That is a killer bunker. Using Interlocking Concrete Forms (ICF) is a great idea. Most of the prefabbed bunkers I have looked at which claim to support 8 people are no bigger than an outhouse; what a joke...
Well U have to consider for under 10K you have a shelter to sit in. I wanted more. I wanted to live in it for a year or more if I had too while waiting on insurance company. This is 2 large rooms with king size bed and fully working shower and kitchen. I also have cots and many other things being I am a prepper. But this cost around 100K so it does come down to cost. But I have no regrets building it. Took me 5 years to build it and I paid CASH! no loans I works and took my time.
@@SurvivalSavvvy that’s smart. I had a one story home destroyed by a hurricane it was a b!tch living in my home during reconstruction. If a tornado destroys your home at least you have somewhere to live. Plus these days will probably bring more reasons to use your bunker…
I don't care what any so called expert say ... all homes / businesses should have a safety bunker . None of us will never know when a tornado will hit .... especially w/o warning . I like the video . THANK YOU .
Very nice. One observation. A second entrance/exit out the back would ensure you could exit if the primary one becomes blocked with debris after a tornado.
If you can get a bunker really REALLY obscured, and you're going for strictly NBC (which this guy ISN'T clearly), then sure. But with this setup, an escape egress is critical. Listening to the guy, it seems like he was really going for a man cave/tornado shelter and the "bunker" stuff is just a fun thing to tell his friends.
Jettero Fletcher LOL yeah that's what I did. I spent 50K to impress my friends. You should really pick up a book and learn how to read then how to listen. It was built to protect my family which includes our 11 dogs and 3 cats. The only reason I uploaded it to youtube is that it may help someone else to build there own. I spent a very long time trying to figure out how to pour the ceiling. Any how... this has to be the dumbest comment I have read yet.
I think the same way about an escape route. I really appreciate learning and picking up options with these videos. Take the best parts of each and manipulate it to fit your needs, perfect. I would also require multiple exits since that's what would be best for me. I'm sure there are reasons to have only one entrance though.
It probably would but if I was going to do that the foundation holding the walls I would have made wider and deeper then. This is a figure 8 the center wall is on its own foundation. But check with an engineer to be positive
I think what makes a bunker is how deep it is installed beneath the ground. What you made is a concrete basement which is not more than a few feet below ground. It is easily broken into from the surface. It is sufficient as a storm shelter though.
A bunker only needs to be 3 feet under ground to protect you from fallout. If you wanted to build a bomb shelter that is completely different. Then your looking to build it 10-25 feet underground
That bunker is absolutely *the best* I have seen in many years! However, my sense of self-preservation for my daughter and family, I'd have included a 2nd exit just in case. This is only a personal preference and does not detract your design in any way. As I live in the UK, instead I built an effective nuclear bunker. It took many months. Needless to say we live in uncertain times. Best always and thank you for your excellent video, ~Wendi
Job well done!! The fact that you did all this to protect your family shows not only ambition but integrity. It's so easy to sit on the sofa and deny obvious dangers we face in this crazy world. The lazy jealous types are all over this. I think it is AMAZING and i am envious!! I want an underground food storage shelter to prevent temperature fluctuations. This building material (ICF) is expensive but imo is the best way to build underground. Great job on the floor as well. I hope to see a follow up vid on this. Thx for sharing so i could again see how it is done.
sorry bout seeing it this late.. but.. you built a nice bunker/shelter for your family.. with the basic necessities ..toilet/light/Ac/water/cooking/Shower/portable gas generator... Thankyou for the video.. Stay Safe.. GOD BLESS.
Wow, very impressive and I see that you are caring for your family, things can be replaced, not family members. Clearly worth the money and the work that you have put down.
I saw a video of a house in Las Vegas that had a shelter which could be reached from inside the house, and an exit so that you could get out just in case there was debris blocking the way out from the house. It looked just like a house, but underground. If I had a house that is the kind of underground shelter that I would want built, not the ones now days.
While I normally would not post comments publicly, I just couldnt hold it in. First, 50k is a small price to pay for your families safety. So props there on a job well done. I retired from the military after 22 years. So regardless how anyone labels it bunker, tornado shelter or dungeon.......you designed it, pulled the trigger and it does what you intended. These knuckleheads on here with some of the most asinine comments makes me want to help them understand that common sense goes a Hella long way. Obviously if you can afford to put in a 50k shelter that you can afford to ensure your home. If you intended it on being a fallout or a bunker you would have titled the video This is a DIY FALLOUT OR BUNKER TUTORIAL. While everyone has their opinion some need to bite their tongue. Hell maybe I should too. Anyhow I live in a state in Central US that has 100s a year too. I commend you on a shelter well done. Also since this is not a bunker or a small arms room. If it were me as big as it is I'd add a false wall and NOT make a gun and ammo secret storage safe.😮 Thank you for sharing your process. I'd like to see some post 3 year pics on what you've done to it. Respects
Now you have a nice patio. Put a roof over head for shade, some lawn furniture, a barbecue an your good to go! Maybe a jacuzzi over top of the center wall for support. That would top it off!
@@SurvivalSavvvy A shame. Still, I Love what you did! A true accomplishment. Great for your family And your dogs! Vastly Important for more reasons than tornados. (Especially These Days)
Can someone explain how the toilet works? Is it composting or does it actually flow into a septic or sewer? I’m curious as I want to something similar, thanks a bunch
The toilet cost $1000.00 when I bought it. The toilet connects to a box. This box is like a blender where everything is grinded up. Then it is pumped up a pipe into the sewer of the house pipe. Search lowes for - "SANIFLO Sanibest Pro White Elongated Chair Height 2-piece WaterSense Toilet 12-in Rough-In Size" To understand it better.
@@SurvivalSavvvy thank you, hope y’all had a merry Christmas and have a happy new year, I appreciate the lightning fast reply. I wish your full build vid was still up but this will suffice. Thanks again
Nice video! As an ex-vault builder from Europe, I am missing an emergency exit far away from the house (debris or trees), a really secure door and a reliable air filtration system. But I am very much impressed by what you built and how you did it :).
Wow that's a nice looking bunker you've made there and I'm really sorry that you people out there in Tennessee get all those tornadoes! May God bless you, your family and the people from Tennessee . Peace , love and respect to you , your family and the from Tennessee.
Very excellent job; I hope to do the same when $$ is available. Thanks for explaining the pored ceiling; has been my main concern - Also, living in TN; wish you gave tours.
that is amazing. 200 tornados is crazy. I thought we had it bad up here in the north with all the cold and snow. but not as life threating as you have it. I would like to see the inside now that you have it finished. thanks for sharing this
I saw a video on here that showed a flooded bunker and was shocked made me think about ok what if you in a tornado and begins to flood the area what good is buying a bunker IF it will not block out the water an i mean block it out do its job and be big enuff to be comfy In ventilated and a peace of mind Yours look like you put a lot into it why companies can't do the same A storm shelter should not be about ripping people off but really giving them what they should have now ill forever wonder in a mega storm with possibly a tsunami hurricane and tornado if it was Possible How many of these Storm Shelters a Survive ?
When you build anything you have to consider where you build. If you build along a stream it will rise. My house is high up. The town here did flood but my house was fine. But let's say it was not. I have 2 HUGE pumps I have never used on stand-by that I can flip a switch. When you prepare you have to consider what you will do. Also, keep in mind a tornado lasts maybe 10 min tops. It happens so fast. So even if a shelter did flood the most that would happen is you get wet. I can not speak for other companies. I have always done everything myself because I do not trust people. Also, nothing is 100%. I wish it was but that is not how life is. All you can do is give yourself more time when things go bad. With more time it allows you to make better choices. By the way, I am typing this from inside the bunker with my dogs and we are all very comfortable. :)
fantastic. If I had some land that was mine and the cash to do it I'd love to build a bunker. I'd be happy living in it as well, right now, why wait until you needed it.
You should’ve looked at a beam system chart and used specific sized iron beams for dead and live loads for the roof just to be safe but still lookin really good though
looks good I will take from yours when i build mine but one thing i noticed is it is more of a basement not a bunker. no air filtration its not buried to a depth that would promote it blocking radiation or gama rays no air tight door.
You did an amazing job sir and made me quite jealous. It is my dream to build me one. You should be very proud of all that work and effort. The cherry on top was the decals on the floor. Stay safe and God bless fellow Patriot.
I like how you did the roof I've seen it done in commercial applications before but they used corrugated metal instead of plywood but it was also the stadium seating being done in a movie theater you know how it goes up on a angle and then after the concrete set-up they went in and took all the two-by-four bracing out
Only one issue, no DPM!!! Even if you have a low water table when you pour concrete it is wise to fit a DMP to stop the concrete bleeding into the base, this makes it stronger as the water in the concrete mix does not just soak away into the ground.
Use 12 inch block 40 inch overlap on vertical #6 .Use scaffold to shore up concrete roof.The below ground temp is 60 to 70 degrees making insulation redundant.waterproof walls and drain away from structure.
When I’m older, I plan on building my own house ( I would manage the contractors my self more than likely ) and for certain I am building a bunker it’s just makes sense to do so if you have the funds. Every house should have some form of a bunker.
Very cool! I agree with the commentors that say you should add an NBC filter. I can point you in the right direction if you're interested in going that route.
It looks as typical basement in Poland :). Its caused mostly by our winter, and price of plots. In winter, ground is freezed to 1-1,2m depth. So, base of basement must be placed lower, to avoid deformation caused by ice. Most basement in P. is 1.5m below ground. It enough to add 0,5 m above gronud - and you have additional level of home. Most of home, are made of bricks and concrete. It's heavy. To withstand it, wall and roof of basement, are done of 20-30cm (one feet), of reinforced concrete.
Didn't see the air vents or any extensive outer waterproofing or any angle irons unless you mean rebar which looked sparcely tied and spaced on the roof.
I added xtra piping which I have screens on now. . For waterproofing I have this plastic thing that wraps it with dimples which is made for that. But its been a few years and everything is great. thx for watching
Great work. Looks awesome. What did you use for door above stairs? Any video on that? Did you leave the concert like so or cover it up w earth to help conceal bunker? Did you consider making a guest house and building above bunker to add more space etc and then have bunker basement.
Interesting project. I am wondering to se no Infrastructure. No sockets, air supply, water supply, spout.... What kind of hatch is planned? Isn't it safer to have a small one because of attack surface? Why is it flush to the ground and not 1m or so under the ground? A followup of this video will be interesting. Thank you
If i lived in tornado alley i would build a giant elevator like you see on an aircraft carrier, not that hard to do if you have access to construction equipment, when you get an alert you can lower the house down, to top it off, literally, is a concrete cap on rails that rolls over the top. Either that or a curved hanger thats shotcreted like a military hangar, its on rails and its rolled over house, its curved like a Quonset hut and its sheer weight is your shield.
I like what you've done here! That's quality work!I built my shelter specifically to survive a nuclear war, so I paid special attention to 90 degree angle entrances and dirt cover for radiation attenuation as well as a $5,000 Swiss-made air filtration unit specifically designed to filter radioactive fallout and all know chemical and biological war gases. I built mine out of an old underground fuel storage tank, which I purchased off of ebay and had the seller cut the hole in the bulkhead for the entrance tube and so I could get in to clean it up and build out the inside. Then I had him deliver it. If you are interested in upgrading your shelters PF (Protection Factor from radiation) all you would need to do is add a concrete filled cinder block (CFU) wall at the base of your stairwell to stop radiation from coming in from the entrance and add about two to four feet of dirt cover to the top of your shelter and you'd be solid gold. Next, you would need some way of bringing in filtered fresh air, as well as an exhaust pipe to prevent CO2 build-up inside your shelter and killing your family, thus defeating the purpose. I have a few companies/filters I can suggest to you. Just let me know. Again, great job! Also, what kind of business do you run from down there?
Nice, Wonder how strong you could of made the roof. It would be great if the top could function as a parking spot or the floor of a shop or utility building.
If the conc roof is not sufficiently tied into the walls and floor with rebar, then tornado can lift roof off and meanwhile vacuum out the contents (meaning you and yours).
I Love everything from start to finish great job!!! Is there apart two where we can see every room done? Please let me know friend! And thanks so much for sharing!!
I never made a 2nd video. The other is a bit larger is all. Which has a king size bed in it you can walk all the way around to give you and idea on room. I also have a Macerating Toilet which cost around 1K. Which basically just runs like a blender then pumps up and out. 90% of the videos I do on reviews is actually in the bunker. For example ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NnwBF_iLKyg.html Its awesome for making videos because no outside sound to mess it up. :) It is also nice if your up all night working because when you shuts the lights off it pitch black. So you sleep good. One of these days I will get around to making a video of it all.
@@SurvivalSavvvy That's so awesome! I came across you're channel and got hooked lol. Im I'm truly amazed at you're work! Looking forward to more!!! Ps. I know it's so cozy inside!! And that's a great Office space for sure.
realy cool, but you realy needed a secondary exit, especialy since the entrance is so close to the house. a steel 4 foot tube running 25 feet away from the house into an excape hatch would have been ideal. hell of a bunker tho!! plenty of room there! nice job.
make sure that emergency lights you are using are water proof or water resistant, there are chances that water may seep into the storm shelter and damage those lights.
Great job, remember that angle iron is totally different from rebar. Angle iron is, well an angle like corners. Reinforcing bar or rebar is used to reinforce concrete. Anyway welcome to the RU-vid critique lol. Great job though thanks
Fairly nice setup. A couple things (as you did this a while ago). How did you insulate the ceiling? Toss stuff up between the 4x4 rafters? Covered with earth? What I'd have done is gotten some 2 or 3 inch thick panels of insulation and tacked them down before the concrete pour on top of the plastic sheathing. Nowadays, several of the ICF providers have forms for concrete decking as well (which may not have been an option when you put your structure together). Still, fairly good engineering, even if you were a bit iffy on the roof. As for people who talk about shipping containers. Your solution is, in the end, superior. As it's fully structurally sound, VERY well insulated and running service to the structure is easier and doesn't take away from the interior space AT ALL. One other question, what are you doing for ventilation/heating/cooling?
Nothing on the ceiling yet. I plan to put a building on top of it in a year. For air and cooling I use 2 Ductless mini spits one in each room. I have a few plastic pipes I put in different spots around the bunker. In the room. I also have a fan that blows out.
Hey Secret Stuff, I hope you are still monitoring this video as I have a question. I've always wondered when I am watching these types of videos, why a tunnel is not built from the house to the shelter, so there is no need to even go outside at all?
Very nice job on this I'm also from tn so I understand I'm living in Costa Rica now we have a few months called the rainy season it rains here much harder then it did back hom. I need it dry I'm building a 25x50 basement then on top my house the base will be private all underground to house a data center I'm installing here in Costa Rica to host websites for clients I have in USA. Dry is a must for me. Thanks for the info any moisture issues or mold? Thanks
what kind of front door are you using? anything special or just a regular door? also you forgot the periscope, how are you going to film your house getting demolished by a twister if you don't have a periscope?
Shoo, you are like THIS close to a legit NBC shelter. Did you happen to design-in any PVC or whatever outlets to the outside? If you did, all you'd really need to get close to NBC protected would be a couple of feet of compacted dirt on top. Concrete, by itself, needs to be about 16 inches. Your ceiling's close, it would appear. You'd still have a huge problem without having an escape hatch, but if everybody else around you's dead, you're good. As a tornado shelter, it looks great. Very stout.
We built a 3,000 sq foot bunker up in Tahoe, my dad owns a 3 acre land, it's a when the shit hits the fan bunker, fully equipped, and self sustained water filtration with reverse osmosis, you name it we probably got it, we're building another 3,000 sq foot next to it, it will be connected by a 10 foot tunnel, and yes both bunkers have NBC filtration, and solar, and back up Diesel generators, we also have a Gun Room. Only 4 of us know about the location my own brothers, they have their own bunkers, on property too.
in a floating slab the footer and slab are poured in one piece. you will have a crack in between the footer and the slab where water and insects can come in....
@Secret Stuff It's a very nice tornado shelter. But what i really don't understand is the following. Why do you and all the other people that build a tornado shelter in the US don't design the shelter more in a direction of a nuclear shelter in the first place? Of course, a real nuclear shelter that is able to survive a nuclear blast of a 5 Mt bomb (the largest that is currently deployed in an military arsenal. In this case in China) some hundred meters away from ground zero will be much more expensive or impossible to build and afford, BUT what if the bombs drop > 12 km away? Then it doesn't need as deep and hardened like a real nuclear shelter, it only needs to be stable enough to withstand an overpressure of 5 psi according to "nuclearsecrecy com/nukemap/" for a 5 Mt bomb in 12 km distance. Such a shelter can be build by using just reinforced concrete, a steel door and an air ventilation with according blast protection and from a price range it should still be possible to afford. It's not that much different to your tornado shelter. The next thing to do is to just put the shelter around 3-4 m deeper. This simple change in your design would result in a shelter that offers enough radiation protection against gamma radiation. If the bomb explodes in greater distance blast protection won't be required at all, but putting the shelter just 3-4 m deeper will still offer you very good protection against radiation. Something your tornado shelter doesn't offer at all because just of the simple fact, that it is not buried deep enough. So, just by simple adjustments, like burying the shelter a little deeper will increase your chances to survive a nuclear detonation and fallout in 12 km distance a lot more. And if you already plan to make all these efforts, why not doing it a little better by a very small difference in costs?
I suppose I am just weighing out the odds. The odds of a nuclear strike is very very low. I would think a virus attack would be more likely. Our Technology has advances as well as our computer guided misses. Even israel has a iron dome in place now. Now lets say USA had 10 nukes hit it. Now you need to think about how hard life would be even if you did live. You just might be better off to sit on top of the bunker and let it happen instead of suffering for many years.
Well, that's something that is commonly told to everyone. But it's not the true. If you survive the blast and stay for around 2 weeks in a bunker, so that all the radioactive isotopes with a short half-life have time to decay you have very good chances to live on for many years on the surface. The point is, radiation can be handled with. For example, if nuclear fallout contaminates your field, all that is needed is typically to remove 5 cm of the upper layer which contains all the radioactive particle. After that, you can grow food on the field. That's something the Japanese do in Fukushima. They fill all the radioactive upper layer in plastic bags, the dirt below is not contaminated and good enough to grow food on again.
If I actually survived I would not be staying here or removing any soil. If I have a chance I will load up my 4x4 dodge ram pick up and run like hell. LOL ...... A tornado is more likely to hit me then a nuke. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YVy7J0U1JlQ.html
Well, you will need some sort of EMP protection for your 4x4 doge ram if you want to use it after the nukes. Otherwise the EMP will destroy all the electrical components in that car and it won't work anymore. Also keep in mind, where do you want to go? I am pretty sure there will be thousands of refugees that will try to go to other countries that were not that much affected by a nuclear war on a third world war scale. And these countries won't be able to take everyone and probably won't welcome everyone. If they run out of food supplies, they might also shot any refugee that tries to cross the border. Under such consequences it is in my humble opinion better to stay at home and try to make the best out of the nuclear wasteland. But I agree on that tornadoes are much more likely, but still, if small modifications on the shelter with only a very small increase in costs can improve the survivability of a nuclear war, i would chose that option.
You can always backpack out. Jump a horse and ride. I do not think you will need to run to another country. Don't you think Mexico will help us being we want to build a wall. (kidding) :) Its not a small alteration you would need to seal this right up from any air coming in and then you need special filters. Which are not cheap at all. Then you have to consider no electric the generator only works for so long. Your talking alot more money to keep everything running. A few days is easy, you start talking 2 weeks or a month it get quite costly. It has brought the value up in the house though.
I was totally sold that this was a tornado bunker....until the floor sticker..lol Nice work man. Let me know if you want to come to Ky and build me one haha.
Sure I can come build you one. Concrete is alot more money now from when I built it. If a person wants just a affordable tornado shelter pick up a school bus and drive it into a hole and pour concrete on top of it. Well steel on the windows and your good to go. Thx for watching
I love them. They are light and easy to put together. No fiberglass on the skin because it insulates the wall already. To run the wire I use a flat drill bit 2 inchs wide to make a channel in the foam to run the wires.
That is pretty cool - I feel jealous lol :) Such a nice feeling to have a safe place (or safe as you can make it) for you and your family. Thanks for your comment on my channel! I don't know if it is new or not, but they have ICF for roofing now, it makes it's own beams and neat stuff like that. The one I like best is called Quadlock, but I don't like the wook buckles for windows and doors (termites thrive here in Miami. Foxblocks has foam buckles for that. That part is pretty new.
Sir, just catching up with your older videos. Just saw the making money for with no money. Looks awesome. And this one. Not trying to be snarky this is a real question. I live in Ca so we have permits up the you know....did you have to permit that? I was wondering, the roof, I know NOTHING about construction nor concrete, so in common building practices, is that roof technically stable? Is this where you do your videos from? Lots of questions, sorry. Oh one more, I've heard TN is very limestone rich, and as a result has alot of sink holes, have you ever had a ground penetrating radar done at your property?
No permits because I live in a small small town. I called the city hall and being we know each other by name I asked him do I need a permit he said naaaa no pipes back there go ahead have fun. When I am sitting down at the table all those videos are taken inside the bunker. Never had a sink hole for miles where I live.
NOT BAD! My brother in law is an "environmental engineer" which doesn't mean he works for Al Gore, it's kind of a civil engineer with a bit of geologist combined. knows how to drain swamps, build bridges, etc. and can tell you the way any stone was formed and what kind if rock it is and from what layer. turns out I have iron ore nuggets on my place. anyway coz I have more than half my place flat and the rest on a shockingly steep hill I have thought about building something like this and recovering the top with earth to hide it from local government and plane enthusiasts (sticky beaks) and having a false rock as an entrance door just below the top of the hill. of course there's a million other things I need to buy and do first. like a new house. but the brother in law is also a building engineer who specializes in giving advice for alternative buildings to be able to meet the code. and he knows how to do stuff cheap. as a kid it became common locally to have underground cubby houses. many of them were trenches dug with a backhoe and covered over with corrugated iron and dirt over that. my father built me one with posts and iron to stop the sides caving in and a fiberglass roof.
Stickers can be fun. :) Epoxy can do alot. You also could cover a floor in pennies and then cover them. Just make sure you wash the pennies well to get that sparkle copper look. I almost did the floor in that.
Giving me ideas. I am considering redoing the floor in my office now, lol. I am a strong Constitutionalist, so the decals that you used hit home with me. My Home Owners Association hates my Gadsden flag in my front yard, lol.
Thank's I will check them out. I also just watched your video on the White Lithium Grease and ordered some from your links. I have been trying to find something good for a squeaky door hinge on my van. Hopefully, this will do the trick.
Shoot, well I tried to complete the order for the White Lithium Grease along with one of the Silicone and one of the Garage Door Grease but when I tried to checkout it said they won't ship it to my address. Oh well, one of the Joys of living in Hawaii. Always treated like a Second Class Citizen, LOL.
Around the stairs is 4 2x4 on top of each water. Creating a barrier all around the opening. We used a heavy duty water proof material around them. I can not remember what it was. But when it pours rain and it does rain super super heavy the rain travels around it over the sides into the weeping tile and out into the hole in the back.
I have like 3 large plastic pipes in the room with screen on them and a large one in the other room with and exhaust fan. So I can move the air from one to the other quickly.
