Building an Underground Bunker? Avoid These Mistakes!

If you're even _thinking_ about building your own bunker underground, watch this first!! In this video, I'm sharing with you some of the major mistakes I made when I was building my underground bunker.

This DIY bunker is really cool if I do say so myself, and I wanted it to be perfect... but the truth is, I made some big mistakes that ultimately cost me a lot of money and time. I kind of schemed this build a bit by watching doomsday preppers here on YouTube. Even though I think it would definitely be valuable as a doomsday bunker, my main intention for this underground bunker was simply for it to be a tornado shelter for my family to feel safe in during bad weather.

This video is for anyone who is thinking about constructing an underground bunker – whether you're a beginner or an experienced builder. I'll share with you the mistakes I made so you can avoid them and build your bunker with confidence!

CHAPTERS
00:00 - Get the right door
01:29 - Washdown area
02:28 - Watch your head!
02:52 - Less storage = more height
03:41 - Impermeable seal
04:46 - Stronger conduit & better drain placement
05:53 - Breather pipes
06:31 - Better quality flooring
07:15 - Not all backfill material is created equal
09:00 - Another exit
09:52 - Use concrete with caution

DISCLAIMER ➙ This video isn't sponsored; some of these links are affiliate links where I'll earn a small commission if you make a purchase - at no extra cost to you. If you do use my links, I really appreciate your support!

#undergroundbunker #bunker #prepper #doomsday

[DR-zjod]

I like how you are honest about mistakes.

[jonathanfriar]

I appreciate the integrity and your willingness to share with others. After listening for the first few minutes; I realized the potential to learn a great deal from you. Thus, you have a new subscriber.

[chasegierman]

Spray foam then shotcrete with helix steel around the out side would be a good cheap alternative for concrete! It’s also help keep it insulated and water tight! And they put pool liner over top and run it down both sides to keep water from even getting to the pipes!

[Nyllsor]

Very cool hearing about how much the compost heated up the room. Intresting!

[gaspartqueiroz]

regarding the "impermeable seal" depending on where you're located it may be easier (and significantly cheaper) to drive the water away from the bunker through trenches, wells and drains. From the footage outside, there seems to be some lower ground you can divert the water to. You can do it now to reduce infiltration to the existing bunker, with the added advantage that it reduces pressure on the walls outside.

[chasegierman]

For air ventilation you should have one pipe out the top for the hot air to leave and a pipe for the bottom for cold air to get it! And it’ll keep the air moving thru so you won’t have to worry about if fresh air is getting in!

[luismaya]

Good information. Very big of you to share your mistakes. Good luck !

[myrealname]

Best impermeable seal for metal is called 7076 stick welding.

[saxonsoldier]

I wouldn't put a wash down inside the entrance. Keep excess water outside. Build a porch next to the door. A simple water barrel set above the porch with a short hose and valve would work. Soap and water work well. Remove everything before entry if contaminated. Leave it outside in bags. Put towels and sweat pants and shirts just inside. Modesty can be sacrificed in an emergency.

[christopherort]

Cool video.

Here's my thoughts
1. My main issue with underground bunkers, is they are underground. That's where a lot of the drainage issues come from.

If you have sufficient area, id do a build up. Not a dig down.

[Richard-C]

i just finish watching your series on the bunker build, nice project, i also noticed the bird cage are you going to show it of when the birds are in it? great video👍👍👍👍👍

[lazytommy]

Whether you build one or not, this seems informative. I learned alot from this thanks :)

[ThoneJones]

Even with your mistakes, I thinks it’s awesome. I love the idea. How much did you spend on it?

[AlexLuthore]

You should have put a spray foam insulation on the exterior and shockcrete that so ypu have a few inches of concrete. Then layer on more concrete to smooth the surface and spray the final surface with a rhino truck liner that is rated for chemicals. This would waterproof the whole thing from above with an umbrella to shed water away. Then when you bury/backfill you need a lot of gravel and french drain pipes covered with liner. Run thos at regular intervals so the water sheds away from the structure. As for the fans, you'll want a good ventilation system and dehumidifier combo throughout. Power it with a combination of small wind turbine and solar so its off grid. That will fight any humidity from people breathing in the space.

The idea being you need to manage humidity in a way that's on steroids for a typical basement. All the basement issues people have are going to be multiplied by 100 in these things. You need to insulate the walls from the temperature difference of the ground so that condensation doesn't form. You need to repel as much water as possible from coming into contact with the structure by both water proofing it with some kind of umbrella and taking drainage techniques to over engineered overkill to push water away (building on high ground helps too). And you need to deal with all the humid air people and their activities push into a space (breathing, cooking, showering, washing, sweating, etc). Either mechanical venting for air exchange and dehumidifiers with piped drains or passive ventilation and also dehumidifiers. Which also means securing reliable power to feed the mechanics.

Think of it like a buttoned up sub and all the stuff people have to do to keep a sub livable underwater.

[SamsLiberty]

I would scrape a couple feet of soil and dig a trench around the bunker then run a pond liner before backfilling to keep water from infiltrating the soil near that bunker.

[drunkwoodswyllia]

Nice bunker brother!! I getting ready to attempt one just about like this one! Thanks for sharing your knowledge

[kenreynolds]

I used a pvc core LVP from Home Depot in our below grade basement. We had a bathroom leak and lots of water got under the flooring. Just ran a heater and a dehumidifier for a few days and no smell or buckling or squishy water noises. So much better than the mdf core.

[brianreynolds]

You can put that 100-year rubber sealer on it but the 100-year ice and water shield you have to make sure that you put it on correctly if you touch it it will not come up

[AOT-offroad]

Great video! nice work talking through improvements! Awesome content

[Jamieclarke]

I like the tar idea since that’s used on a lot of icf homes Ryan with some luck you might have some bits of cuilvert pipes come into the landfill you could test out a few different theories on waterproofing 👍 love the concrete blocks they look amazing do you have any videos of how they are done? Thanks for sharing with us