Hurricane-proof House

[vdubbs]

For one, an address farther inland.

[Cato]

Dr. Evil's lair with attached Big Boy escape rocket?

[c_kubie]

This should be a good discussion.

My suggestions are

1. A moat made up of Weber grill burners. Anyone trys to get accross, you instantly BBQ there ass.
2. Rifle tower, lots of amunition. (5 bullets for each member of surrounding population)
3. two of each animal to restart population. (preferably opposite gender).
4. Tele-porter to escape. If you go with a tunnel, it would be flooded. If you go jet pack, the guy across in his castle will snipe you from his rifle tower. (Check e-bay for a cheap teleporter.)
5. Seperate ecosystem/ oxygen supply - As ecoli and other diseases break out, you don't want to be breathing this stuff.

I like the three little pigs idea. Make sure you don't talk to the first two.

[Phil Scott]

Tilt up concrete walls with rebar from slab foundation... foundation anchored with 24" diameter deep piles at each corner.

Flat metal storm roof under the mostly decorative pitched roof. The storm roof would be poured concrete at 10'.. actual ceiling in the house would be at 8' or 9'.

Glass would be tempered 1/2" glass. Steel shutters outside.

Doors would be heavy metal, tight sealing that swing out, not in.

Generator would be propane powered (because it stores well and doesnt cloggup the generator carb while sitting idle)...Id have two smaller gen sets..rather than one large one. one very small honda silent generator.

Sump in the middle of the slab, slope slab to drain 1/8" per ft. fit a small little giant sump pump in the sump, powered by the small generator.

Optionally: Put all this on stilts with fold down stairs.

What not to have. Bay windows facing the storm surge. or sliding doors if you are at ground level..for views and nice living have wide decks, enclosed with AC or open.. around the house those will be sacrificed in a storm. Dont build 20' below sea level. or lower than you are willing to have pilings to compensate.

Escape: keep an aluminum boat in the garage and a motorcycle with 150 mile range on a tank of gas.

Costs: You can make the secure core as small as want. Many people could have paddled out on 4" thick sheets of styrofoam available at home depot. Anyone could keep a sheet of that around.

Phil Scott

[David]

swap the tempered glass for bullet-proof. I've broken tempered glass patio doors. It's not that hard.

[Paul Kierstead]

Perhaps a change of goverment or country is what you really need then.

[GeeDubb]

Add Composting toilets, solar electric power and a large water storage tank (3000+) Dome type concrete construction with garage on bottom with water flow through capability (open doors to let storm surge through) oh wait, I saw one of these on Discovery channel already built in Florida. Built to withstand over 300 mph winds.

Gary

[Notan]

"It's not that hard."

A little play on words, David?

Notan

[Chris]

Asking the "Three Little Pigs" comes to mind. That is of course if they are still around.

[bridger]

iisn't new orleans on a sand bar? make it too heavy and it will just sink when the ground gets saturated. a bunch of buildings did that on sand fill in san francisco during one of the big earthquakes.

[Robatoy]

Didn't one of them go to market?

[Notan]

And, while building it off the ground, to get out of harm's way of the water, aren't you exposing it to more potential wind damage?

Notan

[Amun]

100% Hurricane Proof homes here.

Just add a good weather-radio and make sure the tank is always full.

AMUN

[Lee Michaels]

A ferro cement geodesic dome.

[Upscale]

A $10,000,000 budget.

[Notan]

That thought, too, crossed my mind.

Underground would prevent *all* wind damage, but the house would have to be 110% waterproof/watertight, and have some type of above-ground ventilation system.

Notan

[Chris]

Yes, but he was looting, so it was ok.

[David Sizemore]

The wise man woulb build his house upon the rock., and make it outta concrete.

[Charlie Self]

The English were using concrete boats in 1910 or so, and a Frenchman patented a wire reinforced concrete boat in 1847. It wasn't exactly a stoner physic student's brainstorm.

[Notan]

While the wording *is* a bit ambiguous, I think he probably meant, not at the bottom of a mountain, whose base is at sea level.

Notan