Answers to frequently asked questions

We are customer-focused and do whatever the client needs. All details are agreed before we prepare a commercial proposal.

A civil defence shelter and a bomb shelter are different classes of shelter with different purposes.
The simplest shelter — any place where you can hide from danger — has minimal structural requirements.
A rapidly erected shelter is a shelter that meets the norms and standards. It can have different protection classes.
Bomb shelters are permanent construction. They are designed to protect people in line with all rules and standards, with the necessary utilities, and are most often built underground. Depending on their function (for example, shelters against direct hits by aerial bombs), they are built at different depths.

There is no fundamental difference in function — both shelter people from blast waves and debris. However, each type has its pros and cons in price, operation and installation time.
Above-ground:
- more expensive to manufacture (much more concrete);
- faster to install (24 hours for a shelter for up to 50 people);
- more expensive to deliver (because of the weight of the concrete);
- harder to heat;
- no earthworks or design project required;
- the groundwater level does not matter.

Underground:
- requires a design project (up to two months to prepare);
- expensive earthworks and waterproofing;
- cheaper structure, easier to heat.

The price depends primarily on the purpose — who the shelter is for (different norms of "square metres per person" apply). Other key decisions about the future shelter also matter:
- what kind of shelter is needed (above-ground or underground, with or without a base, the simplest, rapidly erected or an anti-radiation shelter (ARS));
- what equipment (from benches and bottled drinking water to video cameras and TVs);
- how it will be transported and delivered (whether the necessary machinery is available at the installation site or has to be brought from afar).
For each enquiry we collect all the necessary information, make a calculation and send a commercial proposal that lists all goods and work in detail and, of course, the price.

A primary mobile shelter (PMU) is a rapidly deployable protective structure assembled from ready reinforced-concrete modules. Our Fortetsia shelters are PMUs certified to the official DSTU 9329:2025 standard. This is the exact term public buyers, communities and schools use in tender specifications.

These are the requirements of DBN V.2.2-5:2023 and DSTU 9195:2022, which clearly indicate the areas required to shelter various institutions and population groups

Fortetsia 2.25 and 3.5 and Hobbit 2.0 passed a field test — the detonation of a 120 mm high-explosive mortar round: 500 kPa for Fortetsia 2.25 and 3.5, 300 kPa for Hobbit 2.0. Fortetsia 4.0 and 6.0 are rated at 100 kPa. The Fortetsia structure was also tested with direct hits from a T-72 tank's 125 mm gun. Fortetsia models hold certificates of conformity to DSTU 9329:2025.

Installing a shelter for up to 50 people takes 24 hours; the full cycle from delivery to handover takes 7 days. The installation itself takes up to 24 hours, followed by up to 48 hours of fitting-out depending on the options. Manufacturing is not included in these times.

From blast waves and debris, depending on the protection class of the shelter required by the Customer.
A-4: 100 kPa;
A-3: 200 kPa;
A-2: 300 kPa;
A-1: 500 kPa.
To put it in perspective, a 70 kPa wave destroys brick buildings. An air shock wave of 100 kPa kills an adult. A 300 kPa shock destroys military equipment.

Our above-ground Fortetsia shelter protects against fragments weighing 400 grams flying at 1,000 metres per second.

A mobile shelter is a primary mobile shelter (PMU) under DSTU 9329:2025: a modular reinforced-concrete structure that is installed on site quickly, without lengthy construction, and can be dismantled and relocated if needed. Unlike a permanent structure, you get protection within short timeframes, and Fortetsia models hold certificates of conformity to DSTU 9329:2025.

We install them all over Ukraine. Our shelters stand even within the first kilometres of the front line.

Yes. Fortetsia models hold certificates of conformity to DSTU 9329:2025 "Primary (mobile) shelters" issued by the State Certification Centre of the SES of Ukraine: No. DCS.0002391-26 (Fortetsia 2.25 and 3.5), No. DCS.0002371-26 (Fortetsia 4.0), No. DCS.0002370-26 (Fortetsia 6.0). DSTU 9329:2025 is Ukraine's national standard for primary mobile shelters (PMU): it defines the requirements for the structure, strength and safety of such shelters. Fortetsia 2.25 also holds a certificate of conformity to DSTU 9195 and DBN V.2.2-5:2023 No. UA.CRT.00316-26.

We advise our customers on this. The customer submits the DSTU 9329 certificate of conformity, the manufacturer's declaration and the structure's technical data sheet to the relevant authorities, who sign the shelter inspection report. Everything is done in accordance with current legislation. Based on the inspection report, the structure is entered into the register of civil protection structures.
If a design project is needed, it is prepared by a design firm.

An anti-radiation shelter (ARS) primarily protects against radiation. It is much more expensive than the simplest shelter because an ARS must have mandatory additional rooms, which significantly increases its total area. In addition, an ARS must have a set radiation protection factor and ventilation and life-support systems designed for people to stay inside without leaving for at least 48 hours.

Hobbit House has production sites and offices in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Bila Tserkva.

According to DBN V.2.2-5:2023:
A-4: 100 kPa;
A-3: 200 kPa;
A-2: 300 kPa;
A-1: 500 kPa.
To put it in perspective, a 70 kPa wave destroys brick houses. An airborne shock wave of 100 kPa kills an adult. A 300 kPa shock destroys military equipment.

We have already installed many shelters, but not many of them are accessible to outside visitors. Please tell our manager in which city you would like to see a shelter and we will arrange a visit.

Yes. It is provided on official request. Some of our customers are happy to give references and show their shelters. Others first ask us to sign a non-disclosure agreement and only then agree to share information about themselves.

All of them: commercial enterprises, state-owned enterprises, publicly funded organizations, foundations (Ukrainian and international), defence companies, kindergartens, schools, and the Armed Forces.

Our shelters are reasonably priced because:
- they meet the current DBN and DSTU standards;
- their walls are 30 cm thick (above-ground shelter) and 20 cm thick (underground shelter);
- they withstand a direct tank shot;
- our above-ground shelters have buttresses, not excuses for why there are none;
- they are made using an original patented technology, confirmed by an expert examination;
- we take our work seriously and do not cut corners on protecting Ukrainian lives.
Have you seen photos of "cheap" shelters after a strike? They are frightening to look at.

Yes. We take part in tenders on Prozorro. The information on this platform is public, so anyone interested in the details can get them directly from the platform's website.

Yes. The structure was calculated in the LIRA CAD software, which is used to calculate shelters, bridges and high-rise buildings. Importantly, the calculation covers the entire assembled shelter structure. Not just for a concrete cube or a single structural element, as many other manufacturers do. In addition, the Fortetsia shelter has passed a strength test on a test range, which you can see in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbY45CRu2is. Fortetsia 2.25 and 3.5 and Hobbit 2.0 passed a field test — the detonation of a 120 mm high-explosive mortar round: 500 kPa for Fortetsia 2.25 and 3.5, 300 kPa for Hobbit 2.0. Fortetsia 4.0 and 6.0 are rated at 100 kPa. Video of this test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI1c5wFgjuE

Compliance with DBN and DSTU standards. Passed live field tests. Our shelters can be used to build anti-radiation shelters (ARS). We already have 1500+ sites, including shelters the military uses right on the front line.

Our modules can be joined both in width and in length, so the structure can be assembled to meet any client's needs and to fit any building footprint.

That is possible.

Yes.

Yes, you can install it yourself, but the first installation must be done under our supervision.

Both types of shelter, Hobbit and Fortetsia, comply with DBN and DSTU standards. Under these standards, civil defence shelters must withstand an air blast wave of 100 kPa. As standard, our shelters withstand it, as well as the debris specified in the calculation. At the same time, our designs include engineering solutions that make it possible to raise the protection class by changing the reinforcement and concrete used in production and by burying the structure deeper. Therefore, the strength and level of protection of a shelter depend on the task, not on where it is installed.

An above-ground shelter needs crane access, a base for the shelter to stand on, the plot for the structure itself and available utilities. An underground one needs the same, plus a check of groundwater and depth, and waterproofing. We can do all of this turnkey.

Community shelters are funded from state subventions, donor projects or the community's own budget. We take part in Prozorro tenders.

Yes, to every region of Ukraine. The delivery cost is calculated for the logistics and the specific structure.

Yes. Besides Ukraine — Estonia, Poland and other EU countries. Our first shelter abroad was installed in Tallinn (Estonia). EU certification is in progress.

Our managers consult in Ukrainian, Polish, English and Russian; the chat on the site answers in all 15 site languages. Working hours: Mon–Fri 9:00–18:00, Saturday and Sunday closed.

The customer submits the DSTU 9329 certificate of conformity, the manufacturer's declaration and the structure's technical data sheet to the relevant authorities, who sign the shelter inspection report. Everything is done in accordance with current legislation. Based on the inspection report, the structure is entered into the register of civil protection structures.