Looking to build a basement storm shelter and have questions. re: Egress Windows

[longbow]

Pm me some time. I can share some real world experiences to help you out. I've seen what an F4 tornado did and many other things from my insurance days.

 

[gunsisgood]

How about a tunnel from the basement to an outbuilding or garage ?

 

[IndyDave1776]

How about a tunnel from the basement to an outbuilding or garage ?

If you are going to do that, you need to include the stump in the woods and the stove in the commandant's quarters. Oh yes, and the tunnel to the dog house.

 

[ruger1800]

Just build a icf house, whole house will be a bunker

 

[17 squirrel]

I have a ex BIL that lives in VA, he has a poured concrete room ( six sides poured ) in his basement that's all below grade. He had to put a window well in that went below the bottom of the window that was installed in his safe / nuke / Hurricane room. The well and the window had to be large enough for a man to go through with the window glass & frame broken out.

 

[Mgderf]

Forget the window.
Yes, it would be an egress, but could also be an entrance.

Stock your storm/safe room with a 20 ton hydraulic bottle jack and the requisite timber to create your own egress when needed.
Unless you're under a concrete slab, and maybe even then if it's not too big, a 20 ton jack will do the trick.
Most new(er) houses today can be literally ripped apart with a 20 ton jack.

 

[DWS]

....... This sounds like a no-brainer, but then you think of the outside fiberglass storm/tornado shelters that people have put in that have no windows and nothing more than a hatch at ground level. Something could just as easily fall on top of one of these shelters and keep you inside until someone comes through, without even having an option for a window.?

One main thing to keep in mind here is that you do not want to have your egress "door" built to open out. Build it to open IN as this would still allow you to open the entrance if, say, a tree fell over the access point. Even at that point if you cannot exit - you still have the capability to work at / on the obstruction to remove it if possible.

 

[actaeon277]

Here we go...

1. An egress point can also be used as an ingress point. If this is to be a security room, I could see using steel plate over an ingress/egress point and perhaps SMALL windows backed up with bars for lighting and/or ventilation.

2. A storm cellar should not allow for a severe storm to send broken glass your direction as shrapnel.

3. A tunnel to the tree stump in the woods would be nice but probably not practical, therefore, I would stick with a steel plate egress point on a vertical surface. Again, make sure that you make it difficult to breach for entry purposes.

No tunnel in a tree stump?
Party pooper.

 

[17 squirrel]

Forget the window.
Yes, it would be an egress, but could also be an entrance.

Stock your storm/safe room with a 20 ton hydraulic bottle jack and the requisite timber to create your own egress when needed.
Unless you're under a concrete slab, and maybe even then if it's not too big, a 20 ton jack will do the trick.
Most new(er) houses today can be literally ripped apart with a 20 ton jack.

Let's not forget, there will be city, county and state building codes to follow.
I would be surprised if you could build a poured basement with the only access being the basement stairs with today's building codes in most places. And if you did it, you would be foolish.
Somehow I don't think with a fire burning at the top of the stairs you and your family will make it out trying to bust through a 6 to 8" concrete wall with a 20 ton bottlejack..

Here honey, I know it's getting hard to see and breathe but you gotta hold up this 6x6 so I can bust a hole in this wall...
There is a reason every commercial buildings and homes has two ways to exit.. The reason is FIRE..

 

[IndyDave1776]

No tunnel in a tree stump?
Party pooper.

Unfortunately, Col. Hogan and staff are not members of my escape committee!

 

[actaeon277]

Unfortunately, Col. Hogan and staff are not members of my escape committee!

Maybe you should rethink that.
Did you see their tunnels?

 

[IndyDave1776]

Maybe you should rethink that.
Did you see their tunnels?

Oh, I would love to employ their services. They just aren't available!

 

[Spear Dane]

If it was me I would put a bit of very cheap insurance in that room with me. A couple wrecking/pry bars. Shovel. A 10 ton hydraulic bottle jack. Some shoring lumber. A whistle or air horn.

 

[LtScott14]

I would go wth a window. Hinge down a steel cover, use a couple pieces of Styro Insul Board for weather guard. Install this after inspection/approval, and keep spare gear handy. Build some wall bunks, lifting bottoms for storage(hinged), plenty of battery lights/batterys, weather packed provisions. Radio, water, maybe install a water/gas/electric shut off to secure those. Spare cell phone, basic survival gear. Inward opening door, also 2x4 inside to bar the door unless you want it open. You can also put a removable bar across the window inside. Same idea.
Yes, do the room. Used once, it's paid for.

 

[Leadeye]

My home plan for tornadoes just has my wife and I in different rooms with no windows on opposite corners of the basement, it reduces the odds of both of us being trapped.

 

[Car Ramrod]

I would go wth a window. Hinge down a steel cover, use a couple pieces of Styro Insul Board for weather guard. Install this after inspection/approval, and keep spare gear handy. Build some wall bunks, lifting bottoms for storage(hinged), plenty of battery lights/batterys, weather packed provisions. Radio, water, maybe install a water/gas/electric shut off to secure those. Spare cell phone, basic survival gear. Inward opening door, also 2x4 inside to bar the door unless you want it open. You can also put a removable bar across the window inside. Same idea.
Yes, do the room. Used once, it's paid for.

I should have included this in my first post, but I didn't think it relevant to the question I was asking. I plan to use this room to house the bulk of the items I have stored at my house. So it will have food, water, radios, lights, batteries, et al in it.

I will for sure be building the room regardless of whether there is a window or not. I was more wanting help deciding whether or not the presence of the window would be a deal breaker. With the house we are currently looking at there is an area that has a window that would work, but it would just be a matter of figuring out how to shore the ceiling to leave decent headroom as there is an HVAC trunk line running the length of the area. The other issue is figuring out how to run the supports for the ceiling as the room would be rather long and narrow and, of course, the floor joists run the short length causing me to run the support ceiling the long length of the room.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Definitely a second egress opening. As someone mentioned up thread about cooking to death in the basement when the rubble above catches fire, it can happen. That's how one homeowner died in that staged gas explosion here in Indy a couple years ago. He was in the basement when his neighbors house blew up, knocking his down above him. He survived the blast, but died in the fire before firefighters could get him out. They knew he was there and we're trying to get him out but just couldn't do it in time.


Have you also considered building the safe room outside the footprint of the house?

 

[Car Ramrod]

Have you also considered building the safe room outside the footprint of the house?

Not really. That is more than likely well above my budget.

 

[Gadgetmonster]

Just a thought. No windows but safe.
Hide-Away© Storm Shelter / Safe Room

 

[woowoo2]

Not really. That is more than likely well above my budget.

Mine was a little over 5 grand, but I got the bigger one.
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