Category: Retreat Architecture

Letter From Rourke Re: Insulated Concrete Forms for Home/Retreat Construction

This is in response to a letter from B.V. (posted 1/12/06) on Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs) and http://www.polysteel.com. As I said in my 1/7/05 letter, the major shortfall of this type of construction is the roof. Otherwise, this a good idea, in particular to insulate the concrete wall from the elements so it acts as helpful thermal mass for heating and cooling efficiency. Also, reinforced poured concrete is far superior to block, just try drilling through each sometime. There are several companies that make these systems. I happen like the hanger system (for joists and trusses, etc.), and the system …


Letter Re: Insulated Concrete Forms for Home/Retreat Construction

James, Have been reading your Blog on Dome Homes. Was wondering if you have considered/ reviewed Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs). They appear to have several uses, good thermal factor, ballistic protection, and they look fairly do it yourself. See:  http://www.polysteel.com. Can you comment on these? – B.V. JWR Replies:  ICF is an excellent construction method.  ICF houses are very well insulated and offer above average ballistic protection.  There are several competing makers, of whom PolySteel is the best known.  See the Survival Blog Archives for previous discussions on this topic.  


Letter Re: Dome Homes as Survival Retreats

Mr. Rawles, I really enjoy and appreciate the articles on your website which include information not otherwise available and which are very helpful in my efforts to develop a self sufficient rural life style that will survive the coming earth changes, and weather and financial disasters that may engulf the economy over the next few years. I recently contracted for and occupied a 40 foot diameter geodesic dome home with an all concrete shell. My wife and I have lived in it for two years and we love it. These homes can be beautiful, strong and very functional. My home …


Letter from Rourke Re: Dome Homes as Survival Retreats

The follow-up letter from Mosby and the addition from JWR both list some of the reasons I specifically excluded geodesic domes (twice) in my Dome Homes as Survival Retreats article. They are usually of conventional materials (wood, plywood) in non-conventional (non-square) angles and shapes; thus things like using regular shingles on the roof (more of the structure) which is full of angles is going to be difficult and likely cause problems (leaks). Also, a geodesic dome, which is made up of many flat geometric shapes coming together to approximate a dome, does not really offer the strength of a pure …


Letter Re: Dome Homes as Survival Retreats

Mr. Rawles For the do it yourselfers, I have built several safe shelters (used until needed as storage) based on the sandbag construction to make small domes. A great link to the concept is http://www.calearth.org/EcoDome.htm. The construction is quite simple (easy would be the wrong word because the dirt work is just that WORK, but we all need to drop a few fat pounds. I used as a cover outside the method called papercrete and a little heaver crete mixture (for fire proofing) on the inside with concrete support wire (the larger net like wire used to replace “re-bar” in …


Letter Re: Dome Homes as Survival Retreats by Rourke

Jim: I live in southern Louisiana. A guy that lives near me built a dome several months before Hurricane Andrew it is a wood framed [geodesic] dome, covered with shingles.He told me he had a very hard time finding some one who would agree to shingle it. That dome has held up to every hurricane to hit us since Andrew with only minor damage. – Mosby in Louisiana JWR Replies: I much prefer monolithic domes over the more conventional Buckminster Fuller geodesic style wood frame domes. My brother was the owner/contractror of one of latter and he could never get …


Dome Homes as Survival Retreats by Rourke

Domes have been the long term favorite of futurists, and while they suffer from some peoples’ non-acceptance of the unconventional features, they do have several features very desirable to survivalists. The dome of course is a near perfect form of nature. Take an arch, known for its strength in building and bridge construction, and turn it in a circle. Now it’s a dome, and it’s even stronger. Domes use the force of gravity and the extreme compression strength of materials like concrete (cement and sand/gravel mix) to give a clear span, and support tremendous weight on top of it. This …


Letter Re: More on “Harder Homes and Gardens”

Dear Mr. Rawles, On 5 Dec. ’05 you recommended the “5-” series Army Engineer Corps manuals. [Some of] these manuals are on the net to download at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/index.html More U.S. military manuals can be downloaded from links at:http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/index.html .   And BTW, http://www.globalsecurity.org/index.html is a very good site to see what the military is planning for a influenza outbreak. – Simon.


Letter Re: Rourke on The Stealth Survival Retreat

Jim, Beware of a second pouring to thicken a concrete shelter lid for added fallout protection. It is essentially a dead load that causes the lid to get closer to it’s stress limit. Thickness adds strength only when it is part of a single pouring, with all the needed rebar integrated. I would advise consulting an engineer before adding unforeseen load to a concrete span. – Mr. Bravo JWR Replies: Thanks for mentioning that! I have just added a proviso to my original post.


Letter Re: Caution on Masonry Construction in Earthquake Zones

Mr. Rawles: You recently advised your preference for masonry, adobe, and rammed-earth retreat construction for the obvious ballistic protection and I agree. But here in northern Idaho and Montana we have recently experienced increased earthquake activity and you might caution your loyal readership to visit the excellent USGS website http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/states/idaho/hazards.html which provides detailed USA earthquake zone maps. Three million folks in Pakistan are now presently homeless because their bullet-proof houses crumbled after the earthquake. Before anyone builds their retreat they should also learn about California earthquake building codes and how to add inexpensive metal strapping to wood construction so their …


Rourke on The Stealth Survival Retreat

In my continuing search for the most ideal way to construct a secure home or remote retreat with elements of survivability, stealth, off-grid living, and yet keep it within the bounds of conventional financing, I keep coming back to a version of the same idea; to build under your garage, especially if it is attached. In the Northern region where I am (Michigan), since one must dig down four feet for foundations to safely be below the frost line anyway, the additional cost of going another 4 or 5 feet isn’t very much. In fact, with the home I just …


Letter Re: Hidden Safes

I thought you readers might be interested in this. Here is a news report that details the hidden safes. The third video is the important one about the safes.  See: http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=4159822 Here is the home page for the company that put the safes in the cars:  http://www.hiddensafes.com/index.htm I was impressed. – Cube


From David in Israel Re: An American Ex-Pat Community in Israel, and CONEX House Conversions

Jim: Here are some links that you might find of interest, regarding Karnei Shomron. [From the web page: “Atop Ginot Shomron is a charming neighborhood known as “Neve Aliza” that has one of the largest concentrations of North American olim in all of Israel.”] See: http://www.nbn.org.il/community/community_karneishomron.htm and http://www.tehilla.com/aliya/places.asp?id=38 I wish it had pictures of Ramat Gilad it is the three year old hilltop Yeshuv with the caravans (single wide and double wide mobiles) and container houses. And here is a story with a little history of Ramat Gilad written by a lefty (an anti-settlement type):  http://www.israelblog.org/Articles/The_Unsettlers.html


An Architecture Student’s Lessons Learned, by “Mr. Whiskey”

As an architect for the last 30 years or so, I have been applying some important lessons learned in college that have an eerie resemblance to the survival mindset of those of us who think we just might be in for some hard times, and much sooner than we think. Let me explain.On the very first day of class, on my very first day of college back in the 1970s, I found myself in a design class with other new students who knew absolutely nothing about the profession or business of architecture. But we were there to learn, and our …


Eskimo Sod Huts–60°F Inside and Minus 50°F Outside

SurvivalBlog reader “KonTiki” sent the following article excerpted from the Duffy’s Law web site: http://www.duffyslaw.com/current14.htm The following is from a collection of random notes from the 1913 book My Life With The Eskimos by Vilhjalmur Stefansson. For serious research, one should read the unabridged edition. Eskimo Housing Eskimo houses were constructed with a hole in the roof to allow in light. The hole which was most often left open was covered with Bear intestine. The base of the house was five to six foot thick made of earth and sod and tapered and thinned out towards the top which was …