/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.776560]

Hello /diy/ I was hoping you could help me since I cannot seem to get concrete data on my project.

I want to build an underground tunnel that opens into a underground bunker.

How do I do it?
sitting on empty acreage with soft soil.

How do I build a stabile tunnel, how important is reinforcementioned since standing time is a concern.
should I just dig a huge put than build a concrete enclosure and than rebury it?
I plan to use it as a storage depot.

[Anonymous No.776569]

>should I just dig a huge put than build a concrete enclosure and than rebury it?
You can get ready-made underground fuel storage tanks or septic tanks which is probably the safest way to go around doing it.

Easy concrete tunnel: use culvert pipe

Don't get the idea of burying a shipping container.

Or build the whole thing yourself out of steel reinforced concrete, it's your funeral.

[Anonymous No.776586]

>>776569
>Easy concrete tunnel: use culvert pipe
I said concrete but there are also plastic and metal culverts.

[Anonymous No.776590]

>>776586
I don't know much about this 'culvert' material. Honestly really new to the idea and fit projects as a whole.

Doing initial research so the tunnel I create doesn't become my tomb like some hillbilly king tut

[Anonymous No.776720]

>>776590
Bumping because I don't want my first project to be my grave.

The allotted area is roughly 2 acres of brush and small shrubs, nothing in the dirt AFAIK - was zoned for housing.
there's a small dift mound that's roughly 6 by 13 by 10.

My design is simple. A tunnel with a latched entrance to prevent local wildlife and mitigate water issues.
it will go down roughly 10ft deep and go back about 20, opening into a large store room/bunker.

About 2ft into the tunnel there will be a steep but short incline (this is to prevent water from flooding the rest of the tunnel - learned this from gopher tortoises )

How do I get it done? It needs to be sound structurally and have low profile (don't want local police thinking I'm the uni bomber for wanting a underground store room).

Outside of structure concerns, there is the cocern of lighting and airflow. I think either a solar panel to a small battery that lights a bulb or two or a natural light tube.

Airflow. Idk perhaps a vent system like roofs have.

I'm new to this game and idk what this will even cost. But I ask for your thoughts on this.

Pic is my work zone

[Anonymous No.776722]

>>776720
Oh fuck me, sorry guys on mobile and it took a crap shot w/o me realizing

[Anonymous No.776949]

For your "storage room" look into storm shelters. Basically smaller shipping containers or large septic tanks depending on your choice of metal or concrete.

Long term viability I would go with plastic culverts. Your idea with slanted section to prevent flooding is good but may be a lot of extra work over making sure joints are sealed and caulked.

There will be absolutely nothing low key about the excavator you rent to remove the volume of dirt necessary for your planned deminsions and lowering pieces in.

All in all, going to be pricey since you don't want to be a hillbilly tut.

[Anonymous No.776972]

>>776949
just use concrete pipe
they come with a tar gasket
your going to need a medium sized excavator and a friend to set the pipes
they also make precast boxes that mate perfectly with the pipes get a couple 10x10x8 boxes and put them next to each other

this is the cheapest and safest way

also have a sump pump in your water trap

vent shaft with fans to pull in air and an exhaust shaft

[Anonymous No.776977]

>>776949
>>776972
Wow thank you anon, looking into this and the earlier culvert idea. I wonder if I would be able to hodgepodge something together in order to cut cost.

I'd imagine there to be about a 5k project. Thoughts?

[Anonymous No.776979]

>>776560
I feel like this type of project comes up very often. I think it's important to be able/ to have the knowledge on how to build underground structures. Call me a tin foil hat type of guy but I think we should collaborate to come up with some cheap diy blueprint and share them freely.

[Anonymous No.776984]

>>776977
5k not including the rental of the trackhoe
your going to need a big machine

[Anonymous No.776991]

>>776979
I agree with you 110% (OP here btw)
the many issues that I ran into is that all the research is quite outdated or simply about the terrorist tunnels throughout the Gaza strip.
I can only guess how many pings my search parameters have set off at certain govt. Agencies.

>>776984
Fuuuck me, and this is both cheaper and easier than doing this by shovel and doing the concrete work myself?

[Anonymous No.776995]

Culverts are those pipes that carry streams or runoff under roads— you can buy the pipes in big, prefab sections.

How hard *is* it to build a reinforced concrete roof that's as strong as you think it is? Any anons here in the concrete construction trade?

[Anonymous No.777000]

>>776991
by far
doing it yourself would take months and if you dont know what your doing can kill you

[Anonymous No.777001]

>>776995
I am you have to build shoring that can hold the weight of the concrete till it hardens
concrete is very heavy

[Anonymous No.777024]

I was just reading a book on diy underground houses from the 70's re low heating costs and low construction costs.
Book suggested treated posts and polyethylene sheet construction. so you dig a big hole, setup posts with the tops notched for crossbeams and the bottoms dug in, lay crossbeams, lay planks or logs between the archways thus made (top fully, sides partially), cover with polyethylene sheeting like painter's tarps from the dollar store, probably staples with tape ontop. Then cover back up with dirt.
How thick the posts are depends on depth of tunnel. The sheeting will keep water off of the wood so it doesn't rot, only part in danger should be the posts because buried. If they start to rot, though, you can brace the crossbeam, dig out the post, and replace it pretty easily. This is the cheapest option for empty land if you've got some trees to harvest. Should be good for a foot or two of dirt, and you can plant stuff on top of it, just no trees or cars ontop.

Also, major issue is drainage. You need to compact dirt over top, provide a path for water flow, and possibly plan for a french drain when building (basically gravel filled wall/trench next to tunnel so pooling water has somewhere to go).

Look into renting a backhoe/cat(mini-bulldozer), and ask around. A lot of people in rural areas may have a cat along with a tractor, and may be willing to dig out for you for as little as gas and some beer after. Especially if only a mile or two away, so you don't need to rent a truck/trailer to move it.
Don't forget to call the county office to make sure you don't have any buried water/sewer lines across your land, and find out the building code (chance of fines if you don't use concrete as others suggest).

For lighting/airflow/power, dont forget to bury some conduit/ electrical wire so you can hookup a solar panel/generator ontop and whatever underneath.

[Anonymous No.777029]

I'd also strongly suggest a clerestory roof bump out http://pixgood.com/clerestory-roof.html
It can be in the middle of the room, doesn't have to be on one wall. also, keep windows small/put bars on them, author of book had issues with bears trying to hibernate in his "cave" in the winter.
But will solve a big chunk of lighting during the day and a big chunk of airflow issues too. especially if you open two windows and put a fan in one.
another tip from the book I remember offhand is to just leave the floor compacted dirt, but paint it with linseed oil a few times, which will form a layer that will keep dust from rising.

This is the book I was reading
http://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Dollar-Underground-House-Book/dp/0442273118

Also, don't forget to account for drainage around the trapdoor. Also also, you realize that the structure is going to make a mound? either because you put the dirt from the hole back ontop (mound about the height of structure) or because you have a mound of fill dirt left over.

And again, county building permits office, give them a call. Ask them building code for a root cellar and tell them you want a ramp down to it, and ask for a guess on costs (may or may not get one).

PPPS have you considered just having a ramp dug down with no tunnel? you should just need ramp to door and a french drain to absorb the water flow and divert it underground.

[Anonymous No.777107]

>>776995
That's a bit more extravagant than my project but the idea is the same.
>>777000
Yeesh, dully noted also cheers on the double trips.
>>777001
I'll have to look into shoring if I decide to go the diy instead of precast culvert.
>>777024
>>777029
Does the book has informational graphs? I heard of this book. It's been critiqued hard over the years but I'd wager it's a fantastic jumping off point - is it online for free?

[Anonymous No.777150]

I would definitely go for the precast concrete piping. Easier to install and designed specifically for being buried.

Making your own structure out of concrete and rebar is going to be very time consuming, difficult, dangerous, and expensive. You won't easily be able to mix the concrete yourself.

For ventilation I would put a relatively small hole in the top of the room with a fan going to the surface, to pull air through your ramp and out the ceiling.

For drainage, a sump at the bottom of your ramp would work decently.

For electricity, I'd hang some conduit along the top of your pipes, coming in through the exterior door.

The biggest problem I can see is connecting the decline to the room, as I'm not sure that they sell angled connectors.

[Anonymous No.777160]

Do this instead. Underground will be a bitch to keep dry.

[Anonymous No.777175]

Do you know where the ground water level is ? Like you're not on a flood plain and that shit isn't 3 feet below the surface, causing a sump to run all day. How much earth on the roof? Like if it was inches I'd just dig a hole put up those concrete slab foundation walls put in and slap a precast concrete slabs on top. boss is building a house like this. We got rooms under the garage floor. And floor is precast slabs placed over the foundation.kinds look like that cheap ass poster board with holes on edge or cells. But there 10 inches thick.

[Anonymous No.777277]

Hope you have money. This ain't no kiddy fort project.

Find a vendor who sells railroad tank car tanks which have been cleaned. They are commonly cut into culverts and have more than sufficient hull thickness to avoid crushing. You can weld and fabricate any combination of entrance/sump/hatching you want.

Hire an excavating contractor to dig the hole and a crane to place the tube. Have your hole for the vertical entrance torch-cut etc while the hull is on the surface. After placing the hull, lower the entrance tube (can be another tank car section or wide industrial pipe or fabbed from plat, not sheet. Weld in place completely to seal the joint. You welder will have a preference, if stick usually 6010 root/7018 cap.

Fill in hole and finish up whatever you didn't get done on the surface, which should be all the wiring and piping and interior and paint etc. Your aboveground entrance is up to you.

Bunker bro will have other tips.

Expect to spend around 30,000 dollars. You don't need a bunker if you can't play in the big leagues and compared to reinforced concrete and dealing with water issues a buried heavy wall bunker will be cheaper and easier to fabricate (no forms to build and then remove, no subsidence issues, etc.

This is serious, serious project. There is no way to halfass it.
Don't even bother unless you are fully ready to enter the subcontracting game. If you take a proper welding course and can pass a 6G test you can weld well enough to do the job and if you wanna play DIY then you get to become a (real) welder. It's profitable enough that if you do that could easily pay for your bunker.

Alternate option since burial is usually silly, just fab the tank on the surface then place in a trench so it sits flush. You don't need the depth. If you have it for nuke shelter you need to MOVE the fuck away from target zones because if you are close enough to worry about blast you are likely gonna die from rad sickness. A tank hull flush with surface is ample.

[Anonymous No.777278]

http://www.sterlingrail.com/classifieds/Listings.php?type=Tank%20Car%20Culverts&fsw=FS

is an example seller. You could look for a steam-cleaned tank which is intact so you don't have to fab ends or fab as much.

[Anonymous No.777280]

>>777277
you dont even need a crane a medium sized excavator can place them

[Anonymous No.777282]

>I plan to use it as a storage depot.

That statement means nothing. What size and physical characteristics are items to be stored as that dictates handling.

If you want a SEALED system you could use horizontal tank car hull(s) in a trench then bevel cut one or two more to join the end full width and reach grade level. A nice steel plate door would secure it, but remember there is no door someone with ingenuity cannot breach.
Make it out of 12" battleship armor and someone can still oxylance or torch through it though that sucks to do. I have an Oxweld scarfing torch with cutting tips rated to cut up to ~28" thick steel. (Wish I had a job that would pay for the oxygen dewar to feed that beauty!) If the right people want in, they'll get in.

[Anonymous No.777285]

>>777280
Depends on how deep he wants to go of course. Excavator has no pulley hence cannot lower beyond where boom hits obstacles though he could use appropriate lowering tackle hung off the excavator.

Excavator can get any reasonable depth. He can weld lifting dogs anywhere on the hull he likes.

[Anonymous No.777295]

Realistically, to be of any help a bit more specific info along the lines of actual intended use and/or intended materials to be stored must be given.

[Anonymous No.777319]

>>777285
well he cant go deeper than the excavator can reach because thats how deep he can dig the hole

[Anonymous No.777321]

>>776560
Are you that fucker from Toronto who dug a shitty bunker under the tennis courts?

[Anonymous No.777333]

for inspiration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4sqFyCHcbg

[Anonymous No.777431]

>>777150
This appears to be the easiest and safest route to go.
>>777160
If I treat the wood with sealant and cover in polyurethane it should be good. Im not going 10 plus ft underground.
>>777175
83.7ft above sea level. The area is hilly. With the area I'd be digging in on a step slant. The water would pool in the vally. Not where I'd build. Soil is dry and the brush easy to remove.
>>777277
I don't think I'm even close to big leagues yet.
>>777282
Earlier I stated the store room would be 8 by 10 by 15 I believe. 8 ft high 10 wide 15 long
>>777285
Not that low, just deep enough to cover with a few lbs of dirt.
>>777321
No, in fact I never heard of the guy

[Anonymous No.777437]

>>777295
Sorry didn't see your post when I was responding.

The idea is to have a underground storage shed in which to place dry goods, preserves, pemmican, my reloading station, shop gear, etc. or if me and the misses are fighting - a psuedo cave to have some alone time.

Materials at the moment are nothing as I am figuring out how to build this home away from him without killing myself. But as many anon have stated it could be
>precast concrete and culvert
>train car hulls or something similar
>wood concrete polyurethane combo.

Atm prefab concrete slabs reinforced with concrete foundation, braced by pressure treated wood posts would work best for A diy project

Thinking slab, sprayed with paint sealant, wood post, Insulation, drywall would be the layout - this would allow for me to easily run wires and pumps. (Though maybe not insulation, might be too much)


If bigger better, the heavy machinery concrete casts that are commonly used.

[Anonymous No.777499]

>>777437
Wow stupid realization. I was driving this morning and it hit me. now firstly I may be wrong, really wrong because I don't know about construction.

But what about cinder blocks reinforced with rebate and filled with poured concrete?
would running the rear vertically or horizontally be better?
how do I do a cross run of rear through the concrete (running the rear both horizontally and vertically )

[Anonymous No.777500]

>>777499
Rebar, damn autocorrect

[Anonymous No.777602]

>>777500
you cant put rebar in cinder blocks because you dont stack them in straight rows

[Anonymous No.777707]

So I run an excavator for a living. And you absolutely need reinforcement on the walls aka shoring. Not only do you have top weight plus whatever might be driving or walking over the tunnels and bunker. But you have side weight. This will not be cheap. Do you know what kind of dirt you are working with our how deep you're water table is

[Anonymous No.777714]

You could use railroad ties for shoring if youre somewhat handy.

[Anonymous No.777757]

>>777707
Soft dirt, all I know about the water table is that I'm 83.7 ft above sea level. And about the same for the aquafers.

Please tell me more about shoring I am completely virgin to all this. I simply have a drive to do this.

>>777602
Shit really?