Storm Shelter build
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TractorGuy
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I feel your pain. Having a house built was the most stressful thing I've ever done. My contractor did absolutely nothing to monitor subs and head off problems. His philosophy was they mess it up they have to fix it. The problem with that attitude is you end up with a bunch of cobbled up patches where it could have just been done right to start with. What made mine worse was I saw all the problems about to happen and warned him before they did. They were all simple common sense things you could look at and see were not right.
JD855guy - that's what happened here as well. Same philosophy.
When I interviewed builders I had specific questions, one of which is "How often will you be at the site?" This one's answer was once a week. Well, that didn't happen. He also told me that it would be built according to code, but I found out later he didn't know what the codes were. :banghead: A builder that doesn't know what the codes are???? Isn't the builder's purpose to be sure the subs do what they are supposed to do? So I pointed out to the builder where codes were not being followed. Well - - now you have a sub you've been working with for years saying they meet code and a homeowner (who typically does not know construction or codes) saying they don't meet code. Who would you believe? Once I realized he didn't know the codes and what the subs were telling him, I got out the code references and sent them to the builder. I also got my electrical code book out and showed it to the (2nd) foreman in front of the electrician.
The 1st foreman got caught ordering much more material than needed for the house, returning the excess and pocketing the refund.
The builder also told me much later that when they put the floor outlet in the middle of the slab that the floor guy wouldn't do it right. So, you'd think the builder would be there to make sure it was done right. Nope, we now have a chiseled piece of concrete in the middle of a stained and polished slab. We'll be putting a couch over it.
Building this house could have gone so much smoother and quicker. The builder did suggest changes during construction that really ended up enhancing the house and we accepted and his price for the changes which was very reasonable and could have been much higher. The house came in really close to the budget we'd allocated. We've gotten very favorable comments on what the inside of the house looks like. The outside is intentionally rather plain with Hardie Plank all around and steel columns at the porches. If we'd not been here watching the construction every day we'd have a different opinion, but we know what's under the paint.
I'll get a picture of the finished storm room and get it posted later. In the meantime, a few thoughts on how this went down:
- I'm not happy with the construction. It does not meet the drawings, specs, codes you name it, it doesn't meet it. I also don't like paying twice for a door because the builder made a mistake. However, it does look good now. The FEMA specs seem to be for an EF5 storm and we're on the edge of the tornado belt and far enough from the coast that Cat 2 hurricanes should be the strongest we should see. There is more rebar in the block walls than required by FEMA. The concrete ceiling was mixed by on-site mixer and lifted in-place in 5 gal buckets and I believe it to have a higher strength than required by FEMA. There are no cracks in the ceiling concrete. I did talk to a structural engineer (via phone) about all these problems and he feels it will be ok. The one concern I do have is how well the one side of the door is anchored in the wall - no answer on that. The door is on an interior wall facing away from the direction the storms come from. Any missiles the storm would throw would have to come thru 2 other walls to get to the door. So I think we'll be ok, just not as ok as following the plans would have made it.
When I interviewed builders I had specific questions, one of which is "How often will you be at the site?" This one's answer was once a week. Well, that didn't happen. He also told me that it would be built according to code, but I found out later he didn't know what the codes were. :banghead: A builder that doesn't know what the codes are???? Isn't the builder's purpose to be sure the subs do what they are supposed to do? So I pointed out to the builder where codes were not being followed. Well - - now you have a sub you've been working with for years saying they meet code and a homeowner (who typically does not know construction or codes) saying they don't meet code. Who would you believe? Once I realized he didn't know the codes and what the subs were telling him, I got out the code references and sent them to the builder. I also got my electrical code book out and showed it to the (2nd) foreman in front of the electrician.
The 1st foreman got caught ordering much more material than needed for the house, returning the excess and pocketing the refund.
The builder also told me much later that when they put the floor outlet in the middle of the slab that the floor guy wouldn't do it right. So, you'd think the builder would be there to make sure it was done right. Nope, we now have a chiseled piece of concrete in the middle of a stained and polished slab. We'll be putting a couch over it.
Building this house could have gone so much smoother and quicker. The builder did suggest changes during construction that really ended up enhancing the house and we accepted and his price for the changes which was very reasonable and could have been much higher. The house came in really close to the budget we'd allocated. We've gotten very favorable comments on what the inside of the house looks like. The outside is intentionally rather plain with Hardie Plank all around and steel columns at the porches. If we'd not been here watching the construction every day we'd have a different opinion, but we know what's under the paint.
I'll get a picture of the finished storm room and get it posted later. In the meantime, a few thoughts on how this went down:
- I'm not happy with the construction. It does not meet the drawings, specs, codes you name it, it doesn't meet it. I also don't like paying twice for a door because the builder made a mistake. However, it does look good now. The FEMA specs seem to be for an EF5 storm and we're on the edge of the tornado belt and far enough from the coast that Cat 2 hurricanes should be the strongest we should see. There is more rebar in the block walls than required by FEMA. The concrete ceiling was mixed by on-site mixer and lifted in-place in 5 gal buckets and I believe it to have a higher strength than required by FEMA. There are no cracks in the ceiling concrete. I did talk to a structural engineer (via phone) about all these problems and he feels it will be ok. The one concern I do have is how well the one side of the door is anchored in the wall - no answer on that. The door is on an interior wall facing away from the direction the storms come from. Any missiles the storm would throw would have to come thru 2 other walls to get to the door. So I think we'll be ok, just not as ok as following the plans would have made it.
thepumpguysc
Elite Member
Wow.. what a nitemare.. The pic of the door is something else.. How in the world were they gonna finish that out.?? {cover it up}
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Thank you for posting this and sharing your pictures. One day I plan on building a safe room in my garage. It's a priority when tornadoes are in the area, but seems to get put down at the bottom of the list the rest of the year. On the FEMA Plans that I've looked at, getting the footings right is a really big deal. By any chance did you take pictures of the footings before they poured the slab?
How did you get insulation between your block wall and the exterior wall?
I have a couple of clients with safe rooms in their houses. They are also their master bedroom closets, which makes the most sense when building new. The latest one that I know of had a lot of issues passing inspection with the city because of venting the room. How did you vent yours?
I'm going to make sure that when I build mine, I will have the door here before I start laying block. Thank you for that tip!!!
How did you get insulation between your block wall and the exterior wall?
I have a couple of clients with safe rooms in their houses. They are also their master bedroom closets, which makes the most sense when building new. The latest one that I know of had a lot of issues passing inspection with the city because of venting the room. How did you vent yours?
I'm going to make sure that when I build mine, I will have the door here before I start laying block. Thank you for that tip!!!
2LaneCruzer
Super Member
I admittedly haven't read the whole thread, but if I were building a tornado proof room, I would not go with concrete blocks, but with reinforced, poured concrete...at least up to about six feet. Either that, of purchase one of the pre fab units that you bolt to the concrete floor in the garage or on the patio.
dieselscout80
Veteran Member
We want to build a safe room in our basement with one side against one exterior wall that is covered by dirt all the way up on the outside. One other existing wall would be an existing non-filled block wall that is an interior wall.
First I don't know, so here is a couple questions.
How much stronger is concrete over filled concrete blocks?
With blocks can one use one piece of vertical rebar from the footing all the wall to the top of a say 7' wall or do you have to tie in several shorter pieces on the way up as one stacks the blocks?
Kyle_in_Tex
Super Star Member
Wow, sorry for your troubles. I would expect the builder there twice a day. In the morning to conference the subs, and the evening to check their work.
I would like a storm shelter too.
I would like a storm shelter too.
aczlan
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It depends on the subs, when I was working construction, 1-3x/week was normal depending on the job and how long we had been working for that GC.
Aaron Z