A safe room is often a sight to marvel when the protagonist in a movie opens it up as a secret space to hide other characters. Alternatively, safe rooms provide a hidden passage to another room or so. As surprising as these may appear in a movie, such rooms are significant and are not a figment of the script writer’s imagination.
Safe rooms are also referred to as panic rooms. Trulia, a real estate site, reports that the words “panic room” appear on its listing only 0.00016% times. Most of the times, their location in a house is kept under wraps until a buyer is confirmed.
One can make a safe room himself while stuffing all the essential supplies in it. On the flip side, constructed panic rooms are also up for grabs in the market. A person only needs to ensure that the residential safe room unit is secured appropriately to the home owner’s house.
What are residential safe rooms?
Panic rooms that are designed for use in residential units are also called residential safe rooms. They provide a safe spot to the inhabitants of the house in the event of a natural or human disaster.
Such incidences include a hurricane, tornado, and other extreme weather anomalies. Safe rooms also provide shelter in case of a burglary, attack, or any other security concerns. At most, panic rooms can harbor sixteen people at one time. However, the sizes of the available residential units vary.
It is possible to make safe rooms in your house too. The DIY option entails using certain places in the house as makeshift safe rooms. These include a bathroom, a closet, or a pantry. These spaces serve as good options for a panic room because they contain no windows.
This antes up the safety. Additionally, a room with an inside wall is also ideal because it is safer. A person who gets a prefabricated storm cellar for his house can use it for other purposes too. However, one shouldn’t deviate from the main aims of protection and storage of emergency supplies.
Factors to consider when buying a residential panic room
There are several factors that a person should take into account when selecting a safe room for his house. Some important things to look into include the quality, size, and pricing of the safe room. Here is an overview of these vital factors for getting a storm cellar:
-Space
Residential safe rooms that are retrofitted in a house come in different sizes. The ideal size depends on the number of people living in a house. The size is derived by keeping in mind that a minimum of three feet space for standing and six feet of space for sitting is present.
-Complies with FEMA
When selecting a panic room, it is crucial to check that its making and design complies with the standards set by FEMA.
-High-quality
Another critical aspect to be mindful of is the quality and making of the residential panic room unit. A safe room should provide the best security and should also offer excellent ventilation. It is wise to make sure that below-ground panic rooms boast a design that discourages the accumulation of water during heavy rains.
-Location
When selecting a panic room, it is also essential to purchase one while bearing in mind its location in the house. It is best to get a safe room for an inside location. It is also crucial to consider the special needs of a person with disabilities in the family.
For instance, a handicapped person may not be able to descend the stairs. In that case, an interior safe room for the first floor is not a viable option.
-Warranty and proper installation
Choose a company for getting a safe room that provides secure installation and a lifetime warranty for the product. In other words, there should not be any additional labor or material charges should a person’s safe room need repair.
The warranty should cover door sets, slide bolts, all the steel walls, deadbolts, barrel hinges, and slide bolts of the panic room.
-Affordable pricing
Any investment is made only after considering all the costs involved. This applies to the purchase of safe rooms too. Since getting a panic room is a matter of the family’s safety, the investment in a storm cellar is a vital one.
Typically, the cost of constructing a safe room ranges anywhere between $2,500 and $6,000. There are grants and funds available that can take down the costs of a panic room. Another viable option is to get Safe Rooms for Sale. This can lessen the expenses too.
Last word
About five hurricanes hit the coastline of the US every year. At the same time, approximately 2,000,000 home burglaries are reported annually in the US. These stats set the need for getting a residential safe room. It is best to select a panic room after carefully scrutinizing the quality, warranty, size, and pricing among other factors.
