Outdoor vs garage below-ground storm shelters???

[John6185]

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

Exactly! i need to change my transmission fluid and the car has to be on a level surface and an in-ground shelter fills the bill!
When they installed our in-garage shelter, it was put in one of our garage bays and I didn't know it but they must have been close to the sewage drain because every time the toilet is flushed the water can be heard in the shelter-almost as if they barely missed the drain when digging!

 

[cowadle]

We have an in ground away from the house shelter. It’s concrete and only the top sticks out above ground about 6”-7” with a flat top and two air vents.

It is on the northwest side of our house and just to the west of where we park our vehicles. Our storms usually come in from the southwest so hopefully there won’t be any debris to get on top of it, hopefully.

Cowadle, I like the idea of keeping a high lift jack in there to jack the door open, will make that a priority this month.

take a piece of heavy rectangle tubing weld a heavy foot across one end and slip this over the jack from the top. that way you can brace the jack against the floor or opposite wall and jack the door and debris off and free yourself. don't ask how i know! rectangle tube that just fits over the jack about five feet long or as long as it needs to be to reach from floor or wall to the door with the jack all the way down. use at least 1/4 inch thick wall tube. getting wet or rained on while getting to shelter is the least of your worries. there will be live propane and natural gas so thick you can't hardly breath along with live electricity and shorted battery in torn up cars catching fire,water leaks etc. after the tornado passes there are much things trying to kill you. be safe

 

[xseler]

We see this guy at the tulsa home and garden show and thought it was a great idea, but we'd have to get a shorter mattress so the other half could still get into the bed.

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We have a true King size under bed shelter that lifts up. Works great!!

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Battery backup, USB ports, lights. Can actually push a wheelchair through the doors. Also has a lock so it can also be used for boating accident recovery items!

 

[Shadowrider]

This is the 2013 tornado you mention. It missed my house by about a half mile. It's directly behind the blue street sign and it was just as you mentioned. Almost invisible for the longest time.

No damage to me but it made a helluva mess. Pics don't really do it justice. It was like all manner of things went through a grinder, was mixed with dirty water and sprayed all over everything.

 

[xseler]

This is the unit in the lifted position.

 

[CHenry]

Well there are reports of people drowning in the garage shelters and natural gas poisoning if the house gets destroyed over top of them. But the outdoor sloped shelters are partially above ground and I just don't know if that concrete slope could handle a direct hit by an airborne Chevy Suburban from an F5?

wont happend

 

[1911Sooner]

My neighbor had an inground shelter installed in his garage. On the 2nd day the thing floated up out of the ground! He made them take it back. They came over and got in our above ground shelter the other night. We had 8 people, a dog, and a tortoise in there and could have fit another 2 or 3 people. He said he going the above ground route now.

 

[38Super]

When we moved to Moore, within 3 weeks we had a 5x7 above ground put in the 3rd garage bay. The top serves as storage space. We keep the inside clear and just have some essentials stored like water, snacks, some tools. Wife is claustrophobic so below ground was not an option.

 

[Hangfire]

The only people I know that have been in an above ground in a tornado, say you should take hearing protection. The sound in a metal structure being pelted by debris was apparently rather loud. May want to at least include some for your son, if you haven’t.

I told Ground Zero that I wanted to talk to a person that actually survived the last big one that came through the Moore area in one of their above ground / in the garage shelters and they provided me with a name and number.

I talked to the lady and she said the same thing as @El Pablo, she said that the noise inside of it was really, really loud from all the debris hitting it.....I bought two new pair of ear muffs that stay in the shelter still in their original boxes.

I'd probably never of thought about it but she also said that she'd wished that she'd of had something for her and her two kids to pee in......there's a 5 gal. bucket and a bag of kitty litter to absorb things in mine.

 

[El Pablo]

My neighbor had an inground shelter installed in his garage. On the 2nd day the thing floated up out of the ground! He made them take it back. They came over and got in our above ground shelter the other night. We had 8 people, a dog, and a tortoise in there and could have fit another 2 or 3 people. He said he going the above ground route now.

They flat out installed the below ground incorrectly then. They joys of the water table in Oklahoma… it’s why all good in grounds have a sacrificial anode. Depending on time of year you hear water squishing around under ours. Had it 10 years now, no problems. Has been great for working on the brz.