I'm getting ready to build a shed...

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bogie

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Going to put it on a concrete pad, and it is going to have to do double-duty as a storm shelter.

Any suggestions? I'm going to have to house my reloading equipment in it, etc., etc., and would prefer to have it VERY burglarproof. Has anyone used any of the "modular concrete" dealies, etc to good advantage? Because what things are looking like right now is basically concrete blocks with rebar and a reinforced roof.

I am NOT looking forward to concrete block and rebar construction.

The door is going to be your basic "inner city back door for the bar" steel dealie with a couple of good locks.
 
bogie said:
Has anyone used any of the "modular concrete" dealies...
Click to expand...

Practically the entire country of Mexico was built with them for whatever that's worth.

Wouldn't this be better suited for the S&T forum?


-T.
 
My advice:

- Make sure that the structure has it's own circut for power
- Make sure it is wired so a jenny can be plugged into it the circut and power the entire structure
- Build a kitchenette and bathroom so that when it is used a shelter, you have power from the jenny and toilets.
- Propane tanks? Natural Gas? for kitchen
- Build it tight and put in good insulation and AC units (window kind)
- Might as well filter the air and water coming in there too

:cool:

Good luck
 
if it were me, I'd use double cinder block and space the squares together so that I could reinforce them with rebar and have a pump truck brought it to fill them all with solid concrete, you'd have a rock solid (literaly) building that it would take a tank to break into, put a good steel door on it and it would be a near vault.

or better yet, rent a backhoe and dig out your storm shelter big enough to use as a workshop, either form and pour or use cinder blocks for that, use timber and sheating to pour a concrete roof, cover it back up with dirt and you have a combinitation workshop/storm shelter.
 
Its not a storm shelter unless its a bunker, excavate some dirt and make it underground.
 
Make sure it is wired so a jenny can be plugged into it the circut and power the entire structure
Click to expand...

Jenny wouldn't like that very much...

Problem is that...

1) She won't move, because all her family is nearby.

2) The county she's in is pretty much meth-critter capital of Missouri, which seems to be one of the leading states in the stuff... Ideally, I'd like to have an entrance from inside the house, but don't know if I'll be able to manage that.

3) It's gonna be hard enough shoe-horning my safes inside the house, which has a 9 year old and a 13 year old, both with zero situational awareness - that's gonna change too...

The "superior walls" outfit's stuff looks interesting - but they aren't into Missouri yet.
 
Speaking from over 25 years of construction experience; Barter. Find a good contractor that needs what you have (maybe effective advertising or sumthin' like that) and trade services. He'll be better at building and know the ropes (codes, effective practices, etc.) and you can save him time and money doin' what you do best (unfortunately , not shooting long range).
 
.50 Cal bullets can pas through cinder blocks! Use 3/4 in steel on the out side then cinder blocks.
For the door use a valtdoor like on a safe. :)
 
Sigh... No 3/4" steel, okay?

Just had one of those "walking down the hall carrying stuff" ideas...

It's in an area with little regulation. I may make it a bit larger, and incorporate an FFL... Hmm... Bogie's Precision... Come to think of it, the 3/4" steel might be needed...

Okay - you've got me thinking... I can basically harden an area enough to withstand a decent sized tornado or critter... What should the rest of the building incorporate for the Ultimate Gun Bunker?

May get a steel building put in, and then build/pour a small enclosure inside myself.
 
you need to research ICF's...insulated concrete forms.
they are much like stacking cinder blocks or legos and snap together, they have 2" styrofoam on each side and the inner cavity can be from 4-12" which you then pour with concrete. By yourself you can build your wall system in a afternoon and have a concrete co fill it the next day.
It will be approx 20-30% more than a stick built design but it will last forever and be very safe and secure. Or you can have someone come in with bolt together upright forms and pour solid concrete walls on site.
Whatever you go with make sure before you pour the slab to lay down THICK plastic to keep the slab from sweating.
 
Hmmm... I think we should keep it simple.

shelter-building.jpg


That ought to do it.


-T.
 
There's several ways to build structures. If money is no object, buy some of the pre-fab concrete prison cells... If you're doing this on a budget, look at recycled or free materials.

I'm planning something similar (business/storage/shelter) and I'm building the entire thing out of national forest dead falled trees.

Granted I have time and plenty of forest around, my plan will cost next to nothing and have walls about 2 feet thick. I plan on spending a year building it though.
 
My shed uses those modular rebar reinforced concrete blocks as a foundation. on top of it is a framed 10'x10' shed with door and roof with composite shingles. It shouldn't take more than a week to complete.

It has electricity but no water.

I'm rebuilding my deck & patio this week. Tomorrow moving dirt 50'x8'x7". Wednesday framing area and installing rebar. Thursday, pour slab & footings for deck. Fri-Sun let concrete cure/dry demo existing deck & stairs. Monday install 3 posts & one beam. Tuesday install runners and deck, Wednesday install stairs & landing. Thursday & Friday cut and install rainings. Saturday prime/paint/stain
 
Looked into buying a shipping container and anchoring that?

I see lots of that in my area. No idea what they cost, and they have to be hot as HELL inside, but I've seen lots of them around.

I've seen a few insulated and drywalled inside to use as hunting lease cabins as well.

On the high end but.......

container2.jpg
 
TexasRifleman said:
Looked into buying a shipping container and anchoring that?
Click to expand...

How about just putting some concrete in a hole, drop a shipping container in the hole, then fill the hole the rest of the way with concrete.

Use high PSI concrete, a foot or more thick on all sides. Rebar optional.

Then after a week or more of dry time, cut a hole in one end and slap a vault door on it.


-T.


EDIT:
TexasRifleman said:
No idea what they cost...
Click to expand...

http://www.containersnow.com/containers/comparison.php
 
I saw a wood-framed shed laced with rebar. It was a 10x20 on 16inch centers. Before the walls were closed, the guy drilled holes and laced the framing with rebar. The rebar was welded to each other floor to roof and also to the rebar left sticking up out of the concrete pad. It basically made a rebar net inside the walls and under the roof of the entire stucture. Once he sheathed the walls and ceiling, you dont even know it's there. The rebar was every 12" horizontally from floor to roof peak and every 16" between the studs.
A concrete structure would probably have been cheaper but he wanted it to match his house.
 
8x20' shipping containers run from $1000 in rough shape up to about $3500. + delivery.....
8x40's are $2000 rough up and are veryyyyyyy hot if not insulated. We use them at our hunting camp for 4 wheeler storage.
 
Someone on this site had installed a one-piece undergroung shelter that looked very promising. I saw it once (he had pictures) and can't find it again.
 
Step one, contact your local building department about what is and is not legal.
 
What about just getting a big fiberglass tank and hiring a guy with a backhoe to bury it. (I'm actually thinking about something like that for a fire shelter)

You could build a plain shed over it with a trap door in the floor
 
What about just getting a big fiberglass tank and hiring a guy with a backhoe to bury it. (I'm actually thinking about something like that for a fire shelter)
Click to expand...


seeing that your in montana, i would recomend against that, unless you place it well below the frost line.
 
Look into an unused concrete grain silo, the kind that go up in sections. Around here (SC) they used to be fairly cheap.

You can cut doorways/windows with a demo saw.

Shipping containers, frame and insulate the outside, roof, sheath and shingle. Still have the usable space on the inside.
 
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