Safe/Panic Rooms

Steve.N wrote:I feel safest by owning a dog that is in the house with us. Most intruders hearing a big barking dog are likly to go somewhere else even if the big barking dummy would invite them in and show them the goods.

Dogs (especially large ones) are a formidable deterrent to both criminals & LEO's.
Any raid planning we ever did included specific plans for any known dogs on the premises. Dogs don't intimidate easily!

Yanche wrote:After the massive hurricane destruction in FL in the last decade or so, they upgraded their building codes to require hurricane safe rooms in homes. Anyone looking to build a "safe room" for their home should look at the FL and other hurricane prone state building codes. The construction techniques for the rooms have been extensively studied and tested. You could take advantage of their designs and be sure what you build will work. Wind driven objects have somewhat similar destructive forces to gun fired projectiles.

http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/saferoom/shplans/

I found that.

Safe Room (for storms) & Panic Room (for intruders) would probably best be separate rooms, as I think about it.

The easiest & safest place to build a solidly constructed Safe Room would be in the basement where you could use the cement foundation wall on at least one side & probably two sides, depending on your layout. It should be designed to withstand the entire house collapsing on it & be able to support your family living in it for a number of days, at least.
Usually, with storms...you can expect to have at least a few minutes warning to get the family together & head down into your safe room.
No such conditions are likely to exist in the event of a burglary/home invasion. I expect that FBI statistics show that most break-ins occur when the family is asleep upstairs, & thus a "Panic Room" would best be located in or near the bedrooms.
(mind you....I have absolutely no facts to back up what I'm thinking/saying here but it makes sense to me! )

I think, unless your home is built on a slab, you're probably better off with separate Safe & Panic Rooms, equipped differently for the different threats & probable occupancy time needed.

Devil505 wrote:Safe Room (for storms) & Panic Room (for intruders) would probably best be separate rooms, as I think about it.

The easiest & safest place to build a solidly constructed Safe Room would be in the basement where you could use the cement foundation wall on at least one side & probably two sides, depending on your layout. It should be designed to withstand the entire house collapsing on it & be able to support your family living in it for a number of days, at least.
Usually, with storms...you can expect to have at least a few minutes warning to get the family together & head down into your safe room.
No such conditions are likely to exist in the event of a burglary/home invasion. I expect that FBI statistics show that most break-ins occur when the family is asleep upstairs, & thus a "Panic Room" would best be located in or near the bedrooms.
(mind you....I have absolutely no facts to back up what I'm thinking/saying here but it makes sense to me! )
I think, unless your home is built on a slab, you're probably better off with separate Safe & Panic Rooms, equipped differently for the different threats & probable use time needed.

Dick, you are right on the money. That is why I called my room, a SAFE room. I don't store my weapons in it, just food, and the house could fall in, or be blown away, and that room is not going anywhere. I just need an extra small coal stove for that room, to heat us for a few days, without getting CO'ed.

I live in Maine for three reasons..... Amazing how this thread strikes at two of them.

OK, I suppose you want to know the reasons :

1: The weather will not kill you unless you let it. (no need for safe room for hurricanes or tornadoes)
2: There is nothing poisonous that will bite you and kill you.
3: If someone shoots and kills you... you know that person. (You don't run to a panic room when a "friend" comes to the door)

Freddy wrote:I live in Maine for three reasons..... Amazing how this thread strikes at two of them.

OK, I suppose you want to know the reasons :

1: The weather will not kill you unless you let it. (no need for safe room for hurricanes or tornadoes)
2: There is nothing poisonous that will bite you and kill you.
3: If someone shoots and kills you... you know that person. (You don't run to a panic room when a "friend" comes to the door)

You fail to take into account one very important (FBI warning) scenario Fred:

Suppose you are in your home in Maine....... (now stay with me here.......).....& suddenly the sky turns black with a violent (freak) tornado that blows an armed group of rabid home invaders onto your front yard where first they bite you & then they shoot at you!?!? (Now you'll wish you had that Panic Room....Won't you!!

But all those Canadians massing near the border, Fred. Gotta watch out for them. They'll be here wanting to force their socialism on you if you let your guard down. You know how those crazy Quebecois are wanting to speak French all the time and all that separatism talk ...

I just hope they bring lots of their good beer with them.

tvb wrote:But all those Canadians massing near the border, Fred. Gotta watch out for them. They'll be here wanting to force their socialism on you if you let your guard down.

I forgot all about that threat!!

(if I were you.......I'd build TWO Panic Rooms!!)

Yikes! I forgot about the Quebecans! Ohhhh, they can be a snidely bunch! But... they make a good breakfast and they know what to do with a potato.

Those rabid invaders... I'm prepared with anti-venom shots! I'll distract 'em with a coal puff back and inject 'em when they cower from the noise. Heheeee!