Building A Safe Room For Tornadoes

Safe rooms not only provide protection for the homeowner from intruders they offer shelter from tornadoes and other high wind storms.

Building a safe room for tornadoes. Individuals considering purchasing or installing a safe room should contact their local building official about building code requirements but should bear in mind that the extreme loads generated by tornadoes are not covered under model building code requirements. After some research we came to the conclusion there were only a few options out there to satisfy a need for a builder friendly safe room that allows retro fitting into an existing home. If a basement is not available build the above ground safe room and use it as a walk in closet. In 2012 tornadoes ravaged parts of the dfw metro area causing numerous builders to contact us and inquire about safe rooms to build into their projects.

A hurricane on the other hand is usually a long event so planning a safe room for 24 hour storms requires factoring in more square footage per person to provide comfort. You can build a safe room for a diy project or you can hire a building contractor to build it. On december 3 2003 the president signed into law the tornado shelters act public law 108 146 which amends the housing and community development act of 1974 authorizing communities to use community development block grant funds to construct tornado safe shelters in manufactured home parks. Keep in mind that building a safe room in an existing home can cost up to 20 more on average than building a storm shelter or safe room in a new home that is under construction.

There are 5 levels of tornadoes and 5 levels of hurricanes for instance each demanding different levels of protection. The safe room s construction and design must be reinforced and built to withstand storms and threats of attack. The construction is made of reinforced walls and doors. A safe room is a place where you can feel safe.

Obtaining proper building permits and inspections is important for all construction. Your guests may never know the difference. A safe room typically costs about 2 500 to 5 000 to build a small price to. A tornado is usually a short lived event so if you are in a tornado prone area building a safe room for your family would dictate roughly 5 square feet per person to be protected.

Be sure you understand these factors as you plan and build the safe room. Recent natural disasters highlight the need for tornado shelters inside or close to homes in tornado prone areas. If you re interested in installing a custom storm room in your existing home the foundation of your structure will need to be looked into.