As I covered our building with energy efficiency and maintenance reduction in this post – Building and Energy Saving House – we also included a “safe room” in that building. We live in Tornado prone Oklahoma, so we included a full concrete, Below ground, Safe room and it’s main purpose is the lower level bathroom. As I stated in the article above, there are a few things I would have done different but suffice to say we have a room that is safe, secure, and a good place to lock up important things, that you do not want to disappear. – WD0AJG
Interested in creating a safe room? While having a full fledged safe room built can be an expensive and difficult process, turning one of the existing rooms of your house into something that will serve essentially the same function is actually pretty simple to do. With a few supplies and a good plan, you can use an existing room in your house as a functional safe room for emergency situations.
Choosing Your Room
One of the first things to consider when choosing a safe room is which room you want to use. Look for an interior room of your home that is quick and easy for anyone in the house to reach. Frequently the best option is either a bathroom or walk in closet. If you don’t have an interior room available, look for an exterior bathroom or closet with either no windows or one small window and work with that.
Making It Safe
To turn your room into a safe room, the first thing to do is replace your door with one that has a solid core. A cheap door that is easy to kick through will not be able to protect you and your family from much of anything. Installing a solid core door with strong hinges and a good lock is frequently all you need to do to keep an intruder at bay until you call the police. For a lock, a sliding bolt on the inside will work best, but only if you don’t have children young enough that locking themselves in may be a danger. In that case, get the best lock you can find that can be unlocked from either side with your key in case of a child emergency.
Communication
The most important thing for any safe room to have is a method to communicate with authorities in case of an emergency. A cell phone will work fine as long as you make sure it is always charged and can get a signal inside the room. If you know how to use one, something like a CB or Ham radio makes a great choice. If your room has power outlets, make sure you keep the power cord or charger for whatever you are using available as well. If not, an extra battery is always a good idea.
Other Equipment
If your room does not have running water, make sure you store about a gallon of water per person. Make sure any first aid supplies your family may need are accessible in the panic room, and keep at least a day of any important medication available if it isn’t already being stored in a medicine cabinet in the room. Items like a battery operated radio and flashlight plus extra batteries can be great to have in an emergency, as well as something like books to keep everyone entertained through a long wait.
The government suggests keeping duct tape and plastic on hand for sealing off air vents and windows in case of a chemical weapons attack as well. If you do end up sealing off the room, keep in mind that you can only stay in a sealed room for about 5 hours per square foot before the air becomes dangerous. Usually, the wind will blow away any potential threat long before that much time has elapsed.
Joe Cline writes articles for Austin TX realtor. Other articles written by the author related to Austin Texas commercial real estate and Pflugerville real estate can be found on the net.
Author: Joe Cline
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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