I used leftover crusher stone pieces at my PD. We fired everything we had at a sample cross section I made from 2x 6 and 1/2 inch plywood. 12 Ga slugs and M-14s plus M-16s and every handgun round size. We started at 15 feet away from the cross section and closed in to 3 feet. An autopsy of the cross section showed the deepest penetration to be 2 1/2 inches. Inexpensive and effective.
Wow..no kidding that's kinda incredible, sounds like the gravel has to many edges and the bullet just bounces off them rapidly until it's stopped. Knowing that knowledge we know the density needed to stop a bullet if enough edges are present in the path of the bullet...👍👍👍 good stuff
I would consider lining it with a liner like landscaping felt to keep stones from spilling out of larger holes. Kind of a self sealing liner. Linex or bed liner would work to hold any splintered wood together.
Thanks for your comment. However, I'm unsure what you mean. There is nothing in the way of any holes in this design. It's 3/4 inch plywood without holes.
@aspirantCal Thanks for the clarification. First of all, whatever you line it with will be penetrated by the bullet so the hole will be there anyway. As far as the stones starting to pour out where a few shots might be in the same place, that seems also very unlikely based on everything I've seen with tests regarding this kind of barrier.
@@enigmaapoc403 Maybe I'm missing something here, but whatever liner you put on the inside of the plywood to line it is also going to get shot up by the bullets passing through it. Sand would likely spill out but it seems stones would jam up the hole on their own.
I made a "bullet stop" for my range. 4' high 6' wide 1/2 plywood on the outsides. I used metal studs used for a standard 4" wall. (like you said, bullets go through wood) on the gun facing side I used burlap behind the ply, as a gasket to keep the pea gravel from coming out the holes.... I used construction adhesive and lots of screws to hold the plywood to the steel studs. The back side has a horizontal 2x4 to help keep the plywood from flexing... I tested it when it was done. It stopped a .308 from 5' away. In the last 4 years, it has not let any bullet through.
I saw an “active shooter shelter” that was being sold one time and it was a very similar concept. I like your idea better because it wouldn’t leave someone completely trapped in the event your safe room door is breached
@@pastorjohn4337 There's this stuff called "Rhino Hide" too. I watched as a lot of rounds of shotgun, AR's, 308, .45, .357 were shot into it and no penetration. I supported them in a Wefunder but pulled my funding early. Then I saw a home near me putting the product in their home. Should of stayed with the product? history of my life... it is a thinner product but i do not know its weight. Good video though and for those of us that don't have a lot of cash to spend on other products, barriers with natural resources is the way to go!
Had 5 45 bullets go into the front of my house from a short term rental party,3 went thru 1 inches from my daughter's head,and 2 lodged into studs,this is a great idea,I had a friend cut some quarter inch steel to fit between studs,1500$ later and much drywall work it was done and now I dont have to worry about penetration ,should've done this instead probably would've been cheaper lol My neighbor took 5 in her house and one went all the way thru and blew out her back door window,one shattered her guest tub,scary world we live in nowadays, and my neighborhood has over 10 short term rental homes that always have party's and fights,I miss old Vegas lol Had a friend in high school who's father was a mob lawyer and that dude had solid brick front of house,no windows except side and back yard,I thought man that's paranoid and now I think man was smart
WOW! I'm glad that you are now safe. My plan can still work for you inside the house though to build a safezone in case somebody ever makes it into the house. Thanks for taking the time to write. Stay safe. God Bless you and your family.
@@Equals488 my house is paid off and not in an H.O.A. ,I live in Las Vegas on a fixed income with medical needs .Plus its my hometown ill burn my house down before I leave lol
I live in a nice neighborhood. Yet, like I said in the video, even nice neighborhoods can have issues. I like what someone once said. "Never be defeated by the avoidable."
Like they say, the best gun fight you ever have is the one you never have. Safe rooms save lives and there's nothing wrong with saving yours and your family's lives. Going looking for a gun fight can cost you way more than you might expect. All the experts seem to agree, that if you can avoid it, you should do so.
My older brother had built a few safe room's for people, I'm shire he ran across these situations. The key is to have to room so hidden that no one will know where it is.
Brick facades are bulletproof. If you want to bulletproof interior walls, line each side with 2 layers of hardiplank or equivalent cement board with a space between the two-ply layers so the expanding/deformed bullet can tumble a little and present more surface area to the second bottom-layer. Cheap and very effective, doesn’t change appearance
Hey howsit 808? Can u say if the Hardi- backer boatd was the TILE backer cement composite or the rough heavier flexible cement board that cracks if bent?*Shootz
@@Natedoc808 I used the cement board in my bathroom every where with think tile, might have been done over kill. If any room that would be the safest from fire or someone trying to shoot through it. Highly unlikely I'll ever have to worry about anyone shooting through it. My older sister lived in a bad area of town and lived on a busy street year's ago a bullet went through hers wall of hers home and went right next to the sofa where she was at and went in anther wall. Yeah I can see it being possible living in a busy area with high crime that a random bullet can go through a wall. If anything where you spend the most time or your family that would be the walls that would be reinforced. New year's eve, 4th of July that would be the room to be in.
After reading all the comments lot's of great idea's are added. Thanks to everyone that added great idea's that I never thought about. The next remodel job that gets done I'll give it more thought that goes into walls.
Thank you. I would suggest small wire. Chicken wire by itself would be to big. Maybe double up the chicken wire, closing the holes. Making them smaller. Place the wire between the stone and plywood. As the plywood is being shot and destroyed. Holes open up and the rock falls out. The wire, or possibly screen from a screen door will keep the rock from falling out.
Thanks for your reply. I watched a video testing cinder block that was 8 inch cinder block and the worst that happened was by a shotgun slug which went through the front and cracked the back of the block. A 9 MM did the same thing. Multiple rounds in the same spot could be an issue. So to be super safe filling the blocks with dry sand will give you better protection for sure. If your blocks are solid without any air holes in them you should be really good.
Congrats on your home. I'm glad I could be of some assistance. I had a lot of comments about putting some kind of lining inside the wall. The main point was to have something like a tight chicken wire or other material that would hold the stones in in case somebody shot out a significant piece of the wall. Although that would be a very difficult thing to do because you would have to have such a large cluster of bullets in the same spot, you might consider doing it since you are starting from scratch. You could also beef it up a bit by using 3/4 inch plywood instead of 1/2 inch plywood.
Pea gravel is "self compacting" because of it's rounded shape. It contacts every surrounding piece and therefore will not settle, and you can buy it by the cubic yard (in your pickup) at gravel quarries and landscaping suppliers.
Don't agree on the compactibility of pea gravel. While pebbles may appear to self-seat, their "roundness" creates interstices between them but little grip or friction, and they act like rolly polly marbles. That's why we use them as decorative ground cover, but NOT walkways, driveways, RV pads, sub-concrete foundations, aggregate in concrete, or any substrate requiring stability. Crushed rock, as in crushed granite, 1/4-, or 3/4- is what is typically used in such applications. In this application for the saferoom, I'd fill the Pastor's box with 6" lifts of 1/4- crushed (or similar), and tamp it with the end of a 4x4 between each lift to compact. Others have mentioned the weight issue on the flooring... check the load-bearing capacity of the floor: concrete would likely bear 3,000+ psi. Joists over a crawl space would be a function of joist or beam size and spacing. Load of the safe wall is the (weight of the gravel + wood shell) ÷ the square inch footprint of his bottom plate. He has a clever approach, and I think his gravel suggestion is a good one.
Round objects, like ping pong balls, have a 50 percent packing efficiency. If you want it to pack tightly, the more jagged edged material, like shown in the video, would be your best bet.
Consider the floor supporting this. If slab- AOK, if floor joists- you will likely need to reinforce as this a heavy load with a small footprint. I went into apartments in a large city in a not so good area and saw sandbags stacked against the wall under windows. I saw another wall constructed of 3 layers of plywood with space between to slide phone books vertically. Builder would collect old phone books(back when they were issued by phone companies)tape them to make them less flexible, then stack them vertically. Plywood would deform bullets making it easier for the phone books to absorb the energy and slow them down.
Something MUCH lighter that doesn't require rebuilding your walls to be 10" thick is HDPE plastic sheet. It's not cheap in the thicknesses required to stop all threats, but I did the hip wall around the top of my staircase for about $800. I built a defensive position at the top of my stairs. All the bedrooms are upstairs, so nothing truly valuable is downstairs. It sounds expensive until you factor in the cost of rebuilding your walls, floors, etc to handle the cheap gravel. HDPE is used in body armor. You need 3/4 sheet at a minimum, but 1" is better. They use 1" in most body armor, but inside of a wall (you want to position it on the away side of the impact so any bullets pass through drywall then empty space first) 3/4 will stop just about anything. I've tested this myself up to fmj 308. It's also multi round capable and won't leak out of the wall when there's holes...
Wow! Sounds nice. My situation is just in a walk in closet and works well, but what you said you did makes a lot of sense for the defensive position you were building. Thanks for sharing your comments.
You can add a sheet of metal on the inside of your outer wall to help prevent the plywood from tearing up and spilling out your rocks as it's being shot up. I just use old sheet steel. This is what I use for my backstop on my backyard target range.
Bravo........wow..........another good one is the same idea .....1 foot thick planters around ur house .......also stone baskets 2 feet thick....cheers
Hey all. You can get very inexpensive welding blankets which are just woven fiberglass mesh which actually acts as a Kevlar. Obviousl, the more layers you have the better stopping power there is going to be. That said, it will not stop rifle rounds, but it will stop handgun and shotgun slugs if you're going to build an internal wall for protection I would suggest using those as well as recycled ground up tire rubber
if you ever have the chance, look at "foam concrete", "Aircrete", "fibre crete" or any similar DIY formulation. I assisted a friend in making some which consisted of paper pulp from soaking wet cardboard blended with air into a cement slurry (simplified description). we made light wight cinder blocks which would withstand the .223 rifle rounds easily, they went in on one side and stayed in, also when the material was used to anchor a schedule 40 steel pipe into the ground, it took an extreme effort with sledge hamer to demolish, hammer having minimal effect.
@fauxnews3740 I guess that never worked out too well. If you are into WW II kinds of things, you might check out my website where I posted my interview with my friend, Medal of Honor recipient Robert Maxwell. Bob threw himself on a live German handgrenade to save 3 of his buddies in Southern France. You might enjoy the video. Just go to the website and click on the tab that has the word "Videos" in it. WWW.toolspj.com
To the owner of this channel, and all who have offered alternative ideas: A sincere thank you from someone who doesn’t have money to put into this, but it is very much a concern. Thank you again.
Consider this when remodeling, install on exterior corner wall? Use type C both sides for fire resistance? AND the ceiling, maybe that can be metal with plywood with insulation sandwich (instead of gravel? Door, sliding interior wall.
SemperFi Pastor, this is a great idea!!! I’ve been thinking about hour I could do something like this in my own house but couldn’t figure out what to use. As I know both brick and cinder blocks easily breakdown. This is invaluable. ABBA BLESSINGS to You and Yours
David: Thanks for your kind words. May The Lord Bless you and your family. If you have the time you might go to my website because there are a lot of things there that might interest you . There are videos and podcast type teachings and 2 books I've written that are all available to download on any device. Just go to WWW.Toolspj.com
You must also consider your cieling. If a perp knows that you are hiding in a safe room, in your home, they can quickly figure out the location. If your safe room is on the lower level, or has a roof above it, you can easily be targeted. Then, game over! Don't forget to put in an emergency exit. Plus, make that room where no one can squirt in lighter fluid or any accelerant to ignite the room you are in. Just remember, evil 😈 evil has a way! Pray! Get Spiritually Fit! What is coming is pure evil and we must fight it with prayer.
If you can’t depend on your friends, family or neighbors to help, you need to move ! Or, early warning system so you’re ready before they come in. Practice !
@John Logan, We've got all of that in place, then some. LOL 😂 Vietnam taught me many survival defense tactics. I pity the poor idiots that would try anything on our property, or our neighbors property. We've discussed it and we are prepared to do what we need to do. Let's just say that we have the ability to reach out and touch someone! LOL
Lol if you have threats attacking from the roof, then you definitely fucked up somewhere, and should probably be attacking as opposed to fighting (and most likely dying), in a box
Now that many new houses require cinder block for the fist floor, I had the bocks placed upside, and filled them with concrete up to about 3 ft or window height
A military friend told me that he filled the gap between the drywall layers in his bedroom wall with kitty litter, and claimed it would stop pistol rounds. I have never seen any trials or data on tis, but it would be lighter than gravel or stone.
I use lots of kitty litter (but then, I have lots of cats). 12+tons piled out back. I can say I have shot the pile and never had anything go through BUT it's way thicker than 6 inches. ..... I don't need it in the house because the house is made with 2 foot thick stone wals and plaster finish inside. (likely built in mid 1800's)
@@2Truth4Liberty Yeah, I'd say the width makes a huge difference. When it comes to things like kitty litter or sand, you have to have a lot more of it to get the job done.
@@pastorjohn4337 I'm thinking kitty litter is probably a little less dense than balistic gel so seeing how much penetration there can be in ballistic gel I think you might need 4- 5 feet thick compared to 6 inches of rock. I am curious about rock compared to adding cement and water to the rock and have actual concrete. Maybe only need 3" thick then?? BUT not easy to undo or move concrete like rock - which might be able to use a shop vacuum to pick up.
I would add a couple of outside layers of roll on truck bed liner on both sides. This should keep the plywood from breaking up and creating holes the stones could flow out through.
I would mix concrete with the stones. If someone is shooting at the wall to do damage and have enough bullets, they just need to burn through the first layer of wood before the stones start pouring out through the hall that they are making in the wood. Cementing the rocks together in some fashion might prevent the bullet proof layer from just falling out of the holes made by the bullets. You have already made about the perfect mold for a great pour anyhow.
Why not just add both layers of metal to the inside piece of the wall, and then add gunpowder and ball bearings to the rocks, so when they start shooting the wall everything starts firing back...
@@TonyHarlan both layers of metal? why? I do like the bullet firing rock idea though. In reality, it takes 3/8" steel to stop most bullets, so rocks and just one layer of steel should work.
Someone mentioned using sand with the stones. I used to be in the faux stone business. I often thought of a similar deal as this and using expanded wire lath. The wire lath would go inside the cavity against all four interior sides with the stone and sand poured in after. The wire lath would help to contain and compact the stones as it is being fired into making it an effective barriers for multiple attacks. In theory however I’ve not yet tried it.
Thanks for your comment. I appreciate your suggestion, but I've found that something like that wire lath is unnecessary. When bullets go into the wall, the holes they make are too small to allow many if any stones to come out if any. I recently moved to another state and I dismantled the one I built in this video. In doing so, I first cut a large hole in the wall to see what would happen and a few stones fell out, but they compacted themselves and hardly anything came out at all. I was somewhat surprised, so even if you had a lot of rounds grouped in one spot, what I saw tells me the stones are basically going to compact themselves and stay intact.
@@pastorjohn4337 As I said in theory, it appears you’ve proved otherwise. Thx, good to know and here’s hoping we are outta here before it gets to that.
Ceramic tile, and truck bed liner mixed with gravel can make a bullet proof barrier just a few inches thick. The bed liner applied very heavily to a couple layers of ceramic tile is very bullet resistant. Space the tiles a couple inches apart and fill the void with gravel and bed liner and wood chips is practically impenetrable. You can use just about any filler material at about a 50/50% ratio to gravel. Use stone about 1/2" to 1" in diameter and about the same filler material size. The bed liner is the expensive part but you can build a bullet proof safe room about 4' × 8' with 6' height, about like a typical walk in closet for less than $500 not including the door. Redgard or similar shower waterproofing liquid can also be used in place of Rhino lining or other truck bed materials. The door can be hardened same as the walls but will require heavy duty hinges to support the weight of the added materials. Special care must be taken in the design to allow for functioning door and fully bullet resistant seams. It can be done with standard building materials though. A functioning bullet proof door will cost about $400 the way I've designed it. I've also seen a design that uses a seperate sliding interior door that is slid in place from inside to cover the standard entry door. That could be done with rollers and track for less than a single hinged and hardened entry door. That's to provide a 360° protected safe room. It does not include the floor or ceiling however.
Wow! Sounds like a real project. I'm wondering if you can share what kind of tests have been done on this method and which types of bullets it has proven to stop.
@@pastorjohn4337 - hmmm. That's strange. I gave very specific instructions on how to build the B.P. panels. If interested I'll retype and save before posting. It's a simple process though.
I was thinking of a similar design, but with either concrete or 1/2 steel plate over the top. I have a basement, the perp can shoot down from the main floor of the house.
In the stones use sand that will work too. I know that a tnt mag can be build with plywood and sand. It works well, keeps the tnt cool in summer and it doesn't freeze in winter.
PSA : sniper alert this weekend especially Saturday in approx 3 hours . Some sort of “ Day of Vengeance “ from radicalized trans extremists . Let’s keep it moving in transitional spaces this weekend especially this next day & situational awareness is key . I’ve heard everybody hasn’t heard . Spread the word please . Love y’all . Thank y’all . We should just stay home this weekend at least .
I have tested pea gravel in a panel built on 2x8 sheathed with 3/4 ply up to .338 Lapua. The 338 knocked dust out of every seam, but it did not punch out the backside.
Excellent video this was exactly what i was looking for onTH-cam i appreciate all your R&D , Testing ,and sharing a high quality Video of your final product i personally am a retired Professional Carpenter/woodworker with more than 35 Professional Years under my belt and do hope to build my own home with some type of Safe Areas , and a large Fortified Safe for valueables and Guns and Ammunition seperate from the S”Safe “ Room most likely not even on the same floor ,FYI my best freind fromHigh School is a Architect with close to 40 years In Residential and Commercial Construction. he and I have thrown around ideas for many years i’ll admit i’m a little Excentric and think outside The Box as well as a Little Redneck / Mini Prepper put into the Mix ! i don’t like to rely on anyone but myself
Craig: It is nice to hear from you. I trust you'll get done exactly what is best for your situation. If you are a Christian you might enjoy checking out my website. There are lots of good things there including videos and two books I've written which can be downloaded free to any device. Just go to WWW.Toolspj.com God Bless you.
Its a great idea, however you need to keep in mind the weight. With that much stone, and wood we are easily talking several hundred pounds on a small area. If you don't have a good structure underneath, it till cause other issues.
I'm sure there's a good reason for this, but why aren't homes built out of bricks/blocks to begin with? Is insulation the major factor for choosing wooden framing & drywall?
Amen brother thank you so much. In Afghanistan, that’s why we used HESCO walls which was different sizes of metal baskets with burlap sacks and you fill it with the Earth. I would literally let an RPG hit the back of a HESCO that I’m standing up against, it’s very trustworthy.
In my area I would get my stone from a gravel pit, with a pick up truck, trailer or whatever. I can buy stone for about $12 a ton. A lot less than buying it by the bag, Some pits have a $25 minimum purchase.
Gonna DIY a gun/safe hidden room and want to make it as secure as i can reasonably afford. I was looking into balisticrete but now I think I might do this! Going to research price more to see how much balisticrete I'd need to fill my areas walls 6' high on every wall. Pretty sure the rocks will be cheaper though!
Thanks for writing. From what I've read the cost of Balistricrete depends on how thick you feel you have to put it on. It goes on in 5/8 of an inch applications. I would consider that the minimum thickness and I read that at minimum application Balisticrete is about $12.00 a square foot. The square footage I have on my two corner right angle walls is about 16 square feet. So at minimum application that would cost $192.00. However here is the issue. According to this websitecustomsecuritydoors.com/ballisticrete/ one application of 5/8 of an inch fails to stop even a small handgun bullet. They say you have to have 1 inch for small hand guns, 1 1/2 inches for large hand guns and 2 inches for rifles. So, doing that same square footage to get to 2 full inches would take 4 applications 5/8 of an inch at a time, which would get you to 2 1/2 inches and would run the cost to about $800.00 My wall works and comes in at about $11.00 a square foot to cover the same wall area or about $175.00 all materials included. I'm sure Balistricrete is way less labor. Lugging those stones and loading them into the wall took time. Yet my wall stops all handgun and rifle bullets for much less cost. By the way as I recall I used Vigoro River Pebbles in 40 lb. bags available at Home Depot as opposed to pea gravel or other smaller or larger stones One other thing is to make sure you spread them out in a dry place and let them all COMPLETELY dry out overnight. They often are wet in the bags for whatever reason. I spread them out on my garage floor because they are wet in the bags when you get them and putting wet stones in the wall is inviting all kinds of mold issues etc. I'd really be interested in hearing which direction you choose to go. God Bless you.
I'm going to do you a favor, they made this thing called a cinder block, they are readily available and easy to build with you can fill the cavity with all kinds of things like sand or cement both of which are excellent at stopping even large caliber rifle rounds, you can easily build a whole room out of them
Great idea for a cheap bullet shield. Having built a boat, I would probably give the outer plywood sheet a thin fiberglass layer (both sides) to prevent it from shredding when hi velocity rounds go through it. That would minimize leakage of stones or sand through the holes. Would a 3" or 4" concrete wall do the job? This would also help with radiation in case of a Nuke. I'm not sure if stones block the Gamma rays.
I like the fiber glass layer suggestion. With regard to concrete blocks, they could only work if the blocks were a recommended 8 inches solid concrete vs. the normal ones with holes in them. Even then, enough rounds might break a whole in the wall. Each round is going to take out a chunk of the block. Wiith stones they absorb and stop the bullets.
I've seen videos where 2 large ceramic tiles duct taped and about a ream of paper make a makeshift level 3 body armor. I'm sure doing that two layers thick and offset would be worth a test and could be another inexpensive option. Bullets were fully captured and potentially the degradation in the test could have allowed some of the larger rounds to pass. If you were to do this I suggest testing it for yourself, but there are videos showing the idea.
I hear you. However, doing that 2 layers thick on a wall seems like a lot more work than my plan. Yet, if it works for you perhaps that would be the way to go for you
@@pastorjohn4337 not suggesting right or wrong, better or worse, just throwing out another idea I've seen in case that would work better for someone. I like your idea and seems consistently more effective and advantageous than a strategic bookshelf or more expensive options.
Nothing stops projectiles better than beach sand. Takes 6 inches to stop a .50. Also adds thermal mass which will even out temperature swings in a home.
I hear you. However, I've seen video of bullets going up to 9 inches through sand, so maybe it has to do with the type of sand or how much it is packed, but if I was you, I'd go bigger than 6 inches.
If you wanted to take this just a little further I’d mix up a wet cement slurry to add stability to the rock. You can pour it in on top and use a hammer to creat vibration to get it to run to the bottom and fill in the voids. Could help in capturing any fragments from splaying out too.
Might I suggest you add some rabbit wire or chicken wire in layers like wire on the board inside and then about three inches in put a second layer of wire vertically to keep from losing stones after the board is damaged, to keep from allowing the suspect to remove some stones and breaking through in a spot where the wood was damaged by the rounds. This would definitely be a decent from time spent in this action. It would also add a layer of strength to the plywood.
Based on what I've researched, it would take quite a few rounds to make a whole big enough to leak significant stones or compromise the plywood itself. The 3/4 inch plywood is strong and bullets would go through it clean without ripping it apart. In other words a 5 round pattern would likely remain five individual holes which would do little to harm the integrity of the plywood and never be big enough to leak significant stones. If someone did manage to put say 10 or more rounds in the wall, they would have to be in such a small space of about the size of a half dollar to take out enough plywood to allow some stones to come out. Yet, even then the plywood would likely remain secure. Even if someone was trying to fire what would have to be called a "cluster" that tight, rather than a pattern, it would be difficult to do, even at a range under calm conditions.
You can make it thinner after the three quarter inch plywood talking 4 by 8 sheets of concrete Steel mesh and coat it with Quikrete then another layer of three-quarter inch plywood, another layer of Steel mesh and Quikrete and then the rest of your interior wall. Bullets fragment but they never get through.
Next challenge? Guard against someone ramming or hooking up to yank out a portion of your home with the heaviest high durability vehicle, may be a tank or giant tractor, they can find.
you could probably dig through the exterior walls of my house with a wooden spoon. so my walls are about as bullet resistant as a paper plate. its a good idea but i dont think i have a strong enough foundation to fill the walls 4ft full of rocks. it would also make future electrical work difficult.
I hear you. Sand has been used to stop bullets for a long time. However, 5 inches is pretty thin for a sand barrier against bullets. I'd go with a lot more sand if I was you, but that makes my wall thicker which I'd rather avoid.
I was newly married standing in my father in-laws bedroom door way talking to him. Once done I turned and a bullet came through the roof went through his solid wood door at top at a 70 degree angle through my hair hit the floor ricocheted and went out the open kitchen door. The next day my father in-law ran into his police officer friend and told him. The officer was the one who shot the round into the air when a purse snatcher refused to stop. I was in the U.S. Army serving in Panama in the 90's and it was common to fire into the air till it started killing people. My father in-law was not happy. That was 31 years ago and my wife and I are still married. One bullet fired can change world history even if fired in the air.
Kevlar fabric is not too expensuve, either. Make bags with Kevlar and fill with gravel. Then you can use less stones. Get some used ceramic tiles to line the wall with, also...
No matter if you live in a "Safe" place. (Doesn't exist.) You never know when a few 9mm FMJ will hit your house. Asleep at 2 AM? You never know. It's definitely a Great idea.
From a structural load view those panels and studs should be flipped. More like a concrete form. From center out should be rock on the sill plate, then panel, then stud. Horizontal bolts connecting the two studs so they don't bulge apart. You want the panel pushing against the entire stud. 400lbs+/- of rock pushing against the lip of a few screw heads may let go. Adding more screws just weakens the panel. Especially with the added impacts of rounds. Hate for someone to have there safe room injure them.
Actually, for me, it is working fine. I'm even able to tip it away from the wall at about a 20+ degree angle and everything is solid. However, your comment makes real good sense. I guess it just depends on the load and quality of materials you use.
Awesome idea! Never considered this, but it may come handy at some point. I can understand the concept, but the audio was way choppy! Start and stops with plenty of breaks.
I did a similar project but calked the seams and then filled with sand and used 2x12 by the time they bring in something big enough to get through that I’ll have bigger problems then riding out a gun fight and having a mill plus a river close by it cost me labor and the fasteners that’s it
I am wanting to build two ballistic proof fox hole type units outside my home, one in front corner and another in back corner (diagonally). I need it to have small holes for a rifle to shoot. Any ideas? In a SHTF scenario i want to protect livestock and the children in the house.
I build something inside your home that works. I get you are trying to protect your livestock, but I doubt if many intruders will be going after your livestock. It also seems to me that you put yourself at risk tying to go outside and defend the property.
Florida is such a beautiful place . With regard to the sand, we might have to agree to disagree. All my research shows that sand does work, but rocks work much better. 8 plus inches of rock is going to stop a lot more than 8 plus inches of sand.
I never took any pictures of it finished, since what you see in the video is just about complete. All I did was close in the open end, paint it and put it in the safe room where it belongs an filled it with the stones. I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have about it. Thanks.
Add a sentry gun, also mounted with latest generation of tow missile, cover the outer wall full with claymores setup like a wall tile, if the guest ask if it's real, just say it's a decorative for 4th of July.
I used leftover crusher stone pieces at my PD. We fired everything we had at a sample cross section I made from 2x 6 and 1/2 inch plywood. 12 Ga slugs and M-14s plus M-16s and every handgun round size. We started at 15 feet away from the cross section and closed in to 3 feet. An autopsy of the cross section showed the deepest penetration to be 2 1/2 inches. Inexpensive and effective.
One LEO out here in LA uses stainless, lined with rubber, and filled with sand. 4”. Other option is Kevlar sheet lumber for the purpose. FWIW.
You have M14's and M16's? I'm envious.
@@ssaraccoii In the military, we were always taught that sand was the greatest natural bullet proof barrier.
Wow..no kidding that's kinda incredible, sounds like the gravel has to many edges and the bullet just bounces off them rapidly until it's stopped. Knowing that knowledge we know the density needed to stop a bullet if enough edges are present in the path of the bullet...👍👍👍 good stuff
@@ssaraccoii sps cnc
I would consider lining it with a liner like landscaping felt to keep stones from spilling out of larger holes. Kind of a self sealing liner. Linex or bed liner would work to hold any splintered wood together.
Thanks for your comment. However, I'm unsure what you mean. There is nothing in the way of any holes in this design. It's 3/4 inch plywood without holes.
@@pastorjohn4337 I think the idea is that after a few shots, the contents may begin to spill out.
@aspirantCal Thanks for the clarification. First of all, whatever you line it with will be penetrated by the bullet so the hole will be there anyway. As far as the stones starting to pour out where a few shots might be in the same place, that seems also very unlikely based on everything I've seen with tests regarding this kind of barrier.
A good bedliner would definitely hold things together longer with concentrated damage to one area. I'd love to see a comparison.
@@enigmaapoc403 Maybe I'm missing something here, but whatever liner you put on the inside of the plywood to line it is also going to get shot up by the bullets passing through it. Sand would likely spill out but it seems stones would jam up the hole on their own.
I made a "bullet stop" for my range. 4' high 6' wide 1/2 plywood on the outsides. I used metal studs used for a standard 4" wall. (like you said, bullets go through wood) on the gun facing side I used burlap behind the ply, as a gasket to keep the pea gravel from coming out the holes.... I used construction adhesive and lots of screws to hold the plywood to the steel studs. The back side has a horizontal 2x4 to help keep the plywood from flexing... I tested it when it was done. It stopped a .308 from 5' away. In the last 4 years, it has not let any bullet through.
Nice.
I saw an “active shooter shelter” that was being sold one time and it was a very similar concept. I like your idea better because it wouldn’t leave someone completely trapped in the event your safe room door is breached
You are right. The way I have mine set up, if the door is breached and someone comes through, they are in the direct line of my fire.
@@pastorjohn4337 There's this stuff called "Rhino Hide" too. I watched as a lot of rounds of shotgun, AR's, 308, .45, .357 were shot into it and no penetration. I supported them in a Wefunder but pulled my funding early. Then I saw a home near me putting the product in their home. Should of stayed with the product? history of my life... it is a thinner product but i do not know its weight.
Good video though and for those of us that don't have a lot of cash to spend on other products, barriers with natural resources is the way to go!
@@mostthoughtprovoking1494 Thanks for sharing this information.
Had 5 45 bullets go into the front of my house from a short term rental party,3 went thru 1 inches from my daughter's head,and 2 lodged into studs,this is a great idea,I had a friend cut some quarter inch steel to fit between studs,1500$ later and much drywall work it was done and now I dont have to worry about penetration ,should've done this instead probably would've been cheaper lol My neighbor took 5 in her house and one went all the way thru and blew out her back door window,one shattered her guest tub,scary world we live in nowadays, and my neighborhood has over 10 short term rental homes that always have party's and fights,I miss old Vegas lol Had a friend in high school who's father was a mob lawyer and that dude had solid brick front of house,no windows except side and back yard,I thought man that's paranoid and now I think man was smart
WOW! I'm glad that you are now safe. My plan can still work for you inside the house though to build a safezone in case somebody ever makes it into the house. Thanks for taking the time to write. Stay safe. God Bless you and your family.
Y'all need to move out of those colored areas
Why aren't you moving?
Why stay and fortify a hot zone?
@@Equals488 my house is paid off and not in an H.O.A. ,I live in Las Vegas on a fixed income with medical needs .Plus its my hometown ill burn my house down before I leave lol
I live in a nice neighborhood. Yet, like I said in the video, even nice neighborhoods can have issues. I like what someone once said. "Never be defeated by the avoidable."
Like they say, the best gun fight you ever have is the one you never have. Safe rooms save lives and there's nothing wrong with saving yours and your family's lives. Going looking for a gun fight can cost you way more than you might expect. All the experts seem to agree, that if you can avoid it, you should do so.
Who said he was looking for fun fights? 🤦♂️
My older brother had built a few safe room's for people, I'm shire he ran across these situations. The key is to have to room so hidden that no one will know where it is.
Pro Tip: Building a bulletproof wall is NOT looking for a gun fight.
@@CasualObserver68 Agreed.
Sure glad the men at Lexington and Concord in 1775 didn't just drop their guns and go hide in a safe room
Brick facades are bulletproof. If you want to bulletproof interior walls, line each side with 2 layers of hardiplank or equivalent cement board with a space between the two-ply layers so the expanding/deformed bullet can tumble a little and present more surface area to the second bottom-layer. Cheap and very effective, doesn’t change appearance
I thought about that to cement board
@@snoopu2601 I've tested it with 7.62x39 and 5.56 and it works
you
Hey howsit 808? Can u say if the Hardi- backer boatd was the TILE backer cement composite or the rough heavier flexible cement board that cracks if bent?*Shootz
@@Natedoc808 I used the cement board in my bathroom every where with think tile, might have been done over kill. If any room that would be the safest from fire or someone trying to shoot through it. Highly unlikely I'll ever have to worry about anyone shooting through it. My older sister lived in a bad area of town and lived on a busy street year's ago a bullet went through hers wall of hers home and went right next to the sofa where she was at and went in anther wall. Yeah I can see it being possible living in a busy area with high crime that a random bullet can go through a wall. If anything where you spend the most time or your family that would be the walls that would be reinforced. New year's eve, 4th of July that would be the room to be in.
After reading all the comments lot's of great idea's are added. Thanks to everyone that added great idea's that I never thought about. The next remodel job that gets done I'll give it more thought that goes into walls.
Let me just go buy 30 metric tons of stones and see if my basement/foundation can handle the extra load. BRB.
If it can't, I'd be looking for a new house
Yea it should definantly be able to handle that
Realisically your only doing a small room.
Holla at Ur boi once you find out
Doesn't have to be metric...
I didn't notice anyone comment, but this is also a good idea, for projectiles from hurricane and tornadic high wind events.
I’ve had 5 tons of #57 rock in my garage for over a year that I’ve been looking for something to do with. Thanks!
Thank you. I would suggest small wire. Chicken wire by itself would be to big. Maybe double up the chicken wire, closing the holes. Making them smaller. Place the wire between the stone and plywood. As the plywood is being shot and destroyed. Holes open up and the rock falls out. The wire, or possibly screen from a screen door will keep the rock from falling out.
Yeah, if you are planning on having a firing squad comming at you, but yes still a good ideah.
Great idea! Just have to make sure the floor is up to the weight.
Doing exactly the same with 4" cinder blocks! Great video.
Thanks for your reply. I watched a video testing cinder block that was 8 inch cinder block and the worst that happened was by a shotgun slug which went through the front and cracked the back of the block. A 9 MM did the same thing. Multiple rounds in the same spot could be an issue. So to be super safe filling the blocks with dry sand will give you better protection for sure. If your blocks are solid without any air holes in them you should be really good.
We built gravel panels for use on a range.
Cinder block breaks down. As long as the gravel is contained (doesn't leak out) it can take a LOT of hits.
Way weaker bru
I’m building my home right now, thanks for the idea, I’ll keep this in mind while doing my foundation to support the area this will be in.
Congrats on your home. I'm glad I could be of some assistance. I had a lot of comments about putting some kind of lining inside the wall. The main point was to have something like a tight chicken wire or other material that would hold the stones in in case somebody shot out a significant piece of the wall. Although that would be a very difficult thing to do because you would have to have such a large cluster of bullets in the same spot, you might consider doing it since you are starting from scratch. You could also beef it up a bit by using 3/4 inch plywood instead of 1/2 inch plywood.
Pea gravel might be good to use. It is basically small round river rocks and may fill in a little tighter.
Pea gravel is "self compacting" because of it's rounded shape. It contacts every surrounding piece and therefore will not settle, and you can buy it by the cubic yard (in your pickup) at gravel quarries and landscaping suppliers.
Good information
Don't agree on the compactibility of pea gravel. While pebbles may appear to self-seat, their "roundness" creates interstices between them but little grip or friction, and they act like rolly polly marbles. That's why we use them as decorative ground cover, but NOT walkways, driveways, RV pads, sub-concrete foundations, aggregate in concrete, or any substrate requiring stability. Crushed rock, as in crushed granite, 1/4-, or 3/4- is what is typically used in such applications. In this application for the saferoom, I'd fill the Pastor's box with 6" lifts of 1/4- crushed (or similar), and tamp it with the end of a 4x4 between each lift to compact. Others have mentioned the weight issue on the flooring... check the load-bearing capacity of the floor: concrete would likely bear 3,000+ psi. Joists over a crawl space would be a function of joist or beam size and spacing. Load of the safe wall is the (weight of the gravel + wood shell) ÷ the square inch footprint of his bottom plate.
He has a clever approach, and I think his gravel suggestion is a good one.
Round objects, like ping pong balls, have a 50 percent packing efficiency. If you want it to pack tightly, the more jagged edged material, like shown in the video, would be your best bet.
Interesting idea. Thank you. Hello from San Diego California.
Hello back at you S. D. Thanks for checking out the video.
Consider the floor supporting this. If slab- AOK, if floor joists- you will likely need to reinforce as this a heavy load with a small footprint. I went into apartments in a large city in a not so good area and saw sandbags stacked against the wall under windows.
I saw another wall constructed of 3 layers of plywood with space between to slide phone books vertically. Builder would collect old phone books(back when they were issued by phone companies)tape them to make them less flexible, then stack them vertically. Plywood would deform bullets making it easier for the phone books to absorb the energy and slow them down.
Your comment about supporting floors without slabs is very well taken. I have a slab so it works out fine for me.
Something MUCH lighter that doesn't require rebuilding your walls to be 10" thick is HDPE plastic sheet. It's not cheap in the thicknesses required to stop all threats, but I did the hip wall around the top of my staircase for about $800. I built a defensive position at the top of my stairs. All the bedrooms are upstairs, so nothing truly valuable is downstairs. It sounds expensive until you factor in the cost of rebuilding your walls, floors, etc to handle the cheap gravel. HDPE is used in body armor. You need 3/4 sheet at a minimum, but 1" is better. They use 1" in most body armor, but inside of a wall (you want to position it on the away side of the impact so any bullets pass through drywall then empty space first) 3/4 will stop just about anything. I've tested this myself up to fmj 308. It's also multi round capable and won't leak out of the wall when there's holes...
Wow! Sounds nice. My situation is just in a walk in closet and works well, but what you said you did makes a lot of sense for the defensive position you were building. Thanks for sharing your comments.
I always thought 1/2 inch hdpe over a armor plate would make a great anti spall coating for body armor.
You can add a sheet of metal on the inside of your outer wall to help prevent the plywood from tearing up and spilling out your rocks as it's being shot up. I just use old sheet steel. This is what I use for my backstop on my backyard target range.
Bravo........wow..........another good one is the same idea .....1 foot thick planters around ur house .......also stone baskets 2 feet thick....cheers
Hey all. You can get very inexpensive welding blankets which are just woven fiberglass mesh which actually acts as a Kevlar. Obviousl, the more layers you have the better stopping power there is going to be. That said, it will not stop rifle rounds, but it will stop handgun and shotgun slugs if you're going to build an internal wall for protection I would suggest using those as well as recycled ground up tire rubber
if you ever have the chance, look at "foam concrete", "Aircrete", "fibre crete" or any similar DIY formulation. I assisted a friend in making some which consisted of paper pulp from soaking wet cardboard blended with air into a cement slurry (simplified description). we made light wight cinder blocks which would withstand the .223 rifle rounds easily, they went in on one side and stayed in, also when the material was used to anchor a schedule 40 steel pipe into the ground, it took an extreme effort with sledge hamer to demolish, hammer having minimal effect.
Nice, but a bit more complicated than what I offer.
@fauxnews3740 I guess that never worked out too well. If you are into WW II kinds of things, you might check out my website where I posted my interview with my friend, Medal of Honor recipient Robert Maxwell. Bob threw himself on a live German handgrenade to save 3 of his buddies in Southern France. You might enjoy the video. Just go to the website and click on the tab that has the word "Videos" in it. WWW.toolspj.com
@@fauxnews3740 i thought of this one too.
Was named pykrete.
From Mister Pyke.
I would agree with stones, skip sand a 308 will punch through a 2X4 and a standard sand bag you can get at the hardware store
To the owner of this channel, and all who have offered alternative ideas:
A sincere thank you from someone who doesn’t have money to put into this, but it is very much a concern. Thank you again.
You are very welcome.
This could save lives.
Consider this when remodeling, install on exterior corner wall? Use type C both sides for fire resistance? AND the ceiling, maybe that can be metal with plywood with insulation sandwich (instead of gravel? Door, sliding interior wall.
SemperFi Pastor, this is a great idea!!! I’ve been thinking about hour I could do something like this in my own house but couldn’t figure out what to use. As I know both brick and cinder blocks easily breakdown. This is invaluable. ABBA BLESSINGS to You and Yours
David:
Thanks for your kind words. May The Lord Bless you and your family. If you have the time you might go to my website because there are a lot of things there that might interest you . There are videos and podcast type teachings and 2 books I've written that are all available to download on any device. Just go to WWW.Toolspj.com
Has anyone tested cinderblock filled with grout? I think the grout might help absorb energy and hold everything together.
@@MoneyManHolmes 3-6 shots and it’ll crumble and by 7-8 they’ll be pass through
I wonder if adding sand and vibrating it in to the remaining space with a reciprocating saw is possible. Sand is pretty good at stopping rounds too
I have a 10” concrete wall as a storm shelter. I didn’t build it for taking on bullets, but pretty sure I’m good.
You must also consider your cieling. If a perp knows that you are hiding in a safe room, in your home, they can quickly figure out the location. If your safe room is on the lower level, or has a roof above it, you can easily be targeted. Then, game over! Don't forget to put in an emergency exit. Plus, make that room where no one can squirt in lighter fluid or any accelerant to ignite the room you are in. Just remember, evil 😈 evil has a way! Pray! Get Spiritually Fit! What is coming is pure evil and we must fight it with prayer.
.... basically just buy and install a small bunker from atlas survival I guess. it goes underground and some are poured in with concrete.
If you can’t depend on your friends, family or neighbors to help, you need to move ! Or, early warning system so you’re ready before they come in. Practice !
@John Logan, We've got all of that in place, then some. LOL 😂 Vietnam taught me many survival defense tactics. I pity the poor idiots that would try anything on our property, or our neighbors property. We've discussed it and we are prepared to do what we need to do. Let's just say that we have the ability to reach out and touch someone! LOL
I will say a prayer while I'm defending our lives
Lol if you have threats attacking from the roof, then you definitely fucked up somewhere, and should probably be attacking as opposed to fighting (and most likely dying), in a box
Now that many new houses require cinder block for the fist floor, I had the bocks placed upside, and filled them with concrete up to about 3 ft or window height
Wow ... good ideas , thank you 🇺🇸💙❤🇺🇸
Thanks.
A military friend told me that he filled the gap between the drywall layers in his bedroom wall with kitty litter, and claimed it would stop pistol rounds. I have never seen any trials or data on tis, but it would be lighter than gravel or stone.
I will pass on kitty litter. The stones really work well and in this kind of a situation, I'd suggest folks stick with what we are sure works.
I use lots of kitty litter (but then, I have lots of cats).
12+tons piled out back.
I can say I have shot the pile and never had anything go through BUT it's way thicker than 6 inches.
.....
I don't need it in the house because the house is made with 2 foot thick stone wals and plaster finish inside. (likely built in mid 1800's)
@@2Truth4Liberty Yeah, I'd say the width makes a huge difference. When it comes to things like kitty litter or sand, you have to have a lot more of it to get the job done.
@@pastorjohn4337 I'm thinking kitty litter is probably a little less dense than balistic gel so seeing how much penetration there can be in ballistic gel I think you might need 4- 5 feet thick compared to 6 inches of rock.
I am curious about rock compared to adding cement and water to the rock and have actual concrete. Maybe only need 3" thick then?? BUT not easy to undo or move concrete like rock - which might be able to use a shop vacuum to pick up.
@@2Truth4Liberty Some good points here. Thanks.
I would add a couple of outside layers of roll on truck bed liner on both sides. This should keep the plywood from breaking up and creating holes the stones could flow out through.
I would mix concrete with the stones. If someone is shooting at the wall to do damage and have enough bullets, they just need to burn through the first layer of wood before the stones start pouring out through the hall that they are making in the wood. Cementing the rocks together in some fashion might prevent the bullet proof layer from just falling out of the holes made by the bullets. You have already made about the perfect mold for a great pour anyhow.
Why not just add both layers of metal to the inside piece of the wall, and then add gunpowder and ball bearings to the rocks, so when they start shooting the wall everything starts firing back...
@@TonyHarlan both layers of metal? why? I do like the bullet firing rock idea though.
In reality, it takes 3/8" steel to stop most bullets, so rocks and just one layer of steel should work.
Someone mentioned using sand with the stones. I used to be in the faux stone business. I often thought of a similar deal as this and using expanded wire lath. The wire lath would go inside the cavity against all four interior sides with the stone and sand poured in after. The wire lath would help to contain and compact the stones as it is being fired into making it an effective barriers for multiple attacks. In theory however I’ve not yet tried it.
Thanks for your comment. I appreciate your suggestion, but I've found that something like that wire lath is unnecessary. When bullets go into the wall, the holes they make are too small to allow many if any stones to come out if any. I recently moved to another state and I dismantled the one I built in this video. In doing so, I first cut a large hole in the wall to see what would happen and a few stones fell out, but they compacted themselves and hardly anything came out at all. I was somewhat surprised, so even if you had a lot of rounds grouped in one spot, what I saw tells me the stones are basically going to compact themselves and stay intact.
@@pastorjohn4337 As I said in theory, it appears you’ve proved otherwise. Thx, good to know and here’s hoping we are outta here before it gets to that.
Ive taped some stones to my head too just in case.. lulz
You need to rod the middle of that structure so the weight of the stones doesn’t blow it out
Ceramic tile, and truck bed liner mixed with gravel can make a bullet proof barrier just a few inches thick.
The bed liner applied very heavily to a couple layers of ceramic tile is very bullet resistant. Space the tiles a couple inches apart and fill the void with gravel and bed liner and wood chips is practically impenetrable. You can use just about any filler material at about a 50/50% ratio to gravel. Use stone about 1/2" to 1" in diameter and about the same filler material size. The bed liner is the expensive part but you can build a bullet proof safe room about 4' × 8' with 6' height, about like a typical walk in closet for less than $500 not including the door. Redgard or similar shower waterproofing liquid can also be used in place of Rhino lining or other truck bed materials.
The door can be hardened same as the walls but will require heavy duty hinges to support the weight of the added materials. Special care must be taken in the design to allow for functioning door and fully bullet resistant seams. It can be done with standard building materials though.
A functioning bullet proof door will cost about $400 the way I've designed it.
I've also seen a design that uses a seperate sliding interior door that is slid in place from inside to cover the standard entry door.
That could be done with rollers and track for less than a single hinged and hardened entry door.
That's to provide a 360° protected safe room. It does not include the floor or ceiling however.
Wow! Sounds like a real project. I'm wondering if you can share what kind of tests have been done on this method and which types of bullets it has proven to stop.
@@pastorjohn4337 - I replied with specific plans but I see it's missing now. Hmmmm.....that's odd. Did you get that message?
@@pastorjohn4337 - a quick answer is 5.56 and 7.62×51 resistant.
@@holdernewtshesrearin5471 Nothing I've seen yet.
@@pastorjohn4337 - hmmm. That's strange. I gave very specific instructions on how to build the B.P. panels.
If interested I'll retype and save before posting.
It's a simple process though.
Only thing I see it needs is a center support to keep the wall from bulging out over time.
I was thinking of a similar design, but with either concrete or 1/2 steel plate over the top. I have a basement, the perp can shoot down from the main floor of the house.
In the stones use sand that will work too.
I know that a tnt mag can be build with plywood and sand.
It works well, keeps the tnt cool in summer and it doesn't freeze in winter.
Simple, Easy to construct. No maintenance, Economic
Thanks for your comment.
Thank you , Pastor John .
I love you .
PSA : sniper alert this weekend especially Saturday in approx 3 hours . Some sort of “ Day of Vengeance “ from radicalized trans extremists . Let’s keep it moving in transitional spaces this weekend especially this next day & situational awareness is key . I’ve heard everybody hasn’t heard . Spread the word please . Love y’all . Thank y’all . We should just stay home this weekend at least .
I have tested pea gravel in a panel built on 2x8 sheathed with 3/4 ply up to .338 Lapua.
The 338 knocked dust out of every seam, but it did not punch out the backside.
Excellent video this was exactly what i was looking for onTH-cam i appreciate all your R&D , Testing ,and sharing a high quality Video of your final product i personally am a retired Professional Carpenter/woodworker with more than 35 Professional Years under my belt and do hope to build my own home with some type of Safe Areas , and a large Fortified Safe for valueables and Guns and Ammunition seperate from the S”Safe “ Room most likely not even on the same floor ,FYI my best freind fromHigh School is a Architect with close to 40 years In Residential and Commercial Construction. he and I have thrown around ideas for many years i’ll admit i’m a little Excentric and think outside The Box as well as a Little Redneck / Mini Prepper put into the Mix ! i don’t like to rely on anyone but myself
Craig: It is nice to hear from you. I trust you'll get done exactly what is best for your situation. If you are a Christian you might enjoy checking out my website. There are lots of good things there including videos and two books I've written which can be downloaded free to any device. Just go to WWW.Toolspj.com God Bless you.
Its a great idea, however you need to keep in mind the weight. With that much stone, and wood we are easily talking several hundred pounds on a small area. If you don't have a good structure underneath, it till cause other issues.
I'm sure there's a good reason for this, but why aren't homes built out of bricks/blocks to begin with? Is insulation the major factor for choosing wooden framing & drywall?
Before wood shot up in price, it was cost. I'm unsure what the difference is now.
Amen brother thank you so much. In Afghanistan, that’s why we used HESCO walls which was different sizes of metal baskets with burlap sacks and you fill it with the Earth. I would literally let an RPG hit the back of a HESCO that I’m standing up against, it’s very trustworthy.
Great idea, but is your ceiling hardened too? Intruders could shoot through the floor joists down at you if it's a basement room. Sayin'.
Guy on TH-cam huh? That’s all I need.. You had me at “will DEFINITELY save your life”..
772x39 is my favorite cal..
In my area I would get my stone from a gravel pit, with a pick up truck, trailer or whatever. I can buy stone for about $12 a ton. A lot less than buying it by the bag, Some pits have a $25 minimum purchase.
Sounds good. Just make sure the rocks are the right size. If they get too big they create big spaces a bullet might get through.
Have you tried shredded tires? They would cut the weight down and absorb a lot of energy. Probably have to kinda pack it tight though.
I hear you, but the rocks do the job. One gap in the tire pieces could change ge everything. Somebody once said, "Never be defeated by the avoidable."
@@pastorjohn4337 I understand. Was just inquiring if you had tried.
@@jasonsimmons6684 I hear you. I just went with what I had tested and saw worked. It was 1 and done.
excellent suggestion
I dont know if you know but some people invented some mixture called concrete in acient Rome that does exactly that - its bulletproof!
Gonna DIY a gun/safe hidden room and want to make it as secure as i can reasonably afford. I was looking into balisticrete but now I think I might do this! Going to research price more to see how much balisticrete I'd need to fill my areas walls 6' high on every wall.
Pretty sure the rocks will be cheaper though!
Thanks for writing. From what I've read the cost of Balistricrete depends on how thick you feel you have to put it on. It goes on in 5/8 of an inch applications. I would consider that the minimum thickness and I read that at minimum application Balisticrete is about $12.00 a square foot. The square footage I have on my two corner right angle walls is about 16 square feet. So at minimum application that would cost $192.00. However here is the issue. According to this websitecustomsecuritydoors.com/ballisticrete/ one application of 5/8 of an inch fails to stop even a small handgun bullet. They say you have to have 1 inch for small hand guns, 1 1/2 inches for large hand guns and 2 inches for rifles. So, doing that same square footage to get to 2 full inches would take 4 applications 5/8 of an inch at a time, which would get you to 2 1/2 inches and would run the cost to about $800.00 My wall works and comes in at about $11.00 a square foot to cover the same wall area or about $175.00 all materials included. I'm sure Balistricrete is way less labor. Lugging those stones and loading them into the wall took time. Yet my wall stops all handgun and rifle bullets for much less cost. By the way as I recall I used Vigoro River Pebbles in 40 lb. bags available at Home Depot as opposed to pea gravel or other smaller or larger stones One other thing is to make sure you spread them out in a dry place and let them all COMPLETELY dry out overnight. They often are wet in the bags for whatever reason. I spread them out on my garage floor because they are wet in the bags when you get them and putting wet stones in the wall is inviting all kinds of mold issues etc. I'd really be interested in hearing which direction you choose to go. God Bless you.
@@pastorjohn4337 Thanks for your detailed comparison breakdown!
@@MM-jf1me You're welcome.
I'm going to do you a favor, they made this thing called a cinder block, they are readily available and easy to build with you can fill the cavity with all kinds of things like sand or cement both of which are excellent at stopping even large caliber rifle rounds, you can easily build a whole room out of them
Great idea for a cheap bullet shield. Having built a boat, I would probably give the outer plywood sheet a thin fiberglass layer (both sides) to prevent it from shredding when hi velocity rounds go through it. That would minimize leakage of stones or sand through the holes.
Would a 3" or 4" concrete wall do the job? This would also help with radiation in case of a Nuke. I'm not sure if stones block the Gamma rays.
I like the fiber glass layer suggestion. With regard to concrete blocks, they could only work if the blocks were a recommended 8 inches solid concrete vs. the normal ones with holes in them. Even then, enough rounds might break a whole in the wall. Each round is going to take out a chunk of the block. Wiith stones they absorb and stop the bullets.
I’d suggest granite pea gravel lot harder stone than river rock but make sure you support the area underneath in your crawl space!
Very cool video thanks for sharing!
Your most welcome. Thank you.
I've seen videos where 2 large ceramic tiles duct taped and about a ream of paper make a makeshift level 3 body armor. I'm sure doing that two layers thick and offset would be worth a test and could be another inexpensive option. Bullets were fully captured and potentially the degradation in the test could have allowed some of the larger rounds to pass. If you were to do this I suggest testing it for yourself, but there are videos showing the idea.
I hear you. However, doing that 2 layers thick on a wall seems like a lot more work than my plan. Yet, if it works for you perhaps that would be the way to go for you
@@pastorjohn4337 not suggesting right or wrong, better or worse, just throwing out another idea I've seen in case that would work better for someone.
I like your idea and seems consistently more effective and advantageous than a strategic bookshelf or more expensive options.
@@matthewriegner5180 Thanks Matthew. I appreciate it.
A criminal using a fully automatic weapon could cut an outline with the gun thus allowing a,piece of plywood to fall out and then the stone.
And a guy with a back pack missle could easily blow a hole in it......🤔😐😑😶
Nothing stops projectiles better than beach sand. Takes 6 inches to stop a .50. Also adds thermal mass which will even out temperature swings in a home.
I hear you. However, I've seen video of bullets going up to 9 inches through sand, so maybe it has to do with the type of sand or how much it is packed, but if I was you, I'd go bigger than 6 inches.
I suggest supporting your foundation wherever you put this at
Try .30-06 Black tip
SAND bags also works. Cheap and all the dirt you want in the back yard.
If you wanted to take this just a little further I’d mix up a wet cement slurry to add stability to the rock. You can pour it in on top and use a hammer to creat vibration to get it to run to the bottom and fill in the voids. Could help in capturing any fragments from splaying out too.
Good point, but the rocks are packed so tight I doubt if much would get through and you'd just create a cap of cement at the top.
That'd be a lot of weight
@cfoe1212 Yes , but if your house is on the slab like mine is fine. Otherwise, make sure the proper support is available.
Dirt and sand also work… (it’s why the military still uses sandbags) stones are just better at catching/deflecting the higher impact penetratoes.
Might I suggest you add some rabbit wire or chicken wire in layers like wire on the board inside and then about three inches in put a second layer of wire vertically to keep from losing stones after the board is damaged, to keep from allowing the suspect to remove some stones and breaking through in a spot where the wood was damaged by the rounds. This would definitely be a decent from time spent in this action. It would also add a layer of strength to the plywood.
Based on what I've researched, it would take quite a few rounds to make a whole big enough to leak significant stones or compromise the plywood itself. The 3/4 inch plywood is strong and bullets would go through it clean without ripping it apart. In other words a 5 round pattern would likely remain five individual holes which would do little to harm the integrity of the plywood and never be big enough to leak significant stones. If someone did manage to put say 10 or more rounds in the wall, they would have to be in such a small space of about the size of a half dollar to take out enough plywood to allow some stones to come out. Yet, even then the plywood would likely remain secure. Even if someone was trying to fire what would have to be called a "cluster" that tight, rather than a pattern, it would be difficult to do, even at a range under calm conditions.
You can make it thinner after the three quarter inch plywood talking 4 by 8 sheets of concrete Steel mesh and coat it with Quikrete then another layer of three-quarter inch plywood, another layer of Steel mesh and Quikrete and then the rest of your interior wall. Bullets fragment but they never get through.
God bless you back! 🙏
Next challenge? Guard against someone ramming or hooking up to yank out a portion of your home with the heaviest high durability vehicle, may be a tank or giant tractor, they can find.
you could probably dig through the exterior walls of my house with a wooden spoon. so my walls are about as bullet resistant as a paper plate.
its a good idea but i dont think i have a strong enough foundation to fill the walls 4ft full of rocks. it would also make future electrical work difficult.
On a room scale the plywood won’t be able to hold the weight of the rocks and will bow outwards and crack along the fasteners.
How would such a setup compare to concrete? Or cement blocks with the voids filled with rocks/gravel?
I also saw a TH-cam video, where a 5" thick box of sand stopped 5.56.
I hear you. Sand has been used to stop bullets for a long time. However, 5 inches is pretty thin for a sand barrier against bullets. I'd go with a lot more sand if I was you, but that makes my wall thicker which I'd rather avoid.
I was newly married standing in my father in-laws bedroom door way talking to him. Once done I turned and a bullet came through the roof went through his solid wood door at top at a 70 degree angle through my hair hit the floor ricocheted and went out the open kitchen door. The next day my father in-law ran into his police officer friend and told him. The officer was the one who shot the round into the air when a purse snatcher refused to stop. I was in the U.S. Army serving in Panama in the 90's and it was common to fire into the air till it started killing people. My father in-law was not happy. That was 31 years ago and my wife and I are still married. One bullet fired can change world history even if fired in the air.
Wow! What a story. Thanks for sharing it.
Kevlar fabric is not too expensuve, either. Make bags with Kevlar and fill with gravel. Then you can use less stones. Get some used ceramic tiles to line the wall with, also...
5/8 plywood is fire code. Something to possibly consider.
There's a popular saying, "Show don't tell." I think it could be applied to this topic.
Criminals are not going to be watching viodeos like this.
Even if they did, they won't know by looking where stones are and where they are not.
No matter if you live in a "Safe" place. (Doesn't exist.) You never know when a few 9mm FMJ will hit your house. Asleep at 2 AM? You never know.
It's definitely a Great idea.
Thanks.
Great Advice … Very Resouceful
From a structural load view those panels and studs should be flipped. More like a concrete form. From center out should be rock on the sill plate, then panel, then stud. Horizontal bolts connecting the two studs so they don't bulge apart. You want the panel pushing against the entire stud. 400lbs+/- of rock pushing against the lip of a few screw heads may let go. Adding more screws just weakens the panel. Especially with the added impacts of rounds. Hate for someone to have there safe room injure them.
Actually, for me, it is working fine. I'm even able to tip it away from the wall at about a 20+ degree angle and everything is solid. However, your comment makes real good sense. I guess it just depends on the load and quality of materials you use.
Stay Florida Strong, brother
Will do.
Awesome idea! Never considered this, but it may come handy at some point. I can understand the concept, but the audio was way choppy! Start and stops with plenty of breaks.
Stock up, load up on all the guns, ammo, food, “safe rooms”.etc you want.
My only question is how are you going to put out the fire?
Great idea.
I have rounds that will go though 5 feet f reinforced concrete. Good luck with your stones.
I did a similar project but calked the seams and then filled with sand and used 2x12 by the time they bring in something big enough to get through that I’ll have bigger problems then riding out a gun fight and having a mill plus a river close by it cost me labor and the fasteners that’s it
Great idea Sir!
Great video. Very informative
I am wanting to build two ballistic proof fox hole type units outside my home, one in front corner and another in back corner (diagonally). I need it to have small holes for a rifle to shoot. Any ideas? In a SHTF scenario i want to protect livestock and the children in the house.
I build something inside your home that works. I get you are trying to protect your livestock, but I doubt if many intruders will be going after your livestock. It also seems to me that you put yourself at risk tying to go outside and defend the property.
I see your license plate on the wall that is a Florida plate native Floridian here 55 years.
Rocks are fine but beach sand works much better.
Florida is such a beautiful place . With regard to the sand, we might have to agree to disagree. All my research shows that sand does work, but rocks work much better. 8 plus inches of rock is going to stop a lot more than 8 plus inches of sand.
Is there a follow up to this? Can we see the finished product?
I never took any pictures of it finished, since what you see in the video is just about complete. All I did was close in the open end, paint it and put it in the safe room where it belongs an filled it with the stones. I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have about it. Thanks.
I built my barrier out of giant, rubber panels so that it bounces the bullets back at my attacker
Yes but will it prevent you from
being Raptured?
If you properly braced it you could use concrete with steel reinforcement and it would actually be structurally sound.
thank you for posting this
If I'm crazy enough to shoot through a wall to try andend someone, I am also crazy enough to light the house on fire just to make sure.
Add a sentry gun, also mounted with latest generation of tow missile, cover the outer wall full with claymores setup like a wall tile, if the guest ask if it's real, just say it's a decorative for 4th of July.