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.
.
The Bear Den
.
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.
.
.
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.
.
.
"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.
.
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.
.
 |
| 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.
.
.
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.
.
.
Update:
I found an old website about the home.
.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
