Blast Retrofit Research and Development: Protection for Walls and Windows - Page 31
DOD Protective Design Manuals Have Wide Application PDF
VHSC Very-High-Strength-Concretes For Use In Blast And Penetration-Resistant Structures PDF
HARDENED STRUCTURES (1991) : Constructing A More Secure Future : Aspirational By Design : World Leaders In Military Grade Risk Mitigation : Underground Bunkers : Nuclear Fallout Shelters, Bomb Shelters : Panic / Safe Rooms : Fortified Eco Homes : Defensible Off The Grid Luxury Survival Retreats : CBRNe : EMP : Specialists In Project Secrecy, Confidential Planning, Architectural Design, Extreme Engineering, Covert Construction, Clandestine Stealthy Contracting Techniques, High Level Security.
If you are worried about protecting your family from a tornado, hurricane, wildfire or worse -- radioactive particles from a nuclear explosion -- a fallout shelter may be the answer.
Paul Seyfried, co-owner of Utah Shelter Systems, specializes in making fallout shelters and other structures to protect people in such doomsday scenarios. "Most of our clients are simply Americans who want to improve the safety and security of their families in tumultuous times," he says. Installing a fallout shelter is similar to improving any other structure on a homeowner's property, Seyfried says. Depending on the builder, the shelter could be made of corrugated steel, concrete or even fiberglass.
But like any other home improvement, it's important to select a builder who's familiar with the products and knows what it takes to protect your home, he says. Homeowners also should make sure they understand all the costs, follow local building rules and stock the structure properly.
Seyfried says underground structures at Utah Shelter Systems range in size from about 256 to 500 square feet, and they come with ventilation systems, wood-based flooring, bunk beds and a wiring system with light fixtures.
Lights run off of batteries that last two to three weeks, hopefully long enough to get through the worst of a calamity. If the batteries run out, a home generator could be used to recharge them, and generators cost about $1,000.
The cost starts at about $51,800. "We want the price to be about that of a new, well-equipped truck," Seyfried says. "It sounds like a lot of money, but you sure see a lot of pickup trucks driving around on America's roads."
Other options, such as additional bunk beds, dehydrated food and other items to stock the room can be purchased separately, he says. Consumers generally pay 50% of the shelter's cost upfront to purchase materials, Seyfried says.
It takes about six weeks for a fallout shelter to be built, and at about that point, the client pays the remainder of the money, he says.
At Hardened Structures in Virginia Beach, Va., a typical reinforced underground shelter is made of concrete. "That cost will run anywhere from $300 to $600 per square foot," says Brian Camden, the company's president. The factors influencing the cost are how thick the walls are, the extent of shielding from electromagnetic pulse, and the difficulty of hitting certain underground conditions such as rock or water, he says.
Another issue is privacy. Some clients are willing to pay more to bring in subcontractors from out of state to keep the installation project discreet, he says.
In addition to paying for the design and construction of the shelters off-site, clients also have to hire their own general contractor to transport and install the shelter on their property. That can add thousands of dollars to the total bill, depending on the shelter's requirements, Seyfried says.
Customers arrange their own funding. "We don't do financing, and we don't take credit cards," Seyfried says.
Obviously, the best option to pay for these large projects is to have money set aside just for this purpose, says Rob Seltzer, a CPA in Los Angeles.
But if you don't have the cash on hand and are considering taking out a loan to pay for the shelter, talk to an adviser about your financial situation before signing an agreement with any builder, he says.
Owners who have equity in their homes may be able to refinance their mortgage to pay for the structure, and that can have tax advantages over other loan options. But owners have to make sure they can handle the extra expense, Seltzer says. "Scrutinize your budget first," he says.
An online search will reveal many niche companies that can build a fallout shelter for your family, but it's important to find a company that knows the industry, Camden says.
"You can't go and hire an engineer who designed the shopping center down the street," he says. "You need special engineers who know Department of Defense requirements, blast requirements and ballistics requirements." In addition, the builders will need to make sure they have the necessary permits from your local jurisdiction to make an improvement on your property, just as with any other home project, Camden says.
For protection in a true doomsday scenario, you'd want your bomb shelter to be in a place that's easy for you and your family to get to in the event of a catastrophe, Seyfried says. "Most of the shelters go into the backyard," he says.
Shelters are buried underground, with generally at least 8 feet of earth covering the structure to help protect against the threat of any radiation danger, he says.
"You also want to site these shelters where heavy rain will drain away from the shelter site, not toward it," Seyfried says.
Once installed, the fallout shelter should remain with the property. Don't expect to pick it up and bring it with you if you decide to move, he says.
If paying for a separate structure isn't appealing, many builders also will give homeowners the option to reinforce their existing property with ballistic and fire-resistant exteriors, Camden says.
"You try to fit the best shelter for what the client's threat-event scenario is," he says. "We could fortify the entire house."
By Margarette Burnette Published October 22, 2012
Fox Business Article: Nuts and Bolts Fallout Shelter
Hardened Structures Hardened Shelters, LLC. is a Professional Construction Program Management Company specializing in the confidential planning, design and covert construction of hardened facilities, underground bunkers, survival communities, deep earth bunkers, rural compounds and fortresses. Composed of specially trained architects, engineers, physicists, scientists, ex-military and security experts, the firm has been recognized as one of the world's most experienced team of underground shelter engineers and design / build firms.![]() |
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TEMET - Supply Chain Partners
The hazards related to explosions and fires are most eminent in chemical and petrochemical plants that treat increasing volumes of highly flammable agents. The more complicated the process, the higher the risk of accident. Failure to invest in safety can lead to costly outcomes. Temet's cutting edge technology will prevent accidents from turning into major incidents.
Temet's technology is used world wide in oil refineries, off-shore platforms, control buildings, field auxiliary rooms and laboratories, analyzer and instrument houses and electrical substations. The new blast resistant technology accounting for the combined effect of pressure and fire present in hydrocarbon deflagration allows for optimized protection of ventilation systems and passageways of all hardened industrial facilities.
Temet is constantly expanding its industrial product line and finding new applications outside the petrochemical industry; our protective solutions successfully serve the protection needs within other process industry such as other chemical and pulp and paper plants.
Process Industry references and case studies:
TEMET - Supply Chain Partners

The special conditions in mines create a vulnerable environment where both persons and equipment are exposed to various threats such as explosions and toxic gases.
Analogous to protection in process industry, Temet's blast protection solutions are used to mitigate the damage caused by mining explosions.
Equally important is to neutralize the hazard caused by release of toxic gases with the special filtration technology tuned to remove the specified spectrum of gaseous agents.

Temet offers all special equipment and systems for today's Civil Defense Shelters to guarantee their performance for protection against blast effects, CBRN threat and damage induced by excessive mechanical shock loads.
Electric Infrastructure Security Summit (Including EMP) Agenda.pdf - Google Drive Link
A member aligned to the Hardened Structures team was a key note speaker at this event in May 2013.
The electric power grid and other rapidly evolving, interdependent infrastructures have brought our nations unprecedented prosperity and revolutionary change in the way we live, work and play. But the integration of nearly all these systems, and their profound dependence on electricity , has also given rise to new, serious dimensions of societal vulnerability.
The Electric Infrastructure Security Conference (EISS) Series was the primary annual framework for senior national and international government representatives, energy and insurance sector executives and leading scientists to share ideas and information, and explore ways to collaborate on protecting vital utilities and infrastructures.
The fourth annual world summit on infrastructure security, EISS IV WASHINGTON D.C. was built on the international security framework established over the previous three years. ( To preview previous EIS Summits, visit www.eissummit.com )
The theme of EISS IV was Resilience and Synergy. With the primary focus on electromagnetic threats (e-threats including EMP).
Kuala Lumpar 24 to 27th September 2013 Conference
CBRNe Chemical Biological Radiation Nuclear explosive Conference - Google Drive Link
Providing secure underground structures and fully integrated sustainable above ground fortified homes.
Forteco PDF - Google Drive Link
Providing a comprehensive design and build service tailored to the needs of the present day.
Fortified Buildings that can withstand forces beyond a 2500 year event level.
To live in a completely sustainable and self sufficient environment.
A fortified home that is safe and secure against a variety of threats is an excellent way to protect your investment and your family.
A fortified home that is safe and secure against a variety of threats is an excellent way to protect your investment and your family contact Hardened Structures for confidential pricing and scheduling information Contact Hardened Structures for confidential pricing and scheduling information.
At Hardened Structures our Fortified Homes are custom tailored to our clients particular requirements. We emphasize the family function and quality lifestyles as being the design drivers while all of our Fortified Homes bear an unmistakable architectural signature of safe and secure elegance.
At Hardened Structures our architects can design to your individual architectural style be it Contemporary, Traditional, Colonial, Mediterranean, Beach Front, Southwestern or any personal preference. We can also work with your own architect to achieve the level of protection and perfection necessary for your personal residence. Our security consultants are internationally recognized experts in the fields of building fortifications, personal security, advanced security systems and offensive/defensive components.
At Hardened Structures we employ a Multi-Hazard Engineering methodology that not only recognizes individual threats sequentially, but also address all hazards/threats as simultaneously occurring, so as to insure there is no "Achilles Heel" within our designs. The Protection Program for a Fortified Home is varied and is usually determined by the Client's Threat, Risk and Asset assessments.
The home can be protected against a wide range of threats including forced entry/assaults, climate change, chemical / biological / radiological / explosive (CBRE) agents, air-blast, ground shock, penetration, fragmentation and damage to the structure and equipment due to explosive loading. Along with the Client's particular living, function and storage requirements, the designs also incorporate active offensive and defensive components, and mechanical responses to reduce the effectiveness of any given threat while providing for individual/family long term living requirements.

For most of our clients, one of the most important aspects of designing their Fortified Home is that it not resemble a fortified home and that the outwardly appearance is of a well designed custom home. Only the owners will know the true capabilities and functions of the home which may include:
Contact Hardened Structures for confidential pricing and scheduling information
Features protection from: Bullets, Forced Entry, Hurricanes, Flooding, Tornadoes and Armed Assaults.
Fortified Homes are special, and so are the people who choose them. At Hardened Structures confidentiality is paramount. We serve as our Client's agent, representing their best efforts by professionally and stealthily implementing a design/build program to meet any Threat Event.
Fortified Homes can include protection mitigation for:
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His company, Hardened Structures, calls itself the "world leader in underground shelter systems."
While I can't attest to that, I do know that the company is highly regarded by everyone I've talked to while researching this story.
The construction management firm builds everything from prisons to schools to shopping malls. "We do it all," says Camden. "I work for the Army Corps of Engineers, we did a few hundred person shelter under the hospital in Kuwait last year. We've done work for the Jordanian government. We've done work for the Army Corps of Engineers, we do work for U.S. corporations and private individuals. We do work for the Air Force."
The various 2012 type scenarios that people believed might have seemed fantastic, but for someone like Camden, they are nothing more than a series of calculations.
"Once you determine the threat level, the threat event scenarios the facility has to be designed to mitigate, the occupant load, how many people are going to be in there, the assets that need protected — people, food, guns, gold, precious metals, plants, hydroponics — what are the putting in there? How long? How long are you going to stay in there? That determines your cubic footage for storage. Once we understand all of that, it's straight engineering and physics. [Once] we understand the program that the client needs us to design, it's basically the same concept, the same approach that an architectural design team would use if we were designing a shopping center, let's say."
The important thing, says Camden, is that the client can articulate the "threat event scenario," or the specific dangers they wish to mitigate.
According to Camden, an underground reinforced concrete bunker will have walls between 14 to 24 inches thick, with a a ceiling anywhere from 18 to 36 inches thick.
The level of EMP protection is also a factor. EMP, or electromagnetic pulse, is the electromagnetic radiation that accompanies a nuclear explosion. Effects from EMP vary, but if you get a high enough dose it will damage your electronic equipment. If you have a pacemaker, you'll want to shield the entire shelter with conductive material which, Camden notes, "is very expensive." If you're trying to save a few bucks you can probably get away with just shielding the electrical systems and points of entry.
Aside from nukes, common threat event scenarios include tidal waves or global flooding.
In the event of a massive flood, the bunker engineer has to account for things like the shelter's occupant load and the amount of time the occupants plan on spending there. "[W]e have to put in CO2 scrubbers and oxygen machines. You calculate, with a thousand foot wave going over top, at 500 feet, how long will it take that water to reside. Is it 100 hours, 200 hours, 300 hours? Whatever the case is, and we calculate that, then we double for a safety factor. But even with that you still have to include self-rescue supplies in the shelter. If they believe you're going to be completely underwater, you must assume that the tidal wave may never reside. In other words, you're going to be underwater constantly. If that's the case, how do you get out? And there's design secrets, proprietary stuff that we do, that get the clients out.
"In 2012 type scenario's, those are the big cost-driven factors right there. After that, what determines the cost is geotechnical conditions. What are you going to hit when you go into the ground. Are you going to hit rock? Bedrock? Are you going to hit water? Can we just use a hammer drill and excavate, or [do we have to] blast? Those are cost aspects. Is there an access road? Do we have to put a road in? Are there utilities there? Can we get water up there? Can we drill for a well?
"After doing this for twenty years, it's not rocket science."
Virgina Beach VA -(Ammoland.com)- Hardened Shelters LLC is a professional construction program management firm specializing in commercial, and residential hardening, fortified homes, bomb shelters, bunkers, storm shelters and self-sustaining hardened facilities. Hardened Structures reminds us all to be prepared and take responsibility for yourself should you encounter a survival event.| Threat Assessment: | 2 |
| General Space Requirements: | 2 |
| Structural Requirements | 3 |
| Mechanical Requirements | 3 |
| Electrical Requirements: | 6 |
| Electrical Components: | 8 |
| Shelter Reviews: | 9 |
The Hardened Structures "Multi-use Underground Shelter" is a structure that offers protection from Nuclear, Biological and Chemical disasters or emergencies such as hurricanes and tornadoes. As a rule of thumb, a Fall-Out Shelter vs a Bomb Shelter should be considered only if the installation location is greater than 50 miles (80 km) from a Nuclear detonation point. Hardened Structures Fall-Out Shelters are designed by certified structural engineers and meet or exceed F.E.M.A. (Federal Emergency Management Agency) guidelines.| Item | Description | Cost (USD) |
| Fall Out Shelter 7' (2.1m) x 8' (2.4m) x 30' (9.1m) |
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$39,330 As of 2014. Updated Pricing Upon Request. |
| Options: | ||
| Security Vault | Storage of valuables | $3,168 |
| Vault Door | This door can be added at the end of the walkway. It has the hardened steel deadbolt lock | $2,244 |
| Larger NBC Air Filtering System (standard NBC Air filter accommodates 12 people or less) | NBC Air Filtration to accommodate up to 25 people | Price on asking |
| Extra Capacity NBC Air Filtration | (to accommodate up to 50 people) | Price on asking |
| Fold Up Beds | These beds fold against the wall when they are not being used. When folded, the bed takes up approximately eight 8" (20 cm) of space against the side wall. We can install (1) bed in an 8' (2.5 meter) long shelter, and up to five (5) beds in a 20" (6 meter) long shelter | Bed Frame: $180 Bed frame with Mattress: $408 |
| Sewage System Price is higher in a Fallout / shelter due to an extra blast valve installed to make this unit work safely |
Installed sewage system with an electric motor and hand pump | $2,640 |
| Enclosed Sewage System | Enclosed the sewage system unit with the wall and door | Price on asking |
| Emergency Escape Hatch | Installed an emergency escape hatch | $1,122 |
| Jack In case debris falls on the door | Installed Jack | Price on asking |
| Weld Two (2) Shelters Together | To weld two shelters together underground | Price on asking |
| Shipping/Transportation | Cost varies depending on distance involved | *TBD |
| Installation | Cost varies depending on installation site conditions | *TBD |
| Special Client Requests | Many clients wish special options to be included with their purchase. Please review all special options/needs with a Hardened Structures representative | *TBD |
![]() Installing a fallout shelter in North Alabama. Our Team had to use a rock buster to dig the hole. |
![]() A fallout shelter being installed in Tennessee. It was a 12' long walkway out with an above ground blast door. This ground will be built up and a carport will be built over the shelter. |
![]() This is another 8' tall 12' wide and 26' long fallout shelter that has a 4' long walkway with a 4000 lb walkthrough blast door. They are also building a concrete walkway from the basement out of the shelter entrance. The concrete walkway is about 30' long. It will be under this carport and the shelter is under the drive way. |
![]() 7' tall, 8' wide and 30' long fallout shelter with a 12' way walkway and above ground blast door. This shelter is being installed on top of a mountain at Smith River California. |
![]() Installing the first half of the two shelters. Each half is 7' tall 8' wide and 25' long you can see the openings that will be between the shelters. One is 5' long and the other is 7' long. |
![]() Shelter is now installed. |
![]() This is the ladder type steps going down into a fallout shelter. This is standing on the ground and looking down into the shelter. |
![]() Digging the hole for a fallout shelter. |
![]() Our Team is finishing all the welding re-coating, installing vent pipes and covering the shelters with dirt. |