Huntsville Tornados (Valley: houses, crawl space, buy)

[jjm901]

I saw where the Tennessee Valley was something like the 4th most prevelant place in the world for tornados. Do alot of people in the huntsville area invest in putting in storm shelters?

[NicoleC]

I'm not sure how to define "a lot" but you do see storm shelters around. Most of the ones installed outside in the ground are abandoned and unused and many are wet. It doesn't seem worth it to go out in the rain and wind for what is still a relatively rare occurrence. I think inside safe rooms are a better choice, or at least something with an entrance very close to the house.

When I was looking at houses, it was mostly the country properties that had storm shelters. Tornadoes can certainly tear through a town, but it feels safer with other people around, so maybe that's why.

I retrofitted mine under the house as a clean and comfortable room. It mostly gets used for storing my emergency preparedness supplies, but it's nice to know I have a safe and secure place to retreat to in the event of a tornado... no matter how rare it is that I will actually end up needing it.

[zenjenn]

I was surprised how few people have them. The house we bought doesn't, but there is a pretty solid interior bathroom we will use. I would eventually like to get our HUGE master bedroom closet retrofitted to be tornado shelter. I was reading about it.. there are people you can hire to retrofit an existing room into a shelter by plating the room with steel and bolting it to the foundation with giant bolts. It's not a cheap process, but according to FEMA Huntsville is in an area where having a shelter is recommended. I don't think it's at all alarmist to have one.. I think it is wise if you can afford it.

A more economical alternative, you can buy ready-made shelters that can bolt into the foundation in your garage or basement. One was even a functional workbench, that could fit 2 adults and 2 children, seated on the floor. It's still not cheap but more reasonable.

[33458]

Originally Posted by zenjenn

I was surprised how few people have them. The house we bought doesn't, but there is a pretty solid interior bathroom we will use. I would eventually like to get our HUGE master bedroom closet retrofitted to be tornado shelter. I was reading about it.. there are people you can hire to retrofit an existing room into a shelter by plating the room with steel and bolting it to the foundation with giant bolts. It's not a cheap process, but according to FEMA Huntsville is in an area where having a shelter is recommended. I don't think it's at all alarmist to have one.. I think it is wise if you can afford it.

A more economical alternative, you can buy ready-made shelters that can bolt into the foundation in your garage or basement. One was even a functional workbench, that could fit 2 adults and 2 children, seated on the floor. It's still not cheap but more reasonable.

Where did you find that?

The house we're closing on has a full-height, dirt-mounded crawl space and finished basement...once the Radon mitigation is complete, the crawlspace (having the most support in place) will be our shelter...however, I'm digging the idea of this garage bench since husband needs one anyway. We left the large metal monster we had in Jupiter.

Hmmn.

[NicoleC]

Yep, folks like the ones below sell the stand-alone versions. Remember, you can't put these over a crawlspace, you need a slab or basement. A garage slab will work:

Storm Shelters Tornado Shelters Safe Rooms
Safe Rooms and tornado shelters by RemagenSafeRooms. Order by phone 888-397-7142.
Storm Shelters, Tornado Shelters, Hurricane Shelters & Safe Rooms

(I have no affiliation with these companies and am not a customer either.)

If you are building a home or want to add one to the exterior of a home (like a small add-on room or closet), ICF construction with a steel door and concrete roof are as secure if not more so than anything you can buy pre-made; ICF can withstand winds up to 250 mph.

33458, the crawlspace isn't a great option. If you have a cinderblock foundation, it isn't as strong as it looks against flying debris. If you use cinderblock for a storm shelter, you are supposed to set rebar and pour concrete inside to strengthen it. Also, the floor over a home is not suitable for a storm shelter.

Personally, I chose to reinforce by crawlspace anyway, but I already had an overhead concrete slab designed for storm protection in place. I poured a new slab foundation under there. The "walls" (i.e. my house foundation) are just cinderblock though -- they are the weakest point. I decided it was better than what I had and it was the project that was doable for my home. My house doesn't have any interior room without windows or doors. It won't take a direct hit from an F4 or F5, but I figure you can't protect yourself against EVERY possibility!

33458, building or installing a room in your existing basement is probably a much better and safer option for you. Probably cheaper, too -- fixing up my crawlspace was not a cheap task!