A periscope would be a nice addition

It was a pleasure having you and your husband come to visit ! Have a great New Year ! Thank you

This hut is inexpensive and serviceable, but I wish someone paid better attention to the interior finishing and arrangement: it feels like a bunker. Relying on mains power is strange,considering how he observes early that being without power was one of the things that spurred him to build it.

That well access penetration really shows how well planned this building is. Very impressive.

"Better Living Underground!" I've been looking into the underground life for years now, just never had the capital to make it happen. Now my economic situation has improved, and am seeking capable budget friendly ideas. Thank you for sharing stuff like this, even if it isn't what I'm looking to do it provides options and information I can use going forward. And every builder of these things has insights and ideas that unique and useful. Heck, if nothing else it is fun to watch. :)

If this gentleman will install one in Arkansas, I think he and I will be doing some business soon. I found his channel a few months ago and realized there was a viable alternative to the overly expensive "concrete box". I love his approach to building these and want one built in the same basic layout. I've spent the last 10-15 years of my working life planning and doing the required "homework" of every kind of underground building / structure type that was even marginally affordable, even to repurposed Atlas E, F, Titan II, and other types of military / govt structures. This was one method I had not even considered viable until I saw his videos and all the things he did to make it viable and less expensive. His practical "no waste no BS" attitude and this design is just what I've been looking for. Especially, the look outside. Hard to tell anything is even there, which is exactly the way I want it. Well done! Great video! This adds "extra sauce" for what I've seen of this site already and just confirms that he and I need to talk....

I was born /raised in tornado alley and saw and picked up more damages from tornadoes than I care to recall. People/towns always rebuilt the same type of home that was destroyed by the tornadoes. Why they don't build under the ground amazes me. They don't need to necessarily build a bunker like the one in this video tries to be. I've seen some (probably on this channel) that offer a "normal" habitat (windows, etc.) and safety from natural disasters.

This thing is well insulated and I like the fact he has so much insulation, shot-crete and water-repelling membrane to ensure that it's impervious and secure.

I agree with David that the water storage should be at a higher level inside so it’s gravity fed and other than “fill-up” time, you won’t have to always work a pump. The interior could use a lot of refinement so it’s more inviting, “homey” and relaxing to the eyes. After the entrance storage hall but before the main “living room” chamber, it would make sense to have an anteroom to leave jackets, hats, muddy boots & footwear at so you don’t track in dirt, dust and wetness.

5:56 Totally agree, it absolutely needs the concrete. i'd seen a video of a guy's Quonset Hut he was using as a shed, the bolted steel looked just like that. It collapsed during heavy snow! They can't handle a lot of load just on their own, gotta concrete it. And shotcrete is really neat anyway, there was some huge Domes built around here that eventually ended up being used as a car dealership. To build them they inflated a giant balloon & shotcreted ontop of it as a form, then once dry they deflate the balloon and the shotcrete remained as a huge arched bubble, it was strong as heck just due to the arched structure combined with concrete's great compressive strength.

Stealth is a mandatory feature of any bunker for me. This is one of the best ones I've seen so far.

High cavernous curved ceilings! I love that. It appeals to the inner Enthrall The Neanderthal in me! If I had the acreage for it, this would be my choice. Living in an underground concrete shoebox would be an option only of you live in the suburbs and really have no choice or space. But even then, it sounds like David can set one up at a better price, in shorter time, and with sounder construction than most. Thank you for sharing this, Kirsten.

I built something sort of similar; although I didn’t build a guest house out of it. I just use it as a root cellar, but it could have been built to be a bunker or whatever it is you have in mind with your guesthouse. I got a bunch of retaining wall blocks; the kind that are used to terrace steep slopes. They are 30”x30”x60” and weight 4400lbs each. I stacked them 3 high and made the inside 15’x20’ with a 5’ long entryway, with a door on both ends. The roof is scrap pipe I managed to salvage, ranging in size from 8-16” diameter. I corduroyed the roof and welded the pipe together. I live north of the 56th parallel, so it’s quite cold here during winter. It maintains temperature without any heating nearly all winter, even when it hits -40 for weeks on end. Of course, it’s made of 110 tons of concrete, plus probably 30 tons of steel, so there’s a lot of thermal mass. I’ve only had it one summer so far, and it stayed pretty cool all summer once I shaded the door. It’s been a wonderful addition to my farm; and my whole community. Many of my neighbors store all their root vegetables in my cellar. After a whole winter (this is the second winter we’ve had it) the vegetable are still firm. Even apples keep inside for months. I built it more or less on my own, with probably less than 40 hours of help from my wife. It took about 300 hours of my labour, plus about 75 machine hours on a 200 class excavator. It probably would have been possible to use a machine as small as 150 class, but that’s about the smallest that would work. Once the structure was built I buried it about 7’ at the deepest areas and 2’ at the thinnest point.

What a great idea, building underground. I live in Texas and I have family living in Oklahoma, and both states are prone to tornados a lot. Living underground, or living in a monolithic dome home are the best types of homes. I heard about a family in Florida who lives in a monolithic dome home, and it has survived the hurricanes which hit that state a lot, while his neighbors see their homes turned into toothpicks. I also heard about a family in California who lives in a monolithic dome home, which survived the wildfires, in fact, they even took in firefighters whonalmost got caught in one those fires, the only thing that they had to do was wash off the soot, and the ones in Florida only had to replace the outside steps. Another good thing about living underground is that a person would not have to worry about unwelcome visitors bothering you, and that is winning situation.😅😅😅😅

I was so confused about the bunker being grid powered and the water tank comment until I reread the description and realized this wasn't the bunker he built for himself, prior to getting into the bunker building industry.

This has been my dream for several years!!!! I love that someone has done it already! I’m not crazy for thinking this is great! The energy efficiency must be amazing

Neat build. I'm looking at this from the beginning thinking, unless it's done right, it won't work. He answered all of my questions one by one. Structure, insulation, condensation, well water, not air filtration though. If this were my place, I'd also plant some trees and bushes to disguise the entry.

The contractor seems to have thought of everything. Impressive

I like it. Very thoughtful with lots of great ideas. I'd like it siting on top of a 4' straight wall so that you have more headroom and usable space especially at the edges.

I've always loved these kinds of homes. Between this and a monolithic house. They're certainly something that should be standardized.

I found that guy that built that very clever and he spoke well I enjoyed watching that Thank you

13 years in the pacific northwest and it's not leaking or moldy is an accomplishment. no worries building something like this in the high desert

With six feet of earth covering the structure, it would only need the addition of a 90 degree corner in the hallway, an NBC air system, and a blast pressure relief valve to be a genuine bunker in case of nuclear attack. The skylights would probably have to go also and the escape hatch would have to house a barrier of six feet of sand to keep that area radiation proof, but that would be about it.

This guy didn't just fluff; he covered big basics like ventilation and drainage that all bunkers need.

This is by far the best idea I've seen for a bunker the cost is a fraction of what a builder would charge great idea

Interesting to see the explanation from the builder's perspective. Also interesting that the owner didnt care to show their secret underground bunker to the world. Haha

It must be cooler on summer and warmer on winter. Good idea.

0:08 ⚙ The idea stemmed from a power outage during an ice storm, realizing vulnerability without electricity or water. 1:00 🏗 Building an underground structure like a Quonset Hut takes less labor, time, and money compared to monolithic ports. 1:36 🛠 The Quonset Hut concept allows for quicker and more affordable construction, making it accessible to anyone with construction experience. 3:00 🏗 Erecting a Quonset Hut involves a simple process of lifting, bolting, and tightening, taking about a day with a small team. 4:01 🚧 The structure can be built rapidly compared to traditional concrete walls, making it an inexpensive and efficient alternative. 5:31 💰 The cost comparison shows that a Quonset Hut underground structure is significantly more affordable than conventional concrete constructions. 6:55 🌧 Selecting a location with proper drainage is essential; without proper fall, constructing an underground structure is unadvisable. 8:00 💨 Underground structures like these are impervious to external weather conditions, making them safe during storms, wind, or fires. 10:51 🍳 Despite being underground, these structures can feature functional kitchens, though propane burners are more practical than wood stoves. 12:55 🚰 A functional water system, gravity-fed if possible, along with a well-designed ventilation system, ensures practicality and comfort. 15:55 🌬 The underground structure's natural temperature stability (around 55°F) makes it comfortable, with adjustable ventilation to regulate airflow. 18:04 🛠 Utilizing materials efficiently, such as repurposing 4x4s, minimizes waste and maximizes resource use during construction. 20:00 🏢 Quonset Huts offer flexibility in size, adaptable for various purposes beyond underground shelters, such as workshops or getaways. 21:25 🌐 The motivation behind these structures often involves preparing for unforeseen events or creating secure, hidden retreats.

This is fascinating. In an evolving world I’d be very interested in discussion on high security, not merely relying on cameras but actual physical security features, while still allowing attractive & comfortable homey feel inside and out. Being able to then fully secure the property when you’re not there is a huge factor for me.

Lots of things to admire here! I wish for a house that would blend these features with an earthship house.

What a wonderful well thought out project. Isn't it something how few crew were needed to assemble it.

Very interesting. If weather gets more extreme could see this as a viable living option

amazing shot crest and spray foam! I would have never thought of that. genius!

Well thought out design and construction.

Love the steel door with the tu’penny padlock ! Padlocks are not secure.

Thanks again for sharing this! I really love the idea of a earth berm quonset building. 💯

whenever I see these kinds of apocalypse bunkers it reminds me of George Romero's "Day of the Dead" (1985).

I'm so grateful to live in a 'traditional' if you can call it that .... 1800 sq ft underground concrete home that was built (not by me) 30 yrs ago. But hearing David mention the cost comparison gave me the idea to use the original engineer drawings, data and blueprints to get a current market quote on the poured frame, custom slab 'roof' and membrane just to see what it would cost in today's market. Not to mention, it's in hurricane-prone Florida ... which is even more rare geographically!

amazing build . great idea of quonset hut , foam then shotcrete,. very nice underground house build

Induction only uses less power if you use it for a short time. If you use it for longer it uses more power than a regular electric stove.

I would use the water tank as energy storage (gravity-fed through an electric turbine). I would actually have two tanks--one for the aquaponics system and another for fresh drinking water. The aquaponics would be continually cycled using a windmill up above. Both could generate electricity. The freshwater would come from distillation from the last tank of the water treatment system (two-tank algae-based). For the lighting, I would use upside-down planters. That is, plants have their roots above in water/soil above in a lip with holes for the stems to grow down and spread leaves toward the natural spectrum LED lights below. This make really use of the space, growing plant food and fish and oxygen. The biggest challenge would be keeping the smells down. So the aquaponics should be sealed up over the fish tanks with algae behind wire meshes to clean up the water and create oxygen where the fish can only eat algae that grows out from behind the protecting wire mesh.

I just came upon a video from Viking the other day - glad to see they have worked it all out! I have been dreaming of building a Quonset home for a few years now, and wondered if you could put one underground as well since the structure is so strong. This shows you it’s not only possible, it’s also preferable and very efficient. Great tour, thanks!

My uncle just lost his house in the fires last summer. If he had something like this he would be pretty much unaffected.

Its not "pretty" looking but it's still a big deal. I have theorized all these concepts he discussed were possible, but have rarely seen more than one in a single structure. This is the first time I've seen all these innovations in once single structure. So cool. 👍

I really enjoyed this video, and I think that this "Quonset Hut" design is exceptionally brilliant! Well done!

This video was absolutely fascinating. Thank you.

This man is brilliant. She’s like it’s add strength to put the dirt on it right? And he sighs, yeah. The fact that he points out the metal is just the structure to hold the shot Crete is very impressive. Not everyone will take from this what is needed so explaining that is helpful for others who don’t see it clearly. As far as the dirt adding strength, I don’t think it add more than weight. But he was trying to be polite to see her perspective and not disagree. The structure is so strong it can handle the weight of the earth no problem so it doesn’t even lessen it to much of a degree for it to be worth mentioning that it isn’t helping. Which is impressive and does justify the excitement behind adding dirt to it. It’s epic that it can be buried

A friend’s father in Shreveport built one of these Quonset kits by himself at 75. He dry poured the floor, and put his own door on the building. Very easy to errct. This would likely be secure in a direct hit from a tornado.

It was nice seeing George Clooney’s underground bunker! Keep up the good work!

Thanks so much Kirsten ,this layout is encouraging and the man was down to earth.

This is the quickest and cheapest way to do this. Hes right forms and pour + time? Gah! $500k. A quonset is not structural for downward forces - which is why you need shotcrete. If you did it without it would colapse. Well done brotha!!! Really well planned and thought oht for someone that doesnt have a mil to throw at this project! ♥️🇨🇦♥️

Fire proof underground buildings in australia now have very strict certification requirements after several people suffocated inside during the black saturday bushfires in 2009. intense fires suck out all the oxygen from the air.

I really like that Helly Hansen fleece he's wearing. 🧥

I’m am going to do this on my 20 acre property. I have been dreaming about something like this for years.

Great build, technically really well done. I just wouldn't want to live without windows, though....

As long as no trees can fall on it or vehicles can drive on it. The ventilation is kind of sketchy if someone wanted in. They have an easy way to take away fresh air thus debilitating the inhabitants

This guy is genius. Brilliant idea and design

this one in particular is really cool

Technically couldn't you build it out with more tunnels branching off to more buildings?

I wonder about putting a double thickness green house on top. because if TSHTF you are going to need fresh food. I've seen some people actually make insulated greenhouses that allow year round growing even in Canada and Nebraska. Composting can also add a bit of heat to the greenhouse. Wonder if it would be practical?

I really like the fact that it looks like your are actually living in this thing. Too often people build things like this as show homes or conversation pieces.

Actually alot of bunkers in the same area. Helped build quite a few. Great job.

Back in the 1970's after my military service (9 years), I got a job with DOD procurement which was part of 5th Army. I was put in charge of dismantling contracts for some old "Nike" missile bases ... most were built in the mid 1950's. For the troops we had Quonset Huts as quarters. One company won the contract, but after a long period of time they still hadn't finished and the land had to be restored and given back to the counties. My boss asked me to go and check up on them and see what the problem might be. It seems the guy would spray can number each panel, photograph the building, clear out the plumbing and electrical first, then unbolt the panels and ship them to another group of sites as he had them sold. One company, I found out, had bought one for a sand blasting shed. So instead of us doing the job and selling them at auction (property disposal), we paid this company for the labor and while he also the units for a profit ... smart guy. Our mistake as we listed the project for bids as a demolition project, so most companies were looking at just tearing them down and scraping the steel.

Prepper's dream... Good job!

I always like the idea, but I have different plans if I was ever to make one. This all led me to discover these things called Earthships, which is like half a bunker. Then I realized that the two concepts must be joined together, internally and architecturally. Instead of a Earth ship with a buried air pipe, it needs a buried bunker lol. 4 ft pipe, that leads to a section of 8 feet pipe/ bunker room, that can be sealed off that tapers down to a 4 foot air pipe /escape hatch section, that tapers to a 12 inch air pipe intake that breaches the surface of dirt and is screened off. Now we can filter the air coming into your house normally, where the 12 inch foot pipe meets your 4 footer. lol. You have a accessible and egressible escape, so they are perfect candidates for bunkers with escape routes. Passiv houses are great, for people with bunkers. I believe that will greatly improve the design, people are doing now, to at very least include a 4 ft escape pipe. Might even bring them up to code, with fire safety The passiv homes are heated and cooled, by a passive stacking of air or convection. They are very cool pieces of engineering, with enough planning we can actually bypass heating and air. If we position our house towards the south, use solar windows, the best insulation and sealing that we can. Then, this buried cooling pipe really ends up being the only source of incoming air whatsoever. The air escapes out one of the front facing windows, which is a popular place to grow plants. One way to improve the cooling, would be filtered air induction. You can control the air coming into your home, that's beautiful for sleeping, filtered air is good stuff. Why not make them fancier, no reason to be so low tech. Make a 10-12 foot high concrete wall, U shape with a 4 foot pipe sticking out the back end, to a 8 foot pipe room along the back, then escape / air. Install a armored door in your 4ft pipe system to the valve in the 8 foot tube shelter, whatever length you like. Bury a water tank, cistern 5k gallons. And now bury the back side of your wall, bury everything up with rocks that can drain and set your escape hatch, start there with a big great room in the center of three walls. Make a utility room with exhaust that will go out the top, you could use more buried pipe section. Make layers of insulation, the more materials used on the front, the roof line, the better effect you will have indoors, use the best windows, angle them up towards the sun. That's a good starting point, actually, 30 -40 feet wide, 20 deep back wall, this is a Passiv Haus, design. The front wall is not much taller than the back wall, maybe 16-18 feet, little wider than the back. The width is what kills our thermal package, the height is okay, or can be managed easier, depth makes it easier for us to manage, when we bury the sides a lot with dirt. You only have windows on the front, so it's actually okay to have huge window space. 40 foot telephone poles can now be used for a roof, angled up to the front then cut. Height make interior space feel better, this lofting effect feels good. The peace of mind of having a escape tunnel and air filter, a bunker and all that would make me sleep like a million bucks. All we are talking about is a corrugated steel pipe, a heavy 4x4 welded door and some valves. So, the longer sections of pipe we use the better regulating temperature, so the final section should go on for a while around the back and sides of the home if possible. This serves as the cooling pipe, so we want to over engineer the pipe make it bigger and better. By adding a bunker here, 30 feet of that x 8 feet, some extra pipe leading to it and from it, this adds perfectly to the design of the Earth ship, passiv hous thing. It's a passive house, with a attached tunnel basically of cheap pipe, and it's buried behind the house, this should be totally self regulating climate. You don't understand how much energy we use, all we have to do is a bury a big air pipe and that would be like climate control. The air filter can be expensive, but I would like one anyways, and a blower for inside the tunnel pipe, a swiss one with a manual crank option, just in case I needed to live in there, to avoid a nuclear explosion or fallout, a airbourne pandemic, I would quarantine inside there for a few months, in the tunnel, then I could come out, either through my home or the escape hatch. I would have it connected to the utility room probably through a 4' pipe, so I could reach my utilities and electrical in emergency. Heck, my utilities barely need much access as long as they work, but climbing in the door would be rough. Food storage already in there, with buried 5k gallons of water hookup and I will have batteries and flashlight, radios, batteries, soap. This is a good option for cheap survival, not that much money when your walls are made of sewage pipe, it's a lot of welding. You need a bunch of welding, for the pipes 4' 90's to 8' junctions and the door and valve pipes, also caps for the ends. I'm sure a few guys can knock it out, in a few days of welding the plates and pipes together, then check for leaks. Just make sure you don't leak, weld everything and coat everything outside, inside, whatever. This should provide a nice and quiet, almost silent home with no vents or running machine noises, they will be too far away underground your living area.

very interesting... beats the heck out of putting up shuttering and pouring tons and tons of concrete.

This would make for a great Australian style of "ground house" as we don't call them bunkers here incase people start getting hysterical lol. They would sell like crazy in Coober Pedy gem fields as they are ALL underground structures as we get close to 50 degrees Celsius 😲 out there and nothing can survive above ground to live. People might work above ground (and lots below) but they ALL live underground out there!

I love this idea. Super cool. I want one to live in.

Wooowww, this bunker is very pro made! Incredible!

Seriously nice property, but live in a steel hole, nope. Life is too short to go to extremes and miss out on the morning sun shining in the windows. 🍁🤙

Love this. Think I’d have decorated with my modern furniture to make it feel like a trendy apartment but it’s a personal preference.

I love it. I thought he was just going to bury it and then I thought I would shot Crete it and low and behold he did. I would do some different things with the ventilation, just size wise but I want one.🇺🇸

Great job. Not hardly a small or cheap project but great job. 👍🏻🇺🇸

Excellent engineering.

love quonset huts, and earth builds, straw bale and all this. i need to buy land!

Oddly enough I want one. I would just live in it. If given the money and resources this would make a phenomenal home.

love the windows and finishing work

Looks like a solid structure. I can't help but wonder why the storage is in the front entrance. Since it's a quonset hut and the sidewalls go to the ground, building knee walls and storing inside would be ideal and you'd have more open living space.

Instead of having a huge million dollar home built exposed on the surface, it would make sense to have a smaller exterior 300K home (maybe even a dome with amazing views) the garage, and then an attached hallway to the 100K-200K "bunker" to use as an extension of the home. In weather emergencies you go to the bunker section for safety. I wouldn't necessarily build it for an apocalyptic scenario or to be a prepper, but more of to deal with the intense weather conditions that are becoming more common. If your home gets destroyed, you have a back up....

Hardly stealthy when painted bright magenta!

The door is only as good as the lock is.

He did something that few people will ever do. Fewer still would ever put all of their food storage right at the main entrance; you have to protect your stores and this seems like a game-ending flaw during an actual SHTF event.

Thank you. I’ve been thinking of exactly the same thing. This took a lot of the thinking out of the process

survive in a bunker, only to then quietly go crazy alone. "good" idea👍

Id love to see an adaptation of this for bush fire prone areas of Australia.. perhaps with a small low cost structure with natural light built on top that can be sacrificed in a fire and cheaply rebuilt.

4 days and $8,000 This here could solve the house ownership crisis.

I NEED THIS!!! Unbelievable!!!

That's an awesome build, all perfectly natured into the land. Love it.

this design looks alot like the one above ground in Joshua Tree you visited a few years ago. Nice setup both times. the Roman Arch design is ages old. Great video Kirsten Dirksen.😊

There was no mention of a septic system. How does this system deal with the waste?

Tornado proof, forest fire proof, roof leak proof, flood resistant because it’s on high ground, and big-foot proof… what’s there not to like? Once you install solar panels and back up batteries, this will be great for anywhere and even for California country living!

It may be unpractical for most of us to build that, but dam it would feel good to have a secure getaway like that. If I were to alter it at all I would place it another 6 ft deeper (at least), led line the outside, Install a optional/emergency 2.5 heppa filter for the air, install 3-4 6x6" pillars reinforcing the roof, move the food to a smaller version of the hut accessible from the inside/kitchen (but with a strong lockable hidden door) and put the water tank up against the roof on both sides of the escape hatch that also needs a hiding inner door covering it. Planting bushes around the outside of the vent/hatch would also be a good idea along with a small periscope to check if the cost is clear before breaking cover. Food and clean water/air would be the most valuable things if the "you know what" would hit the fan so protecting that and your selves would be the top priority in my opinion. A outside camouflage hatch/cover for the entrance would not go amiss as you know they cant attack you if they cant find you. Perhaps something that can quickly be put in place if/when needed.

I love all the time and energy and money put into the bunker, and then it's some garage sale furniture and TV.

Very good. This is ancient / modern technology. Think about 10,000 years ago , same principal.different funding mechanism. Thank the human mind .for such creativity. I wonder were that comes from.???

This one is real cool! And the expense is well worth the look! I would definitely consider this when i have the property to do it!

A couple of vertical tube sights with fans built in would give plenty of Day light and vent humidity.

I like the idea of having the water tank or, better, a series of tanks distributed through the living space. The reason is not just to temprer the water temperature, but a perfect place to dump extra power generated by using imersion heaters to bring up the water temperature and have a way to naturally boost or the interior temperature. Think of extra power in solar arrays.. after the batteries are charged, the extra power is dumped one way or... this. Comfort and humidity. It would also be easy to draw surface rains into tanks if a well was not an option or in addition to.

Thorough tour well done

Remarkable structure for storage and survival, but I would need more natural light. More skylights at a minimum, although I think for me I would want the entire front of the structure facing out and covered with windows. You could make metal shuttering for them, but I would have to have them. Just sayin...

There was a model Quonset Hut covered in foam in Boone, NC in the late 70's - early 80's.