How to Build a Fallout Shelter (Basic)

N Y Times ^ | 5/26/17 | MALIA WOLLAN

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

“The most important thing is to build underground,” says Cédric Vuilleumier, an engineer for the Federal Office for Civil Protection in Switzerland,
where all citizens are legally guaranteed a spot in a bomb shelter.

Packed earth insulates against radiation and blast waves, but don’t go deeper than 10 feet;
if your exits (make two) become blocked in the blast, you may need to dig yourself out.

Start with what Vuilleumier calls a “protective envelope” of concrete and reinforced steel rebar with walls between one foot and 2-feet-7-inches thick.
Don’t build near anything flammable.
Your budget may allow for more spaciousness, but plan for a minimum of nine square feet per person, which is what Switzerland provides.
Install eight-inch-thick concrete and steel doors that open out.
Add a ventilation and air-filtration system that can be operated with a hand crank in case of a power failure.
(Swiss specifications for bomb-shelter parts are the gold standard internationally;
many shelter-building companies in the United States and elsewhere import Swiss-made components.)

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

In an era of nuclear concern, much of our nations nuclear protection infra- structure has declined due to benign neglect and being adapted to other uses.
In my own small community, the nuclear shelter was relegated to a governmental paper report storage unit.
When I asked where the nearest nuclear shelter was located, the governmental employees all had blank stare on their faces - since none was known.
Most communities have experienced similar reassignment of priorities.
Don't wait for Federal or local government to respond to the nations need, because they will be too busy trying to reorganize themselves despite a shortage of leadership, personell, transportation, communication and resources (ie: food, water, sanitation, etc., etc.).
The bureaucracy is designed to protect and regenerate itself, not to protect you, the everyday citizen.
There is an old mantra which says:" If it's to be (change), ..it's up to me !"
Only you know what your family and your own needs and quantities are, and only you know where and how those needs can be met.
A tornado storm shelter can be repurposed to be a nuclear shelter, as can an unused corner of your basement.

This NYT article is woefully short on information, but it serves a purpose in provoking thought about meeting your, and your family needs in time of uncertainty.

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Prepper Ping - nuclear shelter basics

[KC_Lion]

Congratulations on being prepared for the future!

[real saxophonist]

We've got provisions, and lots of beer
The key word is survival in the new frontier

[Lurker]

I have a copy of Nuclear War Survival Skills around somewhere.

L

[Lurker]

She’s got a touch of Tuesday Weld.

L

[Big Red Badger]

I need a comfortable Hat like That!

[BenLurkin]

With my finances, I need nuclear protection on a budget.

[umgud]

When I was a kid in the 50’s in Kansas, dad buried a railroad tank car for shelter. It was a submarine for us kids.

[ClearCase_guy]

We've got provisions, and lots of beer
The key word is survival in the new frontier

I think the key word is Beer.

[Psalm 73]

On a budget?:

Shovel one foot of earth onto the entire 1st floor of your house. Install 4"X4" wood posts from your basement floor to the floor joists. Now shovel another one foot of earth onto the 1st layer you put down.
You can now safely reside in your basement during a nuclear exchange.
Have a nice day.

[Sasparilla]

....We’ve got provisions, and lots of beer....

Make sure you keep that beer rotated for freshness, unless you find freeze dried or dehydrated beer. What an idea!

[JoeProBono]

[real saxophonist]

The song that came from

[BenLurkin]

A basement would be a nice thing to have.

[Born to Conserve]

“Doors that open out” and “you may have to dig yourselves out.”

How do you open the door to dig yourselves out?

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I remember all those fallout manuals we were given back in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Wonder if they will be reprinted.

[NonValueAdded]

Aside from the impossibility of building underground in coastal Florida, I’m bracketed by enough priority targets that I can look forward to a very quick death.

[bgill]

Door opening out make it difficult to secure within.

[BenLurkin]

Just a matter of moving a little dirt. Once you get through the shelter’s one foot thick concrete side wall, that is.