Category: Retreat Architecture

Two Letters Re: Securing Windows With Plywood The Fast And Easy Way

Mr.  Rawles,   On the subject of securing windows with plywood. there is one piece that seems to be missing as may often be the case of a “My Home is My Castle” scenario. What if you have to get out? While there is no 100 percent answer, there is the military and historically proven fact that if you make a defensive area/building too hard to get into, it is too difficult to get out of. Such an example would be if there is a fire in the structure.   Thanks for the Blog and your great work.   – …


Letter Re: On Surviving Hot Climates and Relocation

Mr. Rawles, Thank you for your service to our country.  In the deep south we are presently in the mist of a drought with high heat and humidity. As two-year preppers, my brother and I grow a few acres of vegetables and field corn for livestock that consist of chickens, hogs, milk goats and rabbits. A milk cow is in the planning. My brother is 71 and I am 68 and we were raised on the farm. I left for the air-conditioned work-force many years ago but still spend several hrs a week at manual labor. At my age I am …


Letter Re: Thoughts of Storm Shelters

James Wesley: When I constructed my home six years ago I decided to add a storm shelter in a surprising location (at least for me). I noticed the front stoop and porch already had a full foundation and adjoining basement wall and I only needed to add a single additional wall to create a reinforced concrete bunker with concrete roof, at minimal cost. I also included a 2’x3′ opening into the basement that provided access to the concrete bunker. Although the inside area isn’t large (4′ x 8′) it is completely surrounded by 8″ of reinforced concrete that could survive any tornado. I …


Letter Re: Thoughts of Storm Shelters

Dear JWR: First let me say I don’t consider myself a expert.  However I have studied on the subject and would like put  forth what I have gleaned from my research. 1 Weather patterns shift.  When I was a kid in Louisiana  you never heard of a tornado’s there.  Now they are commonplace. 2 Stick built houses (2 by 4 construction) and trailers cannot stand up to even a weak twister. 3 Even in a weak storm the flying debris is deadly. I also found out that a large numbers of deaths were caused by this lethal debris as people …


Two Letters Re: The Disappearing Road Quandary

James Wesley, I’d like to turn the author of the article and others on to Calumet Industries. I’ve purchased the “PSP” from them in the past and had a good transaction. I was purchasing them for a slightly different reason – as bridging planks. The PSP is heavier gauge steel dating back to WWII and are a lot stronger than the more modern temporary road bedding. I cut off the connection tabs along the side and welded on some tubing lengthwise on the sides to further strengthen the planks. These are now strong enough to construct a short bridge to …


Letter Re: The Disappearing Road Quandary

Mr. Rawles: I own a pretty densely-wooded 40 [acre property] in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) [of Michigan]. The land on 2.5 sides of ours belongs to a timber company, and the land across the road belongs to the state. We live in a typical “stick built” house. It was built in the 1980s, with lots of big windows and two double-glazed sliding [glass] doors. We are four miles out of a town (about 2,000 population) but our house is only 60 feet from a somewhat heavily traveled county road. So our house is what you would probably call a tactical …


Letter Re: Building a Refrigerator Wall Adobe House

Dear Mr. Rawles: A recent article on your site mentioned using shipping containers to build an enclosed courtyard similar to those that were constructed as California Missions. The author stated he could not use adobe due to the wet climate in which he planned to construct his non-fortress-looking enclave. Here is another suggestion in lieu of adobe: While living in a rural area in Southern California in the early 1960s, I had to take trash to the dump about every third week. Over the span of just a couple of years, I watched a huge canyon fill-up with trash from …


Letter Re: Survival Architecture: Building a Retreat that is Defensible, Sustainable and Affordable

James Wesley: On March 25, we saw a post by Phil M. indicating that “At a point of 6′ below the surface of  the earth, temperatures stays constant at around 60°F.”  This may only be true for very specific locales.  For most locations, constant ground temperature reflects the average yearly air temperature for the locale, and ground temps are only constant at a depth of about 30 ft. and below.  At depths above 30 ft., ground temperatures begin to increasingly modulate up and down following seasonal air temperature.  In areas of the world with seasonal temperature changes similar to the …


Survival Architecture: Building a Retreat that is Defensible, Sustainable and Affordable, by Phil M.

Have you designed and built your own survival retreat yet?  If not, read on.  Designing and building a survival retreat that can provide protection can be affordable and also provide more than adequate shelter and warmth to not only keep its inhabitants alive, but comfortable. To understand how this is achievable we must first understand what sort of materials are available and how each of them apply to defensibility, sustainability and affordability.  Secondly, we must understand how the arrangement of these materials into form, or design, can lend themselves  to defensibility, sustainability and affordability. Materials A major problem with conventional …


Preparedness on a Tight Budget, by Mrs. R.J. in Arkansas

I have read many of the stories on survival blog but have yet to read a one from someone on a very tight budget. That leaves those of us with tiny incomes at a disadvantage and feeling vulnerable. For about two years I have had a small voice inside me telling me to fill my storehouses with food for the coming famine. As a Christian and minister I believe that voice is God and He wants His people to be ready. Although Many Christians think we are crazy and don’t believe they should have to worry about storing foods for …


Letter Re: Earthships: Sustainable Living for TEOTWAWKI

Dear James Rawles,      We have lived in a Earthship for 12 years.  It is an excellent way of life and very fulfilling to be able to build your own house.  But living in the the dry desert southwest does not provide enough [captured rain or snow-melt] water to grow enough food to survive.  We need a well to provide water.  It is run by solar panels and a jack pump.  But in the summer monsoons or with the winter clouds we have to use a generator, for both pumping water and enough power to run the house. In times …


Earthships: Sustainable Living for TEOTWAWKI, by Sgt. P.

How much did the average home owner in the United States pay for utilities last month?  Last Year?  How much will they pay for utilities by the time they pay off their mortgage?  If they averaged $250 per month in utilities, which is below the national average of “$264.33 per month” (Statistic quoted by White Fence) the answer is shocking.  With the average home loan lasting 30 years, without taking into consideration rising costs, utilities would be $90,000!  For that amount of money this homeowner could put one child through a four year-degree at a very nice university.  What if …


Increasing Preparedness Planning Through the Rules of Three by SAA Joe

After reading “Patriots” and then becoming a regular reader of SurvivalBlog I quickly realized the opportunities I had to improve my preparedness.  As someone who enjoyed the outdoors I always felt I had some of the skills and materials but realized the task to have the right preparations in the right quantities was going to be a challenge.  Where do I start?  This was especially compounded with the semi-urban apartment lifestyle I live, in the worst state west of the Mississippi, and one that is sure to be disrupted by some type of event – a major earthquake at the …


Preparedness Provisioning (Good, Better, Best), by Bill L.

In an event where supplies of food and water or your access shelter have become compromised due to natural disaster, civil unrest or an unplanned scarcity of commodities, it would be comforting to know that in spite of the unplanned event you have planned for it.  This is not a detailed itemized list of what to get. There are numerous books, internet sites and clubs that offer all kinds of advice on preparedness. By doing your own research you will see that there are ample lists and dialogs to glean from. What this is is a method to keep you …


David in Israel Re: Family Protective Measures — New Instability in Lebanon

James: The following is mostly for the benefit of SurvivalBlog readers who live in Israel, but other readers might find it of interest. Here we go again! Hizb’allah has apparently taken down the somewhat western-aligned government in Lebanon. I want to put not only Israeli readers on warning to have some extra supplies on hand but also collect bedding and blankets to be ready to accept people into your home seeking refuge from the north along the Lebanon and Syria borders. This time around it is important even for people living in the merkaz and possibly even south of Jerusalem …