Shipping Container Bunker

Bunker

Bunker-Interior

Bunker-Interior-2

Bunker-Bedroom

Bunker-Floorplan

((Note: This design has not been structurally engineered nor approved for construction of any kind. This is merely a representation of a design idea. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BUILD!!))

Everywhere you research the idea of burying a shipping container tells you that it's a bad idea. These containers are designed to support structural loads at the corners, and not along the sides so putting them underground is a recipe for disaster, as they most likely will suffer from collapse along the side walls. However, how could it be done, if one really wanted to. First of all this design could be built exactly as it is without the need for a container, however, it wouldn't provide you with the steel shell that many blast bunkers require. So how could it be done. What follows is my idea for completing this task. A reminder, I am not an engineer and do not claim to be one. I recommend anyone attempting to do this consult with a licenced structural engineer and follow standard building practices, don't take short cuts, it's not worth the risk.

First of all, if you want to do this, you would want to do it right. Which would require the need to reinforce your container. Welding angle iron or tube steel up the sides firmly attaching it to the top rail and the bottom rail of the container and tack welding it to the corrugated metal sides should provide enough support to prevent the container from collapsing during the next step. Then I would dig my hole and place my container on a preformed concrete slab, with footings, wider than my container. The idea is going to be to encase the container in concrete to take the lateral load off the container. Anchor your container to the slab be sure and leave rebar up from your footings into the area of your side walls for support.

I would paint the sides of my container with a sealant. Next I would build forms around the outside walls and brace the walls inside my container in an effort to prevent collapse. You then drop in some steel I beams across and down into your concrete forms, over the top of your container. Sized and spaced accordingly so that you can install a Span deck type system later above your container roof. Creating an air gap between your container top and the actual structural roof. This will prevent your container from carrying any load on top. When the prep work is done, I would then pour my side walls making them about 10 inches thick, reinforced with re-bar tied in vertically and horizontally every foot and a half or so. If this process is successful and your container walls do not collapse, I think the hard part is over. Your container is underground. Of course don't forget to run plenty of ventilation up from your container to the surface through your ceiling slab. I would also add extra drainage around my bunker by having at least two drain pipe systems around the outside walls, and I would fill in between my bunker walls and the earth with at least a foot of stone. Drains in your floor slab would also be a good idea. Pouring the top should finish the job, be sure to tie it all together using re-bar and welded wire mesh. Before I covered my bunker with earth, I would seal the top and cover it with a vapor barrier. As well as a stone ballast. Another thing one might consider is sloping the slab slightly to allow any water that does seep into the ground to not simply sit on top of the bunker.

Adding solar panels, a battery bank, water collection and filtration systems, and more could make this bunker capable of housing 4 to six people very easy for several months. Imagine a safe place to live underground for months.

((Note: This design has not been structurally engineered nor approved for construction of any kind. This is merely a representation of a design idea. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BUILD!!))