Unpopular opinion: concrete blocks beat poured concrete for small bunker builds

Everyone in my local group raves about poured walls for fallout shelters. I went with cinder blocks for my 8x10 bunker outside of Omaha. Took me three weekends instead of one because of the mortar work, but let me tell you - I can modify it. Last month I cut a hole for an extra vent pipe in twenty minutes with a masonry bit. Try that with a poured wall. Plus if a crack shows up, I just patch one block instead of worrying about the whole structure. Has anyone else had better luck with block on their own build?

3 comments

3 Comments

james_bell11d ago

Glad to hear someone else saying this. I've been telling people for years that block is way more forgiving in the long run. My dad had a poured basement wall in his old house that cracked from corner to corner after a dry summer, and it was a nightmare to fix. @gavin365 hit the nail on the head about the mortar joints taking up some movement. That's a huge advantage most folks don't think about until they're staring at a big crack in their pour. Plus like you said, being able to cut in a new vent or pipe in twenty minutes is a real game changer when you actually need to change something later on.

gavin36511d ago

I read something a while back about how block walls actually handle settlement cracks better than poured concrete. The old farmhouse I grew up in had a block foundation that had settled some over 60 years, and it was still standing fine because the mortar joints just kind of give a little. Poured concrete will crack in one big line straight through. That vent pipe story you mentioned is a good example of the practical side too. I helped a neighbor put a new window in his poured basement wall and it was a real bear. We had to rent a saw and it took all day. With block you just cut out what you need.

diana_kim6611d ago

And speaking of cutting things out, that reminds me of when I tried to put a dog door through a poured concrete wall at my uncle's place. We spent two days with a jackhammer and ended up with a jagged hole that looked like a drunk beaver did it. The mortar dust got everywhere, my ears rang for a week. With block you just knock out a few webs and pop a core out, clean as can be. Makes a big difference when you're not trying to be a construction crew just to install a simple access point.