I plan to build a compound. Tell me what I need.

[SayWhat? 4,146]

A guard tower at each corner of the compound, obviously.

[Leroy Hoard 14,039]

4 minutes ago, SayWhat? said:

A guard tower at each corner of the compound, obviously.

With remote control bazookas.

[Psychopav 1,173]

Do you even have warts?

[Nathan R. Jessep 5,811]

9 minutes ago, Psychopav said:

Do you even have warts?

No, but definitely have Compound W just in case. 

[Mrs. Rannous 5,552]

2 hours ago, beer 30 said:

Tigers maybe, I'd say hippos are a no go unless you want to be fighting them off at some point.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/18/americas/colombia-pablo-escobar-hippos-scli-intl-scn/index.html

Someone did suggest a moat.

[belljr 11,283]

Sharks with lasers?

[seahawk 17 636]

Milk.

[Wrigley 3,453]

10 hours ago, Don't Toews Me said:

More blow, more hookers. I say you need the blow first.

Life’s big questions answered here 

[2Squirrels1Nut 2,503]

Gimp mask

[mrip541 986]

Gas only lasts a few months. Can you maintain a solar array? Is it zombie-proof?

[Dezbelief 804]

Crossbow

Smoker

Drones for reconnaissance

[Courtjester 3,370]

Multiple shipping containers would make a good start for an outer wall and then build in from there. I saw some redneck builder show and they dropped a few of them in the woods and then went to town from there. You see these people making these mini-houses from them all the time, so they are functional. 

Wait a minute, this isn't a serious thread? Okay--a moat filled with sharks with lasers attached is the obvious answer.  

[Otis 13,655]

On 2/18/2021 at 8:23 PM, Nathan R. Jessep said:

Kinda joking. Kinda serious. 

Just started thinking about what I need. Solar power to be off the grid in instances such as this winter storm fiasco. Backup whole-house generator. Snow chains. ATV. You get the picture. 

What will make a good compound? Food, whiskey, guns and ammo will be well-stocked at all times, so those are a given.

What else do we need??

GO!

This year I got a place that approaches compound status, and have some of this stuff, except:

- No solar. We have industrial utility poles run into the property, 40 Acres, and we do have a whole home Generac (propane). But I’m very interested in adding solar with battery backup, and we have the space for it (though I hate covering some piece of land with those, love the concept of limited or no electricity needs). 

- Propane to heat the garage/apartment, oil to heat the main house. I’d love to dig a well for geothermal,  but it’s up on a mountain and a lot of rock and I imagine would be a ##### to dig. Not sure what we could do here, maybe stuck with the fossil fuels 

- we have a well with all the water filtration we need  

- septic tank, but who is gonna empty it if the world goes south?  Probably need to add a composting toilet, at least out at the horse barn or by the guest house (or a separate out house?), just in case the world craters and we can’t pump it 

- Have an ATV (Polaris Ranger side by side 6 seater), but no snow chains for that or the car. Thankfully our car is 4WD otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get up and down the driveway which is long and winding with ditches on either side and despite having a local guy plow it, was a sheet of ice this week.  Put it in 4WD and basically crawled slowly down to the main road. But was nervous.  Could also use snow tracks for the Ranger but frankly seems like a waste of money and PIA. Maybe just need a snowmobile 

- need spare gas tanks in the garage filled for the ATV and car  

- probably should put bigger wheels and off road tires on the car and have it lifted.  Better yet, I should probably pick up and leave up there one of these new Ford Broncos. They’re beasts and are the appropriate compound vehicle, will tackle anything I bet  

- Have an over under shotgun with plenty of ammo, and an ancient 22 rifle with no ammo. Could probably use one higher powered/modern rifle with a scope, to cover the property from the house. 

- security is OK, could be better, if we’re talking zombie compound. 

- nice sized finished basement, but another full underground prepper shelter would probably be needed for compound status. 

- do have 8 walkie talkies, 4 stationed at the house; two at the guest house; two in the garage with the Polaris.

- I’m thinking we need some drones, so at any time we could see what’s happening on other parts of the property/see what others are up to nearby 

- need more food snd storage in the basement. Currently no second refrigerator and no pantry set up down there. Seems like a must, along with tons of canned goods and storage. Electric stove top so we could get by.

- more chopped firewood is a good idea. Don’t have an axe or a chainsaw, probably should get one of each, so I could cut some trees for firewood as needed. 

- could use more cameras around the house and property. Just seems like a PIA to install anything away from the house, have to run electric and some kind of data line I guess unless we place WiFi repeaters along the way, which sounds expensive. 
 

I’m sure there’s more I’m missing here. 

[ProstheticRGK 4,071]

3 hours ago, Otis said:

This year I got a place that approaches compound status, and have some of this stuff, except:

- No solar. We have industrial utility poles run into the property, 40 Acres, and we do have a whole home Generac (propane). But I’m very interested in adding solar with battery backup, and we have the space for it (though I hate covering some piece of land with those, love the concept of limited or no electricity needs). 

- Propane to heat the garage/apartment, oil to heat the main house. I’d love to dig a well for geothermal,  but it’s up on a mountain and a lot of rock and I imagine would be a ##### to dig. Not sure what we could do here, maybe stuck with the fossil fuels 

- we have a well with all the water filtration we need  

- septic tank, but who is gonna empty it if the world goes south?  Probably need to add a composting toilet, at least out at the horse barn or by the guest house (or a separate out house?), just in case the world craters and we can’t pump it 

- Have an ATV (Polaris Ranger side by side 6 seater), but no snow chains for that or the car. Thankfully our car is 4WD otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get up and down the driveway which is long and winding with ditches on either side and despite having a local guy plow it, was a sheet of ice this week.  Put it in 4WD and basically crawled slowly down to the main road. But was nervous.  Could also use snow tracks for the Ranger but frankly seems like a waste of money and PIA. Maybe just need a snowmobile 

- need spare gas tanks in the garage filled for the ATV and car  

- probably should put bigger wheels and off road tires on the car and have it lifted.  Better yet, I should probably pick up and leave up there one of these new Ford Broncos. They’re beasts and are the appropriate compound vehicle, will tackle anything I bet  

- Have an over under shotgun with plenty of ammo, and an ancient 22 rifle with no ammo. Could probably use one higher powered/modern rifle with a scope, to cover the property from the house. 

- security is OK, could be better, if we’re talking zombie compound. 

- nice sized finished basement, but another full underground prepper shelter would probably be needed for compound status. 

- do have 8 walkie talkies, 4 stationed at the house; two at the guest house; two in the garage with the Polaris.

- I’m thinking we need some drones, so at any time we could see what’s happening on other parts of the property/see what others are up to nearby 

- need more food snd storage in the basement. Currently no second refrigerator and no pantry set up down there. Seems like a must, along with tons of canned goods and storage. Electric stove top so we could get by.

- more chopped firewood is a good idea. Don’t have an axe or a chainsaw, probably should get one of each, so I could cut some trees for firewood as needed. 

- could use more cameras around the house and property. Just seems like a PIA to install anything away from the house, have to run electric and some kind of data line I guess unless we place WiFi repeaters along the way, which sounds expensive. 
 

I’m sure there’s more I’m missing here. 

Claymores and shooting positions in a lazy W formation

[Phil Elliott 1,139]

,  and more 

[Nathan R. Jessep 5,811]

Great ideas! FTR, I'm talking more of a "get off my lawn" compound, not so much a zombie apocalypse one, but I like the way you guys think.  

[GroveDiesel 9,327]

6 hours ago, Otis said:

This year I got a place that approaches compound status, and have some of this stuff, except:

- No solar. We have industrial utility poles run into the property, 40 Acres, and we do have a whole home Generac (propane). But I’m very interested in adding solar with battery backup, and we have the space for it (though I hate covering some piece of land with those, love the concept of limited or no electricity needs). 

- Propane to heat the garage/apartment, oil to heat the main house. I’d love to dig a well for geothermal,  but it’s up on a mountain and a lot of rock and I imagine would be a ##### to dig. Not sure what we could do here, maybe stuck with the fossil fuels 

- we have a well with all the water filtration we need  

- septic tank, but who is gonna empty it if the world goes south?  Probably need to add a composting toilet, at least out at the horse barn or by the guest house (or a separate out house?), just in case the world craters and we can’t pump it 

- Have an ATV (Polaris Ranger side by side 6 seater), but no snow chains for that or the car. Thankfully our car is 4WD otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get up and down the driveway which is long and winding with ditches on either side and despite having a local guy plow it, was a sheet of ice this week.  Put it in 4WD and basically crawled slowly down to the main road. But was nervous.  Could also use snow tracks for the Ranger but frankly seems like a waste of money and PIA. Maybe just need a snowmobile 

- need spare gas tanks in the garage filled for the ATV and car  

- probably should put bigger wheels and off road tires on the car and have it lifted.  Better yet, I should probably pick up and leave up there one of these new Ford Broncos. They’re beasts and are the appropriate compound vehicle, will tackle anything I bet  

- Have an over under shotgun with plenty of ammo, and an ancient 22 rifle with no ammo. Could probably use one higher powered/modern rifle with a scope, to cover the property from the house. 

- security is OK, could be better, if we’re talking zombie compound. 

- nice sized finished basement, but another full underground prepper shelter would probably be needed for compound status. 

- do have 8 walkie talkies, 4 stationed at the house; two at the guest house; two in the garage with the Polaris.

- I’m thinking we need some drones, so at any time we could see what’s happening on other parts of the property/see what others are up to nearby 

- need more food snd storage in the basement. Currently no second refrigerator and no pantry set up down there. Seems like a must, along with tons of canned goods and storage. Electric stove top so we could get by.

- more chopped firewood is a good idea. Don’t have an axe or a chainsaw, probably should get one of each, so I could cut some trees for firewood as needed. 

- could use more cameras around the house and property. Just seems like a PIA to install anything away from the house, have to run electric and some kind of data line I guess unless we place WiFi repeaters along the way, which sounds expensive. 
 

I’m sure there’s more I’m missing here. 

If you’re thinking potentially longterm, you need seed and equipment to start a garden. Just make sure it’s not that Monsanto garbage seed that won’t produce food with seeds you can re-plant.

[Leroy Hoard 14,039]

2 hours ago, Nathan R. Jessep said:

Great ideas! FTR, I'm talking more of a "get off my lawn" compound, not so much a zombie apocalypse one, but I like the way you guys think.  

Best way to keep them off the lawn is a lawn made of stainless steel nails pointed upward.

[Dinsy Ejotuz 13,292]

Quote

healthy and genuine relationships are not transactional: preparedness relationships are not based on simple exchange like “I made him dinner, so he’ll fix my radios.” It’s closer to “I made him dinner while he was busy doing childcare for several people in the community, and some of those people help me fix my car when it breaks down.” Even at this larger scale, it’s still not transactional: maybe you’re just making dinner for him because he’s hungry and you hope he eats. There’s no need to keep track of who is contributing what, and cold calculations like that do not make for strong communities. Cold calculations make for competitive, instead of cooperative, interpersonal relations.

 

[Binky The Doormat 12,945]

elementals.

[Don't Toews Me 606]

12 hours ago, Otis said:

This year I got a place that approaches compound status, and have some of this stuff, except:

- No solar. We have industrial utility poles run into the property, 40 Acres, and we do have a whole home Generac (propane). But I’m very interested in adding solar with battery backup, and we have the space for it (though I hate covering some piece of land with those, love the concept of limited or no electricity needs). 

- Propane to heat the garage/apartment, oil to heat the main house. I’d love to dig a well for geothermal,  but it’s up on a mountain and a lot of rock and I imagine would be a ##### to dig. Not sure what we could do here, maybe stuck with the fossil fuels 

- we have a well with all the water filtration we need  

- septic tank, but who is gonna empty it if the world goes south?  Probably need to add a composting toilet, at least out at the horse barn or by the guest house (or a separate out house?), just in case the world craters and we can’t pump it 

- Have an ATV (Polaris Ranger side by side 6 seater), but no snow chains for that or the car. Thankfully our car is 4WD otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get up and down the driveway which is long and winding with ditches on either side and despite having a local guy plow it, was a sheet of ice this week.  Put it in 4WD and basically crawled slowly down to the main road. But was nervous.  Could also use snow tracks for the Ranger but frankly seems like a waste of money and PIA. Maybe just need a snowmobile 

- need spare gas tanks in the garage filled for the ATV and car  

- probably should put bigger wheels and off road tires on the car and have it lifted.  Better yet, I should probably pick up and leave up there one of these new Ford Broncos. They’re beasts and are the appropriate compound vehicle, will tackle anything I bet  

- Have an over under shotgun with plenty of ammo, and an ancient 22 rifle with no ammo. Could probably use one higher powered/modern rifle with a scope, to cover the property from the house. 

- security is OK, could be better, if we’re talking zombie compound. 

- nice sized finished basement, but another full underground prepper shelter would probably be needed for compound status. 

- do have 8 walkie talkies, 4 stationed at the house; two at the guest house; two in the garage with the Polaris.

- I’m thinking we need some drones, so at any time we could see what’s happening on other parts of the property/see what others are up to nearby 

- need more food snd storage in the basement. Currently no second refrigerator and no pantry set up down there. Seems like a must, along with tons of canned goods and storage. Electric stove top so we could get by.

- more chopped firewood is a good idea. Don’t have an axe or a chainsaw, probably should get one of each, so I could cut some trees for firewood as needed. 

- could use more cameras around the house and property. Just seems like a PIA to install anything away from the house, have to run electric and some kind of data line I guess unless we place WiFi repeaters along the way, which sounds expensive. 
 

I’m sure there’s more I’m missing here. 

No attack helicopters? 

[Enderdog 128]

A robe and a wizard hat.

[Ron Swanson 3,089]

17 hours ago, Otis said:

This year I got a place that approaches compound status, and have some of this stuff, except:

- No solar. We have industrial utility poles run into the property, 40 Acres, and we do have a whole home Generac (propane). But I’m very interested in adding solar with battery backup, and we have the space for it (though I hate covering some piece of land with those, love the concept of limited or no electricity needs). 

- Propane to heat the garage/apartment, oil to heat the main house. I’d love to dig a well for geothermal,  but it’s up on a mountain and a lot of rock and I imagine would be a ##### to dig. Not sure what we could do here, maybe stuck with the fossil fuels 

- we have a well with all the water filtration we need  

- septic tank, but who is gonna empty it if the world goes south?  Probably need to add a composting toilet, at least out at the horse barn or by the guest house (or a separate out house?), just in case the world craters and we can’t pump it 

- Have an ATV (Polaris Ranger side by side 6 seater), but no snow chains for that or the car. Thankfully our car is 4WD otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get up and down the driveway which is long and winding with ditches on either side and despite having a local guy plow it, was a sheet of ice this week.  Put it in 4WD and basically crawled slowly down to the main road. But was nervous.  Could also use snow tracks for the Ranger but frankly seems like a waste of money and PIA. Maybe just need a snowmobile 

- need spare gas tanks in the garage filled for the ATV and car  

- probably should put bigger wheels and off road tires on the car and have it lifted.  Better yet, I should probably pick up and leave up there one of these new Ford Broncos. They’re beasts and are the appropriate compound vehicle, will tackle anything I bet  

- Have an over under shotgun with plenty of ammo, and an ancient 22 rifle with no ammo. Could probably use one higher powered/modern rifle with a scope, to cover the property from the house. 

- security is OK, could be better, if we’re talking zombie compound. 

- nice sized finished basement, but another full underground prepper shelter would probably be needed for compound status. 

- do have 8 walkie talkies, 4 stationed at the house; two at the guest house; two in the garage with the Polaris.

- I’m thinking we need some drones, so at any time we could see what’s happening on other parts of the property/see what others are up to nearby 

- need more food snd storage in the basement. Currently no second refrigerator and no pantry set up down there. Seems like a must, along with tons of canned goods and storage. Electric stove top so we could get by.

- more chopped firewood is a good idea. Don’t have an axe or a chainsaw, probably should get one of each, so I could cut some trees for firewood as needed. 

- could use more cameras around the house and property. Just seems like a PIA to install anything away from the house, have to run electric and some kind of data line I guess unless we place WiFi repeaters along the way, which sounds expensive. 
 

I’m sure there’s more I’m missing here. 

How's the internet speed?