Feedback on walk in gun safe/storm shelter

[Gary Fowler]

I at first wanted to put in a below grade storm shelter (12x12) but the cost of concrete roof and walls with certified storm door was going to add $10K to the price of my house contract. That would not have been something that was impossible but I thought about having to either go outside and walk down a hill to get to the UG storm shelter OR make one with a steep step down into the shelter from the top. I decided that either one would be likely to cause a fall during a night time storm.
SO I bought a Storm Shelter that is located in one side of my garage. I just have to walk out my garage access door and then 15 feet or so to the shelter door. It is made of 1/4" steel plate that is certified to withstand 200MPH winds and debris hitting it from said winds. Cost was $4500 installed. I have yet to run power to it although it has the box and conduit in it for lights etc. My garage was perfect for it as it is on the East side of my house and the Storm Shelter door faces East just like the engineering folks want.
I even got a $1500 rebate from my state for installing the certified shelter.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I don't remember exactly how they did it, but customers of mine had such a room in the basement of their weekend home to keep their firearms and booze. It had a heavy steel door in a steel frame, but the nice thing was is that there was a false wall in front of it, so you would never know it was there.

 

[CCWKen]

Keep in mind a "safe room" can become a tomb if not designed for exiting in case of a building collapse or storm debris. Make doors swing into the room so they can't be blocked from the outside. Also make sure fresh air can be drawn in and old air pushed out (by hand power if necessary). It's a good place to store canned goods (food) and emergency water too. It wouldn't hurt to have a curtain and privy as well. If you have to take up residence in the room for a few days or a week, no sense suffering. Being new construction, there's all kinds of "survival" means that can be designed into it.

 

[bcp]

Being new construction, there's all kinds of "survival" means that can be designed into it.

I'm surprised no one so far has suggested firing ports. :laughing:

Bruce

 

[Industrial Toys]

I never thought of the tomb thing. Those people did store their chain saws in there too though.

I think there are a few good old Twilight Zones about shelters. Maybe good material to have in there for entertainment.

The more I thought about this, the scarier it got. Like the threat of fire.

 

[EddieWalker]

I never thought of the tomb thing. Those people did store their chain saws in there too though.
...

Having a saw of some kind could come in handy in a worse case scenario, but storing anything with gasoline inside a small room might just be the cause of a worse case scenario. Maybe an axe and a wood cutting, tree saw to cut lumber that might be blocking the path to get out would be a good idea.

 

[PAGUY]

I think the outside shelter sounds like a good idea. In the case of a fire in the house even protected by cement walls and ceiling you might be cooked alive don't you think?

 

[EddieWalker]

I thought about an outside shelter, but where I live, the severe storms usually happen at night. They get all their energy during the day, form up West of Ft Worth, and then start building up in strength when heading East. There is always plenty of warning when they are coming, but the idea of heading out into a storm during the night just in case there might be a tornado would mean that it probably wouldn't ever be used. I have several clients with tornado shelters in the ground in their backyards that hide in their bathroom during a severe storm rather then go outside. Rain, wind and even hail can be extreme without a tornado, you just don't want to go outside when it's happening.

 

[crazyal]

Decades ago a company I worked for was in a building next to a crane company. I never had a place to store one but they were always removing things like large safes and vault doors. When I built my house I had thought about building a walk in safe in the basement using a vault door from a bank but I was trying to keep the size of the house down. The doors are pure profit for them. They charge to remove them, they charge to dispose of them, so anything they can sell one for is usually beer money. If you walked into their shop they had some of the nicest "tool" boxes you'll ever see. They did a job at a large estate where the owners had custom safes built (over 100 years ago) to store things like silverware, plates, etc. Not only is the exterior ornate but the inner workings of the doors have hand engraved scroll work.

 

[rbstern]

Keep in mind a "safe room" can become a tomb if not designed for exiting in case of a building collapse or storm debris. Make doors swing into the room so they can't be blocked from the outside. Also make sure fresh air can be drawn in and old air pushed out (by hand power if necessary). It's a good place to store canned goods (food) and emergency water too. It wouldn't hurt to have a curtain and privy as well. If you have to take up residence in the room for a few days or a week, no sense suffering. Being new construction, there's all kinds of "survival" means that can be designed into it.

All good thoughts.

I plan on keeping emergency supplies in the room, along with water, a bucket, tp, and escape tools. And a deck of cards.