Underground House

[ExSoldier]

We're already contemplating our retirement home. We'll be buying acreage and building our dream home in the form of an earth sheltered home: http://www.daviscaves.com http://www.formworksbuilding.com/ and we might put up a couple of small earth sheltered cabins on the property and rent them seasonally. ZERO maintenance. But when we do build OUR home, I have already determined that we're going to build a large walk in safe with a VAULT DOOR that can be opened from the inside just in case (LOL). The walls are all heavily rebar reinforced concrete and this should work really well. You can get stand alone vault doors from Fort Knox Safes among others. I'm a "secret area" nut so there will also be other secret rooms...one perhaps to house a bar for parties and a hidden back exit with tunnel to get out if things get too hot. Most of my secret stuff will not be on the plans filed with whomever the "controlling legal authority" happens to be.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Euclidean]

That's pretty much the only way to get true security: build a reinforced room from the get go and hide its entrance. I did entertain the notion of getting an old soda vending machine, gutting it, and using that, but that's more trouble than it's worth.

Essentially all I am accomplishing is keeping honest people honest and inept criminals away from immediate access to firearms. But all things in good time I suppose.

I don't plan on keeping an oxy acetylene torch next to the safe or advertising I have any guns either. None of my choices are going to be defeated by someone without good safe cracking skills who's just using common hand and power tools. It's like locking your car door. No, it doesn't keep your car from being stolen or vandalized, but if yours is locked and the one next to yours isn't, guess which one is getting stolen?

[Bumper]

We have a guy near us that has a huge house on 5 acres surrounded by an orange grove. Has a big swimming pool out back and a horse lot and barn at the back. He built (he's a builder) an underground passage that goes from the house to the back of the lot where he has a firing range under the horse lot. To get there, you open a release that lets you move a big kitchen cabinet like a door and go downstairs. He keeps his guns and a supply of food, water and other emergency supplies. He's a Mormon so he is encouraged to keep a year's supply of food on hand. It's a really cool house completely surrounded by a big cinder block wall and a controlled entry gate. Passing by, he has two dobermans that are frequently out running the property. It's pretty nice place.

[Bud White]

There are a few houses like that here really neat wouldnt mind to have one myself

[F350]

Hate to put a fly in your ointment, but.....
Unless you can build it out of pocket you are likely to have trouble getting any financing. During the OPEC oil embargo "earth contact" houses were all the rage but today many banks are real reluctant to loan money for this type home. I would like either a log home or an "earth contact" for retirement and have been looking int it.