I've been designing a storm shelter / survival equipment storage room for some time now. It won't be totally bullet proof, but should be pretty resistant to flying 2 x 4's or debris.
Let me run this by you guys for your collective pondering and see what you think.
Here's the idea. I live in a 2 story sticks and brick home in the Country and have a wrap around porch. On the south side of the porch there is 16 feet long run of un used porch/as in no visibility or reason to be there. My Master Bedroom Closet is where that porch stops on the south side of the house. Beautiful view of the air conditioner units.
I'm thinking of expanding my bedroom closet about 6 feet longer to the edge of the bedroom window that looks out over the wrap around porch of the south wall of the bedroom.
This will give me approximately 6' x 6' more closet where I will build my safe room add on inside. In reality I will build the safe room on the porch first and then continue the house wall siding to cover it and blend in with the rest of that side of the house.
I will be using 8 inch and 10 inch wide, 14 gauge steel "C" purlins. My plan is to bolt the Purlins side edges together with the flat side out. Most likely either 1/2 in or 5/8th inch grade 8 bolts with washers spaced every 10 inches. The floor plates with be 3/16th thick structural in 3 x 2 inch angle. The 3 inch side of the angle iron will be the base that will be "Red Headed" into the 8" concrete foundation with 5/8" bolts.
The roof/ ceiling of the room will be "C" Purlins bolted side by side and to the roof angle plates. Then tied to the wall plates with 4"x 3 inch 3/16" structural angle iron.
Just so you understand, I live in an area where the largest tree is barely 12 feet tall and is more of a bush than a tree. I have 3 of these trees on my 3 acre property. I'm more concerned with wind and flying debris. And yes, I have worked Tornado damage before in my career. So I know what the possibilities are.
The beauty of this steel box will be it will all be bolted and drilled, with a jig for consistency, in my shop on a commercial drill press. And the nuts will be mig welded in place. The nuts will all be welded to 2 inch washers then the washers welded over the drilled holes to ease construction. The bolts will have lock washers the flat washers. All installed with an impact drill.
The 32" wide entry door will be in the end of the master closet wall, hidden behind the shoe closet. The entry door will swing into the box and be made of a minimum of 1/4" , possibly 3/8 " steel plate, welded to an angle iron frame. The door wall frame will be framed and welded and bolted to the "C" Purlins. Door latches will be like those of a safe or Submarine. Thinking I may hinge it like a Commercial airplane door with double hinges so it can be opened and folded flatter for easier entry.
The corners of the box will be 2" x 2" box steel with appropriate RIVNUTS placed in the same spacing and all the other bolt patterns.
This safe room will then be extremely fire proof insulated and for sound deadening and temperature insulation. Possibly with Kevlar panels if the cash holds out. The beauty is I could add Kevlar panels to the inside of the "C" later. The inner walls will be finished out with removable ECM or Wood Panels, screwed in place. This will also allow me to reconfigure the wiring or ventilation as I see the need.
I will wire in the room for 12 volt lighting, ventilation fans, Ham / CB & GMRS radios (with appropriate antennas mounted outside) and other 12 volts systems and use lithium batteries recharged by 2 - 10 watt solar panels mounted on the outer wall of the house on the south side. Plus a hand crank charger. And there will be shelving brackets everywhere so we can manage our storage anyway we feel we need. All wiring will be installed in conduits and wiring will follow Commercial Standards. I'm a Retired power Company Lineman/ Technician.
The plan is to add a fold down cot to the longest end wall. It will be used more for seating but will make a comfortable place to sack out if the need be. Since it's just my wife and I there won't be much need for more bedding. We will have a fold down computer desk table with a flat screen TV mounted to the wall. I am currently wiring the house for 12 volt security cameras with feeds to both my office and safe room. This will give me monitoring of the safe room charging system outside the safe room.
BTY, My wife is a Certified National Weather Service Storm Spotter! So she will insist on having her Ham Radio and Weather Radar in the room.
All 120 volt outlets will be fed from the house power system so we will know if the house power is still working. (I'm going off gird with solar panels and cisterns on the house, but will maintain back up connections to the grid.) Oh, and I already have a backup generator wired to the house wiring.
I have a DC 12V/ AC 120V dual zone freezer and hassock toilet for the safe room. Plus water and food storage.
Going to be cramped, for sure, but all my friends are Cops, so if our house is ever hit by a Tornado they will know where to look for us. So Hopefully we won't have to stay in it long.
If it goes as planned the safe room entry door will be hidden by the shoe shelving. And that shelving will be held to the door with removable pins that can be removed from the inside of the door, just in case the house has collapsed on top of the room.
But like I said, the rescue guys will know where to look for us. And most of my neighbors have either safe rooms or tornado shelters outside their homes. So not likely I will have people breaking down the door to get in. And yes there will be firearm storage inside.
Did I forget anything?
If there is an interest I'll add pictures as the build progresses!
Let me run this by you guys for your collective pondering and see what you think.
Here's the idea. I live in a 2 story sticks and brick home in the Country and have a wrap around porch. On the south side of the porch there is 16 feet long run of un used porch/as in no visibility or reason to be there. My Master Bedroom Closet is where that porch stops on the south side of the house. Beautiful view of the air conditioner units.
I'm thinking of expanding my bedroom closet about 6 feet longer to the edge of the bedroom window that looks out over the wrap around porch of the south wall of the bedroom.
This will give me approximately 6' x 6' more closet where I will build my safe room add on inside. In reality I will build the safe room on the porch first and then continue the house wall siding to cover it and blend in with the rest of that side of the house.
I will be using 8 inch and 10 inch wide, 14 gauge steel "C" purlins. My plan is to bolt the Purlins side edges together with the flat side out. Most likely either 1/2 in or 5/8th inch grade 8 bolts with washers spaced every 10 inches. The floor plates with be 3/16th thick structural in 3 x 2 inch angle. The 3 inch side of the angle iron will be the base that will be "Red Headed" into the 8" concrete foundation with 5/8" bolts.
The roof/ ceiling of the room will be "C" Purlins bolted side by side and to the roof angle plates. Then tied to the wall plates with 4"x 3 inch 3/16" structural angle iron.
Just so you understand, I live in an area where the largest tree is barely 12 feet tall and is more of a bush than a tree. I have 3 of these trees on my 3 acre property. I'm more concerned with wind and flying debris. And yes, I have worked Tornado damage before in my career. So I know what the possibilities are.
The beauty of this steel box will be it will all be bolted and drilled, with a jig for consistency, in my shop on a commercial drill press. And the nuts will be mig welded in place. The nuts will all be welded to 2 inch washers then the washers welded over the drilled holes to ease construction. The bolts will have lock washers the flat washers. All installed with an impact drill.
The 32" wide entry door will be in the end of the master closet wall, hidden behind the shoe closet. The entry door will swing into the box and be made of a minimum of 1/4" , possibly 3/8 " steel plate, welded to an angle iron frame. The door wall frame will be framed and welded and bolted to the "C" Purlins. Door latches will be like those of a safe or Submarine. Thinking I may hinge it like a Commercial airplane door with double hinges so it can be opened and folded flatter for easier entry.
The corners of the box will be 2" x 2" box steel with appropriate RIVNUTS placed in the same spacing and all the other bolt patterns.
This safe room will then be extremely fire proof insulated and for sound deadening and temperature insulation. Possibly with Kevlar panels if the cash holds out. The beauty is I could add Kevlar panels to the inside of the "C" later. The inner walls will be finished out with removable ECM or Wood Panels, screwed in place. This will also allow me to reconfigure the wiring or ventilation as I see the need.
I will wire in the room for 12 volt lighting, ventilation fans, Ham / CB & GMRS radios (with appropriate antennas mounted outside) and other 12 volts systems and use lithium batteries recharged by 2 - 10 watt solar panels mounted on the outer wall of the house on the south side. Plus a hand crank charger. And there will be shelving brackets everywhere so we can manage our storage anyway we feel we need. All wiring will be installed in conduits and wiring will follow Commercial Standards. I'm a Retired power Company Lineman/ Technician.
The plan is to add a fold down cot to the longest end wall. It will be used more for seating but will make a comfortable place to sack out if the need be. Since it's just my wife and I there won't be much need for more bedding. We will have a fold down computer desk table with a flat screen TV mounted to the wall. I am currently wiring the house for 12 volt security cameras with feeds to both my office and safe room. This will give me monitoring of the safe room charging system outside the safe room.
BTY, My wife is a Certified National Weather Service Storm Spotter! So she will insist on having her Ham Radio and Weather Radar in the room.
All 120 volt outlets will be fed from the house power system so we will know if the house power is still working. (I'm going off gird with solar panels and cisterns on the house, but will maintain back up connections to the grid.) Oh, and I already have a backup generator wired to the house wiring.
I have a DC 12V/ AC 120V dual zone freezer and hassock toilet for the safe room. Plus water and food storage.
Going to be cramped, for sure, but all my friends are Cops, so if our house is ever hit by a Tornado they will know where to look for us. So Hopefully we won't have to stay in it long.
If it goes as planned the safe room entry door will be hidden by the shoe shelving. And that shelving will be held to the door with removable pins that can be removed from the inside of the door, just in case the house has collapsed on top of the room.
But like I said, the rescue guys will know where to look for us. And most of my neighbors have either safe rooms or tornado shelters outside their homes. So not likely I will have people breaking down the door to get in. And yes there will be firearm storage inside.
Did I forget anything?
If there is an interest I'll add pictures as the build progresses!