The Storm Shelter – Episode 7 of Building a Farmhouse

In today’s episode we will be discussing the storm shelter. Despite living in 3 previous homes with basements, we opted to build our forever home without one. There were certain inconveniences that we had experienced with having one throughout the years and we believed this to be the right choice for this house. 

We were glad we went this route, because our land has a lot of rock throughout the property. This was encountered as we began digging trenches for electrical and holes for the septic tanks etc. So, honestly it worked out for the best. 

However, this left us without a place for refuge in case of really bad weather, etc. My husband then opted to create a safe room inside of the house. 

The safe room would be comprised of cinder blocks and attached to the slab. It would also have a cement roof so that it was completely enclosed and reinforced. 

Of course, since our plans did not come with this in mind we had to take it upon ourselves to select and create the space. We found that the best place was in our walk in master closet. It was big enough and it was the only place we could spare to lose a window. 

Yes, it had a window. Who on earth needs a window in their closet where they change? 

This work was done by 2 different crews. We hired the same crew who built our block border for our foundation and they did a great job on the walls. It took 2 days to build since they needed to build the first half, let it cure, then come back for the second portion. 

The second crew we used, was the one who worked on our slab. We used metal sheets at the top and supported them so that they could pour the roof. Then they connected the roof and walls with rebar and cement. 

The safe room will have a metal door that is meant for safes as well. The room will have lighting and power and ventilation just like any room. And once the drywall goes up inside, you won’t even know the walls are reinforced. 

So as far as aesthetics is concerned it won’t hinder us having a nice master closet. We did end up losing a couple of feet of the total width due to the size of the blocks, but it’s still very comfortable and will fit all our things just fine. 

For more information to and to see the step by step process. Check out the full episode below.

I hope you enjoyed this and I will see you back here in the next one.

Until then…. adios!