Storm shelter

[curly_kate]

We are moving to a trailer temporarily while we build a house on our farm (won't be ready until next summer). With the horrible tornadoes that have devastated the south, and the nasty thunderstorms that have rolled thru here lately, DH & I have determined we need to build a storm shelter. Do you guys have any suggestions of a fairly quick and economical way to do this? When we build, we are going to have a basement, so this is really only a temporary solution.

 

[Wannabefree]

Got a cave on the property? I dunno a "economical" way to build one really...I'm just going to bury an old van or something with the back doors sticking out for the entrance

 

[KevsFarm]

I don't blame you, sounds like a wise idea.I don't know, but would guess a storm shelter would best be made of cement.I don't know if it would be cheaper built of cement blocks or poured like they do alot of house foundations these days..If you have plenty of nice sized field stones laying around the land , you can build it cheaper with them, and just as strong.I've never looked at plans for a storm shelter, but doing it yourself and using rocks/field stones has to save you plenty of money, providing a strong underground shelter, i would think...

 

[country freedom]

We are going to do the same in digging and putting in a storm shelter.

I looked for property with a cave that we could afford, but, no - each was too expensive.
We also looked for property that had a basement, plus everthing else we want included, but , no - each property was lacking one thing or another, plus each was lacking in prettiness.
We are still going to buy this little piece of property we've had our eyes on for several months.
Just shy of 6 and a half acres, spring-fed creek, spring-fed pond (already stocked with fish), various fruit trees, carport, nice small 1 story house, one acre wooded, 5 open, 3 sides already fenced, pretty yard. This property won't flood either, as it is in the hills.
Small town nearby.
All this and no shelter from any crazy, nasty storm.
It does seem like the weeks are going by soooo sloooow, before we will be moving.
My oldest daughter is so near to having her baby boy, so we are staying until after her little one is born, just so we can help her out. We do want to be moved before July.

 

[KevsFarm]

Kentucky and West Virginia used to have a large number of properties for sale with caves a few yrs back.They were reasonably priced, i don't know whats left these days...As long as the cave doesn't have a bunch of loose rocks around.It could turn out to be a deadly tomb, instead of a life saving shelter, should it take a direct hit from a big cranking tornado or earthquake..!

 

[Boogity]

Hi CK - If you have a sloping terrain in the area where you want a shelter you might think about a large smokehouse partially buried in the ground. The fire box could be down the hill from the smokehouse with the connecting smokepipe underground. Build the smokehouse out of poured concrete walls and roof. You could back-fill around the walls with soil kind of like a berm home. In case of a storm emergency you could go to the smokehouse.

I built one on our old farm over in Ohio and it actually turned out very nice. We planted grass on the fill dirt and only about 12" of the smokehouse stuck out of the ground.

ETA: Were you up in Moore's Hill or down in Aurora when the storm came through this evening? We have several big oak trees down. Man! It was a doozie.

 

[sunsaver]

I started digging a storm/root cellar last fall. My plan was to pour a small slab and line the walls with cinder blocks. The dirt i dig out will be bermed up all four sides. This concrete box will be just big enough for me to lay down or sit yoga styled. This hole i started is under my house which, is up on blocks. I plan to cut a trap door in the guest bedroom, so i can dive in quickly. I guess i better get back to work on it. These storms arent getting any smaller.

 

[Marianne]

I hear ya. I'm in central Kansas, with a two story house and no tornado shelter.
Anything underground will work. I started checking into new poly fertilizer tanks, but they aren't quite tall enough and expensive. I heard about using big concrete culverts, but I haven't found out what the pricing is one them.
Earthbag building is an option, cheap, but labor intensive. Earthship type building (tires) is the same, cheaper but high in labor.
I'm kind of leaning towards the flying concrete type of structure - http://flyingconcrete.com . A barrel vault or dome shape is really strong, and he has pics of an underground wine cellar that he built.

 

[KevsFarm]

Sunsaver, your not kidding, these storms aren;t getting any smaller.Now they say that tornado in Joplin was 3/4 mile wide and the single deadliest tornado since 1953...
Boogity, that sounds like a great idea for a shelter, dual use...

 

[TanksHill]

At my cousins house in Mo they had one of those concrete culverts. Just angled a bit with steps going down. Buried in dirt with locking doors over the top.

I think anything would be better than nothing.

g