Build a tornado shelter

[Back40]

I am considering adding a tornado shelter to my property. Right now we have none... And kind of need one.

But, it's $6k for a 7x10 shelter. Anybody have any idea how difficult it would be to build one? Got any plans or schematics?

I can have the hole dug for about $180. Or rent a backhoe and do it cheaper. I know some guys who are handy with concrete too.

Suggestions? Anybody done this before?

 

[Donfini2]

I would build a root/storm shelter before spending that much. Google a concrete block calculator and put in the size you want for a good estimate on cost of materials. Lots of plans floating on the net.

https://waldenlabs.com/how-to-build-a-root-cellar-in-7-steps/
This one used 320 blocks

 

[Fertig]

My mother was from OK. She lived there 1911-1939. She told me the family often sheltered in the cellar from tornadoes although though she never described the cellar in detail. This leads me to believe just being underground and sheltered from things crashing down on your head will work just fine. Donfini's root cellar looks to be very strong and doubles as a root cellar----hell, I want one myself and I am not even in tornado country.

 

[Bud]

I have this and it was delivered installed for $2,900. It's actually a little bigger than what you want. It supposedly will shelter 8 but they better coat themselves with Wesson oil before they slide in:

 

[WhiteWolf]

Block is easy to work with for a root/storm shelter... but there are different kinds of blocks and patterns for laying, too. You want to be able to fill the voids in those blocks with concrete & tie the rows together with rebar, I think... for the strongest walls... and thermal mass, too.

 

[Back40]

My greatest concern is the ceiling... and also some method of removing condensation. I can rent some equipment, dig the hole, place the blocks, a bit of rebar and fill them full of concrete. But, the ceiling... that's the tough one.

 

[Optimist]

Neighbor of mine built an underground house. He got the walls cast in place, filled the space with sand, and used that to support the roof pour. Worked well, and he's been living there about thirty years now. He used shop vacs to empty the sand out after the pour set up. Took him about a week....

 

[sarco2000]

I used to install communications or electrical manholes as part of my job. You can get some pretty big manholes. They come in 2 halves, an upper half and lower half, with a thick tar sealant between the two. You can also get concrete necks for when the manhole is deep. You could check them out as an option. Because they don't sell as "tornado shelters" with that pricey name attached, they might be cheaper.

You'd have to figure out how to make a round entry door on top, but it wouldn't be that hard.

 

[WhiteWolf]

oooooo.....hobbit hole!

 

[WhiteWolf]

40 - heavy steel i-beams come to mind. But perhaps, since the root cellar isn't that large a space, heavy wooden beams would work as well. Run them across the short span; keep them fairly close together. In my neck of the woods, there's usually a second story on top. Guest cottage, storage, etc.

 

[Sentinel one]

I have this and it was delivered installed for $2,900. It's actually a little bigger than what you want. It supposedly will shelter 8 but they better coat themselves with Wesson oil before they slide in:

Looks like you might get to try it out, Bud..
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weat...tential-this-week-for-eastern-canada/70004831

 

[sauced07]

I am considering adding a tornado shelter to my property. Right now we have none... And kind of need one.

But, it's $6k for a 7x10 shelter. Anybody have any idea how difficult it would be to build one? Got any plans or schematics?

I can have the hole dug for about $180. Or rent a backhoe and do it cheaper. I know some guys who are handy with concrete too.

Suggestions? Anybody done this before?

Might be a dumb question, but what about a few sections of those concrete culvert pipes? Maybe even one depending on the size. Entrance on one end and cap off the other. Just a thought.

 

[Bud]

I am in SW Missouri about 35 miles south of Joplin. Every town around us on all three borders (I am in the corner of the State with AR just 8 miles south and OK about 20 miles west) has been all or partially flattened in the last 20 years. Last year, Goodman just to our north and Neosho just a little further north both had heavy damage from tornadoes.
Joplin, of course, had an EF5 that killed 158 just 7 years ago

 

[Sentinel one]

We get a few up here, but nowhere near the amount you folks see down there.
I was a mile away from this one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Woodstock,_Ontario,_tornado
I was helping my cousin unload my Mom's piano into his farmhouse.
20 minutes later, every Amish horse and buggy and wagon was heading into
Woodstock with food and supplies.. very impressive people. My cousin went
to check on a buddy, and the guy's van had been lifted off the driveway,
and dropped into a pool 3 blocks away without a scratch on it. Saw a few in Tulsa
Ok. in '93 when I was working there... that was pretty damn scary..

 

[The Branch Manager]

I've got an idea.

 

[Donfini2]

I have this and it was delivered installed for $2,900. It's actually a little bigger than what you want. It supposedly will shelter 8 but they better coat themselves with Wesson oil before they slide in:

Buds party shelter!

 

[Vader]

Just bury a shipping container.

 

[Optimist]

Might be a dumb question, but what about a few sections of those concrete culvert pipes? Maybe even one depending on the size. Entrance on one end and cap off the other. Just a thought.

They are available in six foot lengths, most sizes. Putting them down calls for a really firm compacted base prior to positioning, and sealing them, one to another, with a good grade of sealant. After that, earth berming them and planting sod will give a very tough and sustainable structure that is far more likely to survive extreme conditions than will a buried shipping container or other improvised structure. The build I saw that used this capped the ends with poured concrete, though I suppose it could be done with filled cinder blocks.

 

[O:gweh]

Did you ever end up doing anything with this project @ Back40?

 

[Back40]

Unfortunately, no. A few things happened that severely tightened up our finances and put a halt to all of our more expensive projects, just to be safe. Things we had no control over.

It's still on the list. There's a good chance those unforseen items will be taken care of within the first six months of this year, and then we'll get something in. That's my hope, anyway!