do you REALLY need a storm basement in OKC? Really? (Edmond: house, new construction) - Oklahoma City - Oklahoma - City-Data Forum

mybookroom · 02-15-2010, 09:11 PM

I mean really, a basement? Is it a must? will it protect you from a tornado? so then what does everyone without a basement do? Please help, I'm obviously clueles and would appreciate your input.

tijlover · 02-15-2010, 09:27 PM

Highly recommended, if you have a fear of flying.

Lawman_Kyle · 02-15-2010, 09:33 PM

No...tornadoes only happen in the movie Twister. They don't really happen outside of Hollywood. Just ask the folks from Moore/Midwest City..........

Convert 54 · 02-15-2010, 10:34 PM

Just ask the numerous thousands who survived the may 3, 99 twister and I think you would have the answer your really looking for

mybookroom · 02-15-2010, 11:06 PM

okay, if basements are a good idea in tornado season, then why do so many homes listed online, dont seem to have any? I'm confused?

Emery'sMommy · 02-15-2010, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mybookroom

okay, if basements are a good idea in tornado season, then why do so many homes listed online, dont seem to have any? I'm confused?

Walk-in basements that you'd see in the north or even Colorado, are rare in Oklahoma. Something about the soil or rock (maybe search it) isn't great for building true basements.
Instead people here have storm shelters- I don't think you can add that as a feature in most mls search listings but most descriptions will let you know whether or not a house has one. One can be installed in the floor of the garage for several thousand $.

We don't have one and I know many people in the city who don't. The weathermen here do an amazing job at pre-warning us as to the exact track of a tornado. In my almost 10 yrs of living here Ive never been directly threatened or seen one in person. Some local schools act as storm shelters and thankfully I have family two miles away with one.

Living here you learn that storms tend to take the same tracks...Nw okc,Edmond, Midwest City and Moore are common suburbs that Ive notice seem to get hit more than others. Because of the May 3rd storm, many homes in Moore have shelters.
Are they a good idea to have? Absolutely, but not a necessity if you can't afford one.

Okey Dokie · 02-15-2010, 11:45 PM

I concur with everything EmerysMommy said above. We don't have one, would kind of like to have one, but we're (hopefully) moving this spring. In answer to your question of what people do who don't have storm shelters, the "experts" suggest moving to an interior room or closet - anything that will put walls around you. Our hideout is our walk-in closet, that is, when I can get Mr. Dokie to come in from outside where he's looking at the clouds.

Goodpasture · 02-16-2010, 06:14 AM

I don't like basements for storm shelters. Should your house get hit, there is a good chance that house will collapse INTO the basement. If you are there as well, you might have problems getting out. If tornadoes are the fear, get a storm shelter, get one with an exit above ground, or get a safe room on the first floor or in the garage. I'm over 60, I've seen TWO tornadoes close enough to cause concern in my lifetime. Both times they missed. One pulled back up into the clouds then descended again a few hundred yards away and one missed by a quarter mile. You have a greater chance of being hit by a car than you do of being hit by a tornado.

debzkidz · 02-16-2010, 07:38 AM

Many homes do have the storm shelters in the floor of the garage. They are tiny little prefab things that can only hold a few people and can be installed in the matter of a couple of days. They are often advertised on tv during the spring tornado season for a couple thousand dollars. This will be our 4th spring to live here without one in our home. The first two years we were here, we kept saying we would get one, then last year was either a pretty mild storm season or we've just gotten used to it, because it didn't seem to be as big a concern. Many of the homes we looked at when we moved here did have some type of shelter. Most were the little kind in the garage. One had a cool tiny basement room off the laundry, that the homeowners used for bulk storage of things like paper towels. A couple of the new construction homes we looked at actually had the master closets that were built as "safe rooms" with steel doors and all. I did actually see something last year about a new kind of safe room you can have put in either inside an existing space in your home, or out in the garage. They are a built out of Kevlar or something like that. I have a friend how has one in the 3rd bay of her garage. I don't think any home we looked at mentioned a shelter in the mls listing.

osugirl2 · 02-17-2010, 12:53 PM

My mom had a "safe room" installed at her home. It's separate from the house, and basically like a small concrete storm cellar. FEMA reimbursed her for almost all of her costs, but I'm not sure if that was a limited time offer or not. Much of the new construction around have safe rooms already built in, but because of the shallow frost line, and foundation issues, basements aren't the greatest idea in Oklahoma. Most of the basements you find in Oklahoma are all in older homes, and they have a big tendency to flood and have mold issues.