Building a "stealth bungalow"

[adam2]

It is not normally that bad, but this building is partly a "stealth prep" for an uncertain but potentially violent future, resistance to gunfire could be a most important feature in a future emergency.

Whilst times are normal it will be a valuable and needed facility for staff.

The farmer keeps beef cattle and grows a considerable acreage of winter feed, for both his own cows and for sale.
Considerable extra land has been purchased in recent years, very cheaply as it floods regularly. This land is almost useless in wet weather, but is fine grazing in dry conditions.

Horse and pony livery is profitable as there are many affluent residents nearby who ride for pleasure.

[vtsnowedin]

Concrete blocks vs. gunfire? Take a look at this.
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/v ... tion=click
I have to wonder what the occupants in the house up on the upper right think about his choice of shooting range.

[kenneal - lagger]

If he's worried about gunfire even a 225 thick solid concrete block could be vulnerable. If that is the case I would suggest a 225 thick outside wall with a heavy gauge fine steel mesh bolted on the inside of it at no more than 900 crs with a 100 cavity and another 100 of block forming an inner skin. Insulation on the outside as well. Any heavy calibre rounds should be deformed by the concrete but could punch through. These together with the concrete fragments would be caught by the steel mesh and the inner wall would provide the final protection and undamaged inner surface.

Otherwise build a 750 or 1050 thick cob wall. Being softer and thicker it is more likely to absorb the impact better and not fragment into the room. By the way I did not build a cob house with any thoughts of gunfire safety in mind.

[adam2]

The proposed walls will have an outer skin and an inner skin, both of concrete blocks with insulation between.
The inner skin will be 440mm thick.

[kenneal - lagger]

The proposed walls will have an outer skin and an inner skin, both of concrete blocks with insulation between.
The inner skin will be 440mm thick.

That is waving two fingers at Climate Change, Adam. Using all that unnecessary concrete put tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. It can't be justified on thermal mass grounds as it is way over the top for what would be necessary for interseasonal heat storage unless the insulation were equally thick.

[vtsnowedin]

Might I suggest that not all of a structure needs to be bullet proof or bullet resistant. An eight inch wall of reinforced concrete will stop anything less then a RPG. and one room ten or twelve feet square in a corner of the main building would be all that is needed for defensive purposes. It should not be evident from the outside where the hard walls begin and end. In America the corner that provided the best field of fire for armed defense would be selected but in an unarmed UK perhaps the back wall hard up against a bank would be best for the safe room.

[adam2]

Bullet resistant was not the major design consideration, but was considered as "nice to have" for an uncertain future.
Very substantial construction is also favoured so as to resist extreme weather, and to resist the attacks of thieves, who have been known to knock holes in lightly built walls to gain entry.

Great thermal mass is a decided advantage. The embodied energy of the concrete blocks wont be as bad as it sounds since many are second hand (dumped by fly tippers) or are new but damaged. They would probably have ended up in land fill otherwise.

The main concern is how to heat this structure.

For the mess room, a wood burning stove is a possibility. The workshop and changing room probably electric infra red heaters on presence detectors to avoid waste.

But what about the rest ? LPG central heating needs electricity and fuel and is expensive.

A stove with a back boiler is under consideration, but will need a non standard installation.
A stove with a boiler normally needs gravity circulation to an upstairs radiator or indirect hot water tank, to avoid overheating if the circulating pump or power supply thereto fails. No upstairs in this case.

We have been wondering about gravity circulation to a large tank, placed in the loft. An electric pump would circulate the hot water from this tank to radiators in each room. If the pump or power supply fails, the large tank would absorb the heat for some hours, and as a last resort could boil safely.

[BritDownUnder]

This is an excellent post and is the reason why I use this forum. I like the word stealth especially when applied to housing. From memory there was an incident in the UK where a man built a house in the countryside in a small indentation which he thought would make it not require planning permission. I believe he shot Council person who came to supervise it's demolition.
Also interesting insights and the differences between the UK and US perspective on which room should be bullet proof.

I could not really add to the conversation but making the building as “passiv� as possible could be considered.
Perhaps a Roman style hypocaust under the floor could be considered to heat especially if in a wooded area. Jokes aside, in a new post collapse world there may even be slaves or “will work for food� people about to feed fuel into such a thing. More seriously a European style tile heater with great thermal mass could be used.

[vtsnowedin]

Considering your winter temperatures I think a wood stove a bit larger then you commonly see would heat all of the building that needs it without needing water pipes or circulation systems.
Cutting the wood with axes and handsaws post collapse will warm the workers as well. The simpler the better in hard times.

[BritDownUnder]

Here is the story of the sad consequences of planning permission and bureaucracy in general.

I still remember the grim look on the face of the shooter all these years later.

[vtsnowedin]

As you plan on having a welder and a forge you could always home build a stove when the time comes. A stock of stove pipe and fittings might be prudent. You can buy door and pipe flange kits for making a stove out of steel oil drums. I've seen several variations of these that work well. Another type uses used steel truck rims welded together, one to four rims for different sizes. They are good heavy steel and just need a front and back plate with door with draft added. The one rim version being only about twelve inches thick looks funny like a Disney character.
As to the welder I have an old Lincoln "tombstone" welder I run on a dedicated 40 Amp 240 V circuit off my 200Amp single phase panel (American 120 volt per wire). Worked all right this week when I was building a snow wing mount for my tractor. I do need to practice more as my current level is" junkyard welding".

[adam2]

The workshop will include a forge and a large arc welder.
The forge should be available forever, but the welder is reliant on grid electricity or a large generator.

I doubt that the insurance company would approve of a home made stove.

[vtsnowedin]

The workshop will include a forge and a large arc welder.
The forge should be available forever, but the welder is reliant on grid electricity or a large generator.

I doubt that the insurance company would approve of a home made stove.

I 5KW generator will run a welder. Post collapse there wont be insurance companies. They might still be sending you bills but not making any payouts so as soon as people realize that they are history.

[kenneal - lagger]

Insulated properly, with the windows sized and orientated properly and with a strategically placed wood stove the house will keep its temperature quite easily. After one reasonable summer the place should get itself up to temperature to last well into the winter before any heating is required.

Don't skimp on the insulation and air sealing.

[adam2]

The latest plan WRT heating is as follows.

Multifuel stove with back boiler.
Gravity circulation from stove to hot water cylinder above. Water from this cylinder to be used for kitchen sink, showers, handwashing etc.
Limited under floor heating via microbore semi flexible copper tube to be pulled into wider bore plastic tube that is to be cast into the floor slab.

Only minimal heating. Circulating pumps to be duplicated, and with back up power supply.

Immersion heater in cylinder for summer use.