To start, I'd recommend the "5-" series Army Engineer Corps
manuals. You will find some great ideas there. There was also an anonymously
penned
small
paperback book titled "Defending Your Retreat" (1978)
published
by Delta
Press. I assume that
it is still in print. It includes good descriptions on placement of defensive
wire, (both concertina and tanglefoot) and one of the best discussions on the
use of flares (trip flares and parachute flares) that I've seen in print anywhere.
The
second
half
of
the
book
is
a reprint from an Engineer Corps field manual. IMO, for a retreat house nothing
beats living in a masonry, adobe, or rammed earth house with a fireproof
roof.
(metal or tile.) Ideally, if there are any exposed beams, they should be
swathed
in sheet metal to make them less vulnerable to Molotov cocktails. (You can paint
the
metal
to make it look decorative.) The
specifications
for
bulletproof steel window shutters and upgraded doors are described in my
novel
Patriots. The
novel
also mentions a handy formula for calculating the weight of plate steel. This
can be important when considering what sort of hinges are needed, as well
as
the hoists and or jacks required for handling something that heavy. (I've found
that a rolling
engine hoist works well. The trick is to move very slowly and carefully,
with lots of planning and communication/agreement on exactly what is planned
by
everyone
involved
before making the smallest move. A moving 200 pound piece of plate
steel can be very unforgiving when fingers of toes get in the way--especially
if it falling.
Remember:
32 feet
per second, per second!)
A few years back, I helped a friend design a slip-form concrete house with a native rock facade. The roof is metal, but it is there mainly there for show, since the house also has a 6" thick reinforced concrete roof, beneath. Since the house sits in a canyon, he only has to worry about one vehicular approach. There are abrupt four foot high terraces and "decorative" concrete planter boxes around the house that prevent vehicles from getting up close and personal. On a related note: A simple solution to the potential RPG/LAW rocket threat is also described in Patriots.
