Building Bunker Villa on a budget using Quonset Hut structure

A periscope would be a nice addition

This hut is inexpensive and serviceable, but I wish someone paid better attention to the interior finishing and arrangement: it feels like a bunker. Relying on mains power is strange,considering how he observes early that being without power was one of the things that spurred him to build it.

It was a pleasure having you and your husband come to visit ! Have a great New Year ! Thank you

That well access penetration really shows how well planned this building is. Very impressive.

"Better Living Underground!" I've been looking into the underground life for years now, just never had the capital to make it happen. Now my economic situation has improved, and am seeking capable budget friendly ideas. Thank you for sharing stuff like this, even if it isn't what I'm looking to do it provides options and information I can use going forward. And every builder of these things has insights and ideas that unique and useful. Heck, if nothing else it is fun to watch. :)

I was born /raised in tornado alley and saw and picked up more damages from tornadoes than I care to recall. People/towns always rebuilt the same type of home that was destroyed by the tornadoes. Why they don't build under the ground amazes me. They don't need to necessarily build a bunker like the one in this video tries to be. I've seen some (probably on this channel) that offer a "normal" habitat (windows, etc.) and safety from natural disasters.

I agree with David that the water storage should be at a higher level inside so it’s gravity fed and other than “fill-up” time, you won’t have to always work a pump. The interior could use a lot of refinement so it’s more inviting, “homey” and relaxing to the eyes. After the entrance storage hall but before the main “living room” chamber, it would make sense to have an anteroom to leave jackets, hats, muddy boots & footwear at so you don’t track in dirt, dust and wetness.

I was so confused about the bunker being grid powered and the water tank comment until I reread the description and realized this wasn't the bunker he built for himself, prior to getting into the bunker building industry.

This thing is well insulated and I like the fact he has so much insulation, shot-crete and water-repelling membrane to ensure that it's impervious and secure.

5:56 Totally agree, it absolutely needs the concrete. i'd seen a video of a guy's Quonset Hut he was using as a shed, the bolted steel looked just like that. It collapsed during heavy snow! They can't handle a lot of load just on their own, gotta concrete it. And shotcrete is really neat anyway, there was some huge Domes built around here that eventually ended up being used as a car dealership. To build them they inflated a giant balloon & shotcreted ontop of it as a form, then once dry they deflate the balloon and the shotcrete remained as a huge arched bubble, it was strong as heck just due to the arched structure combined with concrete's great compressive strength.

If this gentleman will install one in Arkansas, I think he and I will be doing some business soon. I found his channel a few months ago and realized there was a viable alternative to the overly expensive "concrete box". I love his approach to building these and want one built in the same basic layout. I've spent the last 10-15 years of my working life planning and doing the required "homework" of every kind of underground building / structure type that was even marginally affordable, even to repurposed Atlas E, F, Titan II, and other types of military / govt structures. This was one method I had not even considered viable until I saw his videos and all the things he did to make it viable and less expensive. His practical "no waste no BS" attitude and this design is just what I've been looking for. Especially, the look outside. Hard to tell anything is even there, which is exactly the way I want it. Well done! Great video! This adds "extra sauce" for what I've seen of this site already and just confirms that he and I need to talk....

Neat build. I'm looking at this from the beginning thinking, unless it's done right, it won't work. He answered all of my questions one by one. Structure, insulation, condensation, well water, not air filtration though. If this were my place, I'd also plant some trees and bushes to disguise the entry.

What a great idea, building underground. I live in Texas and I have family living in Oklahoma, and both states are prone to tornados a lot. Living underground, or living in a monolithic dome home are the best types of homes. I heard about a family in Florida who lives in a monolithic dome home, and it has survived the hurricanes which hit that state a lot, while his neighbors see their homes turned into toothpicks. I also heard about a family in California who lives in a monolithic dome home, which survived the wildfires, in fact, they even took in firefighters whonalmost got caught in one those fires, the only thing that they had to do was wash off the soot, and the ones in Florida only had to replace the outside steps. Another good thing about living underground is that a person would not have to worry about unwelcome visitors bothering you, and that is winning situation.😅😅😅😅

Stealth is a mandatory feature of any bunker for me. This is one of the best ones I've seen so far.

This has been my dream for several years!!!! I love that someone has done it already! I’m not crazy for thinking this is great! The energy efficiency must be amazing

I built something sort of similar; although I didn’t build a guest house out of it. I just use it as a root cellar, but it could have been built to be a bunker or whatever it is you have in mind with your guesthouse. I got a bunch of retaining wall blocks; the kind that are used to terrace steep slopes. They are 30”x30”x60” and weight 4400lbs each. I stacked them 3 high and made the inside 15’x20’ with a 5’ long entryway, with a door on both ends. The roof is scrap pipe I managed to salvage, ranging in size from 8-16” diameter. I corduroyed the roof and welded the pipe together. I live north of the 56th parallel, so it’s quite cold here during winter. It maintains temperature without any heating nearly all winter, even when it hits -40 for weeks on end. Of course, it’s made of 110 tons of concrete, plus probably 30 tons of steel, so there’s a lot of thermal mass. I’ve only had it one summer so far, and it stayed pretty cool all summer once I shaded the door. It’s been a wonderful addition to my farm; and my whole community. Many of my neighbors store all their root vegetables in my cellar. After a whole winter (this is the second winter we’ve had it) the vegetable are still firm. Even apples keep inside for months. I built it more or less on my own, with probably less than 40 hours of help from my wife. It took about 300 hours of my labour, plus about 75 machine hours on a 200 class excavator. It probably would have been possible to use a machine as small as 150 class, but that’s about the smallest that would work. Once the structure was built I buried it about 7’ at the deepest areas and 2’ at the thinnest point.

With six feet of earth covering the structure, it would only need the addition of a 90 degree corner in the hallway, an NBC air system, and a blast pressure relief valve to be a genuine bunker in case of nuclear attack. The skylights would probably have to go also and the escape hatch would have to house a barrier of six feet of sand to keep that area radiation proof, but that would be about it.

High cavernous curved ceilings! I love that. It appeals to the inner Enthrall The Neanderthal in me! If I had the acreage for it, this would be my choice. Living in an underground concrete shoebox would be an option only of you live in the suburbs and really have no choice or space. But even then, it sounds like David can set one up at a better price, in shorter time, and with sounder construction than most. Thank you for sharing this, Kirsten.

This is by far the best idea I've seen for a bunker the cost is a fraction of what a builder would charge great idea

This guy didn't just fluff; he covered big basics like ventilation and drainage that all bunkers need.