How about bugging out in my own home?

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Consider putting security film on your windows. Have supplies for building a barricade for exterior doors. You will probably need to put peep holes in the plywood on windows to see out. Keep all your equipment stored away so that you don't draw attention to your property. If you can, store fuel and water tanks underground. If it is just the two of you, you might consider having another couple stay with you to help keep watch. You would have to find someone that brings skills to the table and who would be willing to add to your preps that are stored in the basement. Make sure you have binoculars. Night vision would be great so that you could see someone approaching at night. Put rain barrels on your decks so that you have a water source and wouldn't have to leave the house to get water. You can run a water house with a sprayer on it into the house. You sound like you have a nice setup. I'd stay put unless I have no choice.
 
Our house is miles and miles from town so I am hoping that the hoards won't get here either. Besides, where could we go without getting even more vulnerable. Where we live food does not grow well and you can't live on the land without supplies. When I asked for a book on edible growing plants in the area they said that a study was done and it would take five hundred miles of land to get enough wild grown plants for one person to eat. So why would anyone venture out in the dry mountains when home would be a safer refuge? I know that the most determined person can get in no matter what we do, but even if they do they will face some lead.
 
Nothing is full-proof, but plywood is certainly better than nothing.

I'm with the others saying to bug in. Nice idea on the hidden door. What are you guys doing for water?

Is plywood on those upper windows feasible? I'm also with those supporting iron bars for lower windows. They can be decorative, but it is EXTREMELY expensive. We have them on our shop window, but that's it. I'd love to do more windows this way though.

Consider putting security film on your windows
An excellent suggestion here.

Also, think about the security of your front door (which I'm assuming is far more accessible?). There are lots of ways to reinforce this.
 
Start with a fence, if possible 100yds from home or put fence at a place where topo would make fence even harder to breach. Another idea is plants that bite or let you know you need to ''wait a minute''. Build shutters that have an pleasant look but could stop small arms as well as high winds and hail. Get 4 legged alarm system for in and out of home. Or you could get geese or Guinea's they will let you know if you have any intruders. Donkey's not only would they warn you of intruders 2 or 4 legged kind. Donkey's also will attack dogs and coyotes to protect your other small stock. That's a few ideas, if you would like more permanent or more ... Contact me on a private mail. Good luck sounds like you have a wonderful start
 
keep going Mr. Doc Pops...
you have great ideas so far...i appreciate hearing more of them :) Please
 
We plant rosebushes under all of our windows for security, beauty, and medicinal purposes. :) To get in the house, you'd have to go through a minimum of two fences, three in some places (and sometimes, the electric is on)).
All external doors are solid oak and have deadbolts and top/bottom bolt locks as well. In addition, the shop door is metal (though looks like an ordinary wooden door), so good luck there. Windows have security film (mostly for storm protection).
 
You could also get lexan and mount a few inches in front of windows to let air in but keep projectiles out natural or man made. 1/2" inch is minimum thickness. As I have said! Please contact me on security issues on back pages or mail. This is for your security and mine.
 
my greatest fear is fire. Like Molotov cocktails or explosives

All you can really do there is try and limit how close they can come to your structures. Comes back to fencing and having ways to detect an intruder as they get closer.
 
The iron bars on windows sounds really good for the smaller windows but our upper floor in our "round" house, (12 sided but looks round) has huge plate glass windows in it. I think the plywood from the inside reinforced by 2 x 4 s would be ok. Nothing is perfect. We also have a trap door in our living room floor that goes into the basement. It is covered by carpeting that can be lifted up. But the best thing will be the hidden door that will actually be a wall that we can move to get into the basement where our store is. Our house is built in such a way that you cannot tell there is a basement and our dry weather here assures us that nothing will mold. Everything is stored in air tight plastic containers. Our water can be accessed by our well but we will have to use our generator to run it if the power goes off. There is water going in to the basement underground so we are in a perfect place. Or, I should say, as perfect as we can get with what we have. Oh, sure, I would love to have one of those underground bug out places they show on TV on Doomsday Preppers but who has millions to spend on that?
 
I think the iron bar suggestion was just for the lower windows (that would be mine). Too impractical for the above ones.

I think the plywood from the inside reinforced by 2 x 4 s would be ok

Make sure to leave some gun ports (and I'd recommend a small cinder block wall against the plywood under those gunports) and viewports (maybe use a metal grate there). These things you could have stored, so not out until needed.

Our water can be accessed by our well but we will have to use our generator to run it if the power goes off

May want to rig it solar if you can (I have the same dilemma so looking to do the same solution). Also, there is a specially shaped bucket you can use for modern wells in an emergency. It's only like $15, so may want to get one.

Check into making your basement into a fallout shelter. Hardly anything is needed to do so, since most of it is already done. Have you made secret doors before? I've helped on a few, and will be putting my own in next month, so feel free to message me if you have any questions. I'm certainly far enough away from you to not be knocking on your door, hehe....

Oddly, my secret door is really more about clever storage and taking advantage of the house design, than really needing it to be secret, but since it lends to it, I figured "why not?". Always wanted one of my own after helping build a few. Mine will be a classic bookcase one (need the book storage). I've helped build and install a couple of wall panel ones, a secret closet room, and a large painting door (which is cool, but a pain to remember to step up and over).

Sounds like you'll be using your door a lot (since your basement), so a big design concern for you is going to be to not leave evidence of the door's motion. If the door can open IN to the room, that is really the best way (as you don't care if there's a path in the hidden room).
 
It sounds like your hidden door is a good one. Unfortunately, I don't have room in the area for a book shelf. My husband is having some trouble figuring out how to do the "wall" but we will get it done if I have to do it myself. Yes, the motion of the door going in and out can be a problem but I believe that if we make it just a little higher than the carpet it won't make any marks. Then the molding can go over it and unless you are looking for a trap door, you won't see it. Getting him to do it is another story. I am ready to start.
Thanks for all of the great ideas. I appreciate them, especially the ones about the cinder blocks over the wood panels on the large windows and the holes for guns to stick through.
God bless.
 
Glad to help. If the carpet DOES start to show the motion of the door, another idea is to cut out that area of carpet (to the size of the mats you get), and buy a bunch of the same rugs to lay in the carpet opening, (a bunch so you can periodically replace). ;) A true secret door is only valuable if it STAYS a secret.... With ours, it's on tile, and will be holding books, so has it's own challenges. Don't want to show the path (and has to open out, no choice), so I'm opting for an actual soft rubber wheel to hold it up on that side, and prevent scuffing the tile. Another trick is painting it black (which makes it hard to tell where the bookshelf bottom is vs. shadow). The catch? a fake book of course. :) I'll definitely post pics when I get it up and done. I'm really hoping to do it next month.
 
Well, feel free to hit me up for advice. If you don't want to share with all, just use the conversation feature of this site.
I have friends who are or were amateur and professional illusionists too, so I learned a few things from them about misdirection and fooling the eye, that can be applied to such projects too. ;)

Note, after you get it all constructed, you will want to repaint the room, molding and all, that way, no differences to detect.
 
Thanks, I did send the information about the walls and room to you, I thought on this site. It may be kind of confusing, because everyone who comes into our "hallway" in the middle of the house and sees five doors gets confused at first. I think I sent it either to this conversation or another I had with you.
 
Not in the inbox (conversation) so must be another thread?

Though I do recall the details from one thread (or this one) of what you were trying to do. I think the molding idea is a good one. Just be sure it's even with the surrounding molding. What about the top of the wall? Crown molding is a similar solution, if not there already. Also, you have to think about a handle and if it will lock (or bar from the inside, etc.). If there's any way to do a peep-hole and camouflage it, that's a good idea also (like a false smoke alarm).

First couple of weeks in our house, we'd often get stuck in a particular hall. Guests still do. It's a decent-sized place, and while not a different "wing" from the outside, effectively it is inside, and dead-ends at two bedrooms and a bathroom.
 
Maybe you might want to add a dummy light fixture. It can hold the handle and at the same time have a peephole built in.
 
like someone said earlier i would think about getting a couple more people to help with securing the parameter when your asleep or for that matter 3-4 couples
with your husband having military background in making bombs and other devices your have an advantage
also id advise you get someone in with you with medical training (military or doctor) because you will get hurt weather its a gunshot, broken leg, or any other injuries)
id also plant a garden to help with prepping and the horderes can go for your garden instead of your food (stash them while u can)
id advise you to have your husband teach the other men and women if they like to about tactics (building sweeping, defensive tactics, and all the fun stuff also no im not military but i like to learn about that stuff)
also id advise having a security system so you can see where intruders are and tell the person on watch where they are
get a ham radio and a ham radio liscence so you can see how the situation in other stats/countries are

thats all i can think of right now
 

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