anyone considering living in the tunnel should spend at least two consecutive nights below the surface or ideally be sleeping underground everynight. If they can handle awakening every morning to the pitch darkness then they've crossed the first hurdle. The next is dirt. Anyone wishing to have a wash every morning should forget it. As a tunneller you're digging and living within mother earth. The dirt should be as much a part of you as your right hand. Walking around all day every day a dirty dusty mess should become second nature. Though admittedly a nice bath once in a while is welcome, the removal of that layer of dirt from the skin of a dedicated tunneller, to whom it has become a part of their very nature, can leave one feeling a little vulnerable.

[Anonymous No.126319]

>>126303
For some reason it reads like it is all theoretical BS that he hasn't actually done and is a work of fiction.

[Anonymous No.126320]

>>126316
With the MIB being extremely safety conscious anyway, there sometimes seems little point in having any one to be safety person. However what shouldn't be forgotten is that for those underground for a number of weeks isolated from the rest of the world hearing a familiar voice on the intercom asking you if everything's "tickerty poo" is a definite comfort and morale booster.The tunnellers at Essex were greatly uplifted by the daily 10 to 20 minute chats to their tunnel safety person, just snippets of news from the world outside helped the five of them last an amazing 40 days and nights underground.

>an amazing 40 days and nights underground.

[Anonymous No.126322]

>>126319
No, he references evictions. He is the real deal, this is the strangest shit I have ever read.

[Anonymous No.126324]

To that insane tree hugging, tunnel digging, not right in the head Brit, Disco Dave. What a read.

[Anonymous No.126326]

>>126324
Fukken Disco Dave, kind of /diy/.

[Anonymous No.126349]

>>126324

GOD NO THAT HOLE IS TOO SMALL OH FUCK OH FUCK

[Anonymous No.126350]

>>126349
Not for Disco Dave!

[Anonymous No.126355]

>>126350
A truly dedicated tunneler, Dave has developed the ability to dislocate his shoulders and hips and pass his body through a 6' diameter pipe one piece at a time.

[Anonymous No.126356]

>>126349
I've been in holes small like that underground. Pipes mostly. This was back when I was a kid. I got stuck a few times. You literally are frozen stuck. No matter what you do you can't press against the walls they don't move at all. Every breath makes you feel bigger and the walls tighter. Then you hear something in the lonely tunnel coming your way making scratching skittering sounds.

[Anonymous No.126370]

>>126356
Oh god worst nightmare ever!

Reminds me of tunnel ratting in the storm drains with friends. we all had lights and knives (crazy hobos who knows) and it went on forever. I sucked because we had to hunch over and keep our legs to the side to avoid the water in the middle of the tunnel. Anyhow my friends wanted to stop for a cigarette and I wanted to keep going, so I said I would scout ahead. I went forward about a hundred feet and came back. They were singing and fucking around, they had the flashlight pointing straight up and it made a halo of light but didn't extend far.

I decided to fuck with them and I came roaring our of the darkness screaming bloody murder. My best friend came this close [-----------------------] to gutting my with his 12 inch combat knife.

"Jesus fuck dude, I almost killed you!"

>Mfw

[Anonymous No.126380]

>>126370

[Anonymous No.126407]

OP here

what I have read and seen 12inches of concrete is the standard. Chance are I will end up going 18inches minimum.

I am thinking I am going to build 4 - 8x20's and connect them in the middle with a central access point (pic related) shitty example but you get the idea

As for buying pre existing bunkers that is really cool and all, but the problem for me is location. I cant exactly say there are frequently available pre existing bunkers here in Canada.

[Anonymous No.126480]

>>126274
>You need all that dirt and concrete to help keep radiation out.
'Diluted' gamma rays leaking through your walls won't do very much harm, bioaccumulation and other direct contact/ingestion scenarios are a much more severe problem. Like any other EM source the intensity drops quite rapidly with distance too, a dusting on my window is much less of a danger than a dusting on my skin even in the absence of ingestion.

[Anonymous No.126500]

>>126303

Just read this from start to finish. On the last page (http://www.discodavestunnelguide.com/ch26.htm)) it says the following:
" This production is purely fictitious. Any connection with anyone alive or from Buckingham palace is purely coincidental, contrary to protesters claims. The millions of trees that have been chopped down to make this production were not just butchered but checked before hand to make sure they were all diseased or desperately needed for car dash boards. In fact all the animals and trees through out this land are happy, the sun's shinning so eat your popcorn everything's gonna be allright.

Made on a shoe string budget and in string vests. Due to the excessive cider consumption of the cast and crew the few pennies that were left were not enough to hire anyone with an official sounding name to advise us on the safe way to make tunnels. We concluded that it wasn't safe to let humans go down these death traps. We therefore strongly recommend only young Tories should be allowed underground if future films of this nature are made.

This production is dedicated to the memory of "Sorted " Dave Richards"

What's going on? Is the whole thing fake? Please, I need answers, I need Disco Dave to be real :(

[Anonymous No.126590]

>>126500
see
>>126319

[Anonymous No.126604]

this thread is amazing to me. bump

[‮☜ ℼ ☞ ‭‪‮‪‫‪‮‪‪‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ !P3141593qY No.126607]

http://www.angelfire.com/trek/caver/

[Anonymous No.126613]

>>126607

as always main topic shifts. this time it's spelunkers.

[Pinzfag, /k/'s resident flashaholic No.126621]

>>126613
You should relax a bit.

[Anonymous No.126890]

as discussed earlier, looks sweet inside not a bad idea.

[Anonymous No.127302]

>>126890
>white walls

This is always a good idea. It helps bounce light around and makes a room feel larger than what it really is.

[Anonymous No.127364]

OP, ever though of looking for submarines? They look like a good model of what you would want/expect. And it is easier to find material about the subject.

Here, puny img I found lurking

[Anonymous No.127391]

>>127364

>op here

so where us links to where i can buy submarine? =D lol

[Anonymous No.127392]

>>127364
Well, I'd love to buy myself submarine parts.
How easy is it?

[Anonymous No.127400]

http://www.ussubmarines.com/submarines/101.pdf

2 man sub, $640k

[Anonymous No.127968]

>>127391
>>127400
>>127392
http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/two-man-submarine-for-the-price-of-a-car-592990

>Two-man submarine for the price of a car
>£20,000 gets you this Russian undersea pedalo

A bit small...but I suppose you can make an underwater habitat and sink it then use this to access it.

[Anonymous No.128005]

>>127364 Here


>>127392
>>127391
I can give my links too OP. Want? (srsly)

[Anonymous No.128211]

>>128005
Want. Next time don't ask, just post!

[Anonymous No.128608]

[Anonymous No.128610]

[Anonymous No.128611]

[Anonymous No.128614]

>>128608
>>128610
>>128611

Combine these three ideas.
>Half-submerged shipping container
>Covered on all sides by concrete blocks
>Those concrete blocks are covered with earth rolls and sandbags

You'll have to pile up a lot of dirt/concrete around the 'ramp' leading down to the door, because it in itself won't protect you from anything.

If you pile it up a metre or so and then cover the ramp with a tarpaulin (for rain protection) you should be fine.

[Anonymous No.128617]

try a turf-covered quonset hut

[Anonymous No.128774]

>>128608
>turn shipping container upside down because it's floor is stronger than its roof

First sensible thing I've read about shipping containers being used as underground shelters. I still wouldn't use one.

[Anonymous No.129659]

>>128774
For all the shit posted about them they aren't a bad STARTING point.
Yes you will need to brace the interior but that's middling level fabrication skills.
Anyone building anything underground who has got that skill level is going to end up out of pocket or dead

[Anonymous No.129661]

>>129659
>who has got that skill level

should read has not - doh

[Pinzfag, /k/'s resident flashaholic No.129665]

Has anyone actually brought fourth any examples of shipping containers collapsing in shallow soil? I'm talking like the top of the container only 2-3 feet under the surface. I think a better option would be to reinforce it from the outside to maximize interior space, How about cinder blocks? Just a full on wall hugging the outside of the shipping container.

I still have this feeling like the whole collapsing shipping container thread is just an excuse to dismiss these ideas.

[Anonymous No.129672]

>>129665
>I still have this feeling like the whole collapsing shipping container thread is just an excuse to dismiss these ideas.
Its the problem with chans and forums, people with little to no experience on the topic chant things others (with equally little experience) have said until what they are saying become sacrosanct.

For 2-3 feet you will be fine with a shipping container so long as you dont expect vehicles to drive across it. At that depth you wont get much insulation though and if concealment is an issue you might find the heat from appliances visible on a thermal camera

[Pinzfag, /k/'s resident flashaholic No.129674]

>>129672
Insulation from radiation or temperature change? You only need to be under a very very thin layer of dirt to experience a VAST increase in insulation. In the summer my basement which the roof of is actually 2 feet or so above the surface stays almost 20-25 degrees cooler then the rest of the house.

[Anonymous No.129678]

>>129674
A deep structure will maintain a constant temperature where as a shallow one will experience temperature fluctuations and will allow some heat to escape.
I'm willing to bet Im the only person on here who has buried a shipping container

[Pinzfag, /k/'s resident flashaholic No.129687]

>>129678
You have? well... I cant say that. I am just going by how my basement reacts to temp change. Very very well, I am quite happy with its performance. Not doubting that burying one deeper would be better and not even suggesting that it would be smart to bury one shallow for the intended purpose of a fallout shelter. I have always dreamed since as long as i can remember to build a house by stacking and burying shipping containers and welding them together in crazy shapes.

[Anonymous No.129693]

dunno bout you guys but theres shit like safe rooms or tornado shelters that ive been in that have all kinds of shit like power and shelving, could be diy, just find a seller and get materials

[Anonymous No.129695]

http://www.maritimesales.com/PI12.htm

[Pinzfag, /k/'s resident flashaholic No.129696]

>>129695
Fuck that went cheap.

[Anonymous No.129750]

>>129678
> allow some heat to escape.

Are you kidding? An underground structure will suck out more heat at a faster rate than one exposed to air. Air insulates, ground is a heat sink. Of course the ground maintains a constant temp, but it still sucks out the heat from your structure, trying to bring it down to the same temp.

[Anonymous No.129838]

>>129750
The one container a friend and I buried was used as a growing room, with the lights installed some heat was visible via a thermal camera, we disguised this by placing cow shit over the site (rural area so common enough site), the heat generated by the decomposition masked the heat escaping from below ground great.
That is an exceptional example as we were generating a lot more heat with grow lights than you would expect from a person being in the container

[Anonymous No.130723]

>>129838
lol

[Pinzfag, /k/'s resident flashaholic No.130724]

Yeah I know some people who do that, I just grow in my garage cause its legal to do so here.
I would love to do that though.

[Anonymous No.132333]

OP this is a project of importance to the point where you need professionals to do everything from advice to building

Do not do this yourself. Hire professionals. You are likely to hurt yourself from a lack luster shelter

Don't listen to the advice here

Just hire a professional. If anything your research time should be going into which professional is the most qualified, not how you can build one yourself

[Anonymous No.132386]

posting in the first ever archived /diy/ thread

[Anonymous No.133028]

>>132333
If we all waited for professionals we wouldn't get anything done. There are dangers to everything. Part of DIY is learning those dangers and dealing with them. Consulting a professional is a good idea, but not strictly needed for a competent DIYer.

Saying, "Just hire a professional." equates you to buyfag status.