| Check out coyotecottage.com as well, particularly the page on foundations. |
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Thanks for the links - some good ideas in all of them.
I remain unconvinced that a thin-walled wooden structure in middle of the woods is an ideal BOL. I suppose it's better than a tent, but sooner or later someone will find you and want what you have (whether you're there or not). On the flip-side, a poured concrete wall system with storm shutters with firing slits and a firebase perimeter seems a bit overkill  .
Something with moderate cover (not just concealment) and perhaps fire resistance seems ideal. The same properties would be good for severe weather and thermal capacity (so your stores don't get to 90 degrees in the summer and freezing in the winter). Of course, it would have to be nice enough to vacation in with the family. A log cabin seems to offer a lot of this, but I have enough friends who've owned ones with horror stories to scare me away from that. I guess that's why 1BigBunker's dome threads are so popular. Any other ideas or suggestions for these kinds of requirements? |
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Quoted:
A log cabin seems to offer a lot of this, but I have enough friends who've owned ones with horror stories to scare me away from that. Log structures properly constructed out of the right materials are a pleasure live in. Of course the fact that I build log homes for a living makes me a little biased, but seriously I love living in a log home and six inches of solid wood does offer some cover. |
I put up the link for those trying to start a retreat. (Hate the term BOL )
Start small then build up. Don't need something 2000sqft to start. I too would rather have a cabin built out of concrete and steel roofs. But even that will not stop criminals. Over at SurvivalBlog someone buried steel railroad car. The creeps used a car jack to get the steel doors off, looted it, and then burn it. 
If you have a retreat that's in the woods, and you only visit it a couple times in a year, someone will finally break in, steal the doors and windows, anything of value and burn it down. 
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I like the idea of an earthship - and I'm not a hippy
Just the idea of used tires filled with dirt for walls is awesome , tires are free, and filled with dirt they would stop some rounds if need be. Plus you could finish the inside and outside anyway you please. |
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i hope this isn't getting off topic. Several posters have mentioned the risk of break and enter. I can offer some observations, based on over 30 years of experience.
We had an island camp. It was one of 14 camps on an island of, oh, maybe 100-125 acres. We learned really quickly that there is an art to reducing or eliminating break ins. The neighbours locked their camp up like Fort Knox. Bolted plywood over all windows. Reinforced doors. Bigger locks. etc etc. As a rule they would end up with a break and enter every single winter. All that security stuff seemed to apparently scream 'THERE IS GOOD STUFF IN HERE!!!". All that security stuff really ever does is slow thieves down. When the location is way out in the boonies, and they have hours to do the B&E, its no deterent. THey just use bigger hammers (or shotguns). Our camp was located not too far away. We rarely were broken into. In fact, we had one B&E in 30 years. Our record was MUCH better than the neighborrs. Our approach to security was simple: Remove the motivation for breaking in. We did not cover windows. We left curtains open so would be thieves could look in. Our locks were simple (locks never really stop thieves, they just slow 'em down. A cheap lock keeps honest people honest, and it usually doesn't take hundreds in repairs to fix a busted hasp and padlock). We left little of value in the camp. As a result the theives looked in the windows, seen nothing worth stealing, and moved on. I doubt that we can effectively keep intruders out of a cabin, short of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. The key is to remove the motivation for B&E. I leave kitchen cupboards open (No booze in here see?). That seems to really reduce the usual teen kids looking for a cheap drunk. I leave NOTHING of real value laying about. I the case of the camp we did not leave real valuables there on location. This does not work for prepositioned supplies. I am, however, working really hard on a variety of hidden and concealed storage areas in my existing camp. It does not take much space to hide a firearm, or some ammo, or a little cash. With some ingenuity you can squirrel stuff away were its easily overlooked. It is still vulnerable to fire, but theft risk is much reduced. Nothing is 100%. However, 30 years of experience with this sort of issue has convinced me that reducing the motivatio for break and enter works better than trying to 'out muscle' the theives. They just get more destructive. |
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Quoted:
I put up the link for those trying to start a retreat. (Hate the term BOL )
Start small then build up. Don't need something 2000sqft to start. I too would rather have a cabin built out of concrete and steel roofs. But even that will not stop criminals. Over at SurvivalBlog someone buried steel railroad car. The creeps used a car jack to get the steel doors off, looted it, and then burn it.
If you have a retreat that's in the woods, and you only visit it a couple times in a year, someone will finally break in, steal the doors and windows, anything of value and burn it down.
Yeah - sorry, didn't mean to "mess" in your thread. I like the idea of building something like a cabin in a remote area - just see some drawbacks to a regular wooden structure and this is the kind of crowd to solicit advice from. As you stated - anything man can make, man can break. Anything we store in a remote cabin will likely be pillaged in good times, and will almost certainly be looted in bad times. It seems like there's no real good solution to a retreat, unless you're going to live in it. The reality is that most of us aren't willing to move outside "civilization" under normal circumstances, so find ourselves at a disadvantage. I suspect there has to be a better answer, and am on that path of exporation. In the meantime, I bought a camper and use that as a mobile retreat. It's worked well, but suffers from some of the same drawbacks I mentioned originally.... |
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One advantage to small structure is that accessory buildings of less than 120 square feet don't require a building permit under the International Building Code. Your local laws may vary, but most jurisdictions follow the IBC. You can build a few of sheds on the property, and the man will never be the wiser.
They are also cheap so it is not the end of the world if they burn down or get vandalized. The cabin referenced in the OP cost well under $2K. |
| I think if I had a BOL I didn't live in or visit constantly I'd bury anything worth stealing. Or, maybe even better... dig a shallow basement, put a tool shed over it, build the floor of the shed out of plywood panels you can unscrew, pry up and remove to access your storage. |
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On pre-positioning supplies:
I've always had these ideas: Hide stuff in the interior walls; just pick the space between a few studs; fill it up and wrap the stuff so there is no noise if you bump it. SHTF and you rip apart an interior wall 
Also, a long time ago on here there was a thread about using coolers sealed w/ some kinda of marine ATV-like sealant. Fill up a cooler or 2 w/ preps, bury it and then...have a few tons of gravel dumped on top 
Just leave the pile of gravel there on your property; no weeds or grass to grow in it. You could even throw a tarp over it if you want...it will just look like you meant to build something but never got around to it. NOBODY is going to shovel tons of gravel on the off chance there is treasure under it, lol. Also, you'll never have to remember where exactly you buried all those preps 
Speed |
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So if you could build a 100 sq ft structure with no permit I wonder if it's still good to go if you do it into a hill. I always thought that would be need and provide some insulation for winter. I would only have to build only one secure wall. Maybe brick on the outside with a combo of steel and concrete in the wall. Build several of this in a hill and you got a strip of rooms in the hill. I assume running tubing between the rooms doesn't make it part of the building so you could run wires, water lines, and sewage lines. Then a little walkway connecting them all outside of the structures with a cover so you can walk from room to room in bad weather and out of the sun. building a, food store, building b, living quarters, building c, lounge, building d, storage. hehe. All with no permits.
Wow, I started rambling. Would be fun though. |
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Quoted:
On pre-positioning supplies: I've always had these ideas: Hide stuff in the interior walls; just pick the space between a few studs; fill it up and wrap the stuff so there is no noise if you bump it. SHTF and you rip apart an interior wall
Also, a long time ago on here there was a thread about using coolers sealed w/ some kinda of marine ATV-like sealant. Fill up a cooler or 2 w/ preps, bury it and then...have a few tons of gravel dumped on top
Just leave the pile of gravel there on your property; no weeds or grass to grow in it. You could even throw a tarp over it if you want...it will just look like you meant to build something but never got around to it. NOBODY is going to shovel tons of gravel on the off chance there is treasure under it, lol. Also, you'll never have to remember where exactly you buried all those preps
Speed I remember that thread, or one very close to it. Filling a few 55 gal drums with preps, and half bury them. Then dump a load of sand on it. gave me lots of ideas. As per the rest of this thread, TAG.. I've been thinking about putting together a cabin made out of some form of shed kit to stick on a small chunk of land i'm looking at. Security has been an issue in my mind since day one. |