Y'all did this the best way possible. Great example for those that can afford it. Our pockets are not very deep so ours is in the yard. Thanks for sharing.
Thank goodness! You know what, I started not to look at your video because I didn't it applied to me as I can't afford something like that! I'm so glad I did watch because it explained how to go about fitting an emergency shelter into the designated area. It was actually interesting to me. I've watched most of your other videos. You do a great job getting to the point in your videos, too. Thanks so much, Janie!
+jewellm61, I thought this was true when I married him; he was game for anything and loved to laugh, and I said YES to the question and so far...so GREAT! LOL!!
I wondered how y'all would get into the shelter. From inside the house! Cool! It would be like an extra room with steps. Once you go inside, you close the door behind you. So interesting!
Jamie, you have a beautiful home. You have an amazing vision on saving money as well as emergency preparedness. It runs the full gamit! I have subscribed to you!
That shelter is gonna Float up to the surface whenever very Heavy flood rains start , should have laid about one inch of concrete around the bottom of it
No, we anchored it anchors made just for that purpose, and poured an 12" concrete slab over the top (it's in a room addition that I added on to my house; I also put a 'French Drain' with sump that runs on both electricity and solar power and back up generator if SHTF. No floating here. It's also weighed down with a large iron "I-beam" across the neck of the steps where I put the foundation blocks over the top of that. This is now rated for Nuclear Disaster Fallout, all I need is the filter system on the vents and I've got that on the plan book soon. If I had put it in the back yard and under a room addition slab, I would have encased the entire thing in concrete, but even concrete floats, have you ever seen a grave open up in a hurricane or a flood? The vault lids float up and the coffins float down stream...!! Yikes!! So, anchors are the best choice with concrete fill. I agree with you there. But again, I put mine under my room addition and the French Drain covers my end of things. NO problem here. We fixed the field tile as well. That cost me a bundle; about $2,000 extra for breaking the old tile drain and filling it in with concrete on the lot next to us. Plus the pump and the large tile and rock, the dig...was about $2700 all together.
+Janie Pendleton oh okay :) I live in Oklahoma and there have been people who didn't anchor them at all so they just popped right up, Haha yeah I've seen that happen with coffins :o.
As for what you should have in it: Each person should have one 'bugout' bag under the seats in case you have to live or leave area in a hurry(spare clothes, medicines, boots/shoes, toiletries, water for a week, and fire flints/strikes for cooking) first aide kit, crank-style radio/flashlights. we have Tele w blu ray, and Ethernet/Internet with Antenna. Battery pwred lights and electric lts as well. Composting toilet. Dehumidifier if in cold ground/warm air situation. We get condensation here.
I'm in the process of doing another video so you will get the jest of the electric lines and the internet lines and the back up generator hookup. Also, we have a 3-ton jack to open door if debris falls on lid.
Straight off the bat I'm confused! Where are the two holes for air to breathe? How is breathable air suppose to get in? Only asking because we're wanting to invest in a shelter soon since we're in tornado alley.
Deedered Do Honestly the best shelter I have seen to date was DIY Alaska project, sand bags for the walls, gravel for the floor, and logs split in half for the ceiling. IMO and the opinion among some knowledgeable commenters was the owners dragged metal shelves into the shelter, when wood shelves would have been better choice, and the wood shelves could have been designed wall to wall to help support the sand-bag walls. Supposedly the upcoming catacylsm will be lots of lightening which will seek out metal to ground. Of course all metal cannot be avoided, but metal should be minimized in root cellars which double as storm shelters. Brianaustinlambert33 channel explains better some of reasons...
Our smallest holds 6-8 ppl comfortably...our Max holds 16...but you CAN get more in on steps and floor space...we actually fit 24 kids in our Max shelter.
finally people with a brain when it comes 2 a storm shelter underground, 3 sources of power, water pump, weight on bottom and weight on top all u need is a gas can with a diamond blade saw lol flashlights,some bbq lol by the way if u chained it to two sides instead of 1 wouldve balanced weight better 4 it dunno maybe the water was the bigger cave in fault my father has been an operator since 8 hes 74 anyways great idea and much better than the others ive seen on the internet my only boy was in the 99 moore ok tornado and i live in kansas city without a basement i was thinking of maybe see what people are doing 2 better storm shelters and im digging this 1
I think I would have cut the field tile over in the field and not had to put in the sump pump. And that would have kept the water away from your house. Am I correct ??? How is it all holding up today ??
The city and developer made that decision for us. We sold house five years ago and bought a farmstead. But my friends, who bought our old house, are thankful for it when the storms hit. I put a bunker in our new basement. She says the grands love going down there with friends and watching tv, esp in bad weather. It's holding up great. I put three coats of coal tar apoxy on it.
An underground storm shelter/solid steel is about 5-6k plus the burial price from a local backhoe operator, they'll charge between 700 and 1100 bucks...unless you need a French drain, like in my case and that 1100 ran up to 2700 and that didn't include the sump pit or sump parts(drain pipes). Hitting that field drain was a rare fluke and once in a while, my crew will hit one here in central Indiana. Farm Fields have been around a long time and this tile was over 100 years old! Who knew! LOL
I'm just under 10 minutes into the video and you have drain tile flooding your shelter area. I'm glad you thought of a sump pump area, but what if the power goes out such as during a tornado. The sump pump won't be working and there will be a tremendous amount if rain. Just a thought.
+Joel It's 100% waterproof; we have back up generator as well. We have a 3 ton jack inside the unit for opening the door in case of debris; and the unit is 'indoors' (opening is)...we have a phone, 2-wave radio, walkie talkies always charged and at the ready; whistles and even Geo Search which is our company that calls you when there is a tornado or other emergency reported in your neighborhood; they send emergency crews if you don't answer the phone on the second try; so you have several cell phone numbers they try to reach you on first. So far, they've called me most times we've went in the shelter and checked on our whereabouts during storms. Now, as far as the drain tile goes...we hit a 100 year old drain field tile that was not on the city zoning board plans, so I had to pay $2700 more to dig up the lot next to mine and break the drain there too...we dug 30' away from our shelter, crushed the drain pipe and filled the drain ends with concrete. Trust me, no water is leaving that drain and spilling into my yard again! It cost me dearly but it was worth the peace of mind; we have a French drain installed for back up, just in case, and we have a backup generator ready to power the lights and sump pump. I'm not worried at all. BTW...ran all gutter downspouts to a drainage system that feeds directly into the city system with permission, so we have less rain run off now.
Glad to hear you had it all covered. I wasn't busting on your video, but the amount of water concerned me. I didn't know if you owned those fields that water was being drained as well. It would suck if you and your family died from drownding trying to save yourself from a tornado. It was honestly just a concern.
Oh, no problem...I understand..I thought the same thing...which is why I fixed the issues before I started selling them to the public; I was the first to put my shelter lid indoors, and the shelter itself outdoors just to see if it could be done safely (building code wise) and worked with the city zoning on the project; so far, the i-beam across the blocks and the poured vertical columns (they shoot down past the french drain depth) is holding in all kinds of weather; I've filmed three tornadoes from that room addition while standing warm and dry on the steps of the shelter. My clients mostly buy 'above' ground 'garage style' shelters though, not many ppl were meant to be below ground; they find it hard to do. It is an odd feeling the first time you close yourself in; a bit panicky, but you realize your safer below the ground than above it and you start to relax; we have TV and radio and a BLue Ray player for the kids...I love being down there now. Very quiet and great surround sound! Did you see my finished room addition/shelter tour video?
Glad to hear all the issues have been resolved and that it is now tested. I'm also glad you have things in your shelter to keep people comfortable. I have heard of people not going to their shelters until it was too late only because they had nothing to do in them therefore they hated being their. I'll have to check out your other video. I may have seen it, but I can't recall it as I watch a lot of videos.
I just laughed at you saying that the snow is good packing snow good for a snowman. I was thinking that the snow would make some good snow cream! Our mom made snow cream. You always dug under and got the "clean" snow from the top of the car; not where people or pets may have walked. We would collect the snow and Mom would transfer it to a large bowl. She would add sugar, vanilla extract, and half and half. It was better than ice cream! Those were the days!
I'll be showing how to wire house to French drain and how to wire shelter in next video. Part three is how to form and pour your foundation over the neck of the shelter so the weight of the house is not on the shelter.
Hey, Jamie nice shelter. I do pose several questions for you and your husband. What are you going to do when the power is out? and cable is down? pump and lights are not going to work, just asking for a friend. O before I forget, love your food storage and pepping video's. Please do not find my comments hateful or sarcastic, just want to know what other plans you have for power?
Wayne, We have back up generator. The shelter also has a 3-ton jack to open the door if debris falls onto it...But we have underground utilities here...power has only ever gone out a handful of times in the last 15 years. We get Hot Spot on phones and our cells phones work great inside the shelter. Also, there is a call to emergency if we don't answer our phones if a tornado or high winds or war is active in our district. You have six rings to answer or police or fire dept shows up. For lights we have battery powered back up... and french drain again, works on the generator.
Thanks for sharing the shelter installation videos as well as your garden videos,I have a genie in my backyard behind the shed and am considering one of these.Love to know the best way you guys got AC wiring run into the shelter,I have been a electrician in the entertainment industry for years and definatly want to have ac run into the shelter . Also like to know more about the french drain where it was ran out to and do u have a sump pump in the shelter as well? I am liking that idea with some type false floor and perhaps a 2nd entrance as well,just spoke to someone at survive a storm this week.
The shelter runs cool since it's indoors; the French drain runs on either electricity or Generator (back up power). The shelter is waterproof with several coats of coal tar apoxy which last for dozens of years. The French drain runs has a sump pump on it and runs off and down to our city ditch easement. I've had no troubles so far and we've had some very wet years (as seen on this video). A false floor would only help water to come in (like a basement) if you break that seal of steel and coal tar epoxy. I would advise against it. Just run your French drain UNDER the unit. A second entrance is good, I do wish I had done this part, but not really feasible for the 6'w x 8' Long unit. I do like that the steps are not "IN" the shelter itself, we make them both ways. I wish you would have contacted me first, I have a great discount on each shelter I could have given you as a dealer. I do design work for your property and needs as well. What state are you in? A/c won't work if the grind/elect is down during a storm/war...etc.. SHTF situation. Best way to conquer this is a back up generator that kicks in that is either gas powered and started with a button within the unit, and buried with venting at a minuium of 10' downwind of the unit venting...All I have to do is press one button if the grid goes down and if my main house generator and gas supply is cut off, I have a third power source for fans, heaters, small a/c unit...lights, etc... ready by pushing one button within the unit. It starts the third and last resort generator which is again, buried and a steel grate. It runs of servral fuels, so what is available works. Again, keep any 'off gas' (depending on the fuel you are burning) from entering your fresh air intakes by putting them away from unit and make sure they are downwind. I can not express that enough. You don't want to fall asleep forever! As for nuclear fall out, there are filter units made just for this. My suggestion, if I was your dealer and fall out was one issue you were covering, I would add that filter on all air vents and I would add the 2nd exit and buy the 3 ton jack (I have one) and I would extend the steps height to go deeper in the ground...this would give you more dirt/concrete/etc.. over the top of the unit for fall out reasons. Remember you need at least 22" of fall out protection plus air filters. My unit is rare as we have all the above now in a smaller unit. Plus I put my unit indoors and the body outdoors...it can ger pretty cold in there in the wintertime, even though I insulated it with 4" thick foam board before I buried it. I poured concrete and rebar over that and more foam pads for my brick patio on to of that. Each layer has a different degree of fall out protection, and total layers equal the amount of coverage that I need to be fall out shelter rated. Did you see the video where I show how we 'wired' the unit? Oh- and the births... I would definitely do that again. We've slept in our unit on several occasions; we get several tornadoes a year come through here and we fall asleep in the night down there when the winds kick up. The feeling I get now having a shelter is beyond mentioning. I feel alive again. My stress levels during spring have dropped tremendously! Now, I film storms and watch others as they scatter for safety and just know I've got my family 'covered'- literally! LOL! What state are you in? I'm in Indiana.
I am in NC,I have a slideshow posted from our 2011 Tornado's ,I saw a similar shelter to those here with the 2 entrances which gave me that idea to have a 2nd exit,also in their gallery I see a unit under a carport type shed which I can do less expensive than a room addition. i figure it will also make a great root cellar for my onions and potatoes from my organic garden. I am lucky enough to have friends in both concrete and who have heavy equipment from pond and culvert work. I have looked at several options for a above ground but like this best.I did not see the how you wired the shelter video,but would very much like to,thanks for anything else you can tell me or suggest. I do have a genie out back of my shed 100feet from the house and vented,love the honda engine ,cranks on the first pull since 2000,I was a temp electrician in the music business for many years and have a bit of electrical knowledge. We were just on the edge of the warnings for the bad storms that hit Ga. I am interested in any possible advice on the best way to get the possible Fema rebates I am on a very level lot. Thanks
I hope they anchored that down and poured in a lot of concrete to make sure it can't float out of the ground. I just can't mix the words storm shelter and electrical wires together and then try to reason that with lightning strikes that are seeking the nearest route to ground aka earth. Honestly once I saw all that water having to be pumped out that's where the steel box vault story would have ended but that's my personal opinion.
5/22/21,,,,Very interested.....first time I have seen these installed, watched several today, but none like this that was going to be attached to the house/built on room....anxious to see this..... hope I can find this channel again, since it says Our Little Homestead !!! nothing little about this house !!!why the name.....?This looks like a more expensive home in a great neighborhood ......What state is this in ?
Well I just read all of these comments and found them very interesting...... and I have learned now that you sold this house that you had a tornado shelter installed in....so this is old news now.....but I still may go back and watch some of the videos....so are you & hubby traveling now to see the world ? Enjoy yourself if you are, and post pics and explain it all to the ones who can't afford to go.....lol unless I win the lottery and I do not see that happening......I've never been to the Grand Cayon either, just went to Vegas, for a long week-end with my Sister, we had a great time.....saw Wayne Newton's show he was there at the time.....never got to see my fav. of them all tho....ELVIS.....but I have most all his DVD'S, CD'S, BOOKS, , etc.....gave away a lot of things I had collected thru the years, had to downsize and get rid of some stuff.....lol.....but kept all my music & books of him tho.....
Just curious, why didn’t you have a safe room built when added on to your home instead of digging an underground shelter? Your safe room could serve multi purposes? Btw.. I absolutely love your channel!! I have not canned in years until I seen you do it. We have started again this year!! Thanks so much for the wealth of information you share with us!! 💛
I already have a safe room in the house and I built the bunker for tornadoes and I SELL them...that is why I built the room...they are my samples to show clients.
Pardon me if I'm just ignorant to the fact but what would the use be of adding power and/or water to a storm shelter if an F4/F5 tornado is going to totally decimate power service to a town, let alone a home? I've never understood it. I figured the longest one would have to wait it out in a storm shelter would be an hour or so, max.
We have a generator attached. We'd have enough power to run power saws, do clean up and have a place to sleep while we did clean up.... Mine is also nuclear fall-out shelter/filtered, and it also can be used as a faraday box. But mostly, Indiana wind and tornado storms! We've spent the night down there several times as we were too tired to come back up and wanted to get some 'safe' sleep from severe weather that pushed through. Plus, even if you did not have the generator, you'd still have power while down there right up to a point when you did get hit or have a power outage. Which our power lines are all underground in out town so we don't get many outages in storms either way. So, usually our lights stay on. It's very rare here to have an outage. Add in that you wait out a storm for 45 minutes to 2 hours (on average) and most times, it's a CLOSE CALL. I'd want to wait with TV radar and weather and news on, TV for children, movies to calm a friend...etc... the lights make it less scary as well. Mine looks like a cubby cabin of a sailboat. The grands love it down there. LOL! Being in the dark is not necessary, especially since mine is INDOORS, and, since odds are you will ride it out and you'll be untouched by a tornado. But we filmed 3 tornadoes pass our house in just one summer and I relaxed in bunker as they passed by; I had all the conveniences of the above ground house...but in a steel casing! But, if you can bear sitting for hours in the dark or with a few flashlights burning up batteries...I say, more 'power; to you! Hehe! I'm not keen on being in the dark while a severe storm rages around me.
I wish I had your knowledge. I want to ask you a million questions but I will narrow it down and send them in a steady timely manner. About how much should I expect to spend to do a project like this? What should I have in it for 3 adults. I am in TX. I will not have your knowledge overnight but how or where should I begin?
Is this electrical system hooked to a back-up generator of some sort? If not none of the systems you propose to put in the shelter are going to work, no electricity, no internet, lights or TV. Just curious, I'm all for the shelter, just thinking what happens during the storm when local utilities go out.
+Thad Axtman Yes, we have everything hooked to an automatic turn on generator; it's away from shelter so exhaust does not kill those inside; put it at least 20 feet away; ours is buried with a metal grate for breathing of the engine within. I studied Diesel and High Compress Gas Engines at Purdue so if you need any help, let me know. Hubby is not only a Surgeon for the Army (retired) he is also a plumber and electrician; he does all my wiring now that he is home for good.
I would be reluctant running AC power into an all steel structure that needs to take a lot of shock that could potentially cause a short. DC power would be safer.
Susie Q It has 2 coats of coal tar epoxy on the exterior and a rust-proofer on the interior; has a French drain to keep water pulled away and the shelter is covered in concrete and then stones.
What happens if house collapses in storm on top of the door of the shelter? Would it not of been better to have the shelter away from the house in case of collapse?
Brian Burdis I have a 3-ton jack in the shelter, we have cell phones , 2 wave radios, whistles, and geo-tracking... debris can cover any shelter, especially when you are in town .... it. Only matters that it's water-proof and not 'below' your house water line flow. I've seen many ppl put them in garage floors... under cars 🚗 and they either couldn't reach them or the water main in garage wall was higher then the lower slope of garage floor and they filled up with broken main water...again... a jack deletes those issues...
I was more thinking that if house wall collapsed onto the door a jack probably wouldnt help much, It may lift the door but rubble would fall in. You have such a large plot of land my thinking was if it was clear of the house this would not happen. Radios and cell phones are great if local towers etc are all still intact and if the power is still on. Anyway the install was great and im no nothing lol Thanks for the great you tube channel
You're welcome! Btw...sold all the land around us and we are surround by houses...some just a few feet from our property line...We found 11 acres we can afford with a huge Amish house on it...but with just us two...I don't want the bill of mowing and maintaining such a property...I'd rather get the RV and see the state I've lived in for 50 years and see the surrounding states as well. I've never even seen the Grand Canyon! Seriously!! I know foreigners who come here to study and they see more of USA, than I've seen! LOL! Hopefully, I'll get this house listed and sold soon and be off on a great adventure!
@@OurLittleHomestead What ? Really I've been reading all this video and you have everything already safe for you & all your family and you are going to sell and travel ??? I can't believe it.....you know you can run into tornados other places too, won't you be afraid to travel and run into something like this ??? You don't have to sell the perfect safe home you have to travel, keep it and go on trips and come home, after you've traveled awhile, you will be glad to get back home to your safe place .....you are just kidding right ???
I'm federally licensed and sell emergency housing to FEMA. We have some of the best ship building/ welders available for custom shelters as well. I sell Community shelters that hold up to 500 persons and bullet proof rooms as well as the under and above ground storm shelters. They will handle an F-5 tornado or high wind speeds. If you would like to see my brochures...just shoot me a line here and I'll get you my email and phone number. We're backed up to August on orders going to OK and TX.
Thanks! It all came together and we got the addition built on the house as well as the bunker installed. Now, when those tornadoes go sailing past every year, I'm not crawling out of my skin. LOL
Yes, it opens from the inside and we have a 3 ton jack that will get debris off our door. Also we have drains so that that shelter can not flood and a sump pump hooked to both house elect. barn elect and generator.
LOL... I'm a Custom Home Builder, and have built 70 houses while hubby was a surgeon/professor in the Army, full time. He was trying and I couldn't get him to stand back. But what better way to learn than to do. I'm a great cook and would happily make you and the hardworking boys sandwiches! We keep a smoker going on the job site almost daily! Keep a kitchen table and outdoor oven next to jobsite RV as well. I camp on my rural jobsites and we feed my crews often. Actually, they are spoiled and now just expect I'll have a good ole' pie baking! Today is Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie and Beef Manhattans! YUM!
No worries, we have a sump pump and we have a generator and elect from two supplies. Our community utilities are all buried. Our generator will kick on. It's happened before. I have drainage in place if it doesn't. :P
This is true! My bunker is for tornadoes mostly but... I have; 3" insulation foam board + 30" of top soil + 6 " of solid concrete with re-inforced rebar poured + 4" more of top soil plus landscape paper and then 2-4" of builder's sand under the 3" thick paving stones which top it all off ... all protected by a solid concrete poured stone wall; both inside room and out. This gives me an equivilant of 43" solid fall-out protection (see equivalent chart below). And a stone waterfalls on top of all this that is four feet tall. :P And...if SHTF... I also have another load of sand for sandbags standing nearby (you can put a baby pool full of water on top of shelter or landscape mound on top as well. It wouldn't take much to get it covered at this point. Maybe 1/2 hour at most. Inside of house where door of shelter is located ... we have more than enough solid concrete poured with gravel and plastic and insulating foam board ... wood flooring...roofing paper...etc... the only place I'm lacking is at the door itself which is an issue, and, I've got that figure out with sand bags, 3" foam board, and a newly designed filter system as well. If I did it again, I'd raise the neck of steps by another 8" to get even deeper in earth, and, I'd run steps at an angle to the opening of shelter for further fall-out protection. I'd put in a submarine para scope as well. Still might do this. Plus we are in the process of designing a charcoal filter for the vents to get better airflow around door. Concrete is denser than soil and stops fall out with less thickness; here are the ratios to soil for coverage: The following shows examples of shielding materials that equal the protection of 4 inches (10 cm) of concrete: • 5 - 6 inches (12 - 15 cm) of bricks • 6 inches (15 cm) of sand or pea gravel • 7 inches (18 cm) of earth • 8 inches (20 cm) of hollow concrete block or 4" solids • 10 inches (25 cm) of water (if pool water is then covered you also have a drinking/flushing/bathing/cooking source) • 14 inches (35 cm) of books or magazines • 18 inches (46 cm) of wood * 5" of solid insulation foam board
That was a quick-link but you're correct. Heavy lifting should be done with shackles and slings rather than quick links and chains. It's just much safer.
My friend lost her legs from hiding in a basement when the fireplace brick and the porch brick archway to the entry collapsed on her. Basements are not safe unless you have a room that is built to hold that kind of weight and debris. Basements are better than none however. So many ppl on slab homes or live in mobile homes. I get petrified when in a strong storm pops up and we're in our RV. YIKES!
I'm a custom home builder and not a single basement that I've visited has been designed to withstand 250 mile per hour wind on the upper floors where collapse is possible where the wt is not distributed evenly (which in a tornado it would not be...it's not the basement or walls that protect you it's the ceiling/floor joist that hold up the debris, for the most part ... it's the ceiling/floor joists that are not designed to hold the wt of an entire roof, truss and brick system when it falls; even "I"-joist are only designed to hold a floor joist at 16” spacing’s that can carry 53 pounds per linear foot would translate into a 318 pound single point load at its center. That is minimal compared to the wt of a truss and roof system that has been collapsed. Location and configuration of heavy loads should be looked at on a case by case basis. For especially heavy loads it is recommended to have a structural engineer research the floor framing sizes and layout before using it as a shelter. It can be easily modified however with 10-gauge steel ceiling plates and steel I-beams. I know of no basement company that installs steel beams vs wood floor joists or engineered I-joists, unless it's for a commercial job BTW... I live and build in tornado alley and near the Madrid Fault. Also, basements are not designed to prevent flooding/drowning with the electricity off the sump pumps don't work and they can fill up quickly in a downpour. Two things can still happen, you can get electrocuted or you can drown in your basement if trapped. Bunkers are waterproof and designed not to collapse under a heavy load. Basements are best when you have no place else to go. Just be sure and get under stairwell or a heavy-duty table. Be sure to take a 3 ton jack with you to remove debris out of the exit locations.Just my opinion, for what it's worth...but...if basements were safe, the President wouldn't need a bunker! LOL! True!
Janie Pendleton most basements you see in nebraska has a room that is meant to withstand those kind of winds also if your on a hill drowning is pretty much impossible. And no its not a specific room that is marked "Storm Room" there was a room put in by say someone like you. Now im not saying this is not going to work im just saying most people dont have the time or money to deal with this. for example my storm room is far away from a source of electricity so your pretty good on that end. I live on a steep hill away from most and lakes. Also my city has gone great lenghts to stop any "major" flooding to happen. my storm room is underground of course and the lowest part of my basement and yes we do have we do have multiple tools for digging debris out of are way and a pretty nifty tornado kit.
Y'all did this the best way possible. Great example for those that can afford it. Our pockets are not very deep so ours is in the yard.
Thanks for sharing.
Nice job, getting prepared for sure....
Thank goodness! You know what, I started not to look at your video because I didn't it applied to me as I can't afford something like that! I'm so glad I did watch because it explained how to go about fitting an emergency shelter into the designated area. It was actually interesting to me. I've watched most of your other videos. You do a great job getting to the point in your videos, too. Thanks so much, Janie!
Glad No one was hurt when the links gave way
If I lived in tornado alley that's the storm shelter I would get! It's underground and I like that you don't have to go outside to enter it.
squito94 yes you have to go out....a tiny bit thou..
People who don't watch the video but comment.
You are amazing! I just sat and watched the whole video! Thanks for making my day.
I really enjoyed this, thank you!
Jamie, you and your husband make a good team!
+jewellm61, I thought this was true when I married him; he was game for anything and loved to laugh, and I said YES to the question and so far...so GREAT! LOL!!
+Janie Pendleton -
That's another reason why I love your vlogs. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and time.
+jewellm61 You're welcome and thanks for all the comments and support to keep me going! I do appreciate it!!!!
I wondered how y'all would get into the shelter. From inside the house! Cool! It would be like an extra room with steps. Once you go inside, you close the door behind you. So interesting!
Jamie, you have a beautiful home. You have an amazing vision on saving money as well as emergency preparedness. It runs the full gamit! I have subscribed to you!
...and that is exactly what happened to me yesterday while laying my first row of block for new room addition! LOL>>.Oh- well, we got 'er done today!
Very educational
That shelter is gonna Float up to the surface whenever very Heavy flood rains start , should have laid about one inch of concrete around the bottom of it
No, we anchored it anchors made just for that purpose, and poured an 12" concrete slab over the top (it's in a room addition that I added on to my house; I also put a 'French Drain' with sump that runs on both electricity and solar power and back up generator if SHTF. No floating here. It's also weighed down with a large iron "I-beam" across the neck of the steps where I put the foundation blocks over the top of that. This is now rated for Nuclear Disaster Fallout, all I need is the filter system on the vents and I've got that on the plan book soon. If I had put it in the back yard and under a room addition slab, I would have encased the entire thing in concrete, but even concrete floats, have you ever seen a grave open up in a hurricane or a flood? The vault lids float up and the coffins float down stream...!! Yikes!! So, anchors are the best choice with concrete fill. I agree with you there. But again, I put mine under my room addition and the French Drain covers my end of things. NO problem here. We fixed the field tile as well. That cost me a bundle; about $2,000 extra for breaking the old tile drain and filling it in with concrete on the lot next to us. Plus the pump and the large tile and rock, the dig...was about $2700 all together.
+Janie Pendleton oh okay :) I live in Oklahoma and there have been people who didn't anchor them at all so they just popped right up, Haha yeah I've seen that happen with coffins :o.
As for what you should have in it: Each person should have one 'bugout' bag under the seats in case you have to live or leave area in a hurry(spare clothes, medicines, boots/shoes, toiletries, water for a week, and fire flints/strikes for cooking) first aide kit, crank-style radio/flashlights. we have Tele w blu ray, and Ethernet/Internet with Antenna. Battery pwred lights and electric lts as well. Composting toilet. Dehumidifier if in cold ground/warm air situation. We get condensation here.
I'm in the process of doing another video so you will get the jest of the electric lines and the internet lines and the back up generator hookup.
Also, we have a 3-ton jack to open door if debris falls on lid.
Straight off the bat I'm confused! Where are the two holes for air to breathe? How is breathable air suppose to get in? Only asking because we're wanting to invest in a shelter soon since we're in tornado alley.
Deedered Do Honestly the best shelter I have seen to date was DIY Alaska project, sand bags for the walls, gravel for the floor, and logs split in half for the ceiling. IMO and the opinion among some knowledgeable commenters was the owners dragged metal shelves into the shelter, when wood shelves would have been better choice, and the wood shelves could have been designed wall to wall to help support the sand-bag walls. Supposedly the upcoming catacylsm will be lots of lightening which will seek out metal to ground. Of course all metal cannot be avoided, but metal should be minimized in root cellars which double as storm shelters. Brianaustinlambert33 channel explains better some of reasons...
Our smallest holds 6-8 ppl comfortably...our Max holds 16...but you CAN get more in on steps and floor space...we actually fit 24 kids in our Max shelter.
finally people with a brain when it comes 2 a storm shelter underground, 3 sources of power, water pump, weight on bottom and weight on top all u need is a gas can with a diamond blade saw lol flashlights,some bbq lol by the way if u chained it to two sides instead of 1 wouldve balanced weight better 4 it dunno maybe the water was the bigger cave in fault my father has been an operator since 8 hes 74 anyways great idea and much better than the others ive seen on the internet my only boy was in the 99 moore ok tornado and i live in kansas city without a basement i was thinking of maybe see what people are doing 2 better storm shelters and im digging this 1
I think I would have cut the field tile over in the field and not had to put in the sump pump. And that would have kept the water away from your house. Am I correct ??? How is it all holding up today ??
The city and developer made that decision for us. We sold house five years ago and bought a farmstead. But my friends, who bought our old house, are thankful for it when the storms hit. I put a bunker in our new basement. She says the grands love going down there with friends and watching tv, esp in bad weather. It's holding up great. I put three coats of coal tar apoxy on it.
An underground storm shelter/solid steel is about 5-6k plus the burial price from a local backhoe operator, they'll charge between 700 and 1100 bucks...unless you need a French drain, like in my case and that 1100 ran up to 2700 and that didn't include the sump pit or sump parts(drain pipes). Hitting that field drain was a rare fluke and once in a while, my crew will hit one here in central Indiana. Farm Fields have been around a long time and this tile was over 100 years old! Who knew! LOL
I'm just under 10 minutes into the video and you have drain tile flooding your shelter area. I'm glad you thought of a sump pump area, but what if the power goes out such as during a tornado. The sump pump won't be working and there will be a tremendous amount if rain. Just a thought.
+Joel It's 100% waterproof; we have back up generator as well. We have a 3 ton jack inside the unit for opening the door in case of debris; and the unit is 'indoors' (opening is)...we have a phone, 2-wave radio, walkie talkies always charged and at the ready; whistles and even Geo Search which is our company that calls you when there is a tornado or other emergency reported in your neighborhood; they send emergency crews if you don't answer the phone on the second try; so you have several cell phone numbers they try to reach you on first. So far, they've called me most times we've went in the shelter and checked on our whereabouts during storms. Now, as far as the drain tile goes...we hit a 100 year old drain field tile that was not on the city zoning board plans, so I had to pay $2700 more to dig up the lot next to mine and break the drain there too...we dug 30' away from our shelter, crushed the drain pipe and filled the drain ends with concrete. Trust me, no water is leaving that drain and spilling into my yard again! It cost me dearly but it was worth the peace of mind; we have a French drain installed for back up, just in case, and we have a backup generator ready to power the lights and sump pump. I'm not worried at all. BTW...ran all gutter downspouts to a drainage system that feeds directly into the city system with permission, so we have less rain run off now.
Glad to hear you had it all covered. I wasn't busting on your video, but the amount of water concerned me. I didn't know if you owned those fields that water was being drained as well. It would suck if you and your family died from drownding trying to save yourself from a tornado. It was honestly just a concern.
Oh, no problem...I understand..I thought the same thing...which is why I fixed the issues before I started selling them to the public; I was the first to put my shelter lid indoors, and the shelter itself outdoors just to see if it could be done safely (building code wise) and worked with the city zoning on the project; so far, the i-beam across the blocks and the poured vertical columns (they shoot down past the french drain depth) is holding in all kinds of weather; I've filmed three tornadoes from that room addition while standing warm and dry on the steps of the shelter. My clients mostly buy 'above' ground 'garage style' shelters though, not many ppl were meant to be below ground; they find it hard to do. It is an odd feeling the first time you close yourself in; a bit panicky, but you realize your safer below the ground than above it and you start to relax; we have TV and radio and a BLue Ray player for the kids...I love being down there now. Very quiet and great surround sound! Did you see my finished room addition/shelter tour video?
ruclips.net/video/yy7oH512zl0/видео.html
Glad to hear all the issues have been resolved and that it is now tested. I'm also glad you have things in your shelter to keep people comfortable. I have heard of people not going to their shelters until it was too late only because they had nothing to do in them therefore they hated being their. I'll have to check out your other video. I may have seen it, but I can't recall it as I watch a lot of videos.
Looking on the bright side, you had decent weather. Suppose you had been in the middle of a storm on that day!
Put storm shelters away from buildings. Only get solid 1 pc. shelters. Have cellphones, water, food, and flashlights in the shelter.
you should think about another power supply . The power is likely to go out when you need the shelter the most .
I just laughed at you saying that the snow is good packing snow good for a snowman. I was thinking that the snow would make some good snow cream! Our mom made snow cream. You always dug under and got the "clean" snow from the top of the car; not where people or pets may have walked. We would collect the snow and Mom would transfer it to a large bowl. She would add sugar, vanilla extract, and half and half. It was better than ice cream! Those were the days!
I'll be showing how to wire house to French drain and how to wire shelter in next video. Part three is how to form and pour your foundation over the neck of the shelter so the weight of the house is not on the shelter.
Hey, Jamie nice shelter. I do pose several questions for you and your husband. What are you going to do when the power is out? and cable is down? pump and lights are not going to work, just asking for a friend. O before I forget, love your food storage and pepping video's. Please do not find my comments hateful or sarcastic, just want to know what other plans you have for power?
Wayne, We have back up generator. The shelter also has a 3-ton jack to open the door if debris falls onto it...But we have underground utilities here...power has only ever gone out a handful of times in the last 15 years. We get Hot Spot on phones and our cells phones work great inside the shelter. Also, there is a call to emergency if we don't answer our phones if a tornado or high winds or war is active in our district. You have six rings to answer or police or fire dept shows up. For lights we have battery powered back up... and french drain again, works on the generator.
I would make some possibilities to have several beddings ..by putting planks to put across the seats ..,..
Thanks for sharing the shelter installation videos as well as your garden videos,I have a genie in my backyard behind the shed and am considering one of these.Love to know the best way you guys got AC wiring run into the shelter,I have been a electrician in the entertainment industry for years and definatly want to have ac run into the shelter . Also like to know more about the french drain where it was ran out to and do u have a sump pump in the shelter as well? I am liking that idea with some type false floor and perhaps a 2nd entrance as well,just spoke to someone at survive a storm this week.
The shelter runs cool since it's indoors; the French drain runs on either electricity or Generator (back up power). The shelter is waterproof with several coats of coal tar apoxy which last for dozens of years. The French drain runs has a sump pump on it and runs off and down to our city ditch easement. I've had no troubles so far and we've had some very wet years (as seen on this video). A false floor would only help water to come in (like a basement) if you break that seal of steel and coal tar epoxy. I would advise against it. Just run your French drain UNDER the unit. A second entrance is good, I do wish I had done this part, but not really feasible for the 6'w x 8' Long unit. I do like that the steps are not "IN" the shelter itself, we make them both ways. I wish you would have contacted me first, I have a great discount on each shelter I could have given you as a dealer. I do design work for your property and needs as well. What state are you in? A/c won't work if the grind/elect is down during a storm/war...etc.. SHTF situation. Best way to conquer this is a back up generator that kicks in that is either gas powered and started with a button within the unit, and buried with venting at a minuium of 10' downwind of the unit venting...All I have to do is press one button if the grid goes down and if my main house generator and gas supply is cut off, I have a third power source for fans, heaters, small a/c unit...lights, etc... ready by pushing one button within the unit. It starts the third and last resort generator which is again, buried and a steel grate. It runs of servral fuels, so what is available works. Again, keep any 'off gas' (depending on the fuel you are burning) from entering your fresh air intakes by putting them away from unit and make sure they are downwind. I can not express that enough. You don't want to fall asleep forever!
As for nuclear fall out, there are filter units made just for this.
My suggestion, if I was your dealer and fall out was one issue you were covering, I would add that filter on all air vents and I would add the 2nd exit and buy the 3 ton jack (I have one) and I would extend the steps height to go deeper in the ground...this would give you more dirt/concrete/etc.. over the top of the unit for fall out reasons. Remember you need at least 22" of fall out protection plus air filters.
My unit is rare as we have all the above now in a smaller unit. Plus I put my unit indoors and the body outdoors...it can ger pretty cold in there in the wintertime, even though I insulated it with 4" thick foam board before I buried it. I poured concrete and rebar over that and more foam pads for my brick patio on to of that. Each layer has a different degree of fall out protection, and total layers equal the amount of coverage that I need to be fall out shelter rated.
Did you see the video where I show how we 'wired' the unit?
Oh- and the births... I would definitely do that again. We've slept in our unit on several occasions; we get several tornadoes a year come through here and we fall asleep in the night down there when the winds kick up. The feeling I get now having a shelter is beyond mentioning. I feel alive again. My stress levels during spring have dropped tremendously! Now, I film storms and watch others as they scatter for safety and just know I've got my family 'covered'- literally! LOL! What state are you in? I'm in Indiana.
I am in NC,I have a slideshow posted from our 2011 Tornado's ,I saw a similar shelter to those here with the 2 entrances which gave me that idea to have a 2nd exit,also in their gallery I see a unit under a carport type shed which I can do less expensive than a room addition. i figure it will also make a great root cellar for my onions and potatoes from my organic garden. I am lucky enough to have friends in both concrete and who have heavy equipment from pond and culvert work. I have looked at several options for a above ground but like this best.I did not see the how you wired the shelter video,but would very much like to,thanks for anything else you can tell me or suggest. I do have a genie out back of my shed 100feet from the house and vented,love the honda engine ,cranks on the first pull since 2000,I was a temp electrician in the music business for many years and have a bit of electrical knowledge. We were just on the edge of the warnings for the bad storms that hit Ga. I am interested in any possible advice on the best way to get the possible Fema rebates I am on a very level lot. Thanks
I hope they anchored that down and poured in a lot of concrete to make sure it can't float out of the ground. I just can't mix the words storm shelter and electrical wires together and then try to reason that with lightning strikes that are seeking the nearest route to ground aka earth. Honestly once I saw all that water having to be pumped out that's where the steel box vault story would have ended but that's my personal opinion.
5/22/21,,,,Very interested.....first time I have seen these installed, watched several today, but none like this that was going to be attached to the house/built on room....anxious to see this..... hope I can find this channel again, since it says Our Little Homestead !!! nothing little about this house !!!why the name.....?This looks like a more expensive home in a great neighborhood ......What state is this in ?
Well I just read all of these comments and found them very interesting...... and I have learned now that you sold this house that you had a tornado shelter installed in....so this is old news now.....but I still may go back and watch some of the videos....so are you & hubby traveling now to see the world ? Enjoy yourself if you are, and post pics and explain it all to the ones who can't afford to go.....lol unless I win the lottery and I do not see that happening......I've never been to the Grand Cayon either, just went to Vegas, for a long week-end with my Sister, we had a great time.....saw Wayne Newton's show he was there at the time.....never got to see my fav. of them all tho....ELVIS.....but I have most all his DVD'S, CD'S, BOOKS, , etc.....gave away a lot of things I had collected thru the years, had to downsize and get rid of some stuff.....lol.....but kept all my music & books of him tho.....
Having this shelter ,next to the house may not be good ,if house collapses on it ,how do you get out?
Just curious, why didn’t you have a safe room built when added on to your home instead of digging an underground shelter? Your safe room could serve multi purposes? Btw.. I absolutely love your channel!! I have not canned in years until I seen you do it. We have started again this year!! Thanks so much for the wealth of information you share with us!! 💛
I already have a safe room in the house and I built the bunker for tornadoes and I SELL them...that is why I built the room...they are my samples to show clients.
In other words it was a write off
If the power goes out how do you plan on watching TV and use the lights
Generator
@Our Little Homestead would you recommend using an excavator? or a backhoe when digging a pit that deep for a storm shelter?
Pardon me if I'm just ignorant to the fact but what would the use be of adding power and/or water to a storm shelter if an F4/F5 tornado is going to totally decimate power service to a town, let alone a home? I've never understood it. I figured the longest one would have to wait it out in a storm shelter would be an hour or so, max.
We have a generator attached. We'd have enough power to run power saws, do clean up and have a place to sleep while we did clean up.... Mine is also nuclear fall-out shelter/filtered, and it also can be used as a faraday box.
But mostly, Indiana wind and tornado storms!
We've spent the night down there several times as we were too tired to come back up and wanted to get some 'safe' sleep from severe weather that pushed through.
Plus, even if you did not have the generator, you'd still have power while down there right up to a point when you did get hit or have a power outage. Which our power lines are all underground in out town so we don't get many outages in storms either way. So, usually our lights stay on.
It's very rare here to have an outage.
Add in that you wait out a storm for 45 minutes to 2 hours (on average) and most times, it's a CLOSE CALL.
I'd want to wait with TV radar and weather and news on, TV for children, movies to calm a friend...etc... the lights make it less scary as well.
Mine looks like a cubby cabin of a sailboat.
The grands love it down there. LOL!
Being in the dark is not necessary, especially since mine is INDOORS, and, since odds are you will ride it out and you'll be untouched by a tornado.
But we filmed 3 tornadoes pass our house in just one summer and I relaxed in bunker as they passed by; I had all the conveniences of the above ground house...but in a steel casing!
But, if you can bear sitting for hours in the dark or with a few flashlights burning up batteries...I say, more 'power; to you! Hehe! I'm not keen on being in the dark while a severe storm rages around me.
I wish I had your knowledge. I want to ask you a million questions but I will narrow it down and send them in a steady timely manner. About how much should I expect to spend to do a project like this? What should I have in it for 3 adults. I am in TX. I will not have your knowledge overnight but how or where should I begin?
That's so cool
집이 무너지면 문이 안열릴텐데 벙커의 기본이 주변에 출입구을 막을 만한것이 없어야 합니다. 판매자가 알려줘야 하는데 벙커설치시 주의하세요 환풍구와 출입구 안전성 유압작기는 필수품 입니다.
So Janie are your rooms grounded to take a lightning strike? Metal is a conductor.
What is the total price when completed?
How much for this ....I'm very interested in this..I live in a slab house...no basement
how much is that cost and what sizej is that?
Is this electrical system hooked to a back-up generator of some sort? If not none of the systems you propose to put in the shelter are going to work, no electricity, no internet, lights or TV. Just curious, I'm all for the shelter, just thinking what happens during the storm when local utilities go out.
+Thad Axtman Yes, we have everything hooked to an automatic turn on generator; it's away from shelter so exhaust does not kill those inside; put it at least 20 feet away; ours is buried with a metal grate for breathing of the engine within. I studied Diesel and High Compress Gas Engines at Purdue so if you need any help, let me know. Hubby is not only a Surgeon for the Army (retired) he is also a plumber and electrician; he does all my wiring now that he is home for good.
I would be reluctant running AC power into an all steel structure that needs to take a lot of shock that could potentially cause a short. DC power would be safer.
DC would be extremely dangerous as well it also uses a "ground".
did you attach a anode to the shelter to prevent it from rusting?
Susie Q It has 2 coats of coal tar epoxy on the exterior and a rust-proofer on the interior; has a French drain to keep water pulled away and the shelter is covered in concrete and then stones.
What happens if house collapses in storm on top of the door of the shelter? Would it not of been better to have the shelter away from the house in case of collapse?
Brian Burdis I have a 3-ton jack in the shelter, we have cell phones , 2 wave radios, whistles, and geo-tracking... debris can cover any shelter, especially when you are in town .... it. Only matters that it's water-proof and not 'below' your house water line flow. I've seen many ppl put them in garage floors... under cars 🚗 and they either couldn't reach them or the water main in garage wall was higher then the lower slope of garage floor and they filled up with broken main water...again... a jack deletes those issues...
I was more thinking that if house wall collapsed onto the door a jack probably wouldnt help much, It may lift the door but rubble would fall in. You have such a large plot of land my thinking was if it was clear of the house this would not happen. Radios and cell phones are great if local towers etc are all still intact and if the power is still on. Anyway the install was great and im no nothing lol
Thanks for the great you tube channel
You're welcome! Btw...sold all the land around us and we are surround by houses...some just a few feet from our property line...We found 11 acres we can afford with a huge Amish house on it...but with just us two...I don't want the bill of mowing and maintaining such a property...I'd rather get the RV and see the state I've lived in for 50 years and see the surrounding states as well. I've never even seen the Grand Canyon! Seriously!! I know foreigners who come here to study and they see more of USA, than I've seen! LOL! Hopefully, I'll get this house listed and sold soon and be off on a great adventure!
@@OurLittleHomestead What ? Really I've been reading all this video and you have everything already safe for you & all your family and you are going to sell and travel ??? I can't believe it.....you know you can run into tornados other places too, won't you be afraid to travel and run into something like this ??? You don't have to sell the perfect safe home you have to travel, keep it and go on trips and come home, after you've traveled awhile, you will be glad to get back home to your safe place .....you are just kidding right ???
I'm federally licensed and sell emergency housing to FEMA. We have some of the best ship building/ welders available for custom shelters as well. I sell Community shelters that hold up to 500 persons and bullet proof rooms as well as the under and above ground storm shelters. They will handle an F-5 tornado or high wind speeds. If you would like to see my brochures...just shoot me a line here and I'll get you my email and phone number. We're backed up to August on orders going to OK and TX.
In some places looks like the welding isn’t well done or is it the camera .,...
we need a distributor like you in Colorado. I am very interested in this.
Looked like the field drain was working. Did you repair it?
Yep! It cost me $2,700 bucks to re-run it around my house. I'm hoping for economic reasons...it doesn't happen to me again! LOL
Oh dang, well your project looks nice good job.
Thanks! It all came together and we got the addition built on the house as well as the bunker installed. Now, when those tornadoes go sailing past every year, I'm not crawling out of my skin. LOL
What if your house collapses on your door ? It does'nt open from the interior so basically you're traped in there...
Yes, it opens from the inside and we have a 3 ton jack that will get debris off our door. Also we have drains so that that shelter can not flood and a sump pump hooked to both house elect. barn elect and generator.
I'd have to say get out of me and my boys way and go make some sandwiches. 😂 just kidding. Great job and very nice shelter. Excellent team work.
LOL... I'm a Custom Home Builder, and have built 70 houses while hubby was a surgeon/professor in the Army, full time. He was trying and I couldn't get him to stand back. But what better way to learn than to do. I'm a great cook and would happily make you and the hardworking boys sandwiches! We keep a smoker going on the job site almost daily! Keep a kitchen table and outdoor oven next to jobsite RV as well. I camp on my rural jobsites and we feed my crews often. Actually, they are spoiled and now just expect I'll have a good ole' pie baking! Today is Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie and Beef Manhattans! YUM!
@OurLittleHomestead That is awesome thank you for the reply. I wish you both the very best of luck in everything your family does.
looks like it needs to be another 4 feet further in the ground
How is it vented?
Hello dear 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
hope you are having a nice day over there📩📩📩📩💌💌💌💌💌💌💌
The major problem of this the sinkhole
I heard a story of a family of 5 who were in there during a storm. There was a flood and they almost all drowned.
No worries, we have a sump pump and we have a generator and elect from two supplies. Our community utilities are all buried. Our generator will kick on. It's happened before. I have drainage in place if it doesn't. :P
Ventilation?
Yes, it's under the door.
I can’t believe that shelter doesn’t have an exterior coating
where's the next video
Just go to my channel and search "storm shelter' or ' room addition' it should pop up...if not, I'll fetch that link for you. There are dozens more.
I thought you were supposed to have 3 feet of dirt over your bunker for radiation shielding?
This is true! My bunker is for tornadoes mostly but... I have; 3" insulation foam board + 30" of top soil + 6 " of solid concrete with re-inforced rebar poured + 4" more of top soil plus landscape paper and then 2-4" of builder's sand under the 3" thick paving stones which top it all off ... all protected by a solid concrete poured stone wall; both inside room and out. This gives me an equivilant of 43" solid fall-out protection (see equivalent chart below). And a stone waterfalls on top of all this that is four feet tall. :P
And...if SHTF... I also have another load of sand for sandbags standing nearby (you can put a baby pool full of water on top of shelter or landscape mound on top as well.
It wouldn't take much to get it covered at this point. Maybe 1/2 hour at most. Inside of house where door of shelter is located ... we have more than enough solid concrete poured with gravel and plastic and insulating foam board ... wood flooring...roofing paper...etc... the only place I'm lacking is at the door itself which is an issue, and, I've got that figure out with sand bags, 3" foam board, and a newly designed filter system as well.
If I did it again, I'd raise the neck of steps by another 8" to get even deeper in earth, and, I'd run steps at an angle to the opening of shelter for further fall-out protection. I'd put in a submarine para scope as well. Still might do this. Plus we are in the process of designing a charcoal filter for the vents to get better airflow around door.
Concrete is denser than soil and stops fall out with less thickness; here are the ratios to soil for coverage:
The following shows examples of shielding materials that equal the protection of 4 inches (10 cm) of concrete:
• 5 - 6 inches (12 - 15 cm) of bricks
• 6 inches (15 cm) of sand or pea gravel
• 7 inches (18 cm) of earth
• 8 inches (20 cm) of hollow concrete block or 4" solids
• 10 inches (25 cm) of water (if pool water is then covered you also have a drinking/flushing/bathing/cooking source)
• 14 inches (35 cm) of books or magazines
• 18 inches (46 cm) of wood
* 5" of solid insulation foam board
Janie Pendleton you can by charcoal im pregnated filter media from home depot that's cut to fit.
Janie Pendleton you can buy charcoal impregnated filter media from Home Depot, that's cut to fit.
good job, I like somebody like you that thoughtfully provides for their family!
Mus1ims rTreacherous Tx! I see I'm not the only early bird on this icy morning! we got his hard with the stuff! Limbs down, schools closed.
You're a babe, Janie.
That carabeener is not rated for lifting
That was a quick-link but you're correct. Heavy lifting should be done with shackles and slings rather than quick links and chains. It's just much safer.
or just have a basement
My friend lost her legs from hiding in a basement when the fireplace brick and the porch brick archway to the entry collapsed on her. Basements are not safe unless you have a room that is built to hold that kind of weight and debris. Basements are better than none however. So many ppl on slab homes or live in mobile homes. I get petrified when in a strong storm pops up and we're in our RV. YIKES!
Janie Pendleton well basements are made to with stand tornados in tornado alley
I'm a custom home builder and not a single basement that I've visited has been designed to withstand 250 mile per hour wind on the upper floors where collapse is possible where the wt is not distributed evenly (which in a tornado it would not be...it's not the basement or walls that protect you it's the ceiling/floor joist that hold up the debris, for the most part ... it's the ceiling/floor joists that are not designed to hold the wt of an entire roof, truss and brick system when it falls; even "I"-joist are only designed to hold a floor joist at 16” spacing’s that can carry 53 pounds per linear foot would translate into a 318 pound single point load at its center. That is minimal compared to the wt of a truss and roof system that has been collapsed.
Location and configuration of heavy loads should be looked at on a case by case basis. For especially heavy loads it is recommended to have a structural engineer research the floor framing sizes and layout before using it as a shelter. It can be easily modified however with 10-gauge steel ceiling plates and steel I-beams. I know of no basement company that installs steel beams vs wood floor joists or engineered I-joists, unless it's for a commercial job
BTW... I live and build in tornado alley and near the Madrid Fault. Also, basements are not designed to prevent flooding/drowning with the electricity off the sump pumps don't work and they can fill up quickly in a downpour.
Two things can still happen, you can get electrocuted or you can drown in your basement if trapped. Bunkers are waterproof and designed not to collapse under a heavy load. Basements are best when you have no place else to go. Just be sure and get under stairwell or a heavy-duty table. Be sure to take a 3 ton jack with you to remove debris out of the exit locations.Just my opinion, for what it's worth...but...if basements were safe, the President wouldn't need a bunker! LOL! True!
Janie Pendleton
most basements you see in nebraska has a room that is meant to withstand those kind of winds also if your on a hill drowning is pretty much impossible. And no its not a specific room that is marked "Storm Room" there was a room put in by say someone like you. Now im not saying this is not going to work im just saying most people dont have the time or money to deal with this. for example my storm room is far away from a source of electricity so your pretty good on that end. I live on a steep hill away from most and lakes. Also my city has gone great lenghts to stop any "major" flooding to happen. my storm room is underground of course and the lowest part of my basement and yes we do have we do have multiple tools for digging debris out of are way and a pretty nifty tornado kit.
Our Little Homestea
Why waste money on running electric to it chances are if you get hit your losing power. Better off with battery lamps and keep extra batteries in
Im sorry but the thumbnail view looks like a dumpster.
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