Home design features for security.

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Curare

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I'm in the process of designing my dream home with an eye toward security and self sufficiency. It will be a normal looking stone ranch in the country on a large piece of land. These are my design security goals:

-Passive and active security features to make the home a "hard target" to would be home invaders whether we are home or not. (dogs, alarm system, wireless communication, security gates and doors, hardened "safe" room, firearms).

-Ability to be self sufficient for at least 30 days. (passive solar features, well water, cellar, vegetable gardens, secure fuel storage, ventilated generator pit covered with steel grate, batteries, medical supplies).

What features would you recommend?

[I've been inspired by my in-laws home: a passive solar home with 16" thick concrete walls (with huge windows) on a 100 acre farm with 100s of gallons of fuel (out in the open and locked) for several generators, well water, large vegetable gardens, orchard, cellar full of canned food and fruit, 2 green houses, wood burning stove with a forest, native deer population, stream with fish, a doberman and german shepard, firearms--I guess this approaches the ideal.]
 
I've been putting a lot of thought into similar such designs. I will, of course, need to make it wife-approvable and nearly invisible to family, friends, visitors, etc.

Some things to consider are simple solutions to some problems like putting prickly plants underneath windows. I like Holly trees and bushes. Include a driveway design that allows headlights to shine toward key areas before stopping. Include a driveway loop, so you don't NEED to stop when coming home.

If you're considering efficiency... you'll want the larger windows facing south (in the northern hemisphere) to take in the sun during the winter, but you'll probably want deciduous trees (if possible in your region) to leaf during hotter months and create shade for those same areas. Evergreen trees are good to use for blocking cold winds during colder months.

Be sure to use aquafer and waterflow designs for the area to place locations of hazardous materials / fuels so as not to corrupt crops / livestock / storage / living areas / well water.

There are just some ideas off the top of my head. I look forward to seeing what everyone else posts on here! I know there are things I've overlooked.
 
I was inspired to start this thread based on the events of December 23rd, when a coworker's home was invaded and we lost power for four days. We stayed with the in-laws (as previously planned), and I really strated thinking about being prepared.
 
All of the above are good ideas, except maybe for the concrete walls and big windows :rolleyes: kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it? But I would at least want to have some rockwork about halfway up so you could duck down to the floor and be protected from incoming bullets. I would make my "safe room" somewhat hidden and make it a gun vault as well. That's all assuming money is no object.

If I were starting over on a place in the country, I would choose a more level site where I could fence in several acres around the house with dog-proof chain link fence, and then have a couple of not-very friendly dogs running loose in there all the time. I would have to have a little shack with a package drop at the gate, and maybe a bell to ring so we could go out and let friends inside.

As it is, my place is too rough to be practical to install such a fence.
 
I'd be real curious as to what you come up with. I would love to improve on the security of my house, but there are conflicting goals here. One of the reasons we moved to the country is because we love the wildlife, etc. To enjoy it (when inside) takes windows . . .I think windows (especially in the country) makes your house insecure. If there's nobody home how hard would it be to break out a window? We have dogs that live in the house and I suspect they'd put up a bit of a fuss but probably not enough to stop anyone who's detemrined.

On the self-sufficiency side we prepare for heat (firewood) and power (generator) but we're only good for maybe 4 days straight without power before we'd have to get more fuel. 31 days is a pretty good goal! :)

If I drained the fuel from my son's cars then I could probalby go 12 days. If you're planning on fuel storage then I think the biggest key is to have some sort of plan for rotating that fuel so that you always end up with fresh. Some of the guys I know in this area use propane powered generators so they always have 200-300 gallons on hand. If you're going to be using a tractor regularly then you could have a diesel tank and you'd keep it fresh just through usage. (you could also use the tractor to power a generator head . . one less motor to maintian) I haven't quite figured that one out yet. (Right now we're on a 5500 watt generator powered by a air-cooled BS)

Remember to run your generator at least once every 2 months for 1/2 hour or so to keep the generator head in good shape.

Have a good one,
Dave
 
No windows on the first floor (or slits that the average adult could not fit through) would be a requirement. A vestibule with a 90 degree turn will help on the front door.

Look at old European manor houses and see how they were built.

Flame resistant materials and fire extinguishers would be prudent.

Make sure you have a few ways to exit the house in an emergency, too.

If the walls cannot resist men with sledgehammers or rifle fire the rest will be meaningless.
 
One home I looked at buying years ago, had this nifty room under the front porch; You didn't see it from the outside, but there was enough of a gap under one of the stair steps to provide a view/firing port from that room, at just the right height, too. I'm not sure it was intentional, but the room had a remarkable field of fire on anybody approaching the house from the road.

Beyond that, I've thought that an indoor shooting range, with a culvert pipe tunnel leading to a disguised exit, would be cool to have. You could put the backstop at the end of the tunnel, just past the exit, and make it do double duty.

One thing you might consider, is building your home so that it's not obvous from the outside, or even a casual inspection inside, that you have a basement. Then make THAT your safe room. They can't break into a room that they don't know exists, after all.
 
See Mel Tappan and the existing literature as well-

See Mel Tappan and the existing literature as well- might consider Billy the Kid and the McSween house as Jeff Cooper mentions from time to time. It's possible to build a nice pill box but it's nice to be able to get out after it's set ablaze.
 
I've been thinking stone construction, narrow windows, mission tile or metal roof ala Sanoma, Ca. Then concealed basement, drive-in attached garage, hardened. Plus the haet, generators, etc. as above. Soon as I hit the lottery.

Stay safe.
Bob
 
hidden rooms in basement(s) - i'd like a 2nd basement if i can figure out how to pass code - and escape tunnels. you could park a golf cart for a fast getaway to an outbuilding...
 
Jeff Cooper has written about the design of houses for purposes of security - you might want to check out availability of his ideas in print. He recommends the Roman villa approach, where the living quarters are in the form of a hollow square, with a central courtyard or garden, and the outside walls of the house actually form a secure perimeter, with interior windows (opening onto the central space) to provide more light and air. Sounds sensible to me.
 
I like the Roman villa approach, too. But with things like budget limitations, when I build my next house I'll probably have to settle for a secure gun room / walk-in gun vault in the basement. Maybe with the entrance concealed behind a false wall panel or bookcase.
 
Windows can be secured. Either with fancy iron bars or with high tech roll-up shutters. In Florida they are used as hurricane shutters, in Europe they are used to keep out burglars.

The doors should have a steel frame and have an Abus security bar on it. Thus secured it will withstand a battering ram for quite a while.
 
1) Build a foyer that begs to be broke into, lots of glass, no lock, etc.. 2) Put a very solid locked door between foyer and rest of house. 3) Let the bg break into the foyer, then flood the room with OC spray as the outer door closes and locks itself. 4) Call cops to pick up scumbag. 5) record everything to send in to Americas Funnies Videos.

:)

I've also heard someone say, might been in a movie, can't remember, that they put 6 deadbolts on their door, but only locked 3. That way if anyone picked the locks, they'd always be locking as many as they were unlocking.

:)


Seriously tho, I've always thought if you had a 2 story home, it wouldn't be a bad idea to incorporate some hardened machicolations in the floors above the entrances. If nothing else, just for observation. You can learn a lot from the old castle designs, especially the later ones.

SC
 
One bit of advice from the geek: Concrete walls are, um, hard. So make sure you don't have to go back into them for anything.

Even drywall is time-consuming and messy to patch.

Here's the solution: run conduit -- lots of it -- through the walls. Have vertical and horizontal runs of PVC pipe inside the walls (and ceilings, if necessary).

If you later decide to install a wired home network, security cameras, alarm sensors, cable TV, fiber optic cable, or anything else the future may offer, it's a simple matter to do so.
 
All of the above are good ideas, except maybe for the concrete walls and big windows kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's a design feature for their passive solar home--not good for security, but as pointed out, metal roll down security shutters could be incorporated to allow for large windows.
 
I'd recommend as back up hydrogen fuel cell. They can be run from Propane (which also gives you a back up cooking/heating source). Also, windows can be made out of Lexan, which is nearly unbreakable (but will have to be replaced in 10-15 years due to yellowing). And read the Cooper books... :D
 
Being in Buckeye Country, remember that there are two additional concerns for your home: tornado safety and flood safety. A comfortable and secure room in the basement is a big plus in the spring/summer months when the sirens go off. Of course, with you building Fort Curare, that might not be a big deal. Also, don't forget tles and sump pumps for the basement, or the spring rains may ruin the supplies in the basement.

By the way, are you planning a single building, or multiple structures on the property?
 
What about a full-coverage 1/8" or 1/4" mild steel plate in the walls? I have often wondered about doing this in my children's rooms, in the next house I build.

Field of fire would remain important, but the "red zones" would be significantly diminished.

Thoughts?

Rich
 
You can also get a lot of light into a house through glass brick. Which, while it won't stop bullets, WILL stop intruders, at least if you lay it with properly secured rebar between the courses. Even if they bust out the bricks, they can't get through the bars that remain.
 
DakotaSIG two things. One he wants a Ranch style house, and two circular buildings have been known to make people go crazy.

How secure do you want?

Window could be easy, but pricey. I am not sure if this will go with your wifes ideas are or color schemes etc. Have windows that fold in for easy cleaning (they are for two story windows and I think you can get them so they dont jut out) and take steel and make the illusion of small square windows on the outside. It will be a bitch to get through and make a nice illusion of old style pain(SP) glass windows. Maybe even work some wood over it so it looks another way.

DUCT WORK like the aformentioned person said. Id seal each end with some water tight stuff.

IF your going for a fence I can give you some other ideas as well.

Let me mill this over and throw up basic concepts, and what style you want.
 
swingcatt,

The idea with the 6 deadbolts was done in a MacGuyver episode. A student competition regarding locking doors and being able to defeat the systems. It was actually defeated pretty simply using a strong magnet and some iron filings to determine which were locked.

I also don't think you'd want to have to keep track of that everyday, nor mess up and have the person on the inside not know which was which, either.

As for cement walls with conduits, they actually make pre-fab ceiling (and wall, I believe) slabs/units that are structurally sound and include open circular conduits full length for insulation, running piping/wiring/etc, and keeping weight down.

For those without concern of money, I just saw a special on a house that has a computer built in which operates lighting, doors, and security cameras and procedures that memorizes your activites from day to day and week to week to mimic your actions even when you're not home, so as to fool any onlookers of the house's vacancy. Of course this house was in Vegas and cost probably somewhere in 8 or 9 figures.
 
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