And of course, the fewer people who know we've got a shelter the better..
Below: from the 'Twilight Zone' episode 'The Shelter'-
1- A jolly evening meal for family and friends, what could go wrong?
2- Radio newsreader- "Incoming nuke missiles, get into your shelters!"
3- Neighbour- "Let us in, we're your mates!"
Home owner-"F*ck off, there's not enough room!"
4- "Let's batter our way in!"
5- Newsreader- "False alarm!"
6- Householder- "P*ss off you b*stards!"
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I loved that episode. It was one of my favorites as a kid. Introduction to OPSEC 101.
One of the things that we know about nuclear shelters is that you can have 4’ of dirt or three feet of concrete overhead. OR you could have a foot or more of concrete and then cover it with dirt. If you are close to the blast zone, the possibly of overpressure from a blast wave causing a cave in of your shelter roof, is a real danger so the construction of your ceiling is very important.
Domed ceilings are stronger than flat and concrete is more solid than wood.
The advantages of concrete underground is that it does not rot or leak. The downside is that it also does not breathe so condensation from respiration can be a problem without adequate ventilation.
Building a solid concrete ceiling DIY though, is difficult, or so I thought until I watch an episode, can't remember the name of the show, but they built a hobbit house.
The ceiling was arched concrete. The way they did it was they excavated, built the walls, then used rebar to tie into the walls. Filled in the excavation site to mound the dirt in the middle, basically burying the walls up to the ceiling height, using the dirt as their mold, then poured the concrete. After it had cured, they simply excavated out the dirt from beneath. Presto! Concrete ceiling!
Of course you would want to run your venting and such before the pour. Keeping in mind that you want your air intake low and your outflow venting high.
I also see a lot of detached shelters where they have these telltale pipes sticking up like a flashing neon sign. Camouflage people! Plant an evergreen bush around your pipes and do what you can to hide your entrance and exit points!