I own a Titan 2 Missile Silo that is being renovated into a man cave / escape room / AirBnB

Wouldn't it be more of a man hole than a man cave?

Well yes since there are no bats. I don't like talking about man holes anyway.

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That’s what he said?

I like looking at man holes

It’s a new world. I’m going back to don’t ask don’t tell.

If true and verified you own every mans wet dream.

Just wanted to say congrats.

How did you come to own such a novel piece of real estate and is the capital out of the reach of the average Joe?

No its not out of reach for the average Joe. I found this site through another site owner on YouTube. I purchased the 5 acre property for well under the normal 300k+ asking price for a Titan 2 and did it with owner financing. Anyone with a full time job can afford one if they skip things like food.

And then have a few hundred thousand to renovate it, never mind maintenance after? Seems like you are oversimplifying.

Not really the water flow is all coming in from the broken top. No other real maintenance. Approximately 400k to dig everything up and pour a new silo top to the surface. The reason that nobody will do it is the next question which is "Then what?". If we can't answer then what why would it be dug up in the first place. It took the guy 20 mil to do an atlas silo in Kansas and their silo is more suited to becoming a underground apartment block.

The average Joe can’t even buy a house much less drop half a million on a missile silo.

My total investment to date is just over 20k, including mortgage payments and construction which equals about $2,300 per month of construction and $1,000 mortgage and utilities. Construction costs are up to the person doing it and how fast they want to do the work, pay contractors or do themselves. Even an apartment costs more than $1,000 per month most places these days. I'm not saying that's my situation. I don't work at McDonalds and I have a whole life away from missile silos but it could be done by people with less resources. My advise to those who want to own a site is don't self disqualify. Try your best and "Make them tell you no".

To clarify, if you don't open the silo itself, the project is way more affordable. From where I am now to a clean blank canvas will be about another 30k with basic utilities inside.

Did you buy it from deathwears bunny slippers??

Nope he is two silos over from me. If you look at the video of the grinding for the new electrical panel that is GT from DWBS. Good guy and good friend. His mistakes have saved me tons of money.

Yeah that's out of reach for the average Joe. Unless they can live there.

In my case both the wife and I say no to living undergroun full time. This is an investment and vacation property only.

Now that you have your supervillain lair, how will you take over the world?

I plan on letting everyone else ruin the world first then come out a couple of months later. Much easier to take over then ;-)

I would like to apply for the role of henchman. What benefits do you provide?

What qualifications do you have? Previous henchmen experience? Benefits include living through the apocalypse for at least 3 months and being able to burn trespassers alive (only once laws don’t exist anymore).

Man... how are you going to have this finished in the next 4 months?

4 months? Wow no. This is a 10 year plan that I am 6 months into.

I understand. But I doubt civilization will give you that long.

Oh you are talking about survival. I have a plan for that. There will be countermeasures

I'm assuming you have a S.O. in your life. How did you convince your S.O. that buying a silo isn't a waste of money, and a symptom of a midlife crisis? Asking for a friend.

Its an ongoing conversation. The wife doesn't understand it but as long as I limit the monthly spending on construction she "allows" it. The goal is that when its done we can decide to keep it or sell it for a profit. I am being very careful not to do anything that doesn't increase the value of the site.

Fascinating! I’d seen something in passing about people buying old missile silos, but this is way cool. I watched all of your videos just now. Thanks for the ADHD rabbit hole! Now on to your friend’s project (Death wears bunny slippers). Thank you for posting this! Ooh, I need a question, so: is it creepy down there?

The most numerous and easiest to renovate actual silos are the Atlas F's. They weren't destroyed or filled in with crap. The silos are larger but the Launch Control Centers are tiny in comparison to the mighty Titan 2's. The largest of all were the Titan 1's of which there were only 18. Only 1 I know of is not flooded and is for sale but unless you really had tens of millions to renovate and wanted to survive with you and 100+ of your closest fiends they are unrealistic.

Not sure if you answered the right question with this comment.

OP was asking if it's creepy down there :)

I was a little creeped out the first time I went down to the dam. I still want to add concrete and a second dam after I seal the leak in the primary dam. Other than that not creepy to me at all.

Wouldn't it be safer to pump the water out on the far side of the dam, at least to lower than that level?

Safer? I don't see how. Dams hold back water, that's what they do. If I pumped the water from behind the dam it would require pumping forever, and I don't want that power bill. I only run the pumps for 1 hour per month right now because there is very little flow. Last month's bill was $30.

Fair enough. Though I was a bit worried when I saw on the video that the bulkhead had bowed in a bit!

Just a couple of inches. Not shady like dwbs

Titan IIs used Hypergolic Hydrazine-based propellants which are carcinogenic and generally bad for your health. Have you done much research into dealing with that side of things aside from running a gas meter?

They generally didn’t pump fuel into the launch control center. The USAF purged the lines in the silo before they left. I tested the water and it was fine.

In hazmat school they taught us that dilution is the solution to pollution.

Don’t know if there were any spills but I haven’t found any evidence

How's it feel knowing you may still have at least one Russian nuke pointed directly at your new house?

Unlikely as they are not stupid. The sites were all left open for Russia to take pictures of for 6 months after being demolished. If Russia still had anything pointed at my house they would be 32 years out of date.

Have you tried renting it out to film/tv productions?

I havent actively pursued it but if anybody wanted to do it I would be open to the idea

You could contact the film commission in your state and ask if they have tax incentives, and register as a Soundstage?

I'll look into it in the future

How do you plan to keep it from flooding constantly? Anything that far below grade and made of concrete is going to be an absolute flood zone constantly.

Actually the concrete doesn’t leak at all it’s between 4 and 8 feet thick and then wrapped in steel. The only places that it does leak are from the destroyed silo which I am repairing the dam that we have in place to keep the water out. The only other leak is actually coming from the escape shaft which is corrugated drainage culvert and comes in at the rate of about 1 gallon per hour or so. I dug down and the steel that surrounds the entire building doesn’t rust at all due to the low oxygen content in the ground water so I’m not worried about that becoming an issue in the future either.

You're not worried about mold&such?

Surprisingly no.

Sorry if this has been asked/answered but have you gone through the site with a Geiger counter?

It’s a really common question. A lot of people think that the sites are radioactive and they are not. The only thing that had any radioactive material in it was the warhead which was removed. What we do have plenty of is asbestos and lead paint which I try not to chew on too often.

But...lead is delicious.

I agree but it makes you fat. I’m already too fat

This is an amazing project my dude....

I'm guessing that the silo had a grid electrical and water hookup while it was in service with backups. But what are you doing for utility connections now?

Water and power comes in from the street. I show in my videos how the new power is in the access portal. No water inside yet.

Thanks for explaining, I'm not all the the way through watching your videos yet.... How did the phone call to the local power company go when you asked for a street connection? Was the property in their records or some eyes database?

The original Air Force property was split up into six properties which are all now part of an HOA. Mine is the only undeveloped lot and the only lot to actually have underground stuff. I do have an address though and the previous owner built a very nice shed which is where the power comes into. From the shed we had a trench about 70 feet to the access portal to get power underground.

"please ensure the picket fence around your missile solo matches the other missile silos in the HOA"

That is not in the restrictions for my little HOA. However I cant raise cattle. my shed also has to match the house which could be a problem as I don't want to make a concrete shed. In reality the neighbors are awesome and supportive. They watch everything while im gone.

Interesting sidenote the electrical codes state that all basement power must be GFCI protected. That is the absolute last thing you want in a silo. We had to contact the state and seek advice to get around the code.

Why is that?

The code is probably due to potential flooding. You don't want GFCI in a bunker because it could kill your pumps, water sensors or lights. The last thing I want is to show up and have the pumps off. Electrical is weird in that it doesn't behave the way you would think it would when introduced to water. Everything I run is protected by 20 Amp breakers.

I'm no expert, but is it simply for GFCI power outlets? Could you not just simply have a hardwired pump? No plug, no need for GFCI outlets.

GFCI requirements are based on outlet location. They also have GFCI breakers that will handle the whole circuit, but a GFCI outlet in the circuit will do the same thing. In this case I think you're right, a hardwired pump would be the best bet. Interested to hear the state's response to OP. I am (hmmm, was. I resigned recently) an electrician and while a lot of my work was in the Air Force, I don't know anything about missile silos other than the fact that I desperately want to own one some day. There's one in the same state as me that's shockingly 'affordable'.

It’s basically a shed at this point so I’m not worried about anything. It’s simple enough to change to gfci breakers if it was needed. The electrician just couldn’t do non gfci per code so he had to reach out for guidance.

how much it cost about? is that over or undervalue you think?

Don’t want to skew the market but well under 350k

dont think sample of 1 would skew market

The market is a total of 54 properties. No more no less. Silo owners are very protective of these numbers. I'll probably get yelled at for saying what I have. We have an owners association.

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Various from personal to commercial

Do you allow trained divers to explore the flooded areas? Id be interested.

(Un)Fortunately there are no flooded areas right now. The silo is flooded but also completely full of debris. There are no divable areas.

I will reflood it if anyone has enough cash!

I haven't seen this question asked, maybe for obvious reasons. Are the silos flooded on purpose? Why not just filled with earth or concrete? Do you have any idea how much water is in a flooded Titan 2 silo? Is the water contaminated with any chemicals, or can it be consumed after, for example, boiling?

The Army Corps was suppose to fill the cableway with concrete which im glad they didn't. The water is natural and was not done on purpose. In the LCC the water is contaminant free. I'm assuming spills over the years left some residue farther down in the silo. Millions of gallons of water is not an understatement so the hope is that the parts per million of contamination will be very low. Long time before I get in there anyway.

I'm guessing you've seen this guy's youtube channel?

Progress has been slow for him. Still very cool!

Yep I just got off the phone with him talking about all the interesting questions that I have been getting on Reddit. His site is nearly done and very amazing looking. The YouTube channel is dead but if you look him up on Instagram you can see more recent pictures.

I never understood why he just stopped posting videos.. I watched them all and then nothing for a long time then one day a video pops up saying they will be giving more updates then nothing since. it feels like a year since the last video

It has been a year. Can’t explain it he’s just busy

How deep does your man missile hole go?

180’

Radical

Bodacious

That’s pretty cool!

Is it impossible to get permits to do construction though?

How big is it inside (hard to tell from the video)?

In total over 6000sf but the main floor are 1000sf x 3 floors.

Permits are easy since it’s non commercial and no structural changes have been made.

If you make it into an escape room, won't that be a commercial enterprise?

Yes it will be then. But not now

Are you the guy that posted on arf a year ago or so?

I posted on iAMA about 6 months ago but I forgot proof so it was deleted. No idea on ARF but I could have been GT from Death Wears Bunny Slippers.

Please change your attitude pal, anyone saying “that’s out of average joes reach” please reply, “why yes, yes it is and when the end of the earth comes via nuclear bombing I will crawl out like a rich shiny cockroach whereas you my friend will be cinders”

In all honesty and joking aside, truly amazed at this. Here’s a question, everyone worries whilst at home should they have an accident/fire etc but most of us take out our mobiles everywhere and call the local emergency services. Although a lot of households (in the UK at least) don’t even have a landline anymore, do you intend of having a landline on each floor in the event of an emergency as I’d imagine there isn’t signal?

I should but people usually don't respond well to being called "Peasants" lol. I'm also not always an @$$hole, but sometimes I am.

My friend's site is wired with backup power and networked so cell phones work inside. I intend to do the same.

Hey guys, stop downvating this guy. Look carefully and see the satire in his post. I found it funny and upvote worthy.

Much better use of such an atrocity. It sounds like a really cool project. Where is it?

Little Rock, Ar

How did you find the listing for the silo? Is there a missilesilorealty.com site or something?

There is a site called 21st-century castles that sells silos and other sites. There is currently one for sale for 350,000 in Tucson. I Found mine through a friend who has another site in Arkansas.

Is it in AZ?

AR

Nice! Theres a guy here who bought one and made it into a doomsday shelter. But congratulations it would be awesome to own a piece of history like that!

That was a Atlas F but thank you!

Where is your silo? Im asking because my other half grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming and has stories of partying in abandoned silo sites there. So is it in Wyoming?

Titan II's were in Tuscon, Witchita and Little Rock. In Cheyenne you would be looking at a Minuteman most likely. Not as large but cool anyway.

Yes you are right - I asked him and he confirmed it was a Minuteman. I have another question for you about your pilot license - who do you fly for with a private license? With a private you cant fly commercial right?

Correct, I had to work much harder after my Private. I'm an ATP and I have significant student debt to go with it. All worth the effort though.

How many escape rooms have you played? What's your favorite one? What kind of escape room stuff are you planning with this?

I’ve done a few. My plan is to have a launch consul and they have to run around the silo trying to stop North Korea from launching our missile. I have a whole plan for it with touch screens and switches

A few? Come on, gimme a number! I've done 28 :)

3

Is or was it Nuclear blast resistant? Would you let people in if it still is?

Titan II is the heaviest reinforced building that has ever been sold off that I know of. It can take a hit within 2 miles of some type of warhead. So yes it is nuclear resistant but it never had nbc filter systems. It would just seal off from everything for a month. It will get that capability in the future again. I have a plan for what will and won’t be in the building when it’s done and that plan will never be public.

Is it in Arizona?

Arkansas

Are you into trepanning and LSD by chance?

Don’t even know what that is so no

You're a disgrace to missile silo owners everywhere, then. Up your game! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Leonard_Pickard

Atlas E has better floor space I guess

Did you just buy the one they had listed recently? Insaw one for sale on a few prepper sites.

No mine was never listed for sale. Just happened to find one that was willing to sell to the right person.

How do people find these is it general luck of the draw? Also are you assessed a lot in taxes for this site or just the land it occupies?

Google searching and talking to owners. Death wears bunny slippers has a video on how to find them. He actually found me mine. At the moment the taxes are $300 per year. In the future once its livable they will go up for sure.

You looking for a new best friend?

You live in Arkansas?

Close enough to it to be worth it.

Get my email from youtube. If you want to come out on silo workdays im always willing to accept friendly labor and I will buy lunch.

Maybe in 10 years I can afford to stay in the silo Airbnb, is it frowned upon to steal missiles like they're hotel soap?

Ask the Air Force. They stole mine

You basically bought a hole in the ground?

Yes exactly and I throw money into it

What country/city would you launch the nukes at?

Definitely Washington DC then all of my home state of California.

What made you want to pursue this? If already asked please let me know. I have more questions.

I toured the museum when I was a kid and when I found one for sale I just thought it would be a cool project which so far it has been

What kind of escape room would it be? Would love it to be a Cold War based one where you have to stop the missiles being launched by finding the abort codes

First 30 minutes, NK hacks the missile and orders a launch. People try to stop that by using puzzles and such. Then two options: 1 - They succeed but now the missile will explode in the silo and they have to stop it.

2 - They don't succeed but they can try to auto destruct it on the way to Washington DC. The only problem is that I'm afraid some people would just sit back and watch DC burn :-)

I'm on board with that. We Brits have burned DC down before, but now we might have to do it again 😊

Brit’s can’t even get out of the union they wanted #BREXIT2045

Isn’t this an entire plot point of Reset by Brian Andrews?

Never heard of it

Is their a way to drain the water at the bottom or do you have to pump it up over the top? The head for a pump like that be $$$$ . If I was a bit younger I love to do this. Super neat!

Actually the head pressure is the same either way you do it. To do the silo would be a $10,000 pump. A $230 pump can do the LCC just fine. I currently run the following pumps for approximately 1 hour once a month.

2 multi-quip 2” pumps ($230 each) in the access portal. Could drop to 1 now but I haven’t.

1 unknown pump I bought from death wears bunny slippers in the bottom of the LCC. I paid $200.

1 Home Depot basement pump $99 that keeps the long cableway dry.

There are more efficient setups that I can use in the future once I open the escape shaft. Most of the water leaks through there.

Damn son, seems like something straight out of GTA.

Is your next purchase going to be a flying motorcycle with rockets?

Do they exist, because I need it for my heist bunker and gun running missions.

How much does one of these silos cost and where can I purchase one?

There is one for sale in Arizona right now for 400k

what's the best q&a set you got here that we should look at?

I'm not sure what the best question has been but lots of nice people to talk to and a few to add to "my list" ;-p

What do you want to see?:

we want to see high quality content, detailed analysis of things, etc worthwhile longterm things

what was main purpose of making a youtube?

I make videos to share interesting things. When I have enough other money I will get better cameras and mounts for the High Quality Content you speak of.

Why are you uploading such short videos? I love these types of conversion projects, but I want to be able to keep it on on the side whilst doing things. There is something soothing about the process and something fascinating about the projects that I absolutely love.

Because I haven't done any editing. The plan is to put go pros on magnetic mounts as I do work then do editing back at home in the future. I now have 1 new go pro but in order to really capture the work we do I will need quite a few more. It will get there.

Do you ever think there is some old soviet ICBM still targeted at your man cave 💀?

Only if they are dumb

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The spiders don't go downstairs. The ones outside are huge in Arkansas.

Too difficult to just have pictures like the rest of the internet eh? Why does everything have to be a YouTube video.

I don’t know I guess I’m lazy

That’s cute. My parents farm currently sits on top of what used to be a CLANDESTINE Nike missile base/early warning system, in the rural suburbs of the east coast. They’re a literally a 5-level deep underground monitoring facility. What’s the big deal here?

Nike sites are a little weird. Lots of floor space though. They arn't really hardened because they were not retaliatory weapons. Very cool that you have one.

.....that’s why it’s 5 levels deep underground and in the middle of a suburb.

You mean in the middle of a target don't you? Nike sites were built to defend target cities and were usually within those cities. I'm not a prepper but if you think a Nike could take much of a hit I think you are wrong.

Not all of them. There is/was a Nike missle site in the town I grew up in. It is 40 miles north of Chicago. I would guarantee you my home town wasn't the target.

I wouldn't want to be even 40 miles from Chicago when one of those massive russian nukes hit. Maybe the site would survive though.

By the way you got me interested. I'm trying to figure out what part of a "Clandestine" Nike complex your family owns. It is a Control Site or a Launch Site? I'm willing to be wrong (you know with proof) but it seems that the Nike magazines are only 1-2 levels and not hardend. I have toured the museum in San Francisco and it would not take a hit (1-2 feet of concrete no blast doors). It would deffenitly keep people out but has no NBC ventalation systems and was not environmentaly sealed. Again no disrespect but without proof I'm calling BS. Also as I can't find anything about clandestine missile sites anywhere. Eagerly awaiting proof.......