Building an eco-friendly bunker

A bit of a departure from our usual fare, here’s something for the survivalist in all of us and especially for those folks lucky enough to have some land, preferably in a rural area. — Ed.

Most of us have a proverbial “plan-B,” or at least a rough idea of how we would protect ourselves and our families in the event of an emergency. Having a temporary safe haven is at the top of the list. However, before you start, it’s important that you know how the project is impacting the environment, as construction can leave a heavy carbon footprint if you don’t take the necessary measures to minimize it.

Fortunately, there are green and eco-friendly options available to you. In three phases, you can construct a sturdy, safe and environmentally-sound backyard shelter to protect you and your loved ones in case of an unexpected crisis.

Phase 1: The hole

This is the easy part. To build a shelter, the first step is digging a hole that is at least 10 feet deep—20 feet if you’re one to err on the side of extreme caution. Though it is possible to dig your own hole the old fashioned way (i.e. with a shovel and manpower), a more efficient means of moving that much soil would be to rent machinery like a backhoe or excavator. Doing so will turn days of digging into a Saturday afternoon project.

Phase 2: The walls

After clearing the space for your bunker, you have to reinforce it. Normally, this is where the construction of your shelter would negatively impact Mother Nature: the most common material used to line and seal structures is concrete, but traditional concrete is mixed with cement, making it an environmentally unsound material. Why? Three reasons: production wastes energy, it is fossil fuel-intensive, and its manufacturing is one of the top offenders of carbon dioxide emissions (aka greenhouse gas). Additionally, making cement requires aggregate materials like stone and sand from quarries, further depleting natural resources.

Luckily, fly ash, a by-product of power plants that burn coal, can be recycled and mixed with lime and water to form a cement-like material. AshCrete is another concrete substitute composed of recycled fly ash, borate and bottom ash. Use these alternatives for the interior walls and the floor of your bunker for a smaller carbon footprint than standard concrete. If you can reinforce the walls with steel, do it. A shelter wall reinforced with steel has up to 20 times the compressive strength of an average cement wall.

Before you fill and slate, remember to leave openings for air filtration and waste elimination. You will need at least two air vents that exit at the surface. The vents can easily be concealed with foliage from the surrounding area. You’ll also require a filtration system and replacement filters, especially if you are planning to build a shelter to hold you and your family for months at a time.

Phase 3: The roof

The materials you use to construct your shelter’s roof will depend entirely on your needs. If security is first and foremost, a ceiling comprised of the fly ash composite used for the walls would certainly keep storms, trespassers and animals out, but if you plan to be in the bunker for an extended period of time, a green roof may be more your style. Green roofs, tiles made from organic, live greenery, offer excellent insulation, monitor temperature, and even soak up water during storms, which you can then filter for drinking water.

The above information is at least enough to get you started. By constructing an eco-friendly survival shelter, you ensure the safety of your family in case of emergency, while still respecting Mother Nature.

Jayme Cook loves DIY projects and previously worked in the home building and construction industry. Jayme studied writing in Wales, UK and is now an English instructor living in Phoenix, Arizona.

– Jayme Cook, Transition Voice

6 Comments on "Building an eco-friendly bunker"

Makati1 on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 7:05 am 



Transition… smansition. More hopey, dreamy, crap. There is not one American in 10,000 that could begin to build this ‘shelter’, even if they had the perfect location, permits (ain’t gonna happen), and tools and materials.

In most locations a 10-20 foot deep hole is going to fill with water from seepage. And water from drains/sewage flows only downhill unless you have a pump. Oh, and the sides will collapse unless they are properly reinforced which you better know what you are doing if you don’t want it to be your grave when the sides collapse tons of rubble and dirt on your family after a rain storm. Jayme better hire a good lawyer if he/she give advice like this to the unskilled..

ghung on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 7:52 am 



Fly ash needs to be carefully used since it contains all sorts of nasties.

paulo1 on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 7:57 am 



Our water table dropped down to about 2′ below surface this spring. Highly unusual. I had to chuckle at this one.

Bob Owens on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 2:06 pm 



I really don’t see this as a very good idea. If you want to protect against Mother Nature you can re-enforce your garage or a room in your home with a lot less effort and expense. No building permits should be needed for that. If you want a Doomsday bunker, this would work tolerably will for a day or 2. With a hurricane proof door and a couple of small arms you would be very secure. Anyone bothering you would move on to easier pickings. In a Doomsday scenario working with your neighbors would be a good plan. A small network of people ready to come to each other’s aid is a lot better than a bunker. Please, people, think these things through and then execute a plan that makes real sense for your situation.

Davy on Tue, 17th Mar 2015 2:13 pm 



Bob, what could be more fun for all of us then letting that little kid in us dig a hideout. Other than that not much use except for a hideaway from the fascist police or a roving band of mad maxathoners. Maybe they will pillage the farm and not find the bunker. I got a place to go myself.

James A. Glasscock on Wed, 25th Mar 2015 3:50 pm 



In a dry climate, as in West Texas, the Panhandle, and the desert Southwest, this
shelter idea has merit. I do not foresee a problem with ground water unless one builds the shelter in a draw or playa lake, which is not likely.
I am sure the shelter would serve well during a tornado, too.
Sounds feasible and reasonable.