How to Build With Bags & Sand

Sandbag Shelter

"Expect the unexpected" has been sage advice since it was first uttered by an anonymous survivalist many years ago. One way to be prepared for the worst is to practice the skills that can save your life. A very important skill to acquire before you need it is the ability to build a shelter. One easy-to-build shelter is the sandbag shelter. You can build a structure using sandbags with a bit of time, some know-how and a lot of work.

Things You'll Need

• Sand pile
• Shovel
• Burlap sacks
• Plastic tarp (10 feet by 10 feet)
• Work gloves

Instructions

1. Scoop up the sand and pour it into the burlap sacks with the shovel. Fill all of the burlap sacks a little over half-full with sand, roll the top edge down and tie the corners to seal each bag.

2. Lay out a square of sandbags 8 feet long on each side. Leave a 2-foot-wide section for the entry. Place a sandbag sideways on one at the doorway so that the next bag in the second layer covers half of the first and half of the second in the first layer. Stagger the bags all the way up each wall and around each corner. Stack the front wall (where the entryway is located) 4 feet high, the opposite wall 3 feet high, and slope the side walls between the two heights.

3. Lay the tarp across the open top of the sandbag square. Lay a layer of sandbags around the structure to hold the sloped tarp in place. Extra bags may be used to seal the entryway once you are inside.

Tips & Warnings

• Work gloves are absolutely necessary when doing large amounts of work with a shovel.

References

• U.S. Army: How to Fill Sandbags