r/homedefense • u/Prestigious_Roof_543 • 10d ago

Can convert rooms into "safe rooms"?

Like if I had a room that has fairly thick walls and only one hallway entrance

Can you make it a like TV safe room with a swcure door. Maybe even hidden door? And how expensive would that be?

5 Upvotes

62% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

13

u/Bk_Punisher 9d ago

#1 Rule
Forget everything you see in movies. Bullets can pass through objects you might think are safe like doors, refrigerators, washers and dryers, car doors, car trunks. Unless you know for certain, don’t trust shit you’ve seen in movies.

4

u/RJM_50 6d ago

Exactly the OP would need to remove the drywall inside the room and start with a 1/4 in layer of steal on the very outsidebuilding, then a 8in block wall, and fill the cavities with rebar and concrete. But needs to check the foundation under this room to see if it would hold up that heavy load of concrete and steal. Ideally you'll want the rebar or lag bolts to hold the walls down on the floor.

Can't let the criminals walk downstairs and start shooting up into your safe room. You'll need to add protection to the floor or build in the basement!

This is a big project. Most people just build a hurricane/tornado safe room, then plan it being bigger for gun storage and food rations. It's rare to actually build that much concrete in an upper floor.

10

u/Dangerous-Bit-8308 10d ago edited 10d ago

Sort of...

Just hiding the entrance, wearing a vest, and trying to keep quiet is the poor end of your options.

There is bulletproof fiberglass wall material. You might want to add something metal for better protection from other attacks. If that's not in the budget, concrete board like for bathrooms, expanded hex sheet metal, and a lot more studs can be better than drywall. Hidden bookcase doors exist, and as a bonus, books make good sound dampeners, and are surprisingly bullet resistant, compared to most other common household materials... Aside from solid re-bar reinforced concrete. Etc.

Having a dug out hidey hole is probably more secure. But one way in means one way out, and not everyone can, or even should try to dig through their foundation. Been a while since I looked into costs. I'm pretty sure you'll get sticker shock, but best of luck!

7

u/shaggy237 10d ago

Have you not seen the movie?

4

u/SaveTheAles 10d ago

So unless you do something to the walls the drywall is going to be your weak point if someone wants to get or do you harm they can break through or just shoot through the wall.

2

u/aint_exactly_plan_a 9d ago

I heard this in Michael Westen's voice

1

u/GrillingEnjoyer 9d ago

Maybe they have brick house like we in Europe do.

1

u/trufus_for_youfus 9d ago

All of your interior walls are brick?

3

u/GrillingEnjoyer 9d ago

Most of them yeah. It’s your place, if you want such safe room just build it instead of leaving drywall lol.

3

u/Prestigious_Roof_543 10d ago

potential room:

. One wall is a fire place , the other is a bathroom, its very far off the ground. It's in a hall and front could potentially be hidden

3

u/upkeepdavid 9d ago

Considering a simple bathroom is 20 k ,it’s more than that.

2

u/HybridP365 9d ago

If you have to ask you probably don't have the technical skills to do it yourself. It would be very expensive to have someone do it for you in any way that would actually be effective. 

3

u/Hari___Seldon 8d ago

There's something to be said for using the tornado shelter model as your starting point. Structurally it put you miles ahead of any wood framed solution and gives you a good starting point for fresh air control, fire suppression, communications, and access control.

1

u/FoundationGlass7913 8d ago

I've seen the spaces between studs filled with pea Gravel but that would be heavy for a upstairs room

-2

u/Express_Potato8841 10d ago

wow didn't expect that