Pre-fabricated shelters can offer a low-cost turnkey solution to adding a safe room to your home.
In all instances, the local building official, an architect, or an engineer should be consulted. The weak link when it comes to the extreme forces created by tornados is in the connections – the bolts, the screws, the rebar, down to the smallest detail! A great option for adding a new safe room to an existing home or building is to create a whole new separate addition, a below-ground bunker somewhere nearby on the property, or even under the garage slab. CMU Safe Room Plans and Details (Source: FEMA P-320, Drawing SR1.0) Renovation or Addition (New Shelter, Existing Home)Īdding a safe room to an existing home or business can be extremely complex and expensive simply because it’s not sufficient to reinforce existing walls or roofs. FEMA’s intention is that a homeowner can take these drawings, hand them to an architect or contractor, and as long as the builder sticks to the FEMA drawings, your safe room is compliant. Even better, the FEMA construction documents offer solutions in concrete: concrete, masonry and wood. All walls, ceiling, anchors, and even the foundation are designed and tested to act as a safe room. Included with the FEMA P320 book are construction-ready plans and details for viable storm shelters. FEMA can help you decide whether you truly need a safe room (spoiler – in the Midwest the answer is yes), where it should be located, and even offers pre-designed construction plans! Let’s explore what FEMA has to offer:Īppropriate Types of Safe Rooms for New and Existing Homes and Buildings (Source: FEMA P-320, Table 3.1)Ĭonstruction, Applicability and Access for Safe Rooms (Source: FEMA P-320, Table 3.2) New Construction (New Shelter, New Home) Consult your local building official.įEMA offers a plethora of resources related to small safe rooms.
FRAMING AROUND METAL SAFEROOM CODE
If your business (or residence) needs to protect more than 16 people or falls outside the scope of the P320 document, then the Ohio Building Code requires additional architectural, engineering, fire safety, ventilation, and more to be considered. Warning: The P320 book only covers recommendations and design assistance with safe rooms housing up to 16 people.
FRAMING AROUND METAL SAFEROOM FREE
It’s free to order or download, and targets homeowners, homebuilders, and small business owners. Your first stop in deciding to build a safe room in your home or small business is FEMA’s P320 document. This article focuses on residential or small safe rooms. Rather, “storm shelters” are designed in accordance with ICC-500 and mostly applies to commercial construction. “Storm Shelters” are not intended to meet the more strict FEMA requirements. FEMA describes a safe room as providing “near absolute” protection. However, safe rooms are built and operated in accordance with the FEMA recommendations. The terms “Safe Room” and “Storm Shelter” are nearly synonymous in everyday language. But before we go any further, let’s get our nomenclature straight. Not only do I understand the engineering code requirements, I design shelters, I present on shelters, and I’ve witnessed the destructive power of tornadoes firsthand. You’ve decided you want a personal tornado shelter.
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