What to Expect When Planning A Hardened Shelter With A Professional Team of Engineers and Architects, by D.C.

I’m writing this article to persons considering developing their retreat with a fortified shelter. Here, I will thoroughly explain the expected preparation and process we went through on our shelter design and construction phases with our design professionals (engineers and architects) and other building industry professionals (general contractors, subcontractors, and product vendors).

I am a licensed architect, with licenses in more than eight states and over 25 years of experience. Much of my career has been spent in highly technical commercial work (MRI suites, computer data centers, pharmaceutical labs, and so forth). For a mid-career alternative, in 2001, I also launched my own residential practice, which performed a design/build enterprise. In other words, my team functioned as both architects and general contractors. Presently, for select clients, we have designed hardened shelters, using my knowledge and experience in the principals of infantry combat as a former U.S. Army Reserve Infantry Lieutenant.

First of all, in most of the American Redoubt rural areas, you are not required to have a licensed architect or professional engineer to design your home; you can design it yourself. Often your local contractor can provide you with a drafting service to plan homes; alternatively, you can also reference plan books, which abound at magazine racks and online, and go over them with your contractor.

That may work, if you only need to build a modern, code-compliant home that is up to about 3,000 square feet with very modest improvements to perimeter security. You really would be well served to select a plan from one of the many books available and select the best contractor, who has both the most competence and impeccable references.

If your home requires something above the local contractor’s skill set and/or plan books’ capacity or is simply “different” from those. Some “different” requirements might include a high level of physical and/or environmental protection/security, design planning for extended family members, or accommodations for those with disabilities. In any of these cases, you would need to consider hiring a professional architect and engineering services. Please understand first and foremost that your project type will then cost more than the standard level of construction.

In general, the costs associated with a custom project, both in terms of the professional design fees and the resultant construction costs, are much higher. For example, if the cost of new construction in your region is typically $140 per square foot for a nicely upgraded home of about 2,000 square feet, a custom home that is fortified or an especially hardened structure, may cost you in excess of $250 per square foot.

The reasons for this are myriad, but it all stems from the multiple aspects of life support/life protection which must be achieved for a hardened shelter to be truly sustainable. For example, if one wishes to ride out a nuclear or biological event, that person is often seeking to be interred in the shelter for a period of a month or longer. A system MUST be in place to provide a continuous supply of clean air and keep contaminated air from entering. This is one of the key lifesaving technologies needed to be employed in any shelter and is often referred to as CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear). However, this system requires engineering, planning, and a source for continuous energy. How are we providing power? If it is by generator, how are protecting the generator from sabotage or routine failure? Engineers have proven solutions for this, but they come at a cost.

Another cost consideration to balance is HEMP. In the event we are protecting against a nuclear blast, what are we doing about HEMP? HEMP often coincides with a nuclear event. HEMP events disrupt and/or disable many electronics, and, therefore, the shelter’s energy source. So, the air pressure/filtration CBRN system must also be HEMP protected. Possibly other living spaces need HEMP protection, but this should be kept to a minimum, if budget is a constraint.

The two technologies– fields of CBRN (air filtration and overpressure) and HEMP-shielded enclosures– must be planned in unison. Any unplanned utility penetration in an HEMP shielding solution will cause the HEMP shield to fail. However, these engineering specialties are each the work of separate professional engineers, which must be coordinated by an experienced project manager.

Additionally, the logistics of calculating and planning an ample source of energy, with fuel, is a very costly undertaking. While you are in this shelter, you will need to prepare food, access drinking water, maintain human sanitation, and live in an environment that does not drive you or your group members into emotional issues. You are essentially taking 21st century first world civilians and placing them in harsher conditions than we place highly-trained and rigorously-screened candidates for the U.S. Navy submarine fleet. This is not to be underestimated! FEMA guidelines for disaster shelters are rumored to have been developed with an acceptance of a 10% suicide rate. What is the acceptable suicide rate for your sheltering group? If it is less than 10%, then we would like to plan your shelter with more comfortable amenities than you would have in a FEMA- specification quality of shelter.

So, the bottom line is…no, you simply cannot have a nuclear blast protected bunker which can sustain your family through an apocalyptic event for months and months with air filtration, generators, water, food, storage, and hardening against small arms up to .50 BMG for the same price a standard home.

Generally this is the point at which some potential clients depart from engaging our services. The projects we work on are generally over a half million dollars. This is not to say a lesser cost project is impossible, but the challenges increase, and it does cause the design and engineering fees to become disproportionate to the project cost. For a project over $500k, the complete design and engineering package is roughly 10-12% of construction costs. For projects of $250k and less construction budget, the engineering costs do not come down in equal proportion to construction costs, and can exceed 15% of construction budget.

Well, what about those entire metal bunker structures you can find on YouTube and all over the Internet for $39,990? These may offer some utility for some types of scenario for a very limited duration; you can do your own research on the depth of soil cover required for plate steel to be enough to stop gamma waves (nuclear fallout). Be sure to confirm that the weight of fully water-saturated soil at the adequate soil depth does not exceed the strength of the steel box. Is the price advertised inclusive of shipping, excavation, and utility infrastructure? If you need a place to go hide during the next LA riots and can be very sure no one will find and disable your source of electricity and/or water, you could be okay in a metal box shelter. Also, these types of structures are acceptable, if you are looking truly for just a tornado shelter. The FEMA guidelines on how to construct one are perfectly acceptable, as well, for potentially even greater cost savings.

Beyond the hardened structure, every client also needs a longevity plan. That being a plan for what to do after the major event subsides and how to maintain an ongoing posture of security and to transition forward into a new lifestyle. This includes everything from considerations for permaculture, child-rearing, or mounting an active defense against numerically superior forces. A sophisticated team for fortified shelter design will include security consultants and be able to help plan the steps to take to set up life post event, and it also includes provisions in the design for life afterwards.

So, this brings us back to the article title: What To Expect When Planning a Hardened Shelter.

There are several pre-design steps one can take to begin conceptualizing what will be needed to meet your goals in a hardened structure, including those below:

  1. You need to list the threats you are preparing to survive and then rank these in priority. These can be natural disasters, man-made events, or others. This is your own list. A design team will begin designing to achieve protection for the most major event. By doing so, most often we find that we cover most needs presented by the threats further down the priority list, and we can make inclusion for those events in addition to the overall major planning criteria.
  2. Given the identification of the most major event to protect against, we ask what is the longest you want to remain interred in the shelter without coming out?
  3. You need to list the assets you are protecting– human assets and material assets. Who is to be included? What things need to be preserved for after the event to get your life back to a “new normal”, following the major event? Discovering how many people is just part of the equation. Who are these people? What are their individual special needs? What is their relationship to one another?
  4. What is your site? The aspects of regional demographics, site topography, terrain analysis, soil type, the adjacency relationships of your site to its neighboring properties, roads, towns, military installations, power stations, waterways, and seismic faults all contribute to a complex site development analysis process to help determine how to best protect our clients.
  5. What are your group’s abilities and limitations? This is an important criterion to really look hard at your entire group dynamics at the present and into the foreseeable future, and not based on the past. Maybe a member of your group has special medical skills. Remember all that training is most useful when provided with a facility and equipment/instruments to perform those life-saving skills. Maybe someone in the group was a very accomplished athlete, but that was 20-plus years ago or the person is most busy presently with small children who are also part of the group.

Once these criteria are identified, they can be translated into performance goals for the Hardened Shelter, such as size, engineering, and technology needed, plus a list of spaces and special features. Once this is determined, then a team leader, architect, or project manager can assemble the team of engineers needed to develop your Hardened Shelter. Also, this set of goals becomes a program statement, which you should receive from your design team and review carefully. You should make sure all your needs are met in this program statement; otherwise, it is likely some of your goals for the shelter might not make it into the design. At this point your designer may be able to communicate a rough conceptual budget for the project, based upon the program statement and his past experience with other projects. This early conceptual pricing statement has a +/-20% accuracy, because so much is not yet know with the design, and how the actual site impacts costs of the project. However, it is very important at this early phase in the planning process that you check your goals versus the possible budget for the project. This is the easiest time to readjust goals to align with your budget.

The adjustment of goals to match budget is a very difficult mental process for many clients, and here is another place where clients fall out of design services. Many folks just cannot get past the idea that if they cannot have everything they wanted for the budget that had in mind, then the project is not worth doing at all.

This is not realistic thinking. We all make value choices in products everyday based on cost versus performance or quality. We do not always buy the top-of-the-line vehicle or household appliance. We do the best we can within our own priorities and resources.

The important thing is to really look hard at your priorities from an aspect of most-likely threat to protect against and a worst case threat you must protect against with the minimum acceptable outcome of these two scenarios. With these goals as the guiding principles, often we can help clients focus on realistic budgeted projects.

One example of this is duration of sheltering. Often clients come to us with a perception of a need to shelter continuously for many months. This criteria is very expensive to achieve, both in terms of space required and also in logistics and energy provisions. However, there are alternatives to multiple months of sheltering, which can be considered and still have high expectations of survivability.

Once the design program aligns with your budget, your design team is able to move forward with planning your project.

This is an interactive process, and you as the owner have tremendous impact in the outcome. One temptation to resist is over designing. There are infinite possibilities in design– far more than there are choices in the marketplace when researching a new vehicle or appliance. However, exploring all of them is not realistic, and it is important to remain focused on the goals of the project and accept standard construction practices as much as possible.

With these concepts in mind, it is highly possible for you to be able to plan a Hardened Shelter, with the help of professional engineers, which meets an adequate level of survivability metrics to ride-out many foreseeable SHTF scenarios and allow you and your loved ones to emerge ready to take on the real challenges of life in the world after TEOTWAWKI.

Letter Re: A Simpleton’s Guide To Preps: The Best And The Overrated

HJL,

I enjoyed reading A Simpleton’s Guide To Preps: The Best And The Overrated, by B.H. He (she?) gave some excellent arguments against gold, generators, batteries – in one type of situation, but life is never that simple. The thing about crisis is we don’t get to choose what it looks like. It might be the lawless TEOTWAWKI they are describing. It might equally be a totalitarian jackbooted police state with severe deflation. It might be global thermonuclear war, or it might just be a national economic malaise, such as what Fernando FerFAL Aguirre went through in Argentina, 2001.

In FerFAL’s situation, those things which B.H. called “overrated” (gold, gas, antibiotics, etc.) rise in usefulness. FerFAL said that when it was over, he went right down to the pawn shop every payday and bought bags of junk gold, because at that time gold was only about $200 and he chose junk gold because no one could/would test the purity of anything traded, so bullion went for junk prices. He was grateful for his generator and batteries during the rolling blackouts, which inevitably happen in poorer countries.

You also do want a 3rd, 4th, or 5th firearm so that you may arm every member of your family, plus at least one for breakage, loss, etc. You also might want one type of firearm for one situation and another for a different situation. I can see the rationale of having a long-range hunting rifle, a shotgun, a “house” handgun, and a concealed weapon (or two!) for trips to the store in a dangerous neighborhood. However, they don’t have to be fancy. B.H. is correct that you want to avoid using prepping as an excuse to buy more of them, but don’t throw out the baby. FerFAL also was grateful for his gun collection.

It’s also an urban myth (a rather dangerous one) that you would not want to survive a nuclear attack.

It’s also a myth that medicines and antibiotics have a short shelf life. Search SurvivalBlog and you”ll find plenty of discussion on the true shelf life of many medicines. Hint: It’s longer than what is stamped on the package.

With all that said, he is absolutely right about one thing: Become a faithful, obedient Christian. So praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!

HJL Replies: It’s important to remember that when you are just starting out, prepping for every situation is overwhelming. The article by B.H. strikes a good balance on prioritizing what to prep for. When you have been prepping for three or four years, the NBC stuff starts ranking higher because you have the more likely stuff covered. When you have been prepping for 20 years, the question is never about the 4th gun; it may be about the 15th gun. It’s all a matter of perspective– where are you in your preps and what is left to cover.

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Hugh,

Great article, but I cringed at the end section here; #8 NBC Equipment Why? Exactly! “WHY?”

The author stated that, “…there are some survival situations that are worse than death” implying little desire to waste trying to outfit to survive NBC weapons of mass destruction.

I can understand anyone budgeting their resources away from threats they think least probable of occurring. However, writing off prepping for a threat that you’re assuming would and could only come full blown enough to erase all hope for living means you’re hurting if it shows up not quite as big or not all at once as you expected and you hadn’t prepped for it at all. If that happened to me, I’d lose it for sure.

For many that’ll wish they were dead after a nuke detonates, it’ll have been a totally avoidable tragedy that they are at that time in such dire straights– be it injuries, radiation sickness, or family members dead or suffering.

The fact is, regarding nukes, most casualties, from both the initial blast and radioactive fallout downwind later, will have been easily avoided by the majority at risk if they’d known beforehand what to do. This is especially true, if they’d also understood that most everywhere would not become “…poisoned for centuries…”.

For instance, up to 15 times more people will be at needless risk of death or injury in the blast zone than will quickly be gone in the immediate “ground zero” area of total, unsurvivable destruction. This is the case all because they won’t know to do prompt “Duck & Cover”. Also, few know that even a last minute expedient, cramped, and uncomfortable shelter-in-place, for those downwind dealing with fallout later, will get most families through that first 48 hours as the radioactivity loses 99% of its lethal intensity. Finally, yes, while “ground zero” of a ground burst may become a Chernobyl wasteland forever, few grasp that most of the surrounding vast area outside that zone, along with all that countryside downwind, that initially required sheltering from radioactive fallout, most likely won’t be affected for long at all.

Tragically, though, knowledge that could be readily learned and the simple proven techniques that are easily grasped and employed are not widely sought out, as the majority of our population erroneously think it’s futile, bordering on lunacy, to even try to survive anything nuclear. They’ll all suffer greatly for it, and many may even eagerly invite death to escape it. This is tragic, needless loss and suffering.

Google the updated free 2-page article; “The Good News About Nuclear Destruction!” for more in-depth nuke prep info.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Inside the Ring: Memo outlines Obama’s plan to use the military against citizens – B.B.

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When looking at retreat locations, a SurvivalBlog reader suggested using this tool: The Criminal States of America

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After reading Patriots, Survivors, Founders, and Expatriates, I found it hard to imagine some of the improvised equipment. This is it in real life. I know this article is kinda dated, but a picture is worth a thousand words and there are a lot of pictures here. – DSB

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A false report to get even with this innocent man resulted in his being brutally assaulted and injured by the police. I never remembered this kind of thing happening in my youth! SWAT Team Ambushes Innnocent Man as he Works on Tractor in his Driveway. – H.L.

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Judges Approve USDA Confiscating Farmers’ Harvests. – H.L.

Notes for Thursday – May 29, 2014:

Today we present another entry for Round 52 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $11,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  5. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  7. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com, (currently valued at around $180 postpaid),
  9. Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad (a combined value of $195),
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  12. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. A full set of all 26 books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),
  9. Autrey’s Armory – specialists in AR-15, M4s, parts, and accessories is donating a $250 gift certificate,
  10. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate, and
  12. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. A MURS Dakota Alert Base Station Kit with a retail value of $240 from JRH Enterprises,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  7. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208.
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.

Round 52 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Moving Females in SHTF Scenario, by C.B.

The topic I want to discuss might seem pretty obvious to some of you and not so obvious to others. This article is going to discuss the transporting and safety of tactically untrained female members of your group.

I’ve been a prepper for a number of years now, and I really haven’t ever seen anything on bugging out to a retreat or anywhere for that matter with untrained females in a SHTF scenario.

First, let me give you some background on myself; it might help to establish some credibility with some of you. I have served in the U.S. military, and I’ve been an EMT on a volunteer ambulance service, as well as an armed guard for an armored car service where we had to pick up and transport multi-million dollar loads on a daily basis. I have been a federal security guard at the federal building and other federally-run property. I am currently a reserve police officer and a counselor and corrections officer for juveniles.

I live in a Redoubt state, which I believe is one of the last best places to live. The only problem is there is not a lot of high paying jobs up here, which is one of the reasons I’ve had to be so diverse with my skill sets.

Preventing Them From Being A Target

Now back to the point of the article. I have a friend who is the mother of two wonderful girls. The oldest is just about to start high school, and the youngest is still in elementary school. As I’m sure you already know and if your reading this, you probably have a good idea, but in a true SHTF scenario you would see some of the most violent and sickening acts a person can do to their fellow human beings. There would be folks out looking for anyone who looks like an “easy” target. Their thinking is “the more vulnerable, the better”. So the key is to not look vulnerable.

If my friend and her daughters were to travel “openly”, even with me, they would still be at a disadvantage. I harbor no illusions about what my fate or theirs could be in that situation. We would be stopped somehow and, if they wanted the girls and our “stuff”, they would probably kill me and take the girls for whatever they had in mind.

My solution to this rather complicated issue is to make the bad guys think the females are males. Sounds simple right? My plan follows the KISS rule– Keep It Simple Stupid. First, get the girls some baggy clothing, preferably coveralls, and get them ready BEFORE you need them. I’d try to get them dirty as well by having the girls wear them and kneel down in the dirt or mud or grease– anything that could make a stain on them. Secondly, I’d have the girls remove all of their make up, especially including any fingernail polish. So, keep an extra bottle of fingernail polish remover with your gear, just in case they ran out or don’t have any; the main ingredient in fingernail polish is acetone, which you can always use as a fire starter. Next, have the girls tuck their hair under a hat– maybe an old baseball cap you use for hunting, a wool watch cap, or any hat really– that hides their hair. Then remove any jewelry they might have on, like earrings. Remember, you’re trying to make them look like males, so anything that doesn’t fit their new persona will make them stand out and put them and you at further risk, which is what we’re trying to avoid. After that you should rub some dirt or engine grease on their face to make them look as if they have been working on some mechanical equipment. If the females you are transporting have permanent make up then just use more dirt or grease or you could use a camo stick, as if you were going duck hunting. They should also have some kind of weapon in their hands– not necessarily a fire arm, but I wouldn’t rule that out. It helps them not to look vulnerable! Most men you’ll see at this time will be carrying some type of weapon. I’ve even gone so far as to buy fake facial hair for the girls. I know up close it will not fool anyone, but at a distance or from a moving vehicle it sure will. All that the bad guys will see are three males and a little girl.

I know right now your thinking “I’ve taught my girls how to shoot, and they can take care of themselves”. Well, that’s a very good thing to do, but when the bad guys out-number the girls by 5:1 or 10:1 and you’ve already been shot, remember, that’s a lot to ask from anyone. Do you really want to take that chance, especially when the solution is so easy? Also, remember that the only fight you really ever win is the one you don’t have to fight.

It is your primary responsibility to keep your family/friends safe, and that means keeping them away from any flying bullets and sharp pointy things wielded be bad guys.

On The Move

Okay, you’ve got your gear and bug out bag, and everyone looks like they’re supposed to. Now you’re ready to hit the road to your retreat or a safe place to hold up in.

First, you need to have a map and three (3) alternate routes to get to your destination, just in case your primary route is inaccessible for whatever reason.

One of the most valuable pieces of equipment I carry is an inexpensive pair of binoculars in my glove compartment. With them I can “scout” ahead and see what’s up the road or over that hill and possibly avoid an ambush in the form of a road block. Remember that the bad guys can look like anyone– official law enforcement, military, fire fighters, ambulance personnel– and they might even have actual vehicles from those agencies, after they’ve shot the original owners of them. If you come across this situation, hopefully you “scouted ahead” and saw them before they saw you. Just watch them for a while and see how many people they have, what kind of weapons they have, and where they are positioned. The three at the car stopping people might be covered by the two behind that big tree on the hill to their left. Just keep watching. If another car rolls up, use your own discretion whether you want to stop and tell them what’s going on over that hill or around that curve or not. At any rate keep watching what happens!

This is not the time to try and fight. Keep in mind your primary responsibility and why! That’s not to say you can’t remember what these people look like, what they’re driving, and anything else that might identify them later. I wouldn’t write anything down on paper yet, just in case the bad guys find it on you. Just wait until you are in a safe place, and then write down as much information as you can remember. After you’ve observed them for awhile and you think you know what kind of people your dealing with, if they’re the kind of people we’ve been talking about in this article, then you have one of two choices to make. First, you could carefully back down from your observation spot and choose one of the alternate routes you’ve selected and be on your way, or second, you could go back down the road a few miles and wait and warn people. Hopefully, you will find some like-minded people to build up a rolling caravan. If your numbers in the caravan are a lot bigger then the bad guy’s numbers at the road block, then they are likely gonna let you through. Remember they’re looking for easy targets, not hard ones. If they see a car full of males and one little girl, they are not gonna want to stop you anyway.

Once you’ve made it past any obstacles, then you can head for your retreat. However, before you just walk right in, take a few minutes and see if it is occupied by anyone, from a distance of course with your binoculars. If it is occupied, those people are unlikely to want to share, even if it is all your gear. Your best option is to find another place to hold up in.

It important to remember that while there is a breakdown in society and a lot of bad people doing bad things, there will still be good people out there, too, and you’ll be able to find each other. It just might take a little bit longer then.

Helpful Hints To Keep Them Safe

  • You should drive, not because of some “macho” reason like “I’m the man therefore I’m driving”. No, do it because the majority of times anyone that wants to talk to you guys will talk to the driver. This is not always the case, but it is the majority of times. If someone comes up to the passenger’s side and starts asking questions or wanting to talk, you should just say the passenger’s window is broken and will not roll down.
  • If they/ you have to use the restroom at some point and you are not in a van or RV, then only go to some place where you are inside a store, restaurant, or a residence. Never go outside where someone could be watching you. It would be a dead giveaway. You should search the man’s restroom first and make sure no one else is in there and that there is no other way to get in or out. Then send the girls in all at once, while you stand guard outside.
  • For someone to take anything from you, they have to get you to stop somehow. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it’s also very true. If you don’t stop for anything, there is little chance of anyone taking anything from you. The bad guys will try to make you stop, either by playing on your sympathy with a staged accident or by force. Either way, remember you are responsible for your cargo, and if that means not stopping to help someone then so be it. You are not a bad person for taking care of your family/friends.

I hope this article helped you and yours, and I hope none of us ever have to use it.

Letter Re: Lessons Learned

This article is not be representative of many insurance policies. I am a insurance agent. First, I am sorry they had to go through such a horrible tragedy. People need to remember insurance policies vary from state to state and policy to policy. For the policies that I manage, these are the issues that are different:

  • First auto policies are not replacement cost. They are blue book value (aka NADA), less your deductible. You could very well end up upside down, meaning you could still be paying payments on a destroyed vehicle, where you owe more than it’s worth.
  • The bank usually doesn’t force you to rebuild the home. They just want their “interest of the home” paid back.
  • Some insurance policies do cover trees and shrubs up to $250, depending on the company and type of homeowners policy.
  • You can also insure your personal property for replacement costs, just as you did the structure, which we recommend, so that you do not have to worry about depreciation. Still, some people choose not to purchase replacement cost insurance. You would be surprised.
  • If there is a total loss, some companies will not make you make a list. They usually will pay policy limits, unless there is a need to for suspicious activity or some other reason.
  • The percentages for the depreciated items seems to be off. It depends on how old the items are. So to compare from one person to the next would be comparing apples and oranges.
  • Some policies have built-in limits for guns, gold, art, etc. If you need more coverages, you have to let your agent know to endorse the policy accordingly.

Always read your policy and question your agent! Make sure you know what coverages you have or don’t have.

I am sorry this happened to this individual. I agree; be more fire safety alert, and never use “Plug Ins”. (I’m not saying this person did at all.) I have been to several insurance safety classes and discovered that those things have caused lots of fires! It takes 2-3 minutes sometimes for a fire to engulf a home– scary stuff. We have the little one’s alert, too!

Letter: Cashing Out a 401k

Dear Mr. Latimer,

I would value your opinion on the following. I currently have three separate 401k accounts (5K, 40K, and 8K). I have not rolled them into one account because I thought it would be safer to have them spread out. I have this idea that, despite penalties, it would be better to cash them in to apply to my mortgage to pay it down or get a smaller home and have no mortgage by using these funds. My reasoning is that we will have a crash similar to 2008 soon (7 year cycles). I feel that I would be better off having a secure home, than losing my money to unknown crooks. I am 58 years old. If you are unable to give your opinion, would you be able to direct me to a resource or article on Survival Blog.

Sincerely, C.P.

HJL Replies: First, I am not a financial advisor, and any information I give you is simply what I would do myself. It may or may not apply to you or your situation, and you may want to seek the help of a professional advisor. Four years ago, I retired from teaching and had the state retirement account. The state education board wanted me to keep it– investments managed similar to a 401k account– with them. At the time, I was transitioning to self employment, which I am sure played into our decision. I made the determination that it would be better to take the early withdrawal and either put the money towards the self employment (as an investment in my own business) or to invest it in PMs, which I could hold. Interestingly enough, we took half of the money and invested it in PMs, mainly silver, and within one year had recovered in value from the tax penalties. The other half was harder to track, but it was put towards the self employment in a job that would cross the boundary, should the SHTF. I can’t say whether that was a smart move or not, but we have not missed any bills, even with some serious hospital bills in the mix. I think it was worth it. I personally think that keeping your assets where you cannot control them yourself is playing a dangerous game, given the warning signs we see in our economy.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Are Americans Ready For A Revolution?. – H.L.

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This is an incredibly disturbing revelation: The (Non)Finality of Supreme Court Opinions. – PLC

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Is Operation Choke Point a harbinger of big-government activism to come? Operation Choke Point a harbinger of big-government activism to come?. – G.P.

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Chicago mayor pushes plan requiring all gun sales to be videotaped. – T.J.

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Candidate for Fla. Governor Gets Self Arrested to Fight REAL ID. – J.W.

Notes for Wednesday – May 28, 2014:

Today we present another entry for Round 52 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $11,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  5. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  7. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com, (currently valued at around $180 postpaid),
  9. Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad (a combined value of $195),
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  12. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. A full set of all 26 books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),
  9. Autrey’s Armory – specialists in AR-15, M4s, parts, and accessories is donating a $250 gift certificate,
  10. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate, and
  12. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. A MURS Dakota Alert Base Station Kit with a retail value of $240 from JRH Enterprises,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  7. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208.
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.

Round 52 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Total Loss Disaster and Lessons Learned, by R2

1

We experienced a total loss fire in January of 2014. All life, minus a few fish, made it out okay. Praise God! This story is a summation of lessons learned regarding insurance, rebuild/replacement options, storage preps, fire-proof safe survival, OPSEC, and much more. I hope you can learn and make adjustments based on this experience.

We had a three story colonial home with brick front, vinyl siding, and an asphalt roof. We poured a concrete foundation with a walk out basement, and we had a well, septic system, propane heat, and electric air conditioning and appliances.

Our OPSEC was compromised. The 40+ firefighters, insurance claims agent, and adjustors, as well as the crew contracted to clean up the debris all now know we are preppers. We were already leaning towards building somewhere new after the fire, but this convinced us to relocate, since our location and preps had been compromised. I can guarantee you we would have strangers knocking or kicking on the door to get in when the SHTF, if we stayed.

Insurance Policy Things To Know

You will have two claims, and perhaps a third if your vehicle and trailer go up in flames as ours did. The vehicle and travel trailer fall under the automobile insurance policy, and I think most of us know how to deal with that. Just keep in mind that you get replacement value, which is based on its year/make/model/mileage/condition rather than its worth to you personally.

First, you will have a structural claim. This is based on a replacement cost to rebuild your home. We are talking about a total loss situation here. Some policies also have an additional provision around 20% above that replacement cost, called extended warranty coverage or something like that. Let’s use $100,000 as your policy replacement cost for your home. If your house was a total loss, the insurance company may give you up to $120,000 to rebuild your home. That extra 20% covers inflation of cost of goods to rebuild and/or services to rebuild. If we do experience rapid inflation, be sure to adjust your policy accordingly. Most importantly, realize that any funds you get from the insurance company for the structure will be made out to you AND the lien holder. This means that if you have a mortgage on your structure, you cannot cash those insurance checks. That would require the signature of the mortgage company, who has a vested interest into that home being rebuilt back to the asset value. Therefore, the mortgage company will treat those funds basically as a construction loan. My particular insurance company, well known and advertised, will not require you to rebuild using their own contractors. That is all up to you. You will have to work between the contractor and the bank to release those funds at milestones, as the work is completed. As you can imagine, that can often lead to some challenging times. Your only other option is to pay off the remaining loan balance to the mortgage company, and then you are free and clear to do what you want. We were fortunate enough to be able to take this route. We paid off the mortgage company with the insurance check, kept any remaining funds, and had free title of the land. The insurance company had a structural engineer come on site and validate that the poured concrete foundation was still functional and had not been compromised by the fire, heat, or water. We asked the insurance company for a copy of the foundation validation from the engineer, so we could use that in the resell of the land. We still had the well, septic, driveway, foundation, and the land itself. We worked with a trusted agent and ended up selling the land to a local builder. You’re most likely going to have the best luck selling to a builder in this kind of case. Also, know that land sales typically have a commission rate for the agent(s) of 10%. Because there was no structure, this was regarded as a land sale. However, we got lucky and walked away with 5%, because the buyer didn’t have an agent and just had a lawyer review the transaction documents, thus avoiding the additional 5% fee for me. That made the offer that much more attractive. We sold the land and walked away from the property. Fruit trees, gardens, berry bushes, out buildings all went bye-bye. That hurts. However, we are grateful and feel blessed to be able to come out of this like we have.

Secondly, you will also have a personal property claim. Our insurance company uses a supposed industry standard of 75% of the structural value as the amount covered for personal property. YMMV. For example, if your structure has a replacement value of $100K, then they will cover your personal property for $75K. Personal property is defined basically as everything that would fall out of the house if you shook it upside down. So, those of you with more than that figure would need to make adjustments to your policy. Also, there will be caps or limits to particular categories of personal property. You need to read this section carefully as everything from jewelry, guns, cash (usually limited to a few hundred dollars), precious metals (usually considered as cash), food, and more may have a limit to the payout of the coverage. You will need to put a separate “rider” on your policy to cover those assets. After the fire/flood/tornado/hurricane, you will be required to list on a spreadsheet everything that you owned. For example, you would list everything you lost, such as:

Item 1: 4 x4 wooden kitchen table with walnut finish and four legs. Four chairs, all wooden with pillowed seat and wooden legs in a walnut finish. Bought approx. 51 months ago at a cost of $1500.

If you don’t know the make/model, then they will want to know where you shopped so they can come up with a replacement value. As you can imagine, if you lost your entire home then this process can be overwhelming. I recommend you do it room by room and split it with your spouse. Then you each look over each other’s work and add to it, adjust numbers, et cetera. The more detailed you are, the better off you will be. I also recommend you take either a video and/or some sort of inventory list in advance of any such disaster, so this process is easier. We had a video that was in our safe, which did survive (more to come on that), and it was smoke damaged. We took it to a local camera shop, and they converted it to DVD for us. That worked well, and we were able to have something to jog our memory. The tape was done about 5 years prior to the fire, so I also suggest you make a point to update your video/lists on a yearly basis. Strangely, the insurance company never did ask to see my video, even though I told them I had it. I believe that may have been because they believed we were credible and not trying to scam them. I wouldn’t assume that would be the case in all situations, and you may want to be careful in even mentioning you have it unless you get some sort of pushback. I also had to come clean with the personal property claims agent (different person then the structural claims agent) that I was a prepper. I basically said I do some things like the wackos on the TV shows, but I am not wacko and flashed a smile. I mentioned that I’d be claiming lots of food and perhaps other unconventional numbers and assets that may look different to most other claims. I knew my OPSEC was blown at this point anyway, so I just came out with it and prepared them early about what my PP (Personal Property) claim may look like.

The insurance company will come back with an itemized list based on your claims and provide you with the ACV (actual cash value) of each asset. That ACV number is what you will receive in the form of a check. They will also have a summary sheet that is a “Recap by Category with Depreciation”. This sheet is what we will refer to going forward. They took each item on my list and put it into a category. For example, furniture, health & medical supplies, electronics, and so on. There are close to 35 categories on the sheet. There are three columns next to each category. ACV (Actual Cash Value), RCV (Recoverable Cash Value), and Depreciation. For example:

Category:

RCV

Depreciation

ACV

Furniture

$68,695

$29,552

$39,142

This means that you were given a check for $39,142 for all of your household furniture, based on its replacement cost minus depreciation. You can reclaim the depreciation value ($29,552) assuming you have not maxed out the PP policy cash limits at this point. Let’s assume you have not maxed out. In order to claim that depreciation value, you will have to physically replace the asset(s) and submit receipts for each item. This is where it can get confusing. Each category has a set percentage of depreciation associated with it. For example, major appliances depreciate much faster than jewelry. Jewelry has approximately a 28% depreciation rate, YMMV, and major appliances have a 62% depreciation rate. In the above example, furniture has a depreciation rate of 43%. Take Depreciation/RCV. So, for every $1,000 I spend to replace furniture, I will get $430 of that Depreciation category ($29,552) back to me as I replace those assets. However, you cannot exceed that recoverable depreciation in any one category and not beyond the total ceiling on your policy itself for personal property. To put the prepper spin back on this, here are a few categories of interest and what our policy provided as the depreciation percentages.

  • Firearms & Accessories – 11%
  • Books – 50%
  • Sporting Goods and Outdoors – 40%
  • Health and Medical Supplies –13%
  • Perishable & Non-Perishable (Food) – .1%…..they basically gave me full value for my food stocks.
  • Electronics – 42%

It’s interesting to me to see these categories and the percentages, because it gives you a really good view of where to put your investment dollars. I was surprised at the low return on books, but I don’t think they know how much we value information and reference materials.

Safes and Things That Go “Boom”

I had a modular Dakota safe and a small “fireproof” Sentry safe. They were saved but had some heat and smoke damage. This was because the fire chief on site asked me if I had anything specific to try to save and I gave him the locations of the safes. The firefighters were in a total defensive mode at this point, and he just wanted to focus on any particular valuables and put the water there. We didn’t live near a fire hydrant, just like most of us living in the boonies don’t, so they had to bring tankers to the fire. There just weren’t enough tankers and water to save the house. The safe and its contents had smoke damage (not good for firearms but can be fixed) and some water damage in the bottom (stocks, hardware, et cetera), which also can be fixed. The firefighters were not too concerned with the ammunition, as it apparently has a very small diameter radius in which it flies off when under that much heat and fire. I believe there was an article/link submitted a few weeks ago in SurvivalBlog about this.

A Few Other Notes

  1. You will get replacement value for the structure only. You will not get what it’s worth at full market value in your location, if you were to sell it.
  2. God bless good friends and family to get you through these times.
  3. The people that gave the most and helped out our family the most were the folks that had the least. The well-to-do crowd did next to nothing. I found this surprising, though I guess in hindsight I shouldn’t have.
  4. This kind of thing takes a serious emotional toll on you. No matter the disaster someone may go through, they will NEVER forget it and never not stop smelling weird smells, hearing weird sounds, or being alerted to some other thing. I can’t imagine what our soldiers go through and have to live with for the rest of their life, especially considering how young some of them are. PTSD is real, and I think we all need to do our part to help them.
  5. Regarding data backups, put your personal and important digital files on an external memory stick and in your safe and/or at your prepper friend’s house. You can also store your data in the “cloud” with Mozy or one of the many other online storage vendors. They encrypt the data in flight and at rest, but trust who you will with this. Do the same with your video or list of personal property. Update this data often.
  6. Disasters happen. I don’t care how prepared you think you are, because if the Good Lord wants to take it away, He will. You have to trust in His plan. A good sense of humor and those friends and family mentioned in #2 above help as well.
  7. You will feel very naked after this type of event. You have to rebuild your preps, and it helps going back to think about how you wish you started. Remember to start with a little bit of a lot and work your way to a week, two weeks, then a month, and longer periods of preparations for eventuality you’ve been preparing for.
  8. Being prepared financially with little to no debt helps in so many ways. Being prepared spiritually with a relationship with Jesus Christ helps immensely. Being prepared with a great spouse and family and great relationships helps. Being prepared with data and non-insurable items, or not-insured, in a safe place no matter what happens is helpful.
  9. Take fire safety in general more seriously. The fireman commented as I watched my house burn down how today’s homes go up like tinder boxes because of how they are built. Have alarms, smoke detectors, CO detectors, and extinguishers everywhere, and know where they are automatically. I’m considering one in my car as well.
  10. Have an escape plan worked out and practice it. We did a few times and decided we’d all meet at the mailbox at the end of the driveway. Those instincts kicked in. We had a two-story ladder in an upstairs closet as well. We didn’t need it, but it’s better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it.
  11. Fires can start from the outside (where there is no smoke detector) and get out of hand quickly before you become aware of it. Put a smoke detector in your garage as well. Maybe even put one outside.
  12. We are rebuilding with Hardie-Plank siding, which is rated as brick since it is a cement fiber board. It is fire resistant, if a fire starts outside. A metal roof would be ideal if you can afford it. Think CASTLE! Read JWR’s book on homesteads and how to build.
  13. From a nine year old… listen to your parents, remember the drills we learned, and go to the mailbox. Don’t be afraid. You will be stunned. Find a parent and GET OUT!!! If I couldn’t find a parent, I would find the closest phone and grab my pet(s) and run outside to the mailbox and call 911.
  14. From a nine year old and from his parents… think positive. After the event, realize that you will get your stuff back and better things. You still have your family and parents (hopefully). Good people will come to help you.

From a nine year old… help your neighbors! We did so many times, and they came to help us with everything from shoes to coats, and to watching me while things were happening. They comforted me and got me away from the scene.

As you can imagine, this is a long and arduous process and a constant OPSEC nightmare. We are currently in a rental property being paid for by the insurance company (for a limited time), while we rebuild somewhere new. I want to get most of this done before I have to give them my new permanent address. I will still always feel compromised, unless I left the state, but that is not an option at this point. We will come out better off from all of this. If you don’t believe you will, then you won’t.

Thanks for all you guys do at Survival Blog. God Bless.

Letter Re: Grain Mills

Hugh,

The author expressed little concern for his WonderMill’s tendency to heat the flour it milled, on the grounds that the flour was about to go into an oven anyway. This logic certainly makes sense; however, heated flour can be a problem in some cases. We once had a mill, whose brand I’ve forgotten, that heated its flour quite a bit. We make a fair bit of sourdough, and our starter quite noticeably failed to thrive when fed flour from this mill. Of course we let the flour cool before feeding, so latent heat wouldn’t kill the starter outright, but still the starter failed to grow well. Our hand mill, a Country Living model we’ve been quite happy with, as well as a couple other slower- and coarser-grinding electric models we’ve had occasion to use, didn’t have that problem.

As an aside, sourdough is a skill any bread-making prepper ought to learn. It means not running out of bread when the commercial dry yeast supply runs thin. – EJW

HJL Adds: We have also been very happy with our Country Living Grain Mill, but it was not a cheap option. The mill was one of the most expensive, and the addition of the electric kit made it even more so. In the first four months, the mill had the “newness” of a toy so it was no problem finding someone to turn the crank, but after that, it was either electrify it, or turn the crank myself for an hour every other day. The mill does not heat up appreciably, even on large batches of flour.