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When the zombies attack you may find yourself unable to leave in a safe way.  Roads may be closed or blocked with broken down cars.  Fuel may be all but impossible to get.  Your vehicle may have been wrecked by someone panicing to get out.  You may have shredded your tires driving over zombie corpses.  Whatever the cause, it is always nice to have options.  Options can keep you alive.

One option that you can employ is building a bunker.  You have two basic options in this regard, underground or above ground.  Hybrids do exist, look at most basement homes.  I will try to discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages available.

Underground

Benifits

• concealed
• at 8′ below ground, average temperature is 58F year round, lower heating/cooling requirements
• high protection factor from nuclear fallout
• protection from projectiles (bullets/shrapnel) and storms (hurricanes/tornadoes)
• do not lose your yard to the structure, can landscape on top

Drawbacks

• More expensive construction
• Less portable
• can flood if you do not have a means to get water out

For the most part with this list, every benefit of going underground is a disadvantange of being above ground.  Every drawback is an advantage.  There are some exceptions, for example if you convert part of your house (garage/basement/spare room) you can have an above ground structure that has protection levels similar to an underground bunker.

When building anything remember that stuff is heavy!  Whether it is concrete for the structure, earth on top of the sturucture, or something else make sure that whatever you do can support the weight.

Bricking in your attic may seem like a good strategic move, but if the house catches on fire or if the weight of the bricks causes your house to collapse you will regret it.  Building a safe room in a spare bedroom on your concrete foundation may seem like a good idea, but if it was not built to support the additional weight the soil underneath may shift causing you more problems.  If you dig a pit and lay a foundation you want to ensure that the ground will not shift and crack your new foundation.

These are things that engineers calculate when looking at plans for building structures.  There are a lot more things such as ensuring that a concrete roof will not collapse if it spans more than a few feet.

If you bury your shelter, you do not want to bury it in the water table.  If you are in a flood plain you may want to think several times about burying a shelter there.

There are more things to think about, but you should think about it at least as an option.