Bunkers - your very own...

[santaman2000]

All those pictures show houses that are mostly built above ground level and just have the earth banked over. And not too thickly eather.
That is a way of fixing the ground water issues.

Most of the good info I've found, for underground habitable construction, is from companies/sites dealing with cellar building or converting.

Yeah. The ones I posted aren't true bunkers. They're either built into a hillside or have earth banked up the sides. They are very practical for their purposes though (the ones I mentioned regarding storm resistance and temperature stability) And yes, our big problem with true underground construction here is ground water just as you mentioned.

 

[Guzzi Goose]

I imagine it's the same all over the country in civil centres.

In the early 90's i went to an illegal Rave in London Borough of Lambeths bunker. From what I remember it was accessed from a hut on a piece of grass opposite the town hall.

 

[Janne]

In the early 90's i went to an illegal Rave in London Borough of Lambeths bunker. From what I remember it was accessed from a hut on a piece of grass opposite the town hall.

If you remember - you did not take enough chemicals......

 

[SCOMAN]

Shipping containers buried with no retaining walls around them fail very quickly. The strength in containers is in the frame not the sides so they collapse with the weight of the soil, one of the US tv shows on how things work did a demo. On the grander scale of bunkers my wife and I were watching a show about the Mormons in the US who due to their polygamous family ethic lived in a remote part of the country. They had blasted out large caves in the hillside, it looked like red sandstone, and created lovely homes. Obviously natural light only came in the front windows but great idea. The 'hobbit houses' on Harris are lovely looking, facing a great westerly storm in one must just be beautiful. There's another one in the vicinity of Arisaig near Mallaig built in a cliff if I remember really breathtaking.
I spoke to a few old guys in the ROC and they knew that past the initial few reports they were a goner. I've spent quite a bit of time in and around well functioning MOD bunkers, one built under the casino of the Rock Hotel in Gib. At one large complex I worked in they used to practice 'lock downs' in the 1980's. As the oncoming watch came on, close down the doors and keep it shut for 24 - 48 hrs. Apparently it tested, catering, accommodation, patience and good will. The accommodation was wire frame bedsteads bolted to the wall in the pipe tunnels they were 2 - 3 high. By the time I was there the mattresses had all been removed as a fire hazard. We used to joke about suspicious orders like 'bring your mattress on watch with you' 'Why you ask? No reason and are you aware of the benefits of the common pillow?'. Lets face it once the melty face nukes have hit or the nerve/biological agent has effectively created a desert what fun are you going to have underneath the ground. As a man cave or weekend retreat in the woods though, love it.

 

[gonzo_the_great]

There was a piece on TV many moons ago, on underground houses. One that was interesting, was a small shop frontage, which was the post office, backing into a sandstone hill. The back of the shop and the garage at the side, was cut into the hill.
A couple converted it into a house and dug back to make more space. The inside was all domed and curved, even the shelves were cut out of the stone.
I recall them commenting about the eaese of building.... If they has extra guests staying, they could just get out the diamond saw and make a new room. (Though I have a feeling that it may be a bit more complicated than that!)
It was long ago, and I don't recall how they dealt with water. Given the nature of the program, I suspect it was not brought up, as that could have upset the sort of viewers which these house building programs are targetting.

 

[santaman2000]

Does anybody on her have any 1st hand knowledge of Coober Pedy, Australia?

 

[fenix]

In one of the country pubs earlier in the year and got talking to a bloke that has purchased and is restoring a Royal Observer Corps monitoring post.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Observer_Corps_Monitoring_Post

handily its just down the road from the pub, and near a train station a well . He works as a diver (ex military diver) so is away for long periods of time. When he's back he spends time working on the structure, but its also a good place to kip. He has pumped it out and re waterproofed it, plan is to open it for people to look around at some point, he was looking for original kit to fit it out.

 

[Robson Valley]

I've watched several documentaries on Coober Peedy and Lightning Ridge.
Essentially, the families live in the front past of the opal mine.
Just a door in a hillside. They appear to be most comfortable.

Not all mines are created equal so I imagine that the furnishings reflect the miner's luck with the stones.

Sooner or later, you have to go out for groceries, mail and other shopping.
I would melt in that heat.

 

[MrEd]

In one of the country pubs earlier in the year and got talking to a bloke that has purchased and is restoring a Royal Observer Corps monitoring post.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Observer_Corps_Monitoring_Post

handily its just down the road from the pub, and near a train station a well . He works as a diver (ex military diver) so is away for long periods of time. When he's back he spends time working on the structure, but its also a good place to kip. He has pumped it out and re waterproofed it, plan is to open it for people to look around at some point, he was looking for original kit to fit it out.

Ha if that’s the one in Kent, I brokered the deal as it was my mate that sold it and it was us that pumped it out. It was sold to a guy that’s a diver and away a lot. He brought a job lot of kit to equip it aswell, including the rare monitoring gauges etc.....

 

[bobnewboy]

Does anybody on her have any 1st hand knowledge of Coober Pedy, Australia?

Sort of. Helene and I stayed there some years back in the Radeka's backpacking hotel. Almost all of the place is underground, dark and cool, as is a proportion of the townhouses. However getting out to the pub was a real shock - 51 centigrade, and truly blinding sunshine. Mainly because the ground is covered in fine gypsum crystals, which are constantly reflecting sunlight upwards. We spent some time outside fossicking for opal pieces, and it was possible to find some pieces. It is a great place to visit which has also been seen in many films, Mad Max and Pitch Black are the ones I remember off the top of my head.

http://www.radekadownunder.com.au

 

[santaman2000]

Sort of. Helene and I stayed there some years back in the Radeka's backpacking hotel. Almost all of the place is underground, dark and cool, as is a proportion of the townhouses. However getting out to the pub was a real shock - 51 centigrade, and truly blinding sunshine. Mainly because the ground is covered in fine gypsum crystals, which are constantly reflecting sunlight upwards. We spent some time outside fossicking for opal pieces, and it was possible to find some pieces. It is a great place to visit which has also been seen in many films, Mad Max and Pitch Black are the ones I remember off the top of my head.

http://www.radekadownunder.com.au

Thanks for that. It's on my bucket list but the probability is slim.

 

[santaman2000]

I've watched several documentaries on Coober Peedy and Lightning Ridge.
Essentially, the families live in the front past of the opal mine.
Just a door in a hillside. They appear to be most comfortable.

Not all mines are created equal so I imagine that the furnishings reflect the miner's luck with the stones.

Sooner or later, you have to go out for groceries, mail and other shopping.
I would melt in that heat.

I may have misread the articles I have seen, but I thought There was a post office underground as well (I know I reads there was a chapel)