I thought this is a neat and well thought-out concept http://www.survivalcondo.com/documents/new_construction.html

if only the price was a little less.

Saw a show by the name of extreme homes on discovery channel where someone actually renovated a silo and made it work. Looked like the biggest challeng would be lighting -windows so you dont get that trapped underground/submarine feeling.

$900,000 for a half unit or $1,750,000 for a full unit, what a bargain. It's a neat concept though. I liked a lot of their ideas such as hydroponics and aquaponics for fresh foods as a backup to freeze dried storage foods.

As mentioned, with it being a used missile silo, they have about a $60,000,000 head start on anyone trying to build something similar from the ground up... Or the ground down as the case may be.

There are things I wonder about though, such as the luxurious nature of some of the amenities. I understand the group that they're trying to attract with these living spaces (just look at the price), but a lot of the equipment is just a drain on resources. Live through the apocalypse in style!

I also question the 50kW wind turbine. Even if it's enough to power all of the systems, a turbine that large is a gigantic sign that advertises the place and would be easily seen from miles around. A wind turbine rated for that much power has 25 ft blades and needs to be at least 100 ft in the air. In a world where such a place might be needed for survival, a lot of folks are going to want that power and the residents are going to have to defend the turbine from underground.

If I were going to put together a similar place I'd go with photovoltaics. Even though I'd need a huge bank of arrays to provide a similar amount of power, I could screen them from ground view with well placed tree groves. It would also be easier for maintenance because the arrays are close to the ground.

You could build a very robust shelter in your own backyard with that budget.

1) Re: T_Co's comment, I think that the best solution for lighting in such circumstances might be a DIY variation on the Solatube idea.

2) Isn't this a little too close to "survivalist" for this site?

Surviving is serious business but this condo idea ...

Scene: Three rich guys in their 20s are a couple of hours into some heavy drinking.

[Billy] "Guys - I was gonna keep this a secret but I gotta tell ya. I just bought a freakin' missle silo."

[Bobby] "What are ya gonna do with that, idiot?"

[Billy] "I figure I'll build condos in it or somethin' - sell 'em to our friends."

[Bobby] "OK - cool idea - are ya gonna have like jacuzzi's in 'em and stuff?"

[Billy] "Yeah - guns, Kohler bathroom fixtures, everything. Sell 'em as survival places."

[Joey] "Awesome."


Sorry, I couldn't help it.

It was meant a little sarcastically.

There was recently an article in one of the local papers about these silos for sale with land mid $200K - mid $300K. Naturally they are "fixer-uppers", but you got the whole silo and all the land around it. (about 60 acres).

As long as one could do without the natural lighting......

... and as long as one was confident that the targeting coordinates on the other side of the world had been updated ...

Almost spit chocolate milk all over the keyboard on that one...

Seriously though, if it's real, it looks to me like a group project Darwin award in the making. For zombie attack survival, it's a one dimensional version of the Maginot Line sans artillery. This didn't work out well for the French. For "routine" survival, it looks a lot like a chimney buried underground.

Or maybe it's a plot by the government to make the survivalists easier to find and bury? (kidding! I'm just kidding! Besides, I believe all of the army's armoured D9's are in Iraq. )

Not kidding about it looking incredibly dangerous, though.

I like that project anyway. If only it has a portable nuclear plant instead of the other 3 options it would be just perfect.

It did have one in the past, but it was not "sustainable".......

Wow! Perhaps it was an old model, which required a lot of water to waste?

IIRC, it was the "Turnkey Solution" model from M.A.D. Systems.

Yep.

Some were portable, but it was really inefficient for long term power.

Now if you only needed a short burst..........

Sorry, can't google anything about that solution. Any links? I have in mind something like this: http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/36758

Wikipedia
Wiki 2
wiki 3



Like I said, it was only good for a short term burst of energy.....

Well heck, I thought it was funny.

I see what you mean now Duh, despite the U.S. was the pioneer of the private nuclear energy business legislation, the people are still living in the cave age fear of the progress.

Japan is the only hope of humanity again: http://www.nextenergynews.com/news1/next-energy-news-toshiba-micro-nuclear-12.17b.html

More fresh news: http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C-Toshiba_expects_33_reactor_orders_by_2015-2205083.html

And now there's tea all over my screen.
Totally worth it, though!

-Blast

Maybe this will help.

Two big advantages. First, it's multi-purpose - Both a fire starter and signalling tool. Second, it answers the whole spot vs PLB question once and for all.

On the down side, I can imagine someone complaining "This is NOT what we meant by 'leave no trace'."