Visited DD & SIL in Omaha for Christmas & talked about, among other things, their desire to build in a ‘huddle space’ in their basement for protection from tornados. They have a four level split, with the lowest level or basement being app. 22′ square, of block construction, & mostly below grade. There is one level of house above that area.
They don’t really want to go to the work and expense of a concrete shelter but had wondered if in the process of finishing the basement off, they could use 2x framing to build a small area in the southwest corner, self-supporting & separate from the rest of the house framing. It would be sheeted with plywood to protect them from falling/flying debrei (sp?) should the house take a hit.
The question is what size & spacing would the framing be & what thickness for the plywood? The space would be approx. 6’x6’x6′ high which would have the whole thing below grade. I also feel anchoring to floor & walls would be a given. I’ve had no experience with tornados, but I understand they can do some pretty weird things, so I’m not sure if this idea would be adequate or just give a false sense of security. Any experienced feedback would be appreciated.
Paul
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there a site , a government site. Fema, that talks about this exact question
http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/saferoom/criteria.shtmhttp://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/saferoom/fema320.shtmAdditional information about Safe Rooms available from FEMA:
Taking Shelter from the Storm: Building a Safe Room Inside Your House. L-233. Brochure providing details about obtaining information about how to build a wind-safe room to withstand tornado, hurricane, and other high winds.Taking Shelter from the Storm: Building a Safe Room Inside Your House. FEMA-320. Manual with detailed information about how to build a wind-safe room to withstand tornado, hurricane, and other high winds.
a few points... I have no experience in this but have researched it a bit...
bolts from the slab through the roof structure... what i saw was 3/4" steel rods through a 4" x 1/4" thick steel plate all the way around the top... the 3/4" bolts were on 30" centers... the walls were framed with 2x6's doubled on 12" centers (plan on supporting the weight of whatever might be on top of you) sheathed in 3/4" plywood doubled on both sides and all glued and screwed... the door was small and steel and had a small maybe 4" sq window...something like bullet proof glass... maybe 18" and opened in... there were boards inside to brace the door closed... there were a few pipes for ventalation... and a funnel and a tube out to pee in...
might have been in mother earth news... but they said you should survive in it...
just what i remember... I'm sure a google search would turn up a ton of info..
P
Texas Tech has a great lab on that. Here's some info with suggestions from them on further documentation.
http://www.wind.ttu.edu/Shelters/WindProtection.php
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