Category: Retreat Architecture

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 …


Letter Re: Earth Bag Construction

James- The latest Mother Earth News (#212) has an article on building a home from earth-filled bags. Looks like a cheap, fast way to build a home with good protection against attacks with weaponry. Might also be a good plan for a secondary place to serve as an emergency shelter against radiation. Or as a way to build up an existing area in a cellar as a Safe Room. – B.B. in Hawaii   Letter Re: Information on Various Fire Starters (SAs: Wilderness Survival, Primitive Skills, Fire Starting) Jim, Been a long time reader of your site. Just wanted to …


Letter Re: Radiation Protection Factors for Dummies

James: Just read Radiation Protection Factors for Dummies – by L.H. on your blog. These types of articles always talk about shielding of radiation. Is there any substance that REFLECTS radiation instead of absorbing it? JWR Replies: It has been nearly 20 years since I took the Army NBC Defense Officer’s course, so forgive me if any of the following betrays my faulty memory:  Any of the materials described will reflect or absorb alpha or beta radiation, and absorb highly energetic gamma rays. Because they are a ray (think of it as a flash from a flash bulb, or the …


Two Letters Re: More Web Resources on CONEXes

Jim: See these sites: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/01/shipping_contai.php (Site with some info on how containers can be used for living.) and, http://www.containerhouse.com/ (Site with interesting pictures of container conversions, including door systems.) Regards, – B.A. Jim: You might be interested in this site about CONEX containers: http://www.undergroundcontainer.com/  Keep up the good work! – J.F.


Radiation Protection Factors for Dummies – by L.H.

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When building a homemade fallout shelter in a basement, or on a cement slab inside the first floor, it is important to understand halving thickness and protection factors. First of all, after a nuclear detonation, there will be light, heat, and a blast wave. This essay assumes that you will be out of that target area, with your home and roof intact. If you are close to targets, you may need better shelter than this improvised model. At the end of this essay I will list a few sources showing target maps, fallout maps, blast areas, etc. Fallout is the …


Survival On a Shoestring Budget

I often get e-mails from readers claiming either directly or indirectly that preparedness is “only for wealthy people”–that working class people cannot afford to prepare. That is nonsense. By simply re-prioritizing your budget and cutting out needless expenses (such as alcohol, cigarettes, convenience foods, and cable television) almost anyone can set aside enough money for a year’s worth of storage food in fairly short order. It is amazing what can be done with hard work, ingenuity, and very little money. While I do not endorse interloping on public lands nor do I suggest that you live like a hermit, the …