Tips for bunkering in

Great post Beck!

My first question would be, Are you renting or do you own?

Suggestions will vary based on your answer

Hi Wayne

We own it. It is a 1950's post war house that the previous owners bricked in during the 80's. So a solid house. Fencing wise, it is not that secure, which is the part that worries me. We have nice 6ft wooden fence for some sections, and wire the rest. I've been trying to convince hubby we need to continue with the wooden fence but our neighbour is elderly and a) can't contribute to the cost and b) won't entertain the idea of us needing to remove trees/shrubs on her side in order to replace the fence. Not nice to say, but I have been waiting for her to pass on, so I can get agreement with her estate lol

In addition to our house, we do have a separate brick garage and office area, as well as a 2 car garage. None are linked directly to the house. The house itself is very solid - all the windows have decorative iron bars (thanks to previous owners) except the ones on our newly converted verandah - which have the std security screens on windows that open. Due the house being raised slightly, you can only see in via the old verandah area, so I'm thinking we should store thick plywood to board up those windows if needed?

Which does raise the question - in a EOTWAWKI situation where you do have to bunker down, would boarding up or covering windows simply draw attention that you have something to hide (or more to the point, something you don't want to share?).

Hmm wondering if I would be better to disable the front stairs instead as the rear door has better protection (solid iron bar screen door + solid timber door). Any ideas on how to disable stairs that are brick/concrete?

Hi Beckles, some good responses to your question mate and the house could be made defensible, but the main problem you have is location. 2 minutes from a major highway headed west is refugee central when TSHTF. I personally would bug out immediately (depending on situation). After a TEOTWAWKI event, I would say you may have 4-7 days to get out of dodge. that's when the sheeple will realise that help isn't coming, or they will have moved into "aid centres" etc. those people that don't move into these will head away from the city/town scavenging as they go. most will follow the major arteries out of town and remain close to major roads, scavenging out to a radius of 2 kms to begin with/in the early days after such an event, then further as time passes. between the initial 4-7 days, people will easily be scared off with a dog, loud commanding voice, but after 2-3 weeks, your simply a target. Yes, boarding your doors/windows in the beginning will be effective, but (as the human is a social animal) after a while sheer weight of numbers will win. And those that you scared off in the first week, will be back with more intent, knowing that you have something they don't.

You say the house is raised...cut a hole in the floor and create a trapdoor leading under the house (covered with a mat) have your BOB's under there in case the house is lost, and a padlocked exit...(padlocked from the inside) so that you can get away. its a hard decision mate, I understand that, just some friendly advice.
Nerd

Hi all, interesting points on all counts but I actually disagree with the idea of boarding up windows and such for several reasons.

If you have no option but to hunker down and stay where you are then you really need as much visibility to the outside as possible. You need to be able to see whats going on in the world around you to stay alert and be responsive to any potentially dangerous events unfolding nearby. If you've got your windows boarded up, you cant see anything. Granted other people can see you but its reasonable to assume that in a SHTF situation most people would have evacuated to higher (safer) ground which leads to my next point.

Boarding up your windows and doors is a clear sign that there is something behind them worth keeping safe - there's no use in locking an empty safe. Most people wont have the foresight to do that so to an outsider or potential marauder looking for supplies a house with boarded up windows is ripe for the pickings - all he needs to do is crack that nut open and he'll get the goodies inside. If you think you can defend you home against that - think again - you cant see him because your damn windows are boarded up....

Also if you do somehow become aware that someone is trying to enter your property and decide to defend it there's nothing stopping them from starting a fire and smoking you out - this is especially dangerous for houses that are raised because someone starting a fire under the house would go relatively unnoticed until its probably too late. At that point boarded up windows limit your exit points - if you do HAVE to leave your house for some reason you cant just bust a window open and jump out - you MUST go by one of the two exits which can easily be covered by your assailants.

I assume that you're no pacifist and have no ethical opposition to defending yourself so i say this.

Guns, ammo and lots of it. If you want security that's your only surefire (pardon the pun) answer. Naturally you have to have your fences and other standard household security sorted but you need to be prepared for an actual incursion and the only way to do that in a lawless society is by putting a firearm in someones face. Getting firearms in Australia is not easy but well worth the trouble.

For today - Think burglar protection!  Your main aim is to slow down and persuade people doing the wrong thing into looking for an easier target. 

Door strength. 
Doors are pretty easy to kick in, even easier with a weighted device.  Whilst with enough time any door can be broken down by ramming it, you can slow people down by replacing all of the screws in the hinges and particularly the door jam and striker plates with much longer ones.  With some basic handy-person skills you can do it for only a few bucks.  A tip, replace the screws one at a time so you don't have to re-hang the door which can be a pain.  Adding deadlocks is also a good idea.  Having a security door again, another good addition as then they have to get through 2 doors. 

Windows
The most obvious weak point to entry to any home.  Anyone with a large rock or brick, piece of wood, whatever, can open up a hole into your house with little effort.  If you put tape on the window, your neighbours wouldn't even hear the glass breaking.  Ideally we get window shutters of some description on all of your windows, most allow themselves to be partially open so get light through and obviously through the day open them up.  Bars are an option, though escape is just as important as defense and once you have bars up there, 'you' can't get out either.  Strengthening the locking for the windows and impeding the non-breaking opening are also good ideas

Lighting
Burglars and no-gooders don't like to be seen, so lighting up your back/front yard to them kind of reduces their interest.  You can get solar powered LED lights which would be good with or without power and cost nothing to install if you can put in a few screws. 

Force protection
Kitchen knives in the knife block, knife under the bed, knife near where you spend your free time.  You could tape one under the coffee table in the lounge room for instance.  Having some kind of protection nearby at all times is very unlikely to be necessary, though if you need it, you have it and don't have to fumble around looking for it.

Fences
A wire fence [especially if tall] has distinct advantages in that you can see what's happening on the other side of the fence!  Criminals are looking to conceal their movements as much as possible, a wire fence allows you to see them.  Fences unless they're very high and difficult to go through only help criminals.  The downside in SHTF might be that vegetable garden you've got going in full bloom. 

Thorny bushes
Having roses or similar under windows can help slow and impede entry.  The more thorns the better!  Hawthorne bushes [apparently] have some of the nastiest spines of all, but anything would do, even cactus. 

Entry detection
Lights as above a form of entry detection as is door/window alarms to both scare off and make you aware of entry if you're home

Dogs/geese
Good sized dogs [2 is better] have a deservingly good reputation at keeping people at bay and protecting their pack, the main use is in alerting us, a dog that barks at people knocking is perfect, they'll do the same when people are scaling fences.  Obviously some dogs aren't as protective as others, are a potential strain on resources SHTF.  Geese are actually similar in that they warn and protect the flock and will chase people off!  They're not as big and don't have the bite, though they do provide food and eggs.  Both 'may' be appealing as food.

Tiled roof
It's pretty easy to lift a few tiles and get into a home and enter though the man-hole.  Adding some locks to the inside will slow people down, though you could just smash through the plaster.  Obviously you could also make a storage area up there [which has it's day-to-day uses] putting some flooring down to make the space usable.  Not good for storing food as it gets hot in the roof. 

Shtf prep
There's a couple of principles that apply, you want to be like the 'grey-man', that is not appealing or noticeable so you throw dead animals in the driveway, broken furniture, rubbish etc to make your house look like it's emptied.  This is good for keeping looters guessing and away but makes you appealing to people seeking refuge so a balance would be the go, looking like the place was looted and you're the looters  

Barbed wire - String it on the top of your fences to slow down people climbing over it.  Same goes for pathways to entry, you want to slow as much as possible. 
Broken glass - Same thing as above.
Boarding up  - Have some yellow-tongue flooring [water resistant] preferably cut to the right size [and labelled] on all of your windows by driving a coach bolt [rounded head] right through your brickwork into your house through the stud will defiantly slow down people.  You can do similar with metal roofing and some framing timber.  Obviously window shutters are better but this though having an option here is a good idea as windows are the weak point!
Blend in - looking like where you neighbors are at is a pretty good idea, so having a freshly mowed lawn wouldn't be a good idea as would piling rubbish bags full of cans out the front when nobody has food.
Neighborhood watch - Getting along with your neighbors now is a good idea because you can work together to protect one another in case of some kind of situation.  Ideally you get whole streets together so you can work on protecting the area, leaving more resources on the important things like growing food in every nook and cranny/park and lawn.