Rob Raskin of Las Vegas here again, Survivors, and today on part two of our three-part series on how to build a bunker, we’ll be looking at how to make concrete. Concrete is essential for any home defense strategy, especially in an environment where hostile parties may try to enter your property. By knowing how to create concrete on your own, you can continue building and fortifying your property without having to worry about exposing yourself by venturing out into a city to obtain supplies, if they are even there. Read on to learn about the next steps to making your concrete.
Collecting Your Materials
Concrete is a mixture of cement and gravel, along with sand and water. However, not all sand is the same. You can of course use sand from your yard or from a nearby source, but you will want to make sure to filter our all small particles, such as pebbles, from it. Once you have this, you will want to set it aside and keep it separate from the gravel, which can be obtained from breaking up brocks if you don’t have rocks nearby. You will want to make sure the pieces are pea-sized or smaller, which will make it easier to integrate with your concrete. You can of course experiment with larger sizes in future batches to find the mix that is ideal for your needs.
Mixing the Ingredients
However, the mix of all these ingredients can be hard to find on your own if you aren’t sure. You’ll want to make sure that you at least have an even mix of sand and gravel. You can slowly add more sand and gravel as necessary. While you might decide differently, most people will settle on a 3-2-1 gravel-sand-cement mix. You’ll find that this can be easier to work with than other mixes, which may set too quickly, or not fast enough, thus losing their shape before you are ready for it to do so.
Test the Concrete
Once you have mixed your concrete together, it’s important to test it before beginning to use it. You will want it to have a doughy consistency, so that it can be worked into shapes. You may have to add more water or cement to your mixture if you have too much of the other components. Once common way to check and see if the concrete is suitable for use is by pouring water on a sample of concrete. If the concrete settles under the water, it isn’t absorbing the water. However, if it gets cloudy, you will need to add more cement and sand.