Storm Shelters

Protect your family with a safe room

Safe-at-home storm shelters are engineered to 250 mph wind forces and 100 mph missile impacts.  With a safe room you can sleep peacefully during hurricane season knowing that you have a safe place to go in your home in the event of a hurricane. 

You won’t have to spend days on the road during an evacuation, stuck in traffic, trying to find a place to stay that will take pets, losing time off from work, spending lots of money, getting stuck in long gas lines, and eating bad road food.

A properly engineered safe room is structurally independent of the surrounding home, has adequate passive ventilation, and an armored in-swing door in case you have to climb out over a pile of debris.

A safe room can be built into the home for $4000-$8000 depending on the size.  When you consider the total cost of an evacuation a safe room can pay for itself in one storm season.  The best part about it is that you no longer have to suffer the anguishing debate of whether or not to evacuate.  The evacuation decision usually has to be made a couple of days in advance of hurricane land fall and, of course, when you finally leave town, the storm turns away or wasn’t as bad as the forecasters thought.  And, of course, if you stay not everyone will agree with your decision.  It’s really a no-win situation unless you have a safe room.

With a safe room you will have a safe place for your family, pets, and infirm dependents to go to on very short notice.  No need to disrupt your life until the hurricane actually makes landfall and then only for a few hours.  A safe room is also a great place to store valuables.  The triple deadbolt armored door stops wind, missiles, and thieves.

FAQ

Can I attach an exterior storm shelter to my home?  Exterior walls of existing homes are notengineered to 250mph.  The storm sheltermust be a stand alone structure capable of withstanding 250 mph winds and100mph missle impacts on the roof and all 4 sides.  The shelter can be placed adjacent to yourhome and designed so that it blends in architecturally.

The shelter seems small, won’t it be uncomfortable?  Occupancy will be only during the peak hoursof the storm which typically last 2-12 hours. Relatively speaking, a few hours in a small storm shelter is probably alot more comfortable than spending all day in an evacuation traffic jam.  FEMA guidelines call for a minimum of 6square feet of shelter space per occupant.

What about toilet facilities?  A smallmotor home or marine porta-poty can be used in the shelter. 

What else should I put in my storm shelter?  Ahand crank radio/cell phone charger, a hand crank flash light or lantern, and afirst aid kit.  You should also storewater and emergency food for at least 3 days. Make space for valuables, important papers, and your computer hard drivewhich can be put in the shelter quickly during an approaching storm.  Copies of your important papers can be storedpermanently in you storm shelter.  Theshelter can be kept locked from the outside when not in use to keep valuablesand important papers secure.

Do I need electricity or AC in the storm shelter?  No.  Ithas a passive ventilation system. The Safe-At-Home storm shelter is designed tobe a safe place to ride out a storm without power.   

If my house crashes down around my storm shelter, how doI get out?  Storm shelters should have armored in-swingdoors which can be opened in if a pile of debris is baring the door.  Occupants can then climb out over the debris.

My garage is full of stuff so how do I make space for astorm shelter? Storm shelterscan be dual purpose spaces.  Ifthe safe room is built into the house during contstruction then thebest location is a walk-in closet.  If adding one to an existing garageyou canstore stuff in them when not in use and remove the contentsduring the approachof a storm.  An exterior stormsheltermakes a great place to put lawn and garden equipment which canbe removed andplaced in the garage during the storm. Altogether, a far less inconvenience than packing up and evacuating. 

I live in a flood zone. Where can I place my storm shelter?  Storm shelters should not be placedwithin flood zones.  Even if your home iselevated on pilings an interior storm shelter can’t be isolated from the mainstructure of the home.

We hardly ever have tornados, why build a shelter towithstand a tornado? Hurricanes spawn hundreds of tornados and we get lots ofhurricanes.  It’s not thehurricanes that kill, it’s the tornados within the hurricanes that kill.

What if my home is substantially damaged and I’m trappedin my neighborhood by storm debris? The good news is that you’re alive and unhurt.  You have water, food, and other emergencysupplies stored in your storm shelter so you can now go about the business ofsalvaging what you can, making emergency repairs, prevent looting, andsurviving until the roads can be cleared.

If my home is built to the new wind codes why do I need astorm shelter?  Since 2000 Florida building codeshave required homes to be designed to withstand 90-140 mph winds depending onwhere you live and when your home was built. A tornado or extreme hurricane can cause winds and airborne debrisimpacts much greater than the code design criteria.  A storm shelter is designed to withstandthese extreme conditions.

Am I safe riding out the storm in an interior room orcloset?  While it is true thatthe safest place to be in your home during a wind storm is an interior roomwith no windows, it is by no means safe from the type of catastrophic damagethat can occur during a cat 5 hurricane or F-3 or greater tornado.  Once the wind has breached an exterior wallor roof then the structure is subject to explosive wind pressures which can ripapart a home in seconds.  Any interiorroom is extremely vulnerable after the exterior building envelope has beenbreached since it is connected to and dependent upon the overall structure ofthe home for its integrity.  A safe roomor storm shelter must be structurally independent of the home and much strongerthan the home’s structure to offer maximum protection during the worstevents.  Think of it as a vault within abank.  A robber can fairly easily getinside a bank but rarely gets into the vault when the door is closed.

How can a storm shelter effect the value of my home?  Storm shelters can make your home moreattractive and therefore more valuable than competing homes in the market, allother features being similar.  Stormshutters and standby generators have a similar effect.  Wouldn’t you be more likely to choose a homethat is protected from hurricanes and can protect the owners as well?

Is a building permit required?  Yes, the shelter plans must be sealed by aprofessional engineer and submitted to the county planning department forreview and permitting.  A Safe-At-Home stormshelter must be constructed by a licensed and insured general contractor.  Building inspectors will conduct multipleonsite inspections to insure that construction complies with the plans andlocal building code.  A site plan must besubmitted for exterior storm shelters. Exterior shelters must also comply with neighborhood covenants and plansmay need to be submitted to the neighborhood architectural review committee forapproval.