The Bear Den - Underground Survival Home

I've had pictures to this place saved on my computer for ages. It is the ultimate survival home, and I mean ultimate! It's no longer for sale and the listing for it has circled the drain of internet time, although, I did manage to find an old copy of it on a forum.
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The Bear Den
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Strategically located in the awesome San Juan mountains of Southwest Colorado, this patented steel-reinforced concrete earth home was built to withstand almost any natural or man-made disaster you can name. It is more secure, safe, and functional than any conventional house could ever be, yet still has a level of comfort that one might not expect to find in an underground home.

The adjoining vacant 3 acre parcel is also available.

JUST REDUCED $50,000.... NOW ONLY $450,000

Surveillance Camera

Some years ago, the owner of this property had a hunting cabin in another part of Colorado. Beautiful, yes, but the wood construction posed numerous problems. Several "near-miss" incidents made the owner realize how vulnerable the cabin was to any number of disasters and threats. A winter storm, which blew the front door open, might have caused the water pipes to freeze and break, flooding both the upper and lower levels, resulting in many thousands of dollars damage, had it not been discovered in time. A forest fire, which started when a tree fell on the above-ground power line leading to the cabin, came frighteningly close to the wood structure and to within just a few feet of the above-ground propane tanks. A hailstorm necessitated a new roof, a new paint job, and major repairs to the siding. The large front glass windows were spared from damage, but nevertheless were extremely vulnerable. And finally, when the cabin was broken into and many valuable antiques were stolen, the owner decided to look for a safer kind of structure for their retreat, and a better, more remote location.

After spending 2 ½ years studying every kind of alternative home construction, everything from earthships made out of spare tires, to rammed-earth construction, to monolithic domes, he ultimately realized there was only one kind of construction that would afford him the kind of security they wanted: an earth home (made with Formwork's patented thin-shell concrete construction technique). The house he finally built is not just any earth home. It is what has come to be known in the industry as a "secure home." It is an unparalleled model of the ultimate secure home. Its many features will amaze you.

This patented steel-reinforced concrete earth sheltered structure, properly called a thin-shell dome, is built to withstand almost any natural or man-made disaster you can name. And that's not just an idle promise. These buildings have withstood tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes - some measuring close to 7.0 on the Richter scale - and in every case they have come away with no structural damage at all. Unlike monolithic domes, and all other types of home construction, only Formwork's concrete domes can be completely buried deep underground.

The house has 2472 square feet, with an additional 800 square feet in the attached 24' x 36' underground garage. The main floor of the house consists of a large living room, two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen, pantry, and laundry closet. Upstairs is a loft and two multi-purpose storage/sleeping rooms. The house currently has ten beds (that is, beds, futons, and sleeping bunks) in seven different rooms. There is lots of additional space for other cots or bedrolls. It would be very accommodating for an entire extended family during a prolonged national emergency or global crisis. The safe room also has a ¾ bath with shower. A 22' long x 6' wide hallway leads to the garage. This hall is lined on one side with 18" deep shelf units, providing a considerable amount of quick-access storage. The other wall of this hall is a convenient place to store larger items, such as skis, bicycles, or a vacuum cleaner, that wouldn't fit on the shelves. Additionally, a large storage attic is found above the garage.
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The living room's high-domed ceiling gives the room an open, spacious feeling. A custom steel stairway leads from the loft to a cupola perched on top of the house. Light from the cupola gives the same effect as a skylight, but without any loss in security. The four windows in this "lookout" allow for a 360-degree view of the surrounding property.
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"Energy efficient" implies extra insulation and double pane glass windows to most people, but this type of earth home has proven itself to be the ultimate in energy efficiency/heat retention. With no heat at all, the inside temperature will not drop below 50 degrees F., even in extreme, prolonged winter conditions. For comfort, however, there is a Harmon wood/coal freestanding stove, along with a back-up propane heater. In the summer months, the house temperature stays pleasantly cool.

Every appliance throughout the house was specially manufactured for use in solar electric homes. The kitchen has a Sun Frost refrigerator/freezer, a Peerless propane range with "no-glow-bar" oven, and a Staber 2000 clothes washer, while the garage has a chest-style freezer.

A 1,000 gallon underground propane tank is extremely well hidden and protected from potential vandals. The generator, water heater, kitchen range and oven, wall heater, and clothes dryer all use propane, but the large amount of stored propane should supply all of these appliances for a very long time. In an all-out national crisis, it would be a simple matter to heat water with the back-up wood-fired water heater, and to dry clothes with an old fashioned hand wringer and clothesline. Also, as a back-up to the propane range, there is a Stanley-Waterton wood stove and range.
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Joel Skousen, the renowned expert on secure homes, and author of the book "The Secure Home", and editor/publisher of the excellent newsletter "The World Affairs Brief", has laid down a list of what he considers to be essential for self-sufficiency and security. The essentials are: an independent water supply as well as a back-up supply, alternate electrical power, energy efficient appliances, alternate forms of heat, more than one communication option, adequate storage facilities, including cool storage for long-term food storage, fire-resistant construction and the ability to fight a fire inside the house, multiple forms of security and intruder detection, a high-security safe room/fallout shelter, above normal fortification of the house and grounds and a remote location. Joel states that very few people actually achieve 100% of these elements. It's safe to say, this house has it all!

Even though Joel listed remote location last, it is, perhaps, the most important criteria. So important an issue that he wrote a separate book about it entitled, "Strategic Relocation". To build a secure home in the city or even in the suburbs would likely be self-defeating. If however, the secure home is built in a remote location, it then, and only then, can be considered a true retreat. The two, a secure home and a remote location, go hand in hand.

Following the tragic 9/11 attacks, a renewed interest in civil defense and personal preparedness alike has occurred that is unrivalled since the start of the Cold War following WWII. Since then, the need for owning a secure home has taken on a new urgency. For the past two or more years, the news has been full of scary reports about the possibility of bio-terrorism and resulting pandemic.

More recently, there have been reports about the possibility of nuclear terrorism on American soil using suitcase nukes. On December 5th, 2004, CNN had a special documentary about the inevitability of nuclear terrorism. When the controlled secular media is reporting on such a controversial topic as this with such candor, it should be taken very seriously.

Water Spring

The Center for Disease Control, along with the World Health Organization, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Homeland Security have been repeatedly warning us that another flu pandemic, worse than ever before, is bound to occur. In fact, they are now routinely using the word pandemic, instead of epidemic.

To put this prediction into proper perspective it is important to realize that the great Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 killed well over 20 million people worldwide, more people in one year than the Black Plague killed in the entire four years of its outbreak.

Safe Room Door

The government officials are not only worried about a flu pandemic, but also about the possibility that a major smallpox outbreak will happen. In fact, they are so worried about smallpox that, in June of 2001, they conducted a major simulation of a terrorist smallpox attack against 3 American cities. It was named Dark Winter, and it lived up to its name.

Generator

The results of this exercise were grim, to put it mildly. According to the National Security Council, the worst case scenario was that within seven weeks, one million Americans would be dead, many millions others would be sick, and the disease would have spread to 25 states and to 13 foreign countries.

One can only imagine what the results of the Dark Winter exercise would have been if it was done with such an airborn killer virus, instead of just smallpox.
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Safe Room Controls

Air Filter

Many scientists and physicians are telling us that the diseases which have in the past been primarily found in the Third World, or underdeveloped countries, such as the filoviruses Marburg and Ebola, are poised to soon enter the West. When this does happen, newspaper headlines and reports will no longer ignore them nor treat them so casually. With population growth, unprecedented immigration, increased global travel, and the likelihood that terrorists and rouge nations alike now have many weaponized microbes in their arsenals, the possibility of a major international pandemic looms ever closer on the horizon.

So what does the future hold for us with the possibility of future plagues, nuclear terrorism, and even nuclear war? The owner definitely doesn't know the answer to this question. He does know, however, that his house would be a very safe place for self-quarantine during such an outbreak or event. One reason why is because it is equipped with a genuine Swiss-made Luwa nuclear, biological, chemical air filter that will effectively filter out all known bacteriological agents, all known viruses, and even radioactive fallout.
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A secure home like this is the wave of the future, and would be a very wise investment, both practically and financially. A house of such outstanding design, quality, function, and security doesn't appear on the open real estate market very often, if at all. While nobody knows for sure how much time is left before things go awry, one thing is certain; it is better to be prepared a year or more too early, than to be a single day too late.
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Update: I found an old website about the home.
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Build Your Own Log Cabin

Build Your Own Log Cabin

BUILD A Handsome, sturdy and affordable Log Cabin. The log cabin is still a great choice if you want to build your own home. 

BY MICHAEL CHOTINER; Illustrations by Harry Schaare.

Mankind's preference for living in structures made of natural timbers is longstanding and well documented. One story from the rich folklore of log building tells how a Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights insisted, around the year 1500, that a wood structure be built onto his stonecastle to provide a homier place to live. Many log structures built in the same period still stand in Scandinavia, Central Europe and the Balkans.

Each area developed its own distinct methods, from the square hewn log homes of France to the dovetail-joined cabins of Germany. But when all these influences were transplanted to the New World, the Scandinavian style of round logs with bottom-cut corner notches prevailed. Examples of this method can be. seen.across the United States.

Log building has always required a lot of patient, physically demanding work. And for the modem builder, it also requires learning some new skills.

Here's a short course in log building to show you what's involved.

Opinions about log selection and proper cutting season vary with the individual craftsman and the building locale. In general, just about any type of log can be used, as long as it's relatively straight, is around 8 to 10 in. in diameter and has only minor tapering-no more than 2 in., in a 16-ft.-Iong log. Conifers such as pine, fir, spruce and tamarack are preferred because these softwoods are workable, durable and relatively lightweight. Hardwoods, particularly oak can also be used, though their sapwood is highly susceptible to infestation by borers and fungus.

Trees should be felled in early winter. The cooler temperatures make for slower drying time, which reduces log checking, cracking and splitting. It's also easier to haul logs out of the forest over frozen terrain.

The best seasoning method is to air-dry the logs for one to two years-the longer the better. Logs should be stacked off the ground with stickers-smaller diameter logs-placed between the courses. This allows for maximum airflow around the logs and promotes more even drying. You should also partially peel off the bark using a draw knife before the logs are stacked. This will increase their drying rate and cause only minimal cracking and splitting. However, before building begins, you must remove the remaining bark completely. It is a natural habitat for many different kinds of pests.

Many pioneer cabins were built without foundations because they were constructed in haste or meant to be temporary shelter. But a proper foundation is definitely required. Stone foundations traditional, but block and concrete walls are as good, or better, and they require less work.

If you don't want a full basement, you must excavate at least below the frost line, install footings and construct a wall up to 20 in. above grade level. You must also install piers within the foundation walls to support the floor girder. Also, install anchor bolts along the top of the walls to attach the sill. Begin floor construction by hewing or cutting flat the bottom of the sill logs. Then bore holes in the sill logs to accommodate the anchor bolts and install sill sealer or a termite shield according to the local building code. The corner joints are made by bottom notching the logs as shown on page 98. Next, hew flat the top of the girder and install it over the support piers. Join it to the sill with a mortise and tenon joint. Drive 60d nails through the top of the tenon and into the mortise to complete the joint.

In a similar manner, hew or cut flat the top of the joists and install them between the girder and sill logs so they are flush with the top of the girder. Install the subflooring perpendicular to the direction of the joists. Now you're ready to start on the walls.

Many different types of notches can be used to join the logs, but a good choice for the beginning log builder is the technique shown here: the scribe, fit, round-notch method. It features semicircular notches cut in the bottom of the logs to fit over adjacent logs. Also, a V-shaped groove is cut down the length of each log bottom so the entire length can sit flush on the log below.

Although this method is slower than others, the corner joints are self-draining-water running down the outside of the house hits the log tops and runs off, instead of being trapped in the notch. The V-grooves also eliminate air drafts between the logs. The joints between courses do not need chinking, so you can avoid one of the most chronic maintenance problems of log homes: repairing cracked chinking.

Cutting the corner notches is a fivestep procedure.

1. First, roll the log into position and sight along its length to make sure any crown is pointing to the outside of the wall. Try not to use logs that have more than a 1-in. crown per 16 feet of length. Then secure the log with a log dog as shown in the drawing.

2. Scribe the shape of the lower, log onto the uncut log using compass dividers with a pencil or marking crayon inserted in one leg. Rough-cut the notch with a chain saw, then finish it with a shallowsweep, long-handled gouge.

3. Reposition the log, allowing the notch to seat. Then scribe the full length of the underside of the log running the blank leg of the dividers along the top of the lower log. Scribe both sides of the log to yield the two lines which define the V-groove.

4. Cut the V-groove with a chain saw to a depth of 1/2 to 3/4 in. Remove the waste, then roll the log back into position and rescribe the corner notch as well as the log end extending past the notch. (By cutting the V groove, there is now some space between the scribed log and the one below.) Cut the notch to the new scribe line and cut the tail end of the log using a gutter adze. This tool yields a concave groove that is tighter and more attractive at the exposed log ends.

5. Reposition the log, then pick up one end and drop it into place. This is called "thumping" and it will leave compression marks on the parts of the log that still need trimming. Make any necessary adjustments, then pack fiberglass insulation into the groove and roll the log into place. The fiberglass will act as a sort of "internal chinking."

With the notching complete, bore a 2-in. dia. hole about 8 in. in from each corner and insert an alignment peg. The peg should be loose fitting, recessed about 1-1/2 in. below the top of the hole, and extend about halfway into the log below. Install these pegs every 8 ft. in the length of a log and within 1 ft. of each window and door opening.

As you move up the walls, alternate each successive log so that their smaller, tapered ends are not all on one end of the wall. Once the logs reach waist height, cut out the door opening. Brace the logs on both sides. Of course, if your cabin is larger than the one shown here, you'll have several interior partitions. These can either be made with logs notched into the outside walls or with framed walls later on. Notching the logs is preferred because it yields the same interior finish on all walls and strengthens the structure.

When the logs reach the top of your planned window and door openings, brace the walls and cut out all the open ings at once. Then cut a groove, as shown, in the log ends on both sides for a permanent stiffening spline. Cut and insert the spline and then add at least two more logs over the openings. The top wall log is called the plate log and it should be pegged at least every 4 ft.

The roof on the cabin shown is a combination of purlin and rafter construction to give an idea of what's involved with both. Normally, you would use only one. The purlins are set into notches cut in the gable ends; the rafters are notched into the plate log and ridge log.

Once purlins or rafters are installed, apply roofing boards for the roof sheathing. Next, apply 15-lb. roofing felt and either asphalt shingles or cedar shingles.

Finally, pre-assemble all window and door jambs, install them in the openings, and add the windows and doors. Allow 3/8-in. clearance for each vertical foot of opening above the jambs for the logs to settle. The spaces around the jambs should be chinked with okum (hemp and pine tar).

Wash the logs with detergent to remove any dirt, and then with a solution of two parts household bleach to one part water to lift out any stains. Rinse the logs thoroughly with water and let them dry for a week. Then apply a mixture of one part linseed oil to five parts turpentine to the outside of the logs. This treatment should be repeated every five years. PM

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This article is from a Popular Mechanics issue - December, 1983 - and is used without their knowledge or consent. It's a good article and could come in very handy in the future for quite a few folks.

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Related:

How to Build a Log Cabin for Under $500 
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The Homesteading Movement

Something I have been sorta studying about the “homestead movement” is its historical relevancy to the Industrial Revolution.

Click for a link to the picture

The Industrial Revolution changed our view of the economy and social life, especially taking root around the mid-19th Century and coinciding with the explosive growth of urban living, as we specialized our work skills to suit the new economy. No longer were people “just farmers” who knew how to do a bit of everything, like simple blacksmithing – instead we left the farm and specialized our skills – by becoming say an accountant, while leaving other tasks to other specialists. We now think this is normal, but for most of the history of our civilization, this was not the case.

Click for link to pic

Before the Industrial Revolution, the home was the major place of economic production for the vast majority of people. The father was in the field with the sons producing crops while the mother was in the house with the daughters churning butter, preparing food and sewing their own clothes. A seamstress would come to the house once or twice a year, and would help to make clothes for the whole family for the next year – they didn’t go to town and “buy” them, but rather “produced” them themselves, right from the home.

In other words, before the Industrial Revolution, the home was the major place of economic production, rather than the marketplace in the town or village. We abandoned this system with the growth of industry that occurred over the past 200 years, and flocked to the city where everyone is a specialist in something.

Today, however, industry is abandoning the people in favour of cheap foreign workers, or for robots replacing human labour.

It seems to me that the “smart money” would abandon the specialized marketplace and return to making the home a place of economic production as much as possible. It’s a philosophical change as much as physical way of doing things. Not only that, but everything you produce yourself can be “value added” because it removes taxes and other expenses. What I mean is, if I grow $100 worth of vegetables in my garden, I have actually created around $150 worth of “labour value,” because I didn’t have to pay tax on earning the money I use to spend in the marketplace – I would have had to earn $150 in the marketplace, then pay $50 in tax to the government, in order to have $100 for groceries. Thus, the $100 worth of groceries is actually worth $150 in labour. Everything you produce yourself is “removed” from the system, and worth around 50% more than the actual dollar value it represents.

Heh, anyway, I see the homesteading movement as a significant social change taking place. It is responding to a marketplace turned hostile to the average person, and people are returning more to the economic system that was universal before the Industrial Revolution.

510sf Passive Solar Cottage

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I really like this passive solar cottage - it would be perfect for a single guy.
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Bah! I said a single guy!

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Out, woman! Out!

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This little cottage could easily be built along the lines of what is described in the online book, The Natural Home.
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Bricks are manly!
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Plates are not manly.
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Don't need a big wood-stove to heat 510sf.
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It says in the article that the average gas and electricity bill is $6/gas, and $6/electric. I wonder if they can split that into bi-weekly installments, to make it seem more affordable.
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Here's the one thing I do not like about this house - it is built in a quarter circle, so the bedroom goes into a "wedge."
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To me, that wedge is just a waste of space. I'd rather go for a more rectangular shape and make the area more functional. At 510sf, you have to make good use of your space! But, for the rest, I think this is a pretty cool little pad.
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Related Posts:
Current Diggs
The Natural Home - Passive Solar Construction (online book)
510sf Passive Solar Cottage
The Bear Den - Underground Survival Home
Judith Mountain Cabin
. 

Judith Mountain Cabin

This is a really neat little pad. I don't know how suitable it would be for full-time living, but still, it is totally cool! 

Judith Mountain Cabin, AIA - Montana, Design Awards
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View down the valley

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Property Location:
- 113acres, Alpine Gulch in the Judith Mountains, Central Montana
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South and east elevations

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Utilities:
- Two 50 watt photovoltaic panels that provide 12 volt direct current power to outlets, lights and the well pump
- Power allows for a stereo, TV/VCR, running water in the sink, and water to fill the hot-tub
- Composting toilet
- Wood-fired hot-tub
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View to the west

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North and west elevations

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Interesting Materials:
- Recycled corrugated metal roofing from a barn being demolished down the road.
- Recycled beams, flooring and decking from a recently dismantled 80 year old trestle
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View from the east

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Site plan

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North and west elevations

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Lower Level
- Cooking and washing facilities
- Sleeping for two
- Storage
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Ground level floor plan

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Second Level:
- Sleeping for two
- 360 degree views
- Six foot square sky light
- Storage between the floor beams
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Second level floor plan

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Six foot square sky light

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Storage between floor beams

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Related Posts:
Current Diggs
The Natural Home - Passive Solar Construction (online book)
510sf Passive Solar Cottage
The Bear Den - Underground Survival Home
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