How to harden your home affordably!

[Twitchy]

And today I bring to the table another wonderful topic on how to harden parts of your home in the event of something happening... Somethings may be too expensive, some ridiculously cheap. Some may be improvised. Most of all, it will help post shtf!!

First! Ballistic protection:

Those pesky bullets... in the PAW, you never know what might be coming... A rather easy method of doing this is concrete planters placed in front of your home. When made with concrete and filled, depending on how tall you make them they can provide substantial protection for you in the event of a fire fight... (This is of course, also useful in hurricane situations... It creates less area that a missile (read flying 2X4) can penetrate. Hey, i beats using your car!) All in all ,this is a great method to have a small amount of ballistic protection and enhance the look of your home!

Another great idea if you live in a hurricane prone area that will also help post shtf, is laminated glass. You can get laminates for your windows. They offer very little, if any ballistic protection, however they will prevent an entire window from shattering. This stuff also resists baseball bats, crow bars, and a slew of other Melee based weaponry!

Another item for you to consider is kevlar window covers. These are extremely light weight, and provide excellent protection against flying debris during a storm. These are screwed into your structures framing on the outside of the window, providing extra protection and lessening the chance of glass breakage. But these ARE expensive... add this to your MNO list (Money No Object)

Something else to consider putting on your home, are dual use firefighting and water heating pipes on the top of your roof. This is especially useful if you have a possibly flammable roofing material such as wood, asphalt shingles, etc. This can lower your heating bill by reducing the electricity cost or propane cost for heating water for home use. A simple remotely operated valve attached to additional piping could be used to spread the water over your roof quickly to extinguish any flames present due to a lightning strike, radiant heat from another fire close by, etc.

Lawn sprinklers also function as a fire extinguisher if used on the exterior walls of your property.

I'll be adding more to this in additional posts. Let me know what you think so far, and as always, this is a non-exhaustive list! Add more to it!

[Dropy]

Great ideas there. I especially like the planter idea. Use fake plants and they are nearly worry free and can be filled fully with cement.

[Twitchy]

Great ideas there. I especially like the planter idea. Use fake plants and they are nearly worry free and can be filled fully with cement.

Eh, effective, very... however it would be rather expensive... maybe partially filled with a top layer of dirt for those that really look at it so it doesn't seem out of place...

[Sniper-T]

Being a steel worker, I have access to, and have collected piles of offcuts from different jobs. I have plates ranging from 16 Ga to 7/8" thick in everything from aA606 to ARS500. I have enough cut to size to effectively cover all the windows in my house, with enough left over to fortify most of the walls.

There really is no sense fortifying your windows if anyone with a chainsaw can slice and dice their way in. Or if anyone can shoot under or beside your window and have the bullet pass clean though the wall.

If anyone has access to large manufacturing companies, find out when their inventory is. We scrap 20-30 thousand pounds of steel every year, that can be bought for scrap rates. (pennies on the dollar)

I like the idea of the pipes on the roof for fire suppression. Not too sure how effective they'd be for heating though... at least not in my climate.

[Twitchy]

Being a steel worker, I have access to, and have collected piles of offcuts from different jobs. I have plates ranging from 16 Ga to 7/8" thick in everything from aA606 to ARS500. I have enough cut to size to effectively cover all the windows in my house, with enough left over to fortify most of the walls.

There really is no sense fortifying your windows if anyone with a chainsaw can slice and dice their way in. Or if anyone can shoot under or beside your window and have the bullet pass clean though the wall.

If anyone has access to large manufacturing companies, find out when their inventory is. We scrap 20-30 thousand pounds of steel every year, that can be bought for scrap rates. (pennies on the dollar)

I like the idea of the pipes on the roof for fire suppression. Not too sure how effective they'd be for heating though... at least not in my climate.

Good point on the climate... I might just have a project coming up :)

[mollypup]

There really is no sense fortifying your windows if anyone with a chainsaw can slice and dice their way in. Or if anyone can shoot under or beside your window and have the bullet pass clean though the wall.

Have to differ with ya here Sniper. :) Not every person desiring entrance will be carrying a chain saw. If they see they will be making a lot of noise or having to spend a lot of time breaking through the window barriers, be what they are, then I believe putting up barriers of any kind is much better than doing nothing. I have plywood to put over my windows plus a lot of chicken wire. I spend one morning placing several layers of chicken wire across a vulnerable window downstairs and though breaking the glass will be no problem, trying to cut through the chicken wire will be. It will be nearly impossible to kick out because of the layering and that I used some very heavy duty nails to secure it with. Even my husband had to admit he was impressed with my work!:cool:

Shooting is certainly possible, but I hope that doesn't happen. Can only do what we can do right? :D

[Sniper-T]

Scary thing is Mollypup... people are doing exactly that to break into homes around here. They drive around the well off subdivisions in the city with remote controls for garage doors. pressing the buttons and waiting to get lucky. Then They'll pull their truck right into the garage, cut through the connecting wall and haul out whatever they want. no farting around trying to get stuff out the door, or around corners.

But even if this isn't a concern... the point is still valid about reinforcing your windows, but not around them. any of the windows in my home are 2-4 feet from the floor. my walls are 2X6 construction with wood paneling on the outside, and drywall on the inside. doesn't matter if I use lexan or steel. a shot under the window will punch through both walls and take me out in the legs


Nice job on that window!!

And no... we cannot prepare for every contingency... we'd go broke or nuts or both trying. We can only do what we can do, and hope that in the end, it is enough

[mollypup]

O.k. Time to go downstairs and disconnect the garage door. I have some locks around here somewhere that I used to secure the garage door where I used to live. My husband will be royally pissed, but a girl's gotta do......yadda yadda ya.

[The Stig]

And no... we cannot prepare for every contingency... we'd go broke or nuts or both trying. We can only do what we can do, and hope that in the end, it is enough

Exactly.

Agree with Mollypup about taking reasonable steps to secure the home depending on the type and duration of SHTF event. A thug looking at house A that has some precautions and house B that has none, is likely to chose to ransack house B.

That said, it is folly to think you can turn your suburban stick-built home into a fortress. I remember a thread on another forum with people talking about adding firing positions and a cupola on their roof to repel invaders. Absolute insanity, but of course that is what you get when people fixate on Mad-Max style meltdowns.

Drywall and insulation does zip, zero, nada to slow down most bullets. A 5.56x45 might start to breakup as it penetrates the drywall but is still a threat to those in the home. 9mm and .40 will zip through the front walls and out the back sans a hit on a steel pipe. So while you are running around playing GI Joe a round can take you out without the bad guys getting anywhere near your home.

That's before you consider the threat from fire. During a localized event all it would take is someone tossing a roadflare next to your home to create big problems, especially if you are in a dry, fire prone, area.

So there's a balance. Yes, we should beef up our homes against threats from mundane day-to-day types to deal with short term situations. Window laminate, as was mentioned in the OP is a good idea both now and in the midst of a bad situation. But to think you'll turn your house into Fort Apache is a waste of time and resources.

[mollypup]

Well, with so many millions of houses across the country to break into, hopefully none of ours will be touched.

[realist]

All you can do is make your place as uninviting as possible. As Sniper said that these guys use a chainsaw to go in fast and yes noisy. If they can get in and out fast that is all they care about. So what you want to do is slow them down as much as possible. If you live in a housing tract that is much harder than people living out in the country. Barking dogs help but from what I have seen they will not challenge someone with a chain saw. These guys want easy not hard, if we slow them down they will go elsewhere. I have a long driveway with a gate. Yes you can get through the gate but the house is hard to see from that location. I have cars parked out front so you can not tell if anyone is home. I also have an alarm system that I will be updating shortly. My nephew installed an alarm system himself that allows him to check his alarm from his smart phone. He said it was very easy to install. I will let you know when I get the info as to just how easy it is to install.

However if you live out in the middle of nowhere you have the problem of a burglar having all the time in the world. I have worked with ranchers that don't bother to lock their doors, not because they don't care but because they want to limit the damage. For these crooks they have been to the home for whatever reason before they do the burglary.

[helomech]

Drywall and insulation does zip, zero, nada to slow down most bullets. A 5.56x45 might start to breakup as it penetrates the drywall but is still a threat to those in the home. 9mm and .40 will zip through the front walls and out the back sans a hit on a steel pipe. .


A 5.56 with anything other than frangible ammo will penetrate much farther than 9 or .40.

[The Stig]

A 5.56 with anything other than frangible ammo will penetrate much farther than 9 or .40.

I'll have to dig up the test data but I've read in a number of places that the high velocity of the 5.56, combined with it's relatively low weight, means that it start to yaw and breakup as it penetrates drywall, studs, etc. You still end up with fragments but they slow rapidly and become less and less of a threat. That is why shooting from inside the house to out means the AR is actually "safer" for your neighbors if you should happen to miss. By the time the bullet penetrates the drywall, a stud, brick fascia, etc it the reduction of energy and mass means it's less dangerous to other folks (still dangerous mind you, just less so).

This assumes you're talking about standard 55grn ball or most self-defense type ammo. M855 with it's solid core is a different story. That will likely blast though things without stopping because if it's stronger construction. Remember, it's main goal in life was to punch through Russian body armor so a couple sheets of drywall ain't going to do diddly to stop it.

The 9mm, for example, while 1/3rd the speed is also 2x to 2.5x the mass. A 40S&W can be over 3x the mass. The extra mass means the bullet just trundles along with higher momentum. While the drywall and studs are slowing it down, it's not enough to get the bullet to break up. Meaning it's still a cone shaped mass zipping through space instead of irregular shaped fragments shooting off in odd directions.

I've got to get a couple things done for work, but I'll endeavor to dig into this. Perhaps I'm recalling the data incorrectly.....

[helomech]

I'll have to dig up the test data but I've read in a number of places that the high velocity of the 5.56, combined with it's relatively low weight, means that it start to yaw and breakup as it penetrates drywall, studs, etc. You still end up with fragments but they slow rapidly and become less and less of a threat. That is why shooting from inside the house to out means the AR is actually "safer" for your neighbors if you should happen to miss. By the time the bullet penetrates the drywall, a stud, brick fascia, etc it the reduction of energy and mass means it's less dangerous to other folks (still dangerous mind you, just less so).

This assumes you're talking about standard 55grn ball or most self-defense type ammo. M855 with it's solid core is a different story. That will likely blast though things without stopping because if it's stronger construction. Remember, it's main goal in life was to punch through Russian body armor so a couple sheets of drywall ain't going to do diddly to stop it.

The 9mm, for example, while 1/3rd the speed is also 2x to 2.5x the mass. A 40S&W can be over 3x the mass. The extra mass means the bullet just trundles along. While the drywall and studs are slowing it down, it's not enough to get the bullet to break up. Meaning it's still a cone shaped mass zipping through space instead of irregular shaped fragments shooting off in odd directions.

I've got to get a couple things done for work, but I'll endeavor to dig into this. Perhaps I'm recalling the data incorrectly.....

All I know is my personal tests, and even the 55gr FMJ will penetrate 1/4 steel at 100 yards, and put a very large dent in the second piece of steel. Sure the frangible, or varmint rounds will come apart, but not the FMJ stuff. Wood and dry wall means nothing to the FMJ bullets.

.40 and 9mm just disenegrates on the steel plates. Sure they go through 2x4's, but not sure how much energy they have after. Will have to try it out.

[The Stig]

Here's (http://www.olyarms.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=26) some info I found quickly.....more to follow


Summary
The 55 grain HP .223 has less penetration than any of the other ammunition tested. Based on the results of this testing, there appears to be no basis for concern regarding the over penetration of the .223 [HP] round. In fact, it seems even safer in this regard than .40 S&W handgun ammunition.

The hollow point cavity in the .40S&W round filled with material when shot through the wall. This caused [these bullets] to fail to expand when they entered the gelatin. As a result, they penetrated 8.5" farther than when shot directly into the gelatin.

When the .223 [HP] was shot through he wall it began to fragment and as a result penetrated the gelatin only 5.5".

Because the .223 [HP] begins to break up on impact, it has less potential for damage or injury than the 12 ga. in the event of a ricochet. The .223 [HP] is obviously safer in an urban environment than the 12 ga. with slugs or buckshot.

Additional testing conducted proved that the .223 would penetrate a car door or glass. The .223 rounds fired into windshields began to break up after entering the glass and did not retain much energy. In most cases these rounds split in two.



A Comparison of .223 Penetration vs. Handgun Calibers

The .223 shoulder-fired weapon systems (e.g., AUG, CAR) have received some recent interest as indoor tactical weapons for special operations teams. increased power, longer effective distances, and greater tactical flexibility have been cited as positive factors of the .223 systems over 9me SMG-type weapon systems. Other authors (Fackler, et all) have postulated greater capability for tissue damage and incapacitation of the .223 rifle cartridge over the 9mm projectile fired from handguns or SMGs. Negative considerations for the indoor use of the .223 weapon systems focus on over-penetration of projectiles and possible subsequent liability.

Our effort was made to compare the penetration characteristics of various .223 bullets to various handgun bullets fired into test barriers representing indoor and outdoor building walls. We felt that the following test might mimic shots fired from inside a building, through the internal rooms, out the exterior wall, and into another similar building nearby. A comparison of wall penetration effects by a variety of handgun calibers versus the effects of .223 FMJ ball, .223 SP, and .223 HP, under these same conditions, was expected to substantiate other findings reported or provide new information to those interested in this area of ballistics.

Two interior test walls were constructed using a wood 2x4 frame with standard drywall board attached to both sides. Two exterior test walls were made using wooden frames with drywall board attached to one side and exterior grade T1-11 wooden siding attached on the other (exterior) side. R-19 fiberglass insulation batting (Dow Coming) was stapled inside the two exterior test wails. To maintain test medium consistency, no wooden cross beams, electrical fixtures, conduits, or electrical wiring were placed in any of the test walls.

The test walls were placed in the following sequence to mimic shots fired from. inside a building, through two internal rooms, out the building, and into another similarly constructed building:

A. Interior wall #1 was placed 8 feet from the shooting position.

B. Interior wail #2 was placed 8 feet beyond interior wall #1.

C. Exterior wall #1 was placed 8 feet beyond interior wail #2. (Exterior side facing away from the shooter.)

D. Exterior wall #2 was placed 15 feet beyond exterior wall #1. (Exterior side facing toward the shooter.)

All calibers tested were fired from a position 8 feet in front of interior wall #l, so the bullet trajectory would travel in sequence through each of the succeeding test walls. Each caliber tested was chronographed and all firing results were videotaped for archive files.

The following results were obtained:

All handgun calibers exited exterior wall #1. This means they exited the "house" after passing through two interior "rooms," then entered another "house" to impact into the berm. The handgun caliber which demonstrated the least penetration was .22 LR Lightning.
The only calibers which did NOT exit the "house" were .223 (5.56) soft point and hollow point loaded bullets.
All projectiles demonstrated directional changes in their trajectory after passing through the first interior wall. The greatest directional changes (10 inches+ yaw) were shown by 9mm and .40 S&W projectiles.
Directional changes in bullet trajectory appeared to increase in magnitude with each test wall the projectile passed through.

The penetration characteristics of projectiles have long been believed to be primarily determined by a relationship of bullet mass, bullet shape, bullet velocity, and bullet construction. The penetration differences of .223 soft point and hollow point projectiles versus the effects from .223 full metal jacket may be due to differences in bullet construction. The differential effects on penetration due to bullet construction shown with the .223 are different and appear greater in magnitude than those encountered when handgun bullet construction is modified. Since .223 projectile velocities are threefold greater than those of handgun projectiles, the increased magnitude of bullet velocity might account for the differences in bullet trajectory and penetration distance. The deviated trajectory of hollow point handgun projectiles was also greater than the deviation found with full metal jacketed handgun bullets; again, possibly due to contact point deformation. The preceding study more than ever identifies the need for a personal emphasis of marksmanship and tactical fundamentals. The shooter is responsible for the bullets that go downrange. Practice, be aware, manage your trigger, and watch your front sight!

[Sniper-T]

I test shoot all kinds of things too. and on a mockup of a wall, with 1/2" wood paneling, 2x6 studs, vapor barrier and insulation, with 1/2" drywall on the inside... my 9mm popped clean through it, and still had enough to ring the gong behind it. same with S&W .38, and .22. I only have FMJ for the 7.62X25, and they went through and left a nice divot in the gong.

AnYthing I have highpower went through it like nothing. I do NOT however have a 5.56.

consolation. with any of the centerfire handgun rounds, a shot directly into the stud, stopped, or was deflected to the side enough to do minimal damage to the drywall. They did, however turn a section of stud basically to toothpicks. repeated shots in the same vicinity went through the drywall and rang the gong too.

[helomech]

Here's some info I found quickly.....more to follow

I would believe the hollow point would come apart, if they where using the cheap hollow points. I would bet lots of money that the Barnes TSX hollow points would not. A FMJ, or a bonded bullet will tear apart a wall, without losing very much of it's energy. I shot a 62 grain barnes TSX through the skull of a 160 lb hog, and the bullet still weighed 60 grains.

[mollypup]

What about using rebar across the windows to keep chainsaw maniacs out?

[Sniper-T]

it's not the windows that you have to worry about for the chainsaw dudes... They'll cut right through the wall, and open up a door sized hole beside the window, or wherever it is convenient.

[Evolver]

Got it!!! Get a electricians 5/8'' boring bit 4' long, drill holes through the center of your doors (all doors have wood cores) and insert #4 rebar (1/2") on 6'' centers by your lock sets. As soon as they hit the first one there chain saw blade will be toast and wouldn't cut much of anything after that. :)

[Evolver]

As for your walls... Stucco w chicken wire veneerer has the best stopping power out of all veneerers other than brick.

[mollypup]

We have brick on all sides up to the roof. Still have windows and doors to worry about. Could some pictures be uploaded or more detailed directions given of how to install the rebar in the door? I'm having trouble seeing how it's done. Thanks! :)

[Sniper-T]

rebar will only work if your door opens in, so lets assume that is the case...

Let us also assume that you are going to go with 3/4" rebar.

quick and simple... drill a 13/16" hole in the floor as close to the closed door as you can. for this, if you hold the rebar vertically against the door, so the end is on the floor, then mark the spot. open the door to get it out of the way, and then drill the hole.

To reinforce it, you'll either need to go below it and screw/bolt on some heavy steel plates, or hardwood 2X6's etc. OR... drill your hole directly into one of the floor joists if possible. and as close to the opening side of the door (away from the hinges)

Heat up and bend the end of the rebar to make a handle, and either drill a hole through it for a bolt, or weld on a tab to keep it from falling right down to the floor.

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then have a look at the way the latching system works on the sides of an overhead garage door. If you want to add additional side supports in, you'll need brackets like that, that you would SECURELY fasten on each side of the door, horizontal to each other. then you can just feed the rebar through the eye's on either side, and you'r good.

Remember on any of this... it will only be as secure as your mounting platform. No one would ever be able to break a piece of 3/4" rebar... but if you just have a hole into a plywood floor, it will tear through with enough kicks. conversely, if your side mounts are nailed/screwed into drywall or just the 2X4 studs... a couple kicks will tear through that too.

and finally... be aware of the door that you're bracing, wood or steel? solid core or hollow. By reinforcing it with rebar, the door itself becomes the next week link.

If the door is a solid core steel door, then you're laughing... but, the door jamb that it sits in is quite probably only nailed into the wall opening with 1/2 dozen or so nails. and may require a few more... or some decent lag bolts

[mollypup]

Thanks! I'm printing this out so I can study it in more detail. I don't think I'll be able to access the flooring underneath where the rebar would rest in the flooring up next to the front door. But I need to go into the basement to check it out for sure. Sounds like a solid way to support the door and also easy to remove when you need to open the door. I have to check on the solidity of our door also. The outside is definitely metal but not sure what the core is....I think wood. Anyway, I'm not trying to absolutely prevent entrance, just to buy some time to grab the shotgun and get ready to blast. Also like the garage door security method. - Thanks! :D