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Safe Room Construction

Safe rooms can provide peace of mind in an uncertain world. Knowing that you have a place to go if something bad happens can help you feel safer and more prepared. Safe room construction is a great investment into your property, and in this post, we will see what are the main practices.

What Is a Safe Room?

A safe room is a reinforced, secure space that is designed to protect occupants from external threats. Safe rooms are often used in homes or businesses in areas where there is a risk of natural disasters or violent attacks.

Safe rooms can be equipped with features like reinforced walls and doors, security systems, and emergency supplies. They may also be used as a safe haven during an evacuation.

Safe Room Construction

Safe rooms can provide protection from a variety of threats, including severe weather, fire, and intruders. When choosing a safe room, it is important to consider the specific risks in your area and the type of protection that you need.

Purposes of Building a Safe Room

There are many possible motivations for homeowners to construct safe rooms, including the following:

  • Defending their family against an attack that’s being planned (for example, a kidnapping).
  • Assisting in the defense of their family against unprovoked assault.
  • Avoiding the risk of having items stolen (for example, fine art).
  • Attempting to shield their family from the effects of natural disasters (for example, a tornado).

Safe Room Construction – How Secure Should It Be?

These rooms are built to provide security for families in the case of terrorism, natural disasters, intruders, or any other type of personal danger. Building a new safe room is a wise DIY home improvement, providing the homeowner some added peace of mind. Panic rooms are often thought of as impenetrable rooms with indestructible walls and doors. Realistically, it only needs to be structurally sound, and secure enough that your family can hide in, make some emergency phone calls, and keep intruders at bay. If you think about it, unless someone is purposefully out to hurt you, their intent is to get what they want, and get out of the house as fast as possible. So, as long as you build the room strong enough to be a deterrent, you’re generally safe.

What to Consider with Safe-room Construction

  • You will want the door and walls to provide as much resistance as possible. Certainly drywall attached to wood studs does not keep someone from putting their foot through it, but concrete would.
  • A logical place to build your panic room is in a basement. Basements are notoriously good protection during natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes. The one downfall to a basement panic room is that in a chemical or biological attack, chemicals are heavier than air and would move to lower ground.
  • It’s also wise to build a panic room without windows. A safe room with a window only provides an additional point of access. Don’t forget that without a window your safe room will need some form of ventilation.
  • The door should be a solid material (steel would be best), and it should open outwards to make it more difficult to kick in. Most importantly, be sure that the door jamb is made of steel too. A couple dead bolts should do the trick, and be certain that the keys are kept inside the room where no one outside the room could find them.
  • Another issue to plan for is sound. Your panic room should act as a good hiding place and sound proofing to keep burglars from hearing you while you call the authorities is essential.
  • Don’t forget about the smoke alarm.

What Should I Keep in My New Room?

Be sure to think about what you want to store in your panic room, especially if you are in an unfortunate circumstance that requires staying more than a day. The following list is a good place to start:

  • Water and plenty of it (The rule of thumb is one gallon per person per day. 5 gallon water containers for camping work well).
  • Food, non-perishable (canned) meats, fruits, and vegetables and be sure to include a can opener. You may also want to include some comfort foods such as coffee, tea, and candy, especially if you have children.
  • First Aid Kit, including prescription drugs.
  • Bedding, such as sleeping bags and at least one change of clothes.
  • Hygiene supplies – including a 5 gallon bucket and plastic garbage bags to act as a substitute toilet (A room air sanitizer comes to mind here too).
  • Other tools and supplies such as a phone, battery operated radio, and flashlights.
  • Toys, books, and games.
  • Defensive weapons.
  • Telephone – preferably a land-line that won’t need re-charging.

All of your family members should be made familiar with the room including when, and how it is to be used. If you have children, stress the importance of the room, and that its only function is for safety during an emergency, not for fun and games.

Conclusion

A safe room is a space in your home that is designed to be safe from external threats. This can include things like severe weather, home invasions, and even fires. Safe rooms are usually reinforced with stronger walls and doors, and they often have additional features like security systems and emergency supplies.

Having a safe room in your home can give you peace of mind knowing that you and your family have a place to go in the event of an emergency. It can also provide some protection against things like extreme weather events or home invasions. If you’re considering adding a safe room to your home, there are a few things you should keep in mind.

Before you start the safe room construction, you need to decide where your safe room will be located. It should be in a central location that is easy to get to, but also out of the way of potential hazards. It’s also important to make sure that your safe room can be easily accessed by everyone in your family.

Next, you need to consider what kind of features you want in your safe room. reinforced walls and doors are a must, but you may also want to add things like security systems and emergency supplies.

Finally, you need to think about how you will use your safe room. Will it be used for sheltering in place during an emergency, or will it be used as a panic room? Knowing how you will use your safe room will help you determine what features it needs.