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23 Comments

1. Very informative article.

   Are there any Problems with a door that opens outward?

   1. I can think of a couple.
      The hinges would be on the outside making it easy to pull the pins. and also someone could easily install a latch locking you in.

      1. Actually, almost ANY typical residential hinged door can be jammed shut pretty easily with shims around the gap.
         Don’t ask how I learned this.

         1. Yep. SWAT teams carry purpose-made plastic shims for just that reason. When searching/securing a building (active school shooter, etc), they can deny access into the hallways they are using to try to find the shooter, by shimming all outward opening doors. That allows them to more quickly get to the shooter (not having to clear each room as they pass), while not leaving themselves exposed from the rear….

   2. Yes, exposed hinges. Make sure the hinges have fixed or welded hinge pins. Outward opening doors are difficult to breach otherwise.

      1. Yes, true

         I looked on it more in the lines of safety/Escape than security

         Thank You

         1. All structure must have at least one door that opens in ward.

            This is code for most all buldings, it’s under access and egress. The bottom line is all buildings must be safe and easy to get out of quickly in the event of most thought of emergency…. Period.

            When you are bunker-izing your home you should keep this in mind.

            If you can’t get out while being incapacitated and blind folded you run the risk of being trapped inside…. Period.

            That isn’t corner shop commando bravado that is a historically factual based statement.

            1. Thanks

               I´ve thought that an outer Opening door would be an Advantage in such situations.

2. Oh and also great article j.f.j

   1. Here in FL, current code has all doors opening out for hurricanes…..

      1. Wow looked it up you are right. That’s some serious codes y’all got. Definitely shows how research should be done first and how different these United States are.

3. 1) I think it best to be 3 stories above ground but to have an escape ladder

   https://www.amazon.com/Kidde-468094-Three-Story-Anti-Slip-25-Foot/dp/B000H5S96A/ref=sr_1_6?crid=2K2G2RRH67NGU&dchild=1&keywords=escape+ladders+for+2-story+homes&qid=1587824983&sprefix=escape+ladder%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-6

   2) A balcony is good also because it lets you cook with a Coleman stove connected to a propane tank. You normally would not be allowed to keep fuel stored inside an apartment.

   Although the balcony provides access to a burglar.

   3) Larger Apartment buildings often have basements with fenced in storage areas for each apartment. Good place to keep spare water.

4. I’ve used moving blankets as curtains before.

   1) They work well as blackout curtains
   2) They serve well to stop broken glass in the event of a hurricane/ storm
   3) If nailed down around the perimeter, they would be quite difficult to breach quickly. You’d have to saw at them with a knife for quite a while. Being flexible, they’d bind up a reciprocating blade.

   1. That is a good suggestion. I usually have a few around. Thanks! — JFJ

5. Good thoughts as far as being in the unenviable position of living in an apartment when the SHTF. But trying to hunker down and survive in such is a gloomy prospect at best. It is almost a guarantee that 98% of your complex occupants do not in any way, shape or form prep for any disaster. Apartment types are notoriously short sighted and mainly urbanites that do not usually have any interest in survivalism or prepping. They will want your stuff and come knocking. Add to the fact that any idiot with poor gun handing skills may inadvertently discharge his/her weapon and bang right thru the paper thin walls into your apartment . I am sure Mr. Rawles would advise against try to survive in an apartment and do all you could to get out and at least if you can’t afford to buy a house at least rent one.

6. When this Medical Martial Law hit I could not imagine being cooped up in a apartment complex with so many common ares . Good read.

7. JFJ! Interesting and informative… Many people live in apartments for lots of different reasons, and development of a good survival strategies is important even as we hope every renter will find a path to owning a retreat which can be more permanently developed. You also covered quite a bit of information applicable whether the reader rents or owns his or her home. …and the conversation generated among the SB readers posting here was also interesting. Many thanks!

8. Can’t wait to read part 2. I used to run through GOOD scenarios all the time when I was stuck in the city; moving to the Redoubt was a HUGE relief.

   Don’t wait until SHTF to buy your plywood to cover the windows. Get everything you need like that from the home improvement store ahead of time, try to get it into the apartment with a minimum of notice, and it could be stored under a bed. Be sure to have fire extinguishers, too. (I accidentally set my microwave on fire recently, flames and all. Never expected that to happen!)

   Is there any way you could live in an RV instead? Or rent a small house or cabin? If I absolutely had to live in an apartment, I would also keep a storage locker rented just off the highway leading out of town, where I would keep the bare essentials for a bug out scenario, in case you have to run for it. Keep paper maps in the car.

   Get a WaterBob, which is basically a giant plastic water sac that you can place in your bathtub. Fill it at first sign of real trouble for 100 gallons of clean tap water storage.

   I wouldn’t spend a lot of time chatting with any of the neighbors, it’s too easy for them to form an opinion about your net worth as a potential target (criminals think like that, a lot). In desperate times, the nicest little old lady could show up at your door with a shotgun. So just a nod and a hey when you see someone would let them know you are normal but not interested in getting into a conversation. Grey man all the way…. Shhhh….

   1. Didi, you are absolutely correct about having plywood before the crisis. Fire extinguishers are a necessity that many apartments do not have. Good reminder! Thank you for the RV idea, but that does not work for my situation for several reasons. Renting a house may be an option for the future. About the neighbors…do a lot of observation before making contact. In my situation, saying hi and visiting a little is actually part of being a grey man—just don’t share too much info.

9. Having lived in a condo in the past and having done demolition followed by remodeling of it, and having done construction, I can say that ANYONE can easily kick right through the sheetrock from one apartment diretly into another. So if they break into your neighoring apartment via a weak door or window, it is easy to kick the drywall right into your “secured” apartment. There is no such thing as “securing” your apartment from determined intruders.

   1. You are correct. I have thought of going through the drywall as a means of expansion or escape, since we are talking about SHTF.

   2. Get an appartment in an house that´ve solid walls and not only sheet rock.

      No undefended Position is ever secured from a determined intruder, all secure is do give you a bit of time and and better Position to defend

10. I thought storm shelter doors open inward so you are not trapped by debris?

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