Shelter Savvy, Part 2

A guide to self reliant living

Miles Stair's SURVIVAL
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Miles Stair's SURVIVAL
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SHELTER SAVVY

Part II: Location and Layout

by Hal Walter

In 1965 we sold our Midwestern home and cottage-shelter, moving for health reasons to a large city in the South-West. The ranch-house design common in this area excluded basements, so we were faced with the problem of how to provide an adequate shelter. As with our previous two shelter designs, we compromised, digging a small cellar area under one corner of the house. This area provided shielding but fell woefully short in most other aspects.

With the family in a period of transition, we decided to sell this home and move into an older one on the same property. Again we were faced with the dilemma of setting up a viable shelter program. Luckily, however, we were by this time able to finance a second home for vacations and eventual retirement. In determining where to build, we used the following criteria:

1. Located an adequate distance from potential target areas;

2. Located an adequate distance from a potential fallout source (I use general terms because of the vast array of variables affecting an individual situation - size of bomb, prevailing ground and high-altitude winds, terrain, etc. It is safest to base your calculations on a "worst-case scenario.);

3. Reasonable remote from the city, but not inaccessible;

4. Access to an all-year road to make winter residency possible;

5. Enough acreage to ensure privacy;

6. Enough altitude to provide a contrast from the surrounding desert heat;

7. Wooded, or with access to a wood supply;

8. Access to a continuous, uncontaminated water supply;

9. Defensible;

10. Affordable land with reasonable terms; and

11. Availability of contractor and local labor.

Unlike some survivalists, we never seriously considered settling into a "survival" community, assuming that the unprepared majority in such a group would pose a burden or a threat to the few who make the decisions, and that maintaining the necessary degree of privacy and security would be too difficult. Therefore we chose a shelter program oriented to a family or small group.

We found our ideal location on the western slope of the Rockies within less than a day s drive from our city residence. Incredible as it sounds, each of the requirements was met - we even had a view and a stream!

Determined to do it right this time, my wife and I carefully considered the following guidelines in planning the layout of our second home and shelter:

1. The shelter should be easily accessible through the basement - either integrated into it or dug back into the hill as with our Midwestern cottage.

2. The shelter must be shielded with the highest possible Protection Factor (PF), even though it was in a light fallout area. Targets have a nasty way of developing in unpredictable spots.

3. The shelter should be as dry, warm, efficiently arranged and cheerful as possible to manage, given its solid concrete construction.

4. All pipes, drains, intakes, exhausts and wiring must be positioned for optimum efficiency, and extra wall-openings should be provided for unforeseen uses.

5. The two outside corner-basement walls should be coated with inch of mortar, two layers of waterproof paint, tar and 2-inch sheets of polyurethane for insulation (check your local lumber yard for exact specs and preferred coating sequence). Drains along outside walls of the basement and shelter and under the floor must be installed, as well as floor and sink drains. Pea gravel would be used for backfill to facilitate drainage (perforated plastic pipes would also do the job), taking care that no trash would be backfilled.

6. A continuous, inexhaustible, uncontaminated water supply should lead into the shelter.

7. Shelter heating may be tied in with the regular home heating system.

8. The shelter entrance must be baffled to prevent entry of gamma rays.

9. A decontamination area is essential, including an area for storing and washing contaminated clothing.

10. An unfailing supply of clean air, filtered of chemicals and dust, must be provided.

11. The shelter must be supplied with propane gas.

12. A source of stand-by electricity must be available.

13. A flush toilet, connected to the home septic system, should be installed.

14. Shelter design must be flexible to allow various areas to serve different functions at different times - food preparation, eating, sleeping, communication, hygiene, decontamination, etc.

15. Storage space for the clothing and personal items of eight people must be arranged accessibly and efficiently.

16. Extra storage space must be provided with shelving along several walls.

17. The kitchen should be organized with sink, counter and cupboards.

18. Provision should be made, if possible, for refrigerating food.

19. The inside shelter walls should be treated acoustically.

20. Several levels and types of lighting must be installed.

21. The shelter entryway must be secured with a locked, tamper-proof door.

22. The shelter must have normal-height ceilings (7 feet, 6 inches).

23. To allow for increased movement in times of decreasing radiation danger, other areas of the basement outside the shelter should be accessible.

24. Most food should be stored outside the shelter, but in the basement.

25. The outer basement should be secured with steel-plated doors and any windows eliminated; its ceiling must be heavily insulated to prevent heat loss into the rest of the house.

26. All utility pipes and circuits serving the outer basement should be powered independently of the upper part of the house.

27. A wood-burning stove and covered wood storage area should be in the outer basement.

28. If possible, the basement should be included in the defense plan.

29. During normal times, communication should be possible throughout the entire home; in emergencies, from inside the shelter to those outside the home.

30. Battery operation of all shelter communications equipment during emergencies will ensure continued radio transmission and reception.

We were lucky to find a reliable, local contractor who tolerantly agreed to go along with our "fantasy." In the summer of 1969 we moved the family to a natural campsite along the river, which we hurriedly provided with a septic tank and electricity. This enabled my wife and me to supervise closely every step of the building process.

All of the above guidelines - and more - were incorporated before we ended up with what we wanted and needed. And we are still upgrading and refining as new ideas occur.