The Tactical Home - Ideas for New Construction?

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  • alabasterjar

    Sharpshooter
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    3   0   0
    Apr 13, 2013
    613
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    Steuben County
    I'm posting this here for the "Self Defense" aspect - if this isn't the appropriate forum, I apologize...

    After a year or so looking for the "perfect" property & home, my wife & I have decided that we are probably going to be building a home on 10 acres or so. This will be a modest home for certain, but will be for our family of 6 (maybe more???). We are looking at the Bungalo/Craftsman style home, which is square-ish, with the bedrooms on the second floor. The home will definitely be on a basement, possibly walkout, depending on the terrain of the property we end up purchasing. I am strongly considering this home to be constructed with insulated concrete forms (sort of hollow lego style, filled with concrete & rebar - example here), so it will be strong & tight.

    I didn't see any specific threads when I searched INGO - any ideas, recommendations, examples, etc. of home design that gives us a tactical advantage over intruders, keeps them out in the first place, etc, etc. Again, we will not have a huge budget for add ons - I am looking more for site design & home design recommendations.

    Thank you!
     

    2ADMNLOVER

    Grandmaster
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    15   0   0
    May 13, 2009
    5,122
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    West side Indy
    Good thing is your taking your families safety in mind before the house is built .

    For starters I'd suggest a few simple things like absolutely no sliding glass doors , no full length , windowed doors , all windows above 5 ' from outside ground level and thorny bushes planted directly below the windows .

    Dogs are multi purpose also , friends , security and early warning systems .
     

    EvilElmo

    Expert
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    8   0   0
    Feb 11, 2009
    1,235
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    Dearborn Co.
    Plant bushes/shrubs beneath your windows that provide some defensive benefit such as rose bushes (thorns) and spiky evergreens. A well watered garden also offers cooling benefits by lowering the temperature of the air just outside the window.
     

    alabasterjar

    Sharpshooter
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    3   0   0
    Apr 13, 2013
    613
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    Steuben County
    Good thing is your taking your families safety in mind before the house is built .

    For starters I'd suggest a few simple things like absolutely no sliding glass doors , no full length , windowed doors , all windows above 5 ' from outside ground level and thorny bushes planted directly below the windows .

    Dogs are multi purpose also , friends , security and early warning systems .

    Hadn't thought about the thorny bushed, but I can see why that would be a deterrent - what a P.I.T.A.!

    We do not have any dogs where we live town, but that is definitely on the country move in list!
     

    teddy12b

    Grandmaster
    Trainer Supporter
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    40   0   0
    Nov 25, 2008
    7,661
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    Centrally located wood burning fireplace. Most fireplaces are up against a wall, why not get it more in the center of the house so the heat does more for you. We did that and I'm happy with it.

    Our basement isn't a walk out, partially because of soil type and terrain, but mostly because I wanted a big poured patio. Right now we have 3 kids bedrooms upstairs, and there's two doors on the first floor, no way out of the basement. Not taking windows into consideration, but I like having only two ways in/out. Beyond that, use 2x4 stud walls like any normal home, but put a stone face around the front with the money you saved from not using blocks. You're not building a bullet proof castle, you're building a home. Just like even a bullet proof vest protects some areas, and not others you have to pick and choose where to toughen up your house. If I had to do it all over again, I'd have added a block wall in one of the rooms in the basement so that there was an additionally reinforced area in case of tornados. That's more realistic than a herd of commies attacking your home.
     

    Kirk Freeman

    Grandmaster
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    8   0   0
    Mar 9, 2008
    47,969
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    Lafayette, Indiana
    al, couple of recommendations:

    1. Jeff Cooper wrote on this issue. I would start here for general ideas.

    Cooper's home: The Lion?s Lair | American Handgunner

    From To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth: FROM AWRM.ORG TACTICAL RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE BY THE LATE JEFF COOPER

    2. You may find some more general ideas here: http://www.cgsc.edu/carl/docrepository/FM5_15_1946.pdf

    3. A handy checklist: 48 Tips To Make Your Home More Secure | The Weekend Prepper

    4. There are several youtube videos on this question.

    Best wishes on your new home. I am certain your family is very excited about this prospect.
     
    Last edited:

    rockhopper46038

    Grandmaster
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    89   0   0
    May 4, 2010
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    Fishers
    Take the opportunity to have the basement bumped out for a safe room (which can be a gun vault until you need it to be a safe room - which is hopefully never). If you are going to be on a well, and the well site makes it feasible, bring the water entry point into the house through the safe room.

    Lots of outdoor lights on motion sensors.

    Buried electrical mains incoming.

    I think ICF construction usually requires furring strips for windows and door frames - but I think you can also have steel frames set in the forms before the pour, if you ask. It might be worth considering.
     

    88GT

    Grandmaster
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    Mar 29, 2010
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    Familyfriendlyville
    A tunnel from the house to the barn AND one branching to a non-descript exterior location elsewhere on the property.

    A root cellar with with access from inside the house as well as outside.
     

    2ADMNLOVER

    Grandmaster
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    15   0   0
    May 13, 2009
    5,122
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    West side Indy
    A tunnel from the house to the barn AND one branching to a non-descript exterior location elsewhere on the property. .

    Great minds think alike !

    To expand on that idea I thought it would need at least two steel doors that could be locked from one side ( to lock behind you as you go ) and possibly a water trap filled with punji spikes .
     

    ModernGunner

    Shooter
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    0   0   0
    Jan 29, 2010
    4,749
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    NWI
    A LOT of good ideas have already been given (lighting, etc.), so I'll bypass those.

    Yeah. Rhino-liner (or equivalent elastomeric polyurethane product) your walls. At the very least, on the inside of the outer shell, whatever construction you intend to use (cement, block, brick, wood frame, etc.).

    Steel doors. Peep-holes ONLY if you intend to use the 'camera screen' type, so no one outside knows you're looking at them. Door monitoring cameras ONLY if they're installed so they can't be disabled. Otherwise, what's the point? And outer doors that open outward. Kicking in the door is one of the most (if not 'the' most) common type of break in.

    LOCKS - Forget Kwikset, Schlage, etc. Period. Go with something like Abloy, BiLock, or EVVA MCS, etc. (I recommend Abloy Protec2). Yes, they're more expensive. Yes, they're WORTH it.

    Shatter-resistant windows. An 'escape door' or route OUT of the basement. ALL second floor rooms need an 'escape method' besides just jumping or dropping. Can always use something like the roll-up 'fire escape' ladder or whatever, but something.

    The basic concept is to keep intruders out, but allow your family to (relatively) easily escape in case of a fire, etc.

    If I was rebuilding, I'd go further than smoke detectors, and spend the $$$ to have gas detectors and a sprinkler system installed.

    Thorny type shrubs / bushes (rose bushes?) can look great and still provide a (sort of) 'barbed-wire' perimeter to your home. Likewise, the perimeter of the property.

    IF you're going to install an alarm (good idea), a 'panic button' for every room. If that alarm is going to a security service like ADT (likely), then a speaker-phone type keypad (usually wall mounted), so (god forbid) if they need to call, you don't have to have a phone / cell phone in your hands, you could just 'shout' AND they can overhear / monitor / record the conversation clearly.

    Make sure walls & floors use fire-retardant materials. AND some sort of 'fire break' between rooms, or at least between zones, and absolutely between the sleeping area and the rest of the house.

    I don't care much for 'panic rooms' 'cause it's like being trapped in a safe. The BG's can't get in, but you can't get OUT, either. Better to construct so the whole house is, essentially, a 'safe room'.

    Tons of other suggestions, if anyone's interested.
     

    Dead Duck

    Grandmaster
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    53   0   0
    Apr 1, 2011
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    We are looking at the Bungalo/Craftsman style home, which is square-ish, with the bedrooms on the second floor.



    Just curious -

    If you get a Craftsman House and it breaks, can you take it to Sears for a new one? :dunno:



































    Tagging for Gauntlet of auto-chainsaws and cauldrons of flaming pitch. :rockwoot:
     

    Hexlobular

    Marksman
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    0   0   0
    Apr 16, 2014
    290
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    SWI
    Something to consider regarding shatterproof glass and how you set up your doors/windows is that in the event of a fire or other danger inside the home, you will still need an escape route. Don't work so hard to protect people from coming in that you and your family can't get out when you need to.
     
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