I am thinking of putting one of the underground garage floor type of shelters in a house we are building. A thought that came to mind is that in the event of a disaster, there would be a chance of it flooding due to open plumbing and rain. If we were unable to get out due to debris, there is a possibility of drowning. I know that is extreme worst case scenario, but possible. Any thoughts on this?
Most come with a come-along inside just in case debris fell on top of the sliding door. You should not have any problems getting out. Plus, most installers GPS you location and you too should let your fire department know of the where abouts of the install.
I would go with a safe room, if you can fit it in the budget and the project isn't too far along. I wouldn't want to have to rely on emergency service in the event of a big hit, they will have a lot to do, and who knows where you will rank on the list.
Debris can get blown up against safe room doors too. I am in strong favor of being underground if at all possible. They shoot 2x4's at those safe rooms at high speeds and I'm glad that they can sustain those impacts but I still haven't seen a test where they throw a car at one and the fact is tornados can toss cars. I think saferooms are an excellent idea for the elderly or those physically incapable of getting below ground. As far as being trapped & flooding, like someone said before, the shelters come with a come-along capable of tearing the door off. If you get hit by a tornado AND trapped in your shelter AND floodwaters are filling your shelter... it may be time to accept that your time has come. Or I guess you get buy scuba gear?
battery powered sump pump if you're worried about water intrusion
http://www.amazon.com/Wayne-ESP15-12-Volt-Gallons-Battery/dp/B0009X8N1Q
http://www.amazon.com/Wayne-ESP15-12-Volt-Gallons-Battery/dp/B0009X8N1Q
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Safe rooms can double as a safe for storing guns and other things. The doors open inward and they will not fill up with water. You have to weigh the benefits against the negatives. Safe rooms don't stop cars. But at least you don't have to move a car to get into it.
My sister in law and her husband just put ne in their new house last winter. Seems decent but the problem is see is that they park is Mustang GT over the top of it. IIRC, it is in the third bay of the three car garage. Seems impractical to me. His apparently has a hydraulic winchof sorts to open the door if debris were to fall on top of it.
If it were me I would have built/installed an above ground storm shelter or safe room in the third bay of the garage. The items I would have built into the tornado shelter include. Minimum 8'x10" . Dedicated hose bib into shelter with 20' hose. Plumbing would come straight from mainline at street underground. Several fire extinguishers. Several days worth of food and water (approx 20 gallons). Several firearms and ammo. FAK for family. Blankets and pillows. Battery powered lanterns and flashlights. 1-2 scuba tanks filled with standard air. Tools would include; axe, sledge, small gas chainsaw, several sizes of pry bars, hammers, roll duct tape, and some other tools can't think of now. Also, communication equipment like hand crank radio, hand held CB radio.
Some may think I'm crazy but it is what I'd have.
If it were me I would have built/installed an above ground storm shelter or safe room in the third bay of the garage. The items I would have built into the tornado shelter include. Minimum 8'x10" . Dedicated hose bib into shelter with 20' hose. Plumbing would come straight from mainline at street underground. Several fire extinguishers. Several days worth of food and water (approx 20 gallons). Several firearms and ammo. FAK for family. Blankets and pillows. Battery powered lanterns and flashlights. 1-2 scuba tanks filled with standard air. Tools would include; axe, sledge, small gas chainsaw, several sizes of pry bars, hammers, roll duct tape, and some other tools can't think of now. Also, communication equipment like hand crank radio, hand held CB radio.
Some may think I'm crazy but it is what I'd have.
Hey guys, I'm co-owner of OKStormShelters. We manufacture and install storm shelters and safe rooms.
http://okstormshelters.com/
For anybody planning on installing a safe room or storm shelter in Oklahoma there are a number of rebates and grants available all across the state. First and foremost is the SoonerSafe program. It's a drawing every January for 500 people to get a $2000 rebate on a qualified shelter purchase. There are also county-specific and city-specific rebate programs throughout the state. Please contact your county's and city's Department of Emergency Management and ask them if there are rebate programs available where you live. If there are, they will be the ones administering the program and will be able to tell you how to apply. I've done quite a bit of research on these rebates and I'm working on compiling a list of all the rebate programs available. You can read more about these programs on our website.
SoonerSafe: http://okstormshelters.com/rebates/soonersafe/
Rebate Programs: http://okstormshelters.com/rebates/
Additionally, for anybody that already has a storm shelter or safe room and/or anybody that plans to install one, the State of Oklahoma's Constitution states that the square footage of shelters can be exempted from your property taxes. Most companies don't know this. You can download the form below. All you have to do is fill the form out and send it in to your County Assessor.
http://okstormshelters.com/forms/storm-shelter-property-tax-exemption.pdf
I'll answer a number of questions below, but feel free to reply with any questions and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge. My family has been doing this since 1980. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to call me at (918) 924-6107 or shoot me an email at [email protected].
http://okstormshelters.com/latest-work/storm-shelter-installation-below-new-home-construction-in-bixby/
Also, these types of shelters are typically like 3' wide, 5' tall and 6' long and that's a pretty damn small shelter, especially if you're taller than 6' or weigh more than 200#.
http://okstormshelters.com/
For anybody planning on installing a safe room or storm shelter in Oklahoma there are a number of rebates and grants available all across the state. First and foremost is the SoonerSafe program. It's a drawing every January for 500 people to get a $2000 rebate on a qualified shelter purchase. There are also county-specific and city-specific rebate programs throughout the state. Please contact your county's and city's Department of Emergency Management and ask them if there are rebate programs available where you live. If there are, they will be the ones administering the program and will be able to tell you how to apply. I've done quite a bit of research on these rebates and I'm working on compiling a list of all the rebate programs available. You can read more about these programs on our website.
SoonerSafe: http://okstormshelters.com/rebates/soonersafe/
Rebate Programs: http://okstormshelters.com/rebates/
Additionally, for anybody that already has a storm shelter or safe room and/or anybody that plans to install one, the State of Oklahoma's Constitution states that the square footage of shelters can be exempted from your property taxes. Most companies don't know this. You can download the form below. All you have to do is fill the form out and send it in to your County Assessor.
http://okstormshelters.com/forms/storm-shelter-property-tax-exemption.pdf
I'll answer a number of questions below, but feel free to reply with any questions and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge. My family has been doing this since 1980. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to call me at (918) 924-6107 or shoot me an email at [email protected].
Yes, that's a very realistic possibility. Another issue that you might want to think about is if you have any chemicals, especially flammable ones, that could somehow spill into the shelter that could also become a very dire situation. Some cities will not approve permits for these types of shelters for that reason. We don't build the below garage shelters. However, if you're building a house, we can install our shelter below your slab if it's a new construction home and we've done this before. I've included a link below to that installation.
http://okstormshelters.com/latest-work/storm-shelter-installation-below-new-home-construction-in-bixby/
Also, these types of shelters are typically like 3' wide, 5' tall and 6' long and that's a pretty damn small shelter, especially if you're taller than 6' or weigh more than 200#.
Not all cities keep a registry. For example, Tulsa Fire Department does not and has no plans to either.
You will find that most safe rooms doors open to the inside to prevent that issue. I too prefer the underground storm shelters. Like you mentioned, the weak point of that 2x4 test is the 2x4. It doesn't make much sense to me. There are some videos of one manufacturer having a huge old Buick or Cadillac (think huge 70's, model) dropped from like 30-40 feet on top of the safe room and it withstood the impact.
That turnaround time is pretty typical for the industry these past two years. Business has been incredible and we're building a new shop next week to help us accommodate the additional business.
I think the "after" photos of a tornado more then prove out the fact that safe rooms are safe. I'd hate to be trapped inside one of those little shelters they install in the floor of your garage. Not even tall enough to stand up in. No thanks, it would be like being inside a coffin and hoping some gets you out soon....I inspected both of these and others in the days following the May 24, 2011 tornado that hit Piedmont. Both of these particular safe rooms took direct hits. Both came out intact.
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