Hardening the home for defense

[montanadave]

Wouldn't a 6" poured concrete foundation be a better choice when building new construction? Simpler, cheaper in the long run, effective?

Certainly. However, the house (as I currently imagine it) will likely have a walkout basement to the southwest to facilitate a passive-solar design with the rear of the basement area earth bermed on the remaining three sides. A gravel-filled interior wall to partition the rear of the basement (within the earth-bermed area) would provide a secure safe-room.

Depending on the size of the house (still in the planning stage), pouring a solid concrete wall might prove the smarter way to go. The gravel-filled wall system is certainly geared more towards the retro-fit or remodel.

[Nathan_Bell]

The graveled filled wall thing got me thinking.
Ever since I have first read about ICF construction it has seemed to me to be the way to go for a secure home. Depending on your area they cost 8-20% more to construct, but you have a concrete frickin house with R50 walls and if you do Lite-Deck for your floors the same insulation roof.
Exterior treatment has always stymied me, as a few magazines from an FN-FAL would chew holes through the concrete core of the wall.
The ICF forms have exterior attachment points for hanging siding or wythes of bricks. What if you upgraded those points to attach a 4" galvanized Z stud, outer faced that with house wrap, then 3/8ths OSB, another layer of house wrap, and then sided from there. You would have that void to fill with the 3/4 gravel and since it is a steel superstructure, you could fill to the top.

Probably add another 5-8% building costs, but you would have a damned secure building completely incognito.

Thanks for posting that link. While it seems obvious after reading it, I had not considered the probability of a sand-filled wall leaking "like an hourglass" when penetrated, as opposed to the obvious advantages of 3/4" gravel.

I have plans for building a country home in the next 5 years and am actively researching design options with a significant focus on home security. While I doubt I would use a gravel-filled wall system throughout the house, the building site lends itself well to a partially earth-bermed structure and incorporating a gravel-filled interior wall to create a safe retreat area in the rear of the home seems a reasonable and cost-effective solution.

[Kfgk14]

The graveled filled wall thing got me thinking.
Ever since I have first read about ICF construction it has seemed to me to be the way to go for a secure home. Depending on your area they cost 8-20% more to construct, but you have a concrete frickin house with R50 walls and if you do Lite-Deck for your floors the same insulation roof.
Exterior treatment has always stymied me, as a few magazines from an FN-FAL would chew holes through the concrete core of the wall.
The ICF forms have exterior attachment points for hanging siding or wythes of bricks. What if you upgraded those points to attach a 4" galvanized Z stud, outer faced that with house wrap, then 3/8ths OSB, another layer of house wrap, and then sided from there. You would have that void to fill with the 3/4 gravel and since it is a steel superstructure, you could fill to the top.

Probably add another 5-8% building costs, but you would have a damned secure building completely incognito.

That is brilliant, as a matter of fact. I'm just gonna take that idea and save it for a rainy day.

[SMETNA]

I wasn't offended btw. If I had an erroneous idea from elsewhere on the internets, correct away.

That's why I'm here. That's why we're all here. To learn.