Ok, ive read several plans about using home improvement stores as shelters and i like it, but people dont use the store correctly. This is what my plan would be for suriving in a lowes/home depot/ace store.

i used to work at one so it might help me know a little more about how they built the building.

First of all you will want a gun, i have a concealed weapons permit so i have mine on me at all times, but either way, make sure you have a pistol or light weight gun before beginning to hide. Locate a home improvement store and make sure the coast is clear, run for the doors. Once you get inside, hit the main switch for the electronic doors, then shove 1x2's in between the door railings so they cant be forced open. If you have people with you, great, if you dont, dont worry about it. Now comes the time where you really have to ask yourself "am i doing this to survive or be a hero?" because we are going to have to kill some people. If you feel they will not benefit you or themselves in time of crisis, they must be killed for the greater good of the group. Find out who seems to have physical impairments, people who cannot think quickly under pressure and anyone that just seems shaken up after this tiny ordeal (if they cant handle being chased by zombies from afar then you dont want them around if zombies get thru your defenses. Once you have singled these people out, dont even tell them what youre doing, tell them you need them to stand still so you can check for infection, take your pistol, and as quickly as possible plant one shot between there eyes. Dont be a coward and shoot them in the back of the head, be a man and mourne for these people, we are only doing this to prevent them from fucking anything up in the future. Try not to have too many people because you need the food in the store to last until the renewable food growing phase is under control.

Now, if someone comes to the door and begs you to let them in and theyre pounding on the door making a lot of noise, HIDE! and just let them get eaten, the zombies were probably following her anyway, once the zombies go away, sneak back out to the main floor, be quiet for now, find the power tools, plug every single battery in to let them charge for a while, now head down to lumber, grab 4x8 sheets of MDF and place them up against the doors, leave about 2 inches of room in the middle where the doors meet youll see why in a minute, attach the MDF to the doors using long self tapping screws, go to tools, grab an arc welder and some 6013 welding rod and a welding mask, weld the seams where the doors come together and make sure you get good penetration for max strength, next go to building materials, grab some 3mil black plastic sheeting and drape it down every single door, leave excess to droop a little past the bottom and top, take some silicone caulk, run an even bead all along the edges, press down hard, now take duct tape and seal it all off, this will keep your smell from getting outside where the zombies can sense it and keeps you hidden while you build more security inside and acts as a sound dampener.

Now that youre nicely hidden, go down to insulation, grab as much R35 as you can, break the batts open, line them up 2 batts thick in front of the doors and any thin bits of wall, take 2x4's and as quiet as possible make a frame around all the insulation to hold it up, next go to hardware and grab some simpson strong tie coil straps, youll need a lot, so take what you can. Wrap the straps around the insulation from the top down and secure it with either screws (if theres wood exposed) or with JB weld or contact cement if theres just concrete. This is going to keep all sound from exiting the building so zombies cant hear you and it will keep it warm in case you lose power, this is another reason why you have the batteries for the tools charging.

Now youre ready to work. Start by take 4x8 sheets of OSB and lay them out in front of the doors, build a frame that will hold cement around the OSB, next poor in quick dry cement (you can use a cement mixer from building materials, ready mix cement and buckets of water from the bathroom). before the cement gets super hard, plunge 1/2"x4 foot rebar into the semi dry cement, let it dry, build your frame up more so it is about 2-3 feet high, fill the rest with cement and let it dry, now if this was a professional job and you cared, you could tear down the frame, but for this, just leave it, all your doing is making a concrete barrier SHOULD for some reason a zombie or 10 break thru the doors.

Its always good to have a backup plan, and whats a backup plan without explosives? Go down to plumbing, grab some 1/8" inch thick metal pipe, cut into 6 inch lengths, thread one end of the pipe with the pipe threader, take a metal cap, place it on the unthreaded end of the pipe and weld it shut, poor paint thinner, keroseen and nails into the pipe (MAKE SURE THE PIPE HAS COOLED FIRST)screw a threaded metal cap onto the other side, drill a 5/64 inch hole in one end and squeeze in some twine using a a straightened paper clip, make sure only HALF of the twine is soaked in keroseen, middle of the string to the tip, once you have a number of these made, take them up to the roof and put them out of the sun in an easy to find place.

In case you havent already, there is usually a way to access the roof from gardening if you get on an OP and raise it up to the rafters, climb onto the roof from them. youre up here because you want to see what the numbers look like for zombies outside since you cannot see outside anymore, this will give you a way to assess your length of time youre going to be in here and you want to get your pipe bombs up there and keep checking on them to make sure theyre not getting too hot.

There should be a wind up radio somewhere in the store, they sell em everywhere now, use this to listen for any news. If there are people with you, give each of them a walkie talkie from the cabinet by customer service (or in the comm center in some stores) tell everyone to stay on channel 1 because there could be other people out there using the same channel (its most likely what people would try and broadcast on first). this can be good for keeping tabs on everyone.

For food, you will want to start growing the fruit trees and grape vines in garden, dont leave them in the pots, build a big sand box basically, at least 2 feet deep, fill it with dirt, compost, steer manure and nutrients, plant whatever grows food in the soil and keep it healthy, while you wait for fruit to grow, ration out the candy bars and such from around the store, its not healthy but it will keep you alive, dont drink out of the faucets because the water supply could be contaminated, for now drink the bottles water and sodas around the store, dont forget about the employee break room, all kinds of good stuff in there. If you MUST drink from the faucet, boil the water first, take a metal puddy dish from building materials, fill it with water, take a torch from hardware, light it and heat the metal container until the water boils, let it cool a little and drink it.

You should be able to survive the zombie outbreak as long as you grow the fruit, boil your water, listen for any signs of hope on the radio and stay sane.

I know, i know, i didnt talk about zombies breaking thru and what you should do, i think its obvious what you should and dont need any explanation on what to do. Chances are they will not get thru the concrete barriers you build and all the security doors are 2.5" thick steel but you should have built concrete around those too if for no other reason, just for something to do. If you think its a good idea to build stairs to the roof so you dont have to keep using the OP, WRONG! Lets say for stroke of bad luck and heaven and hell meet each other half way and zombies get into the building, youll be able to ride the OP up onto the rafters but the zombies wont be able to get near you, no way its happening, if you built stairs, theyd just climb up eventually, at least up there youre safe from them. If they for some god for saken reason, find a way up there, you have your trusty pipe bombs on hand.Be sure to carry a bevy of possible weapons with you, i have a concealed weapons permit and always have my 357 on me, but it only has 6 rounds so i would also carry a melee weapon, something dense, manuverable, easy to carry and deadly is what youre looking for, its totally up to you what you want to carry but im going with a machette and a 5lb one handed dead blow hammer (very common tool used to break up concrete and duraboard).

I forgot to mention a good place to sleep, now some people would say "sleep on the insulation, its soft and warm" well unless you dont mind waking up with a pounding headache and a sore throat from hell and itching like a crack adict, i would suggest taking painting tarps, the big heavy ones, piling them up somewhere close to the OP and sleep there, this gives quick access to the roof should zombies find a way in, although it is HIGHLY unlikely, anything could happen at anytime.