Anyone Know About Tornado Safe Rooms or Shelters?

[MIEDRN]

I live in Michigan and more than a few times, we've been hit by Tornadoe's. Lately, the sirens have gone off regularly it seems.

I swore to myself I'd never build a house that didn't have a basement but I'm reconsidering.

Most of my friend's basements are a huge storage area. Few actually use them to live in.

I've been considering tornado safe rooms or a shelter in the ground off the back patio. I hate to spend over 10K just to feel safe the few times a year it happens. At the time, it surely seems priceless but doesn't seem to be the best use of space.

Has anyone looked into it? Would it be cost efficient? Ok, maybe it could double as a party room for the grandkids or something....  

Could I extend the foundation behind the house to make a 10' x 10' room or something similiar?

[n74tg]

In the house I'm building there will be a tornado shelter.  It will have inside dimensions of roughly 4'x7' and have two fold down beds attached to the wall (kinda like bunk beds).  The shelter will be built as part of the basement, built out of concrete block with vertical rebar every 24" which attaches into a 4" concrete roof which is rebarred on a 12" grid.

Since I'm building the shelter as part of the house, I don't expect it to add more than $300 (in materials) to the cost of the house, maybe even less.  For me that's money well spent.  

FEMA's website has tornado shelter design info you can download.  

If you end up building over a crawlspace I would recommend putting it under the house if anyway possible.  However, if your house goes down on top of the shelter that's an issue to think of and have a plan for.  If you can install some type of trap door in a floor somewhere so you don't have to go outside to get to the shelter that would be even better.  

[Amanda_931]

There are tornadoes in the South-East as well.   Class V half a mile from some friend's house about 6 years ago.

But I look at those store-boughten shelters and I get claustrophobic.  Only one way out of those things gives me the willies.  Especially if the door has to open OUT.  

A safe room built into the interior of the house (I think I've seen drawings of them built as the bathoom, or even an interior hall) sounds a whole lot better to me.

Somebody did a study--your car is safer than your trailer in high winds.  A street-legal motor vehicle (well, car or truck) is designed to go 80 miles an hour or so.  And to have some crash resistance.  The authors had been looking at how trailers were destroyed, would drive up to a former trailer site, see the car or truck sitting there, only slightly bent.

[MIEDRN]

Thanks, appreciate the tips!

After reading your message, I did a search and came upon this:

http://www.iccsafe.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=007774

Half way down the forum is a list of links. I'm still a little confused because I've always thought the basement was the safest place to be during a storm.

Your estimate strikes me as reasonable and certainly worth the expense.

[Amanda_931]

Here's an idea that could be bought--or built, probably to adequate if lesser standards--for well under 10K.  Not great for a hurricane that lasts a couple of days, but one night of tornado-bearing thunderstorms, yes.

By the way "safe room tornado" brings you lots of possibly useful links in a search.

A workbench that seals up nicely (is there enough air for five people??)

http://www.tornadosaferoom.com/workbench.html

[glenn-k]

You could just build a small Mike Oehler $50 and Up Underground House for a storm shelter.  It wouldn't go anywhere.

[MIEDRN]

I have thought about an underground structure a la Glen and Sassy!   :-/

[ailsaek]

A root cellar could be used as a storm shelter as well, I think.  No way in heck am I getting into that six-person coffin, though.  

[glenn-k]

A root cellar could be used as a storm shelter as well, I think.  No way in heck am I getting into that six-person coffin, though.  

It kind of reminded me of that too.

One the same line per your comment, the Underground Shelter could also be used as a root celler -- then you could crunch on some nice fresh veggies while waiting out the storm.