Basement Fallout Shelter

[Lurker]

You want to be careful using lead sheets, since the LAST thing you want is for the whole house to come up contaminated with lead, on an inspection for sale...

Now THAT'S an optimistic view of the future of our housing market!

At the rate my home is losing market value I'll never be able to leave my 'wonderful' neighbors for better earth.

[JC Refuge]

Practical and effective material thicknesses for an NBC shelter, in standard applications, are as follows:

packed soil/earth - 36"

concrete - 24"

steel - 10"

lead - 4"

You can do the math to combine these materials, but to reduce your shielding from the overall protection levels, you will short-change your intended goal of surviving a serious local gamma radiation event.

[sunny225]

OK. I'm going to bring this thread back up to the top because it was the closest to what I was searching for.
We are starting the digging for a basement which will be under a cabin when we finish. This is all brand new stuff, no existing structure or basement already.
We have never done this kind of thing before. We have researched it, talked to people who have done it & adjusted plans so it will be suited for a fallout shelter.
Has anyone here done this type of thing before? How did it go? Do you have any advice or information for those of us doing it?
I feel like this should have been done this summer but... it wasn't.
Chime in if you have something constructive to tell me. TIA

[Lenno]

I think, dollar wise, unless your can afford 4" of lead over your basement, building a earthen bunker is the dollar wise way to go, it can be attached to your home, conditions permitting.

[sunny225]

It will be under the ground. The cabin will be for camouflage only. OF course, we will harden the cabin so that it will be a good place to shoot from.

We plan to put 8" concrete for a top on this thing. Still working out details. Guy will come look at the area on Saturday & let us know what he thinks about digging there.
It feels like it needs to be done NOW!

[44044]

Put 8" concrete walls up for your cabin
Put whatever on the outside and stud
up the inside and finish as a regular wall
with insulation
If you can't do the whole house do
One room with small windows
Not much will shoot thru that

[sunny225]

Put 8" concrete walls up for your cabin
Put whatever on the outside and stud
up the inside and finish as a regular wall
with insulation
If you can't do the whole house do
One room with small windows
Not much will shoot thru that

what about block walls with concrete poured in them? would that stop bullets too? we will have the back & part of the sides of it bermed so no problems with them.