Quick question about bunkers...

[redman2006]

Ad, it is a good suggestion. It just does not quite fit what I would like to do.

Some time ago I found a company that would make all the cuts for doors and windows according to your plan. They would then deliver them to a prepared site and do the rough assembly that requires heavy equip.ent. you were on your own after that. The fees were not bad at all.

[RD]

red- the roof will with stand a winter, in the lower 48 any how. Shipping containers strongest points are there corners because of how they are stacked for shipment. single free standing on the ground they will weather just fine. If you choose to bury one, I would reinforce the roof and sides.


RD

[redman2006]

No intention of that. I do wonder how they will handle wind or a tornado compared to stick built?

[RD]

No intention of that. I do wonder how they will handle wind or a tornado compared to stick built?

Probably just like a mobile home would.

RD

[AD]

I bet if held down correctly it would withstand the winds of a tornado and stay put, but would have a hard time dealing with wind driven projectiles.

[Tex]

On industrial jobsites, we always called them a "Conex". I have heard them called all kinds of names, but they are all talking about the same thing. I was on a job in Indian a few years ago when some freak weather hit and nobody was sure if it was a microburst, straight line winds or a tornado. Being as we were in a depression or bowl, it was hard to tell. It looked like hell afterward and stuff was strewn around like a tornado had hit.

Several of the conexes were thrown around and rolled over and some of the emptier ones went to rolling across the site like they were round instead of square. The containers that were full of materials or tools stayed put and didn't budge. They empty ones though were no match for Mother Nature. Had they been anchored down though, they would have done fine, probably.

The main thing we noticed when we went to put everything back into place was the doors were all sprung and would not seal closed. As they were being tossed about, they twisted from one end to the other pretty bad. They shorter 20 footers weren't in nearly as bad of shape as the longer 40 footers. The only strongpoints are on the corners where they can be stacked and have no structural integrity to give strength from end to the other.

There were several that had steel either wedged through the 1/8" skin or holes where steel went all the way through. We were about half completed with the skeleton on a bag house and the steel was only hot bolted at that time. When the high winds hit, bolts started snapping and the structure almost fell completely over. Luckily some bracing held it, but alot of the steel on top came crashing down. Of course the bigger stuff went right through the conex skin, but I was surprised to see some 1"x1" angle iron go right through as well. It acted like a missile. Even structural bolts that fell left some very huge dents.

The metal on conexes is only about 1/8" thick and won't stand up to much. The ribs bent into the skin is the only sort of bracing that keep a conex from being flimsy. They will not stand much of a load against anywhere but the corners.

Around here, there are several train crossings with big galvanized culverts going under the tracks for vehicles to pass through. Some are almost 15ft across and can take the load of earth over the top and around the sides and also several trains a day going over them. I have seen several ads on craigslist lately where people are selling some of the bigger 8 and 10ft culverts for people to make underground shelters and bunkers.


Tex

[reddawnspokane]

I wholheartedly expected to be called dumbass for this. But what about these steel structure bunkers:

http://www.risingsbunkers.com/pricing-and-floor-plans/

[W.Lynn]

rds, I love sites like that. Wish I had a bunch'a millions of dollars and could have something custom done to fit the whole family, clan, and tribe into.

[RD]

http://www.underground-homes.com/underground-house.htm

RD

[Graywolf]

I just updated the article with some pics of a bunker that someone buried under only 18" of dirt several years ago. It didn't fare too well.

http://graywolfsurvival.com/2625/why-you-shouldnt-bury-a-shipping-container-for-a-shtf-bunker/