bunker: March 2010 Archives

One of the biggest hurdles in my RECESS construction is the lack of access to the site. It's impossible to get even the smallest construction vehicle into my backyard. The only passage is a single, wheel barrow wide channel with multiple step downs and two sharp ninety degree turns. Accessing via the adjacent properties would mean either tearing down a block wall, or scaling 20' up one from the property below.




In the long run, these barriers serve as an additional layer of protection; insurance that any yahoo with a winch on his pick-up, or enough diesel cached to run a bobcat, won't be able to roll up to my bunker and pull the door off the hinge. In the short run, it meant that every pound of the 20 yards of concrete brought in thus far was done by hand. The final pour (another 7.5 yards of colored concrete) came in over the roof.

This last layer added between five and six inches of additional concrete slab to the top of the existing structure. The presence of the pump truck also completely annihilated my plan for "discrete construction." Every neighbor on the block stopped by to ask what was going on. The upside was that once the pour was complete and the deck stabilized, I had no qualms taking my neighbors back to see our new "deck," because the shelter was effectively hidden in plain sight.

 

With the initial structure complete, our next task was to cloak RECESS within the new landscape. Jess Dunn, a landscape architect and friend, helped to draft a clever design.

The plan masked the rectangular form of RECESS within a series of curves, and raised the level of the lower yard in an attempt to conceal the existence of the much deeper cavity. One fundamental design consideration was the total eradication of the original pool. The new yard plan had to break far enough from the structure of the previous one that even long-term residents of the neighborhood would approach this as an entirely new space - with an inherent belief that no trace of the original yard (or pool) was left.

We added a new deck of stamped stained concrete, new stairs that carried down to the lower yard, and broke every original line.




Here you can see the hardscape beginning to take shape. The decking material will be stamped, stained concrete. The slab sitting above the RECESS is 1000 sq ft, at a depth of 5 inches, reinforced with a rebar grid.

Before we pull the forms, my wife slips in to inspect and get a "feel" for the RECESS. At this point, it's a damp, dark, hole in the ground devoid of any trace of creature comfort. Much to my satisfaction, she emerged excited about the chance to "camp out in there" when we're finished.

Note the vertical white PVC pipe to the right of the hatch. This is a clean out for the bunker drain buried 6.5 feet below the surface. The drain pipe needs to be trenched out and extended 15 feet to a block wall on the downhill side of my yard.