This Man Built the Bunker of His Dreams All on His Own

“Doomsday preppers,” ”manchildren with more money than sense”—whatever you want to call them, we’ve all fantasized about being one at least once. That’s right—we’re talking about owning a secret underground bunker.

Colin Furze doesn’t look like your typical end-times builder. He sports a shirt and tie and prides himself on having a nerdy outlook on life. Nonetheless, it’s always been his dream to create an underground safe house in case the worst comes to pass—or just to have a fun place to hang out.

Any designer or builder worth their salt will tell you that the planning stages are just as important—if not more—than any project’s execution. That’s why Colin set out to depict his vision as accurately as his abilities allowed. This image was the final result.

Most doomsday bunker preppers tend to report from the United States, but that isn’t to say that you get some springing up in other countries in the world. Colin himself comes from England in the United Kingdom. It’s as good a place as any to start, after all.

And here’s the view from the back. It’s a yard perfect for pets, little kids to run around and play in, and an enormous underground bunker built by an inventor with heaps of optimism and ideas. What a beautiful view of the hills and woods! 

Off comes the roof. Colin probably looked at his shed one day and thought to himself, “would this protect me in case of a biblical-sized emergency?” Upon realizing that it probably wouldn’t, he got to work.

Here, Colin and a friend are taking down a structure that most people would be proud of having in their backyard. But it’s all in the service of a more extraordinary project. Still, they look like they’re having fun pulling the whole thing down. 

The dinosaur in Colin’s backyard sums up everything you’d want to know about the man. He kept a T-rex in his garden as a way to deter intruders. He’s clearly got privacy and the safety of his children in mind. Unfortunately, they would need to move it to make way for the trucks.

With the dinosaur gone and the fence flat-packed, it was time to get digging into the garden! Colin drew out the lines where he would need to clear out the earth. Here’s his master floor plan again for comparison. Building these kinds of projects seems more “art” than science.

Step one: fantasize about a secret underground lair. Step two: every big kid likes to think about trucks—so bring in the diggers! Colin wasn’t about to waste any time with a shovel and wheelbarrow. He got some industrial machinery to help clear away any debris and to break the earth.

What’s a secret underground bunker without a little depth? The plan was to pull out about 12 feet of earth. It would take at least that much to be able to lay the floor foundations. Colin didn’t just have one monster—he had a few on the go to help clear the way.

You might be able to tell by now how deep they were going. The smooth, soft earth was getting more coarse the deeper they dug. You can see the tractor getting all the way in by the way it’s tiling forward into the hole. The truck behind took away all the dirt left behind.

While Colin was clearly doing this for fun, he was also doing it as part of a challenge for a UK-based cable TV channel called Sky 1. In fact, they funded the whole thing. No wonder he looks so excited throughout the build! Imagine if some TV company offered to pay to make your wildest dreams a reality!

But a hard bedrock wasn’t too much of a problem for Colin and the team to handle. When the tractor gave up going any deeper, they took out their jackhammers and broke hard stones. Soon the hard surface under their boots crumbled, and they were able to clear away the pebbles.

This wasn’t just any old house they were building—it was supposed to be a structure that could withstand the end of the world, in whatever shape that would take. Naturally, Colin wanted it to be strong. Nothing but the most durable material would do.

With the floor smoothed down, they laid down some small footings and started placing down the steel sheets one by one. Each sheet they put down had to be welded to the next to it by hand. Every. Single. Sheet. The sheets had to make a kind of air-tight blanket for the bunker to protect its occupant successfully. 

Just feast your eyes on this incredible work! It looks almost as good as Colin’s inspirational drawing/floor plan. The last sheet was set down and welded into place. It doesn’t exactly look like the kind of floor you’d want to take your socks on after a long day being chased by mindless super mutants, but it would last almost forever.

Naturally, with the floor done, the next step was to erect the walls around it. Again, Colin opted for thick steel. Check out that thickness! Just like the floor, each panel of walling needed to be hand-welded into place against the rocks. 

With the floor and walls firmly (and we mean firmly) in place, the hardest part of the job was finished. Colin could take a breather and take it all in—but unfortunately, the workers had to get back to it to make sure the bunker had some kind of roof. 

Here’s a reverse view of the entrance. These guys are hard at work in the blistering sun, raising one of the arches that would go on to form the bunker’s ceiling and roof. They couldn’t just weld another set of steel sheets to the top and call it a day. The weight of the top had to be distributed evenly. 

The folded sheets were installed over the arches and welded together. Then the whole structure, from beneath the steel to behind the walls, got filled in by a special, fiberglass-reinforced concrete. They poured it at different thicknesses at different angles for maximum sturdiness. 

As if all that wasn’t enough, the builders lay down crisscrossing steel beams to support the weight of the concrete they would then put on top of the roof. The beams would once again distribute the massive weight on top, preventing a collapse—besides that of civilization. 

Since the project was on a strict timeline, Colin had to pull all the stops to get the work done. Here’s his son helping out by smoothing the concrete by the trap door. He looks a little too young to perform manual labor, doesn’t he? Just kidding—he just wanted to help out for fun.

The project was sealed up, but it wasn’t literally air-tight. This is one of the ventilation pipes. It would allow used air to escape out of the bunker and would feed fresh air back in, presumably through a series of HEPA filters. Without them, Colin would find it pretty hard to breathe a sigh of relief in his impenetrable safety room.

And with that, the main body of work was complete! Colin now had a large, invulnerable square box in which to cower should the worst happen hidden deep under his lawn. Speaking of the law, the builders helpfully covered it back over with all the dirt they had removed earlier.

Anyone wondering if they could pull off their own underground bunker in 34 days may (or may not) be wondering if Colin needed planning permission for his four-foot long, 16-foot wide safety center. It turns out that he did, but he actually got it retroactively since the clock was ticking. 

Here’s Colin inspecting a corner of his backyard after the grass got laid down—but not just any corner—it’s the spot that hides the secret entrance to the base! The sides of the concrete pipe have been concealed with a nice bit of brickwork. It all looks neat and tidy.

With the bunker covered in a foot of concrete three feet below the earth, the entrance would also need to be just as shielded. The area around the trap door was good, but the hatch itself would need a little reinforcement. Colin originally put down a wooden flap to cover the hole.

And what better way to hide it than by simply replacing the old shed with a new one? It’s astounding that Colin managed to put this thing up in the time that he had, but it just goes to show that Colin is no ordinary inventor.

It’s finally time to see what Colin made of the bunker! Here’s an interior shot of the inside of Colin’s new shed. It all looks very nice and rustic, as tool sheds go. There are some real tools on the wall and a bunch of clutter that he couldn’t keep in the house. But where’s the hatch? 

Surprise! It’s a rug! Well, that’s not the real secret. But those with their eyes peeled might notice a handle camouflaged on the top of the carpet. This handle comes with a padlock. Colin snaps the key in and gives the handle a pull…

At the bottom of the ladder, visitors will be treated to this exciting view. Isn’t this cool? Colin has said that he will never sell his house now that there’s a bunker at the bottom—but if he ever did, he would have to sell it as a bunker with a house attached, as opposed to a house with a bunker.

Were you expecting an empty room? This is absolutely mindblowing! Being an inventor, Colin had plenty of gadgets and machines to move down into his new fortress. A few nice touches, like the black and yellow tape, helped to give the bunker its authentic, post-apocalyptic sheen. 

What’s a survival bunker without the means to sustain yourself? The place is fully kitted out with a kitchen and a whole bunch of canned produce and water. There are enough non-perishable goods to take care of a small family for at least a couple of months.

Although it’s made out of steel and concrete, there’s also a place to relax and catch some Zs after a long day at the world’s end. This single bed looks cozy enough, but of course, being the inverter he is, Colin added a, shall we say, “interesting” twist to the bed’s design. 

The bunker is hooked up to the electricity grid, just like any other building in the neighborhood. But just in case those go down or wear away, Colin has some fuel stored so he won’t have to go on living in the dark for very long. 

Here’s where those pipes you saw on the surface go to. The bunker handles all the oxygen—incoming and outgoing—which keeps the place fresh and prevents humidity, rust, or panicked breathing. There’s a fan, but Colin says he rarely needs to use it as the vents take care of things automatically.

Colin doesn’t just build structures for a living—he also makes experimental gadgets, including weaponry! In the event of a cataclysm or zombie outbreak, they would probably come in pretty handy. Here he is showing off his homemade flamethrower and rocket launcher.

That’s right—the business end of a gun is aimed right at the hatch for anyone who thinks about taking the bunker for themselves! The barrel is usually hidden away behind a sheet, but with the press of a button, it snaps down at the infiltrator’s head.

The small size of the bunker means there wasn’t room for a bathroom, but any occupants of the end of the world will still need a place to relieve themselves. Fortunately, Colin did the plumbing and installed a toilet. Unfortunately, it’s right across from the sofa—meaning it’s not totally private.

Colin built the bunker to survive impending doom, but he wanted to survive in style. So here’s his full kit on display. With a drum kit, books, workbench videogames, and a sweet widescreen TV, it would be hard for him to get bored down here.