Storm shelter questions.

[71buickfreak]

A steel above ground could also serve as a very nice Faraday cage for some electronic back ups as well. Just FYI.

 

[KOPBET]

A steel above ground could also serve as a very nice Faraday cage for some electronic back ups as well. Just FYI.

Just don't let them have a conductive path touching the cage.

 

[lkothe]

I like my below ground shelter. It has comfortably held 6 for a couple of hours, I don't have to have that nagging feeling wondering if it will hold up to a car or tree thrown at it.
Install what ever you are comfortable with is what my opinion is,,,,it's your money and your sense of security.

 

[jsl_pt]

I don't doubt that the above-ground shelters can handle a 300 MPH wind. I do question whether they can handle a direct hit from a 150MPH Ford propelled by that wind. It's not likely that you'd be hit by the car, but I figure a direct hit from an F5 is statistically unlikely as it is, and I'm not going to bet on my day getting any more normal.

There has been much discussion in last year's threads in this. Several links to videos of cars being rammed, propelled, and dropped on above ground shelters without failure. And also discussion and links showing that a car in 150MPH wind WILL NOT be propelled at a speed of 150MPH. Just remember there is no evidence that any shelter of any kind that is rated to proper standards for F5 has ever failed.

 

[jrusling]

I am looking at an above ground shelter. I like the F5 shelter the best. They have slots in the internal bracing that will take shelving supports and they give you a few of them. Ryan the owner is a member here and will give you a discount if you mention OSA.
http://f5stormsheltersok.com/shelters/safe-rooms/

 

[ChuckC]

If I ever build a new house, which my wife says I will, it will have a concrete safe room that doubles as a master closet. My brother builds custom homes and I can't think of one he's done in the past few years that didnt have a safe room / closet. After seeing how they are built I'd be perfectly comfortable riding out the big one inside one.

 

[Lurker66]

Lots a good opinions. What I wonder is there any chance of a tornado being bigger than an F5? An F5 seems to be the worst, kinda like an magnitude 8 earthquake or cat 4/5 hurricane. Maybe we just haven't seen the worse nature can throw out there.

 

[1911Sooner]

Ground Zero

 

[SMS]

Let me throw a question into this thread.

We (wife and I) are thinking about an above ground shelter...in the garage.

But....being this is a new home..and even though its a very nice home...builders cut corners.

How do..or..how would I know if my garage slab foundation is strong enough to hold the bolts on an above ground shelter...DURING A TORNADO? ??

I understand the need for hearing protection in an above ground. What concerns me is the foundation buckeling..in turn breaking and releasing the bolts that hold down the shelter. Can the shelter company do a core/drill sample to see how deep the concrete is to make sure it can hold the shelter during a storm??

You sure could get someone to core it and see. You might also make sure you don't have a post-tension slab so someone doesn't accidentally drill into one of the cables.

Most mass produced housing garage floors don't have any steel in them at all and are poured at the minimum thickness and minimum PSI. If I was going to do an above ground shelter I would start from scratch and use a steel reinforced slab with cast in place L bolts vs. epoxy'd in or expansion bolts...or even better the entire shelter would be integrated to the reinforced slab with tied steel.

It's all a gamble...get the best you can afford and be happy you have something I guess. Most of us will never need 'em.

 

[CHenry]

^^lmao...on a house? Lucky if its got rock in it.

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