Outdoor vs garage below-ground storm shelters???

[Mr.Glock]

We have in garage, outside below ground and this one in the photo. If you have children and dogs, I can tell you it is a hell of a lot easier to get a dog in a walk in as well as kids.

One home we built I did some studies on the in the garage below the floor, in the garage above ground, out in the yard and below ground out in the yard.

I never cared for the ones we put in the garage of the home with cars above them. House might or not fly away, they cave in sometimes. Hated the thought of an auto with a gas tank to be above our heads. Others like em.

FEMA states they are all safe and they all come with their own inequities.

As we aged, we thought the above ground outside away from any buildings would be the best option for us as steps going down and such for dogs and kids and us was the best. Best of luck finding what suites you, think of location and such.

I have dug people out of in garage below ground, I have dug out people in the back yard below ground that had a house on top of it from 3 houses away. The running in hails/rain and such is negligible as if your prepared correctly, you will be in it safe way ahead of such. So in closing it really is six/half dozen!

 

[GeneW]

I looked at a brand new house. It had a Tornado or Safe Room as an extra bedroom.

The 4 walls of it were double wide cinder blocks stuffed full of rebar in-between and inside each, and stuffed full of the best concrete mix the builder could get. The ceiling was also steel beams, very beefy, and concreted too. Very dang sturdy! The rest of the house might be gone but I think this would survive well.

Very heavy steel door, extra locks to secure it.

It had a window to make it liveable, but they had a welder make a very heavy thick steel sliding door thing you could slide closed to protect the window opening from high winds as well as any possible burglar. It retracted right back into it's storage space when you didn't want to see it. I smacked it with my hand as best as I could, it was pretty darn solid and ready for business.

This room also had a bathroom and sink, toilet, etc. They said you could just go in during a tornado warning, lock it up, slide the window metal thing, and go to bed and be very safe.

It only takes money, of course, and it did cost a good amount more than regular, but I think it was very well worth it.

It would have to be new construction, I think, to really make it work, or you could do a stand alone but have to go outside to enter it, unless you could figure out a good way.

$$$$$ for sure.

But if you have Granny and Grandpa there, and they can't really climb down stairs to a regular shelter, or a child with special needs, etc, well then, there ya go. $$$

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

Yep... I prefer the above ground, too. I've heard all sorts of horror stories of why they're dangerous but as far as I can tell they're just mostly myths. The reputable makers have F5 rated shelters and they're much easier to get into and out of.

We're going to build a new pole bldg next to the house this spring and put our above ground shelter inside it.

 

[1911Sooner]

I have an above ground shelter in my garage like this one.

 

[Snattlerake]

I’m guessing it depends on if you live in Oklahoma or the Twilight Zone. Seriously though, I don’t think one can be categorically nominated as “The Best” but would depend on your individual situation. I don’t have either but have a basement that serves as our “Fraidy Hole”.

I think it was Hesston KS that a family lost a 5 year old boy due to the chimney falling in on him in the basement. Just be careful. At the farm, we had a full basement under our two story farmhouse. Our frady hole. We had to shovel 6 inches of water out every time it rained though. Built in the 1920's

 

[Snattlerake]

Yep... I prefer the above ground, too. I've heard all sorts of horror stories of why they're dangerous but as far as I can tell they're just mostly myths. The reputable makers have F5 rated shelters and they're much easier to get into and out of.

We're going to build a new pole bldg next to the house this spring and put our above ground shelter inside it.

When Gary England tells me to "get under ground now!" because the tornado is sucking up the blacktop from the highway, I tend to listen to him.

This 8 person was installed in the morning and our daughter's was done that afternoon. We paid for both.

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

When Gary England tells me to "get under ground now!" because the tornado is sucking up the blacktop from the highway, I tend to listen to him.

This 8 person was installed in the morning and our daughter's was done that afternoon. We paid for both.

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With a floor safe you can easily do your own engine oil drains.

 

[rickm]

The only one i have ever had dealings with was sort of in ground and out of ground built with bridge timbers and dirt and it was out from the house incase the house got destroyed it wouldnt be near the cellar and i can remember 3 tornados passing over but no damage to the house ,once it took a big oak tree down across drive way and once planted a grain silo in the front yard from the pasture.

 

[streak]

The in ground garage ones make me super claustrophobic. The above ground metal ones are supposed to be good, if you don’t make them into storage. We have an oversized back yard in ground one 3 steps out the back door that I like for our older, crawl space house.

If I were to build a house today I would steal an idea from a lady we put cabinets in her house years ago. She was in an electric wheel chair so stairs weren’t an option and that thing takes a ton of room to maneuver. What they did was built an oversized walk in pantry right off their kitchen, that was also a concrete/steel safe room with a heavy steel door with bolts and heavy pins. It seemed like the best setup I ever saw. You were locked in with your food and water if you had to shelter. I think they also added on a kinda decorative door so they could close off their pantry without having to fight the steel door

 

[cowadle]

as a tornado survivor and experiencer. below ground and away from any structure that can be on top of you. be aware that the debris can be moved a long ways. away from any propane or gas lines tanks etc. above ground is ok as a second choice but put the door faces away from the south and west. keep a modified high lift jack inside and in good working order so you can lift or push your way out.