Safe Room

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dizzyfish
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Safe Room

#1 Postby dizzyfish » Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:02 am

We have an interior room - no windows with two of the main walls being concrete - that we use as our safe room. Hubby sought refuge in there a couple weeks ago with the dogs during the tornado warnings. He told me this weekend that he would like to change the door as he felt that the only thing between him and the storm outside was a cardboard door. :eek: :lol: (1967 house with original hollow core doors)

We are replacing the door on our safe room to a solid core door which will have an upper and lower dead bolt.

To those of you with safe rooms - what type of door do you have and have you put extra effort into securing it to the frame and wall?
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wxman57
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Re: Safe Room

#2 Postby wxman57 » Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:32 am

They do make special doors for safe rooms. Definitely go with a steel door and frame. You can find them online. A solid wood door won't offer much protection. Here's one website with a selection of steel security doors. Choose one with the lowest gauge steel (thickest):

http://www.pioneerindustries.com/products/doors
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dizzyfish
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Re: Safe Room

#3 Postby dizzyfish » Mon Apr 11, 2011 11:14 am

Thanks! I will have hubby check on a steel door. Pioneer doesn't have a distributor close to us - but I would think that someone has a comparable door nearer. Lots of shutter/door/window places in Pasco.
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wxman57
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Re: Safe Room

#4 Postby wxman57 » Mon Apr 11, 2011 11:40 am

dizzyfish wrote:Thanks! I will have hubby check on a steel door. Pioneer doesn't have a distributor close to us - but I would think that someone has a comparable door nearer. Lots of shutter/door/window places in Pasco.


That was just a company I found online with a quick search. You'd probably want something heavier than what you might find at a Home Depot or Lowe's. The heavier gauge the steel, the better.
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Preppie
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Re: Safe Room

#5 Postby Preppie » Sat Jul 09, 2011 2:08 pm

Our safe room is an 8 x 10 steel tornado shelter in one half of the attached garage. We bought it from Richard McCalley of KeepSafe industries in Virginia seven years ago. If nothing else, it provides a safe place to store your emergency supplies.

We're very pleased with the quality of our shelter. Two bunks have been built in, plus wide shelves to hold four cat cages. Chromed wire and plastic shelving take care of storage problems. And there's a camping potty too.

I don't know what they sell for these days but this was the best shelter deal around at the time and Richard is VERY helpful. He designed the safe room himself and it was tested and approved by Texas Tech. As I recall, it not only protects against 250 mph winds and falling debris, but resists small arms fire! With a family tent fixed to the front, we could live in this shelter for a while if a hurricane ever damaged the rest of the house. (Note: we're not in a flood zone.)

P.S. Sorry, almost forgot--the door of our safe room is, of course, steel and in a steel frame. The fastening mechanism involves a lever which is manipulated to secure six 1/2" steel rods into the frame. I think the steel door itself is about 1/4" thick.
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