I have been looking at building a "secure home" which will be my primary residence. Unfortunately, I can't afford to have a secondary retreat at this time. I've looked at "Nest Egg" homes, "Tera-Dome" homes, and "T-Mass" homes. I've found that trying to create floor plans to fit in the Nest Egg is difficult without wasting space, but I like the concept of a "thin shell" subterranian home. Tera-Dome tells me they don't do too many 2 story homes, although I don't know if that includes main floor and basement setups. I really like T-Mass homes, but I like the strength from the Tera-Dome roof design.
So I was wondering what Joel thought of these builders and which he thought would be the most economical, yet best suited for a primary secure home. Or, if there is another better system, what he would suggest.
I can't speak for Joel but here's my opinion. If you go with one of these unique builders and designs word will be out in your town that you have an "underground" home or whatever you have. You will stand out among your neighbors and hence will be an obvious target during any kind of crisis. (Target can be looters looking for your stores or all your neighbors looking for shelter because they know you have it.) Any kind of this construction is going to end up using local sub contractors (plumbing, electricity etc) and you will attract attention. You will also have local building engineers and zoning goons crawling around your home documenting it's unique features...
My plan is to use ICF (http://www.forms.org/) construction. It is not very common but is growing in use. It is a good and efficient method for using concrete and you can justify its use for heating and cooling efficiency but in the back of your mind you know is good for security. Joel does address some of the pro's and con's of this method in the book. It also looks totally normal inside and out and will not draw the attention of local government building bureaucrats. After the construction of the house I can go in and setup my shelter either inside or close-by --privately without the use of or knowledge of local contractors who can talk about my arrangements.
Personally, I would find a building and construction method that is common and appropriate for your climate and region. You can go in after construction has ended and modify the home for things such as shelters without drawing too much attention. There is a lot of risk in creating attention and focus on you with radical and unique construction methods --unless you do all the work yourself...
Keeping your intentions away from loose lips and snoops, looters etc. is paramount. You want first of all to get away from population densities so that the 'refugee factor', contact with diseases (oh, man, this is going to be important! more than 80% of the casualties will be from disease alone).
If you got a large acreage, it will help somewhat to maintain privacy, but the only real way to minimize problems is to go very rural. Its a dilemma for me and many others because we need to unfortunately, work.
Webmaster Tom's advice is very well taken, and wise. Maybe the most practical way is to do some sort of construction activity during a re-do of existing property and buildings. The neighbors would of already gotten used to the noise and traffic....... anyone you contract or hire for extra work should come from at least 60 miles away, if at all.
Another option in our area, and I suppose your area, is contacting "green builders". Cover story is too long to explain in detail, but you should get the idea if you visit
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/greenbuilder/fs_earthbuilding.htm
Dig through this site and then you have background to have PD (plausible d...).
It's to save energy!
Also check this out. It is a company which imports house modules from Sweden. Apparently, they have a strict energy budget and require superinsulated and efficient homes.
http://www.svenskahus.com/
Joel:
Based on the experience of the test emp strike at Hartsville Tenn, do you have changed opinions on the effects of the threat and countermeasures needed?
Eg., no cars were disabled; semiconductor equipment not connected to 'long wires' (grid, telco, lan, or antenna) did not go down. I did not ask the question of them about disconnect devices in place.
I had 10 nanoseconds in my mind from the book. Do you now feel 2 nanoseconds is the max for emp rating?
L
Joel:
Based on the experience of the test emp strike at Hartsville Tenn, do you have changed opinions on the effects of the threat and countermeasures needed?
Eg., no cars were disabled; semiconductor equipment not connected to 'long wires' (grid, telco, lan, or antenna) did not go down. I did not ask the question of them about disconnect devices in place.
I had 10 nanoseconds in my mind from the book. Do you now feel 2 nanoseconds is the max for emp rating?
L
icf is best,, followed by poured solid concrete block with #5 rebar in every cell and horizontal bond beams 2' o.c..
pour a concete roof over a metal pan roof.
inspector jeff
These Houses Can Take A-Lickin’
Excerpts:
Gregory La Vardera, an architect from Merchantville, Pennsylvania, is an expert on modular housing such as the 1,200-square-foot EcoCottage. The three-bedroom steel home is available with "instant off-grid" options.
"As a steel house, it's going to be much stronger in future storms," said La Vardera. "Even if it flooded and sat in water for two weeks, the steel isn't going to soak up water and be ruined."
The EcoCottage looks "like your image of a little cottage, even though it's made of steel," he says. "They assemble quickly, and enable people to get more distance out of (their) funding, because they have the option to put sweat equity into finishing the interior themselves."
Off-grid homes like the Colorado House promise to keep its inhabitants safe and comfortable even after a major storm. Built by Vancouver, British Columbia, architects Forsythe-MacAllen, the home is protected against hurricane-force winds by a nearby rock outcropping and shear walls. La Vardera says such homes, with generators, solar or wind power, can "allow you to function normally when the infrastructure goes down."
Another option may come from a region that, like New Orleans, is below sea level. In the Netherlands, architects are experimenting with floating homes.
Adri van Ooijen, owner of a set of floating homes built in a flood zone in the Netherlands, said he offers some as vacation rentals. When it floods, he says, the buildings are able to rise more than 13 feet.
Van Ooijen's floating homes were built by the construction firm Dura Vermeer, which is also designing an entire floating city near Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. The company has already built a floating greenhouse, which some say could reinvent the country's essential flower industry.
As for construction or repairs, Popular Science's Best of What's New 2005 includes a promising new material called Grancrete for repairing damaged cement. It won't shrink or crack, according to Marketing Director Walid Mustafa, and it can be sprayed over a framework of Styrofoam, hardening into a fire-, pest- and waterproof material.
More at http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70105-0.html?tw=wn_index_1