Mr. Skousen's book "The Secure Home" does a wonderful job of detailing a proper shelter. And, for obvious reasons, the book focuses on a shelter which is "hidden" under a garage. That is a logical approach, but I need a shelter next to a garage on a gently sloping hill. Allow me to continue with some details and then ask the questions at the end of my entry.
I must construct my cabin/shelter in phases (due to cost constraints). Phase one is a two car garage with concrete walls and a slab roof with a simple one or two room "loft" type cabin over the garage. This allows me to establish myself on the property with nothing unusual drawing attention to it. Phase two would be to add a covered "patio slab" next to the cabin. Underneath the slab, however, it is really a shelter. By covered, I mean what would appear to be just an awning over a patio slab so I could store wood and have picnics out of the rain. I would of course punch through the garage wall and tie into the shelter and hide the entrance using one of Mr. Skousen's methods.
Phase three, if I ever get the money, would be to build a larger cabin on the far side of the patio that would also be connected to the shelter. Then I may choose to wall in the patio and turn it into a large recreation room of sorts.
Here are my questions: Will there be a problem with water or weather on the shelter roof (the patio)? Is there some type of construction method that would prevent water seepage in the wall joints? Is it hard to "tack on" three concrete walls against the existing garage concrete wall and expect it to stay dry? Is there a special means of sealing the concrete joints? I am not very proficient at concrete work although I know I could do it with good instructions. Please reply, respond, and help me identify any flaws in my plan.
Just two suggestions, based on my experience.
First, if you can design the entire structure you envision before you start, on paper, in detail, you will save yourself a lot of trouble and expense when you get to your second and third phase.
Second, it is very difficult to cut a doorway through an existing reinforced concrete wall - I've had to do it! I would suggest you consider framing the doorway in before you pour your wall, with appropriate steel reinforcement in the header section. You could then lay concrete blocks to fill the doorway, and parch and waterproof on the ouside before you backfill. It will be 500% easier and less expensive to remove these blocks later, plus you will have a neat, properly reinforced opening.
Alonzo W. Wight
use a rubber roof roll product on the slab floor and set in p.t. sleepers and deck over those. or use clay tiles;
Coming soon to a town near you: a traveling safe room from FEMA.
Mobile Safe Room On Tour
http://www.fema.gov/diz03/d1462n47.shtm
Gee, is this our government’s way of suggesting that we should all be preparing for nuclear war and how to survive it soon?
Perhaps they’re FINALLY starting to hint at the same message that Joel already spelled out and warned us about years ago in The Secure Home, Strategic Relocation and How To Implement A High Security Shelter In The Home. And where did they recently show people the traveling safe room? Kansas City, for one . . . as in one of the top 10 cities that Joel listed as THE TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS NUCLEAR TARGETS IN OR NEAR A METRO AREA.
(see http://www.joelskousen.com/Strategic/strategic.html or his book for the rest of the list)