The goal is to be safe but some safe rooms may be more convenient or attractive than others. Depending on the number of people you need to accommodate, the available space you have to work in, and your budget, your choices might vary. Solid wood or metal doors are a good option consider using an exterior heavy wooden door for an interior safe room, and reinforce the sides with metal for added security. It should also be constructed of heavy material that cannot be kicked in by an intruder or blown in by a storm. The door should open inwards, in the event that a storm piles debris outside the door.A below-ground safe room must be able to withstand flooding or water accumulation in the event of heavy rains.Additionally, the structure should be independent of surrounding rooms in your home or business, so that any damage done to the home will not affect the safe room. You need to make sure that the spaces where the room is connected, like wall and ceiling joints, are designed to withstand wind.A structural engineer will be needed to make those decisions. That does not mean, however, that protection against an EF-2 tornado need be only half as strong. Note that FEMA's P-320 design guidelines make no mention of the varying storm strengths and thus appear to be designed to protect against an EF-5 tornado (which has twice the wind speed of an EF-2). You will need to design the walls, door and ceiling to be able to stand up to high wind pressure, as well as resist penetration or crushing from flying or falling debris.The room must be anchored securely to ensure that it does not lift or overturn in high winds or a tornado.The room should not have windows, but if it does, they should be very small (too small for a burglar to crawl through) and constructed of Plexiglass to prevent shattering. Concrete walls are a great choice, but if you want to adapt an existing wooden-walled room, you can reinforce the insides of the walls with steel sheathing.
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