Hypothetical: Making a Room Bullet Proof

[SMMAssociates]

Tell somebody about it....

A friend of mine bought a house some years ago and went nuts trying to find wall studs in the dining room. He wanted to hang a picture.

Turned out that the previous owner had decided that his wife would be making him hang pictures everywhere so he put a sort of "plate" made of 3/4" plywood around the top 3' or so of wall in the dining room. Hang a picture anyplace you want....

Imagine trying to install a new phone jack or ethernet cable in a "bulletproof" room if you weren't aware of the situation....

Regards,

 

[Dave from Alberta]

Up here in Northern Alberta people are starting to go with foam block/concrete construction. Basically, the foam comes in blocks and is used as the forms for the concrete. You end up with a 6-8" thick concrete wall with foam on each side. I don't know anything about armor, but I would think an 8" concrete wall would be of some value.

Oh, and one of the real reasons it has caught on up here in the colder parts of the country is that you get about R50 out of your walls compared to R12 in a standard 2x4 frame.

 

[SoCalShooter]

Ain't nothing bullet proof if you found something bullet proof get a bigger bullet.

 

[silverlance]

if you stack up the walls with sand, would it cool down the house as well? it's 110 degrees here today in CA.

 

[Acera]

From the pictures that mrsig posted, sand is a poor choice unless you put a lot if it in, heck a .22 went through a 2x6 wall of sand. Dave from Alberta has the right ideal, check out this site http://www.polysteel.com/psform_4000.htm
I have built a few of these and have always felt that they would stop about anything. With a metal fiber concrete mix, over the recommended amount of rebar for your application, while using the 6' non-waffle blocks you should be safe.

 

[Elm Creek Smith]

Another styrofoam form, concrete-filled wall system. Looks small-arms proof to me, and you can match the stucco finish on the outside of your house.

http://www.rewardwalls.com/pd_icfbasics.html

ECs

 

[Rabid Rabbit]

While researching info for some armored cars I'm buying I ran across this site that list thickness vs protection for MIL-STD-46100 armor steel. Yes, the steel can be purchased commercially.
http://www.armedforces.co.uk/releases/raq3f4e2bd8b6f1d

I'm thinking of buying half sheet for some knock down targets for rifle.

 

[davinci]

my house is brick....i'm already bullet resistant. ;-)

for rifle rounds, sandbag it. I

 

[thegriz]

Ned Christie

According to a book titled The Deadliest Men by Paul Kirchner an American Indian by the name of Ned Christie was wanted by the law and he built a bullet resistant home. He used a double log wall with sand between the walls.

It was very effective against their rifle fire and took over 2000 rounds without failing. It also took 37 shots from a 3 pounder cannon with minimal damage. They finally had to use explosives on the front door to breach the house.

Of course they didn't have modern firearms, and it doesn't solve the original owner's problem, but I was fascinated by its effectiveness.

The book is an excellent and inspirational read. I recommend it to all of you.

 

[iiibdsiil]

If you do cinderblock, you can fill the cells with concrete if you want. Probably more effective then sand, although I don't know about how well it insulates.

 

[glockman19]

if you stack up the walls with sand, would it cool down the house as well?

silverlance, Great answer. You are correct

It was tested and wins hands down. Checek out this link:
http://theboxotruth.com/docs/bot7.htm

Rounds from the most powerful rifles & handguns only penetrated 6" or less through sand & drywall.

Just pour sand in between studs with drywall and you're bulet proof. If the wall is a shear wall, plywood on the outside then you have even greater safety from gun, rifle or shotgun rounds.

 

[trainwreck100]

Sand is certainly going to cause some issues in the rot/rust department...I can see bad things in your house's future if you put a flowerbed between two layers of sheetrock. Why not brick the outside of the house? While individual bricks tend to shatter when shot, when filled with mortar and tied together, they'd tend to fare far better, and even if one was to break, it'd likely slow the bullet to a non-lethal velocity anyhow.

 

[Nolo]

Just go to an anti-gun convention and collect some of their thick skulls. Then plate your walls with them! Viola! Instant bullet-proofing! They should really use that stuff in body armor... It's just rock hard.

 

[cpileri]

retrofit

Alot of these materials that folks have posted links to seem to be used for building a new structure.

Are any products available to retro-fit a standard home? especially in such a way as to 1. not anger the wife 2. not significantly change the appearance of the inside nor the outside of the home, and 3. allow you to remain living in the house while being installed?

C-