Atlas Survival Shelters specializes in creating galvanized corrugated pipe survival shelters for its customers.
These are designed to be built underground with 1-2 bunker entrances/exits for emergencies.
They come in diameters of 8′, 9′, 10′, 11′, and 12′ and in lengths of up to 50′.
In addition, they also offer Monolithic concrete domes and shipping container shelters.
This is less tiny house living and more of a survival shelter but I still thought you might enjoy learning about it (I thought it was interesting).
Please don’t miss other exciting tiny homes – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter!
Underground Survival Shelter
See the rest and even take a video tour below:
Kitchen
Rest of the Kitchen and Entertainment Center w/ Storage
Dining
Desk
Master Bedroom
Bunks
Bathroom Sink and Storage
Storage Under Bunks
Shower
Another Bathroom Design You Can Pick (With Washer and Dryer)
Underground Installation
Entry Hatch
Escape Hatch
Underground Shelter Design
Delivery
Backyard Bunkers
Factory
Floor Storage
Images: Atlas Survival Shelters
Video Tour
Learn more about Atlas Survival Shelters.
What are your thoughts on underground homes and survival shelters?
If you liked this underground survival shelter you’ll love our free daily tiny house newsletter with more!
You can also join our Small House Newsletter!
Also, try our Tiny Houses For Sale Newsletter! Thank you!
More Like This: Tiny Houses | Survival | THOW
See The Latest: Go Back Home to See Our Latest Tiny Houses
Alex
Latest posts by Alex (see all)
- Flamenco Tiny House by Baluchon - February 4, 2023
- 2008 Ford E-450 4×4 Timberline Box Van Conversion - February 3, 2023
- Custom Tumbleweed Tiny House with a Bidet - February 3, 2023
It seems to be all-elecctric. I hope they have a BIG generator.
Thank you for doing an underground house but I’d be more interested if they were set into the side of a hill with some natural light. What are the price range they come in? They look very expensive.
Finally, I think the guy with the rifle at the escape hatch send way too negative a message for anyone but the real hard-core survivalists.
I agree Mike. I’m not a hard-core survivalist but I still think this is just pretty cool/interesting. And your idea to build it on a hill with some natural light (windows, french doors, sliding glass doors, etc) would make it really awesome. Or maybe some tubes that go up and are disguised as an oil well or something on the outside to let light (and air?) in from the ceilings!
Another fabulous product brought to you by the fear industry.
With underfloor storage for all that gold that will come in so handy when struggling for basic survival.
Lets see… in a doomsday scenario what value does gold have? None. You can’t eat it, you won’t be able to use it for construction purposes. Ability to create technology that currently exists would probably be at least 200 years down the track.
I agree with Eric on gold being kind of worthless in doomsday scenario. My choice for currency will be toilet paper, alcohol and ammo but not in any particular order.
Throughout the rest of history many people took precautions of some kind, many were happy they did, it always puzzles me why so many make this an emotional issue rather than using a little higher brain function & going with plain old calculated risk avoidance.
Not that I personally would go for a bunker, I’d rather be able to move, they still have their place though, perhaps you should note that the government seem to think them a good idea for themselves.
I think that’s a brilliant point. Why should preparedness be derided.
Because idiots have their heads in the sand. Can’t/Won’t/Wouldn’t dare happen… yeah right!
Like Hurricane Sandy couldn’t happen. Like Fukishima couldn’t happen. Like Christchurch couldn’t happen.
Seems like something that would be built and not used very often, or at all. Just too cold looking on the inside and not very inviting. I would have used more natural materials, but maybe that wouldn’t work underground. If I were to do something like this, I would prefer more of an earthen berm design, with windows on one side and lots of light. You would still be protected as it could be closed up as needed.
I agree. I’d rather build it up on stilts with lots of windows by a bunch of trees.
The trees would quickly disappear with the first atomic bomb lobbed at us from North Korea and the nut job there, Putin has mentioned lobbing a nuclear device at us as well and he is closer I do believe and has the ability — Just saying — LOL — it is a little extreme, but then again in our current times maybe it isn’t so much so. I have seen this one before and it was for sale a while back as it sits — do not know if it still is or not. But hey, couldn’t you fasten one of these onto a trailer and turn it into a THOW?? :-}
A scaled back version might be handy in tornado country but you would have to be careful about water infiltration in flood zones. It’s a bit fancy for just a survival shelter and you’d have to ensure a good supply of power, water and sewage disposal. Might be a good place for gamers and rock band practise without driving the rest of the household nuts.
With this kinda a house one could have many pipe dreams.
Back in the 60’s we lived next door to a family that installed one of those bomb shelters in their backyard. This reminded me of that.
At camp we ever never had anything like this.
FAIL!!!! If they think folks can survive in a bunker like this on electricity their fools. One of the first things that would be targeted during a war would be the utilities. Then we have this big freaking door that screams “HEY!!!! We’re down here like fish in pool waiting to be shot” Not to mention the fresh air in the time of a nuclear war that would be needed. Good intentions but either not very well thought out, or folks who are jumping on the prepper band wagon trying to make a quick buck on people’s fears.
These are never going to be built in city back yard. Instead of having a “lake house”, you’d just have a “bunker house”. there are two things to remember if SHTF 1) You might not ever see the bunker location. 2) if you see it, you might not be leaving.
Has it come to this? UGH!
Frankly, this makes me feel sick. Who needs it? I’m glad camo guy with the rifle is not my neighbour. And this is “just in case”. Most people are having
a difficult enough time affording a modest house these days. You’d have to
be crazy to spend money on such a thing.
lots of negative comments .what would you do to survive gas or nuclear attack ?withyour point of view would your neighbour invite you in his shelter with your your scofing at him or her,I think not good luck at being prepared.one ? where does waste water go. cheers alan.
In general, I do not assume that I would survive such an attack, and if I do, I have the basics on hand for civil defense (essentially bug-out bags to go to evacuation points), and I do rely on the good will of others (and offer that good will to others also).
Forget nuclear attack – just think more about coordinated attacks on the electric grid on the coldest day of the year.
Up here in Canada we do not assume that we will need to defend ourselves against our neighbours. What good would a rifle do in case of a nuclear or gas attack? If a big disaster happens, none of us will survive and who would want to be a lone survivor in a ruined environment? I agree with jerryd that this is a product brought to you by the fear industry.
And that, 2BarA, is why I dearly love every single trip I can make to Canada. You folks still have hearts and logic and compassion, not fear and a bunch of bullets. Grateful hugs from a senior citizen stuck in New York (because Canada wants a cool million in cash for us seniors to move up there…and we’re just average joes.)
If I had the money I would build an underground complex of these all interconnected as a survivalist hotel. On a side note I am from Canada.
If you designed one of these so that one end was glass and stuck out of a south sloping hillside you would have a very cost effective passive solar underground house.
It really needs a periscope.
yes a periscope would be helpful and an automated defense system for when the inlaws try and crash your safe haven.
Am I the only one that sees this as an escape route for when the inlaws come for a visit? install solar panels outside and have a light source to grow plants for oxygen etc…..
Just curious..love the idea…However, would the “tube” collapse under the pressure of 20 feet of dirt? Would it rust? Flood? I like the idea of extra space and grow lights to self sustain a little longer.. 🙂
Cost??
If there is a time when the country or world is doomed–let me be the first to die. Who wants to survive a serious “DOOMSDAY” event? If society collapses that much I certainly don’t want to be around to try and “survive” and pick up the “pieces” of what is left of the world ! I don’t want to go back and try and live like a cave man in the “stone age.” Let me RIP ! LOL
A very very expensive Quonset Hut; surely jacked up in price by thousand-folds to cater to fear.
All of the stuff in this place is bog standard off the shelf–cabinets; tubs; etc etc etc—tremendous WASTE of space first off and secondly—who is really BUYING these? And seriously thinking they are going to SURVIVE in here for more than a few hours or days?
There seems to be NO radiation shielding; NO filters for gas infiltration; NO generator–and NO you are NOT putting it UNDER that floor OR in the “escape hatch”—the FIRST thing the enemy of Camo Guy would look for is going to be a HEAT SIGNATURE. Where are the giant tanks for gasoline? How exactly ARE you going to fire up that invisible generator? And the giant TV—are you going to waste your generator–oh wait!-power on DVD watching?
No filters for water intake; no way to re-purify and re-cycle gray and black water—where IS that going to GO to? And how is it going to be REPLENISHED?
Well now that we have saved you all a million plus damn dollars—
This COULD be used as actual housing if sited properly—in Hurricane Irene underground tanks were washed OUT of the ground and washed into rivers etc. Would like to see one of these properly secured and actually well designed to LIVe in–this could be low cost housing or higher end. These culverts–and that is all this is!!!!–a large road culvert—are not that spendy. And please–don’t just sheet rock screw the cheapest cabinets and plumbing to the walls!
Let these scared preppers and the extremely wealthy–whose wealth is in –what??? Gold? Stocks? Electronic “funds”? The REAL currency of ANY time is what I can exchange for FOOD; WEAPONS; CLOTHING and MEDICINE. That could be–other food; knowledge; items that YOU want that I can afford to give UP to get what you HAVE.
Nope—interesting but simply fear mongering as presented.
And not even well done at that.
Ok…so you can’t have widows for “natural light” in a survival shelter of any kind because that leaves you very vulnerable to break-ins by the people who do not have a shelter and want yours, and your food, and other things, etc. Secondly, in a catastrophe there won’t be any running water unless you have a really deep and hefty well, so having so many water guzzlers is out of the question. In a catastrophe, you are not thinking about washing your hair; your are thinking about staying alive and protecting your family and your food source. There would be no electricity, and it would take a lot of solar to support that amount of electrical use and where would you put it except out in the open were it would be stolen or destroyed by desperate people who again do not have a shelter. Its lovely, but there were no huge storage rooms for food and water and lots of bullets, and even if there were, there would not be enough room to store for a family of 6 that the home was built for. Sorry, but this one gets my thumbs down. In a survival situation, it is best to be armed with knowledge about how to find water where there isn’t any, and what wild edible foods are in your area on which you can survive. Know how to set traps for small animals to eat, and how to build a debree shelter for warmth and safety. You would also won’t to know how to use a homemade bow drill to start a fire, and how to get water from a grape vine. knowledge is what will get you through a survival situation because every thing you store away, and even your shelter will eventually be taken from you, possibly at the cost of your life. It is not worth it.
When a catasptophe hits, I’m ditching this bus, and me and my family are heading for the woods!
Actually, there is a lot of storage space under the floor ( 2-3 ft. height running the entire length!). A well is the prefered water source with a 12 volt water pump, and possibly some storage and maybe hot water. And you would be surprised how few solar panels you would need. I lived off the grid for 25 years on 4 300 watt panels. The batteries for electricity storage are the most important part of the system, but there are a plethora of battery companies selling deep cycle batteries now. I used 4 6 volt forklift batteries, with the pairs connected to make 12 volt, then run in series to get a lot of storage capacity. During the summer I couldn’t use all the electricity I was getting so I frequently had to turn off the panel array so I didn’t cook my batteries. During the winter, I sometimes had to be a little conservative, but I always had lights, music, and at least a movie or two’s worth of power nearly every night. That being said, I had to turn lights off when not needed, not leave the tv on all day, etc., but its easy to learn to conserve electricity.
In an underground shelter, where does the outgas from the charging batteries go? Not good to be breathing what those batteries are putting out.
I am way to claustrophobic to live or even sleep in one of these . I guess I’ll be one of the beheaded .I’ve seen garages and shops built with half of the culvert out of ground .I’m sure there are some houses built this way .kind of fun though .
It is very interesting. I guess it would work as a tornado shelter. But, other than that, I have no desire to survive a nuclear attack or zombie apocalypse.
Looks like it’s up to the purchaser of the Little House in the Culvert to figure out the clean air & water supply, power generation, waste disposal, etc., as well as whether the desired location has appropriate soil, water table, & other conditions for installation and ongoing livability.
I like this for short term use. I love the idea of using a piece of culvert, which is meant to go underground. For the last 10 years I have lived in 2 different RVs, for which I completely customized the interiors, so I would definitely make my decorating scheme more “homey” than the photos show. I’d forego the energy-consuming amenities such as the washer and entertainment center. I’d want a radio antenna out there, and it would be worth the little bit of extra resources to keep a couple of green plants on board, to make the shelter seem less like a claustrophobic underground tomb.
How are they getting air/oxygen down there?
There is a military grade NBC ( NuclearBiologicalChemical ) air filter that comes with the bunker. I believe it is of Swiss manufacture; the Swiss have underground concrete NBC bunker to house their ENTIRE population, so they know a little about air filtration.
Look very nice. Are they good at surviving hurricanes and tornadoes?
How would they fair at being in the ground in south Mississppi (Near coast)?
There are lots of survivalists and preppers out there. In an ideal world we wouldn’t have to think of all these wacko “what-if” situations, but here we are, in this world as it is today, and we do end up at least thinking about them from time to time. I’m in no position, and have no interest, in making myself such a shelter, but let’s just put the “signals” that this bunker sets off for us aside and look at it as it is. It’s really well done! I mean, it’s a corrugated steel tube. A huge water conduit. And look what they’ve done with it. It’s really amazing. It’s furnished more or less like the break room at a mining site I once visited in Wyoming, but hey, it’s a small space that they’ve managed to make really workable; a double bed and 4 bunk beds, and maybe that’s a fold-out in the living room area. And thoughtfully planned storage as well. I’m pretty impressed with this. By the way, the big exposed panel over the entrance shown in the pictures I think is not the way it’s usually done. If you look at the design diagram, it shows the main entrance to the bunker inside the house, so it would not typically be visible from outside. And the emergency/alternate exit, is usually covered by a thin layer of soil, or somehow obscured, so the entire structure would likely not be easily detectable under ordinary installation scenarios.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by all the negative comments. I find the concept very interesting regardless of the survival spin on this particular shelter. It reminds me of a much smaller scale of those old missile silos that the military decommissioned and sold. A few enterprising souls bought those up and turned them into very interesting underground living spaces. The nice thing was that you never had to worry about tornadoes, the temperature remains at a constant level throughout the year, it is amazingly quiet, and when you turn the lights off to go to sleep it’s as dark as you can get. The silos I saw looked like very comfortable living spaces and this just looks like a smaller scale version. Even without the survival aspect, it seems like a nice idea.
I really appreciate the time and energy you put in Alex. I don’t think it is about bomb shelters or generators…what I see is perhaps a very cost efficient way to build… on a hillside or?? Kind of falls into the container homes /Quonset Hut /Silo category…ideas worth exploring…Thanks for bringing this idea to light Alex
This scares me, I’m way too claustrophobic for this.
Just put a tombstone on the top, too many ways this would bury me !!!
Each to their own tho, different strokes for different folks!!!
I think the concept just makes folks uncomfortable inside their cocoon. I’ve had to live in some claustrophobic interiors over the years while working for Uncle Sam. This reminds me of living inside an airplane fuselage. It’s full of ideas for a small home….just takes an open mind to imagine it somewhere else and for a more normal mode of living. The rest of the emotional baggage mentioned is optional.
The shelter looks neet not what i would have thought how much are they and can you just put it it in the back yard
Oh, thank you, Alex, for showing us these. I think this is SO hot and has many more applications than just a survival bunker. How about a storage place for when your THOW is on the road? How about a writer’s retreat? How about an office to keep all the clutter out of the THOW but organized and it doesn’t have to be moved or shifted around to get at the dining room table? How about a slamming practice room; you can roll up the music to 10db and drum or guitar as loud as you want! What a jam room! You even have a place to take a break to have a pizza and a cool one with your band mates and the neighbors won’t be calling the police! Love it; totally rad. And it even has a vardo feeling to the insides so if you wanted that theme/flavor for your bunker, the general shape lends itself to it. My only concern is the price. Just the installation alone must be a pretty penny’s worth and then there is the cost of the bunker on top of that… whew!
Has this retailer ever considered lay-away or seller-financing? This would probably be the only way to be able to afford something like this. But it certainly is exciting.
But Lisa E, if it were that slamming practice room you describe, then there would be reports in the media of “sounds heard from under ground!!” 🙂
… which would sell more of these, perhaps? Or else then maybe everyone would want to build treehouses, to get as far away from the GROUND as possible! I’ll bet we can spin the fear factor well enough to make a sizable profit. Wanna start a new business??
We can call this new business “The Hall of the Mountain King”!
😉
I am reminded of all the World War II Quonsit Huts that were repurposed into apartments, college classrooms, etc. Of course, the design could be warmed with color and the shelter could be homey with positioning that allowed windows, porches or decks.
But this is obviously meant to be a very expensive shelter in which one hopes to survive a major catastrophe – not just the brief havoc of a tornado – in comfort. I don’t want to be part of the burial party; I have oftened wondered why the Swiss wish to be. And how long can one delay the inevitable anyway? If the unknown enemy, disaster or human, gets me, I know to where I will transition.
I suspect the photo of the gun totin’ guy raised the sales of these units by an impressive percentage! And you, Alex, again precipitated thought and conversation. You do a good job!!!!
People forget that while the tornado is only a few minutes it still takes months to rebuild the house. So while you may not be living in your shelter 24 hours a day you will probably be sleeping and cooking in it for a long time. An RV is an option but it probably blew away with the house. Realistically any disaster that compromises the house would need use of the shelter until repairs or rebuild is complete (storm, fire riots).
There is a town in Texas called Wacko, isn’t there?
A tumble drier in a survival shelter? I suspect that will require a few solar panels…!
LOL! And, unbelievably some people actually buy these things?!
Strange.
Check out this fancy bunker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FGbSPx5o6g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHfk-JrYwNI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqM-6Faoxck
Novelty only. I’m with Tom. I don’t think I would want to survive.
Karen, I was thinking the same thing. This is one heck of a comfy bug-out shelter! Nice how they discretely tucked-in the washer or wash-dry combo.
I’ve heard a lot about how shipping containers would collapse from the pressure and weight of its surroundings. Does the fact that these are curved make the difference? It does seem like the surrounding earth would be distributed more evenly.
I’m thinking this would be a great idea -if you have the land, as a “panic room” regardless of the size of your house but especially in addition to a TH due to a lack of hiding space in the event someone was determined to break in and harm you.
Shipping containers have been known to collapse from the weight of the ground when used underground. They are designed to carry their weight on the frames which are obviously quite reinforced. They’re not made to carry significant loads on their tops or sides. These round ones though, I don’t know. Here’s a link to a site that says they’re a terrible idea: http://www.risingsbunkers.com/pipe-culvert-shelters-terrible-idea/. While this website is from a firm that manufactures – you guessed it! – rectangular underground shelters, you have to assume that they did some research at least to determine which way to go. And that’s exactly what each of us should do! Research! 🙂
One thing I know is that we can’t control everything. People drive themselves crazy trying to do just that, but it is impossible. Take sane precautions, then enjoy life.
Oh, w j, in answer to your question, my ultimate destination is Heaven.
I think preppers are smart in as much as they prepare for the worst of situations but as for me and most people I know , no one can afford such a thing. I think camping out in the forest or mountains with friends sounds like more fun than underground with no where to run…and no sun:(
I’d rather die than live in that thing with a bunch of people. But kudos to the people building it. They’re taking matters into their own hands instead of depending on society and the government to take care if them.
I think these are absolutely amazing, but you would never get me in one. I would rather be obliterated with the rest of humanity than go insane down there. Very clever tho.
Interesting concept, but I’d rather be above ground. If it’s for a “just in case” scenario, not sure if I want to “survive” underground. Post tornado, yes, post apocalyptic….nope.
Fun to see this! Did not know people want these-and enough to keep a company in business???!! Oh ya know what? Probably quite a bit of illegal activity occurring in these places! Frightening!
I also would not want to be underground.
This is super cool. I have no idea how long you could survive a zombie appocolypse down there, but I don’t care. I want one.
Do we really need to have the gun involved? It is a very ugly scenario. Otherwise, I think that it has merit.
I like the concept, however I have a few questions. If the outside generator is not working or destroyed, how do you get air down 20 feet, how do you still cook, does the toilet and lighting still work? Are there back up systems for electricity and water? Is this survival shelter hooked up to a drain field or septic system?
All the questions I had also!
Most underground structures like this will have a backup crank system for air. There will be a tube running outside with a crank and fan attached to it. After a few cranks by someone it filters out all the CO 2 while also flushing new oxygen into the structure.
The survivalist aspect of this is pretty awful, the idea looks good but what about condensation and mold?
Yeah, it is too bad that a “firearm” is shown in one of the pictures! That just destroys the sweet illusion of living in an underground bunker! Where are the zombies?
The gun is a tool. If you have to live in this, Domino’s will probably not be delivering your pizza. These were designed for survival and hunting is the way to provide and protection.
If Flooding will come, What do They do? or Are they safe when flooding will come and cover it?
I could see this also used as a way to save space. Survivalism aside, if you had a decent sized piece of land you could put the bunker underground and then have more space above ground for growing crops or raising animals.
I had a big laugh at all the comments. Half the people think nothing bad ever happens and the other half are afraid of atomic bombs and zombies. Real world answer is tubes work great underground and we have been doing this for decades. In the country we have had dual purpose underground rooms for hundreds of years, called “root cellars” Put a tube in, add crushed stone and french drains (rust and water protection) before back filling and use it to store your produce. Finish the inside so it looks professional with valved air vents. Add an air scubber, battery power system and grid AC power line. You now have a functional food storage system that doubles as a storm / disaster shelter. If nothing bad happens you live a healthy life eating your own produce all year round. If something bad happens you hide in it where all your food is already stored. Its called realistic preparedness (thinks storms, fires, riots). Yes I have a farm with a nice house, nice workshop, back-up generators, well, septic system, root cellar, gardens and live stock. It is just normal life out here.
Country Boys and Hillbillys, we will Survive!!!
To heck with burying a tube, go buy an old underground mine in the hills. Smooth the walls, spray quick drying shockcrete, wire for solar, use led’s, compost toilets, aquaponics using waste water to feed the plants, some 2nd hand furniture, can your own food or freeze dry it, a heavy caliber rifle for deer or moose, a good shotgun and pistol, rockwall the entrance and use a heavy steel door. And since I am on a wheelchair the ceiling of the tunnels need not be higher than 5’5″ and I will have it made. Heck could even make my own alcohol to use in the cookstove out of the plants and some grains. All I need is a female companion who can cook and dress out the deer and a good dog. Any of you Ladies interested?