What Is A Safe Room And Storm Shelter?

As the illusion of ever-increasing complexities and danger is amplified by 24 hour news and the apocalyptic shows on Discovery and the History Channel some may wonder if they need to better protect themselves in their own homes..

Can one’s own home be a safe haven during the worst of storms?

We saw several very destructive hurricanes in 2004 and 2005. We saw homes in ruins. Today our homes are being built according to very tough structural standards. But the truth is that these standards are designed to meet mid-sized storms. They are not designed to withstand the really big storms (Category 4 and 5).

Evacuation is still the best way to avoid the full impact of these mega storms. However if one is unable to get out there is a way to provide some larger degree of safety – and that is by creating a safe room. These are also called storm shelters.

Storm Shelters are usually relatively small and windowless rooms that have been built to withstand much more severe wind forces than the rest of the home. Many have been been built in Florida and other hurricane prone states.

A relatively cheap storm shelter can provide you and your family with a sense of security knowing that there is a space in your home that will withstand the forces of the worst hurricanes. These can also act as tornado shelters.

A safe room is usually a small space with a reinforced ceiling, walls, fastening and tie-down systems and very strong doors and latches. They are, to use a technical term, “really, really strong”. They are designed to remain standing when most everything else is tumbling down.

I’ve designed some of these and my clients have considered them a form of insurance – even if they do not use it.

Safe rooms can occur separate to the house or can be made a part of the house – inside. When inside they can be some routinely used portion such as the walk-in closet. It is important that these rooms be isolated, structurally, from the main components of the home so that any major failure can occur without taking down the safe room.

Above ground safe rooms are generally best in high water table states (such as Florida) and are usually built of reinforced, solidly poured masonry walls, and poured concrete ceilings (set just below the trusses). It is less expensive and much simpler to build while constructing a new home.

On one of my projects, my my client chose to have his master walk-in closet and bathroom built as a safe room. It had a concrete ceiling which rested just below the bottom chord of the trusses. This would allow the trusses to be blown off off and basically the entire home collapse while maintaining relative safety for him and his family.

A structural engineer can design these rooms. Also you’ll find some excellent information at FEMA: a guideline called FEMA320A “Taking Shelter from the Storm: Building a Safe Room inside your house”.

Let’s face it, life has its inherent risks. But, like insurance, a safe room can offer peace of mind – even if you never really use it.

Want to find out more about Luxury Home Design and Engineering, then visit Ken Risley’s site on how to choose the best Professional Structural Engineer in Florida for your needs.