How to Build an Underground Safe Room
During the cold war era, building underground safe rooms were pretty popular among the masses. But over time, this trend was diminished as the world returned to somewhat normalcy. However, with the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the need for building an underground safe room has started to rise again!
These days, you can also buy prebuilt underground bunkers – However, they are usually expensive and may not contain all the things that you expect from a safe room building. On the other hand, building an underground bunker with all the important parts such as blast proof doors, blast proof windows, and walls can protect you and others from any danger or a disaster. And the best part is that building these underground bunkers from scratch costs less than the prebuilt ones!
When we talk about blast mitigation solutions, there are different types of safe rooms. But the most common ones include those which are at or above the ground level and those which are underground.
How to Build an Underground Safe Room
Let’s look at the steps involved in building an underground safe room with all the important components such as blast proof windows, blast proof doors, and blast proof walls:
1. Get the Permits
Before you can start working on a blast mitigation solution in your home, the first step is to get permission from the relevant departments! Failure to get the permission can get expensive since the local government can fine you heavily. Not to mention that it can endanger those around you – When we talk about underground buildings, there are a lot of things which are present underground such as water pipes, electrical wires, and so on!
In general, you will need the following:
- Grading Permit
- Plumbing Permit
- Electrical Permit
- Building Permit
- Discretionary Permit
2. Choose a Location
Once you have obtained the required permits, the next step is to choose an appropriate location for your underground bunker. Ideally, you should choose a private and safe location to ensure that you remain safe from any potential threats. If secrecy is also required, then choosing a location that’s not so obvious becomes important as well!
Follow these guidelines for choosing a location:
- Avoid locations that are close to the water as it can lead to flood and water damage.
- Avoid locations that are close to a flammable place or material.
- Avoid locations that are surrounded by trees.
- Avoid locations that are close to the utility lines.
3. Design Blueprint
Just like you would build a blueprint or a rough sketch of your house, you also need to develop a blueprint for the underground safe room. When you are designing a blueprint for the safe room, you should focus on security and safety rather than a luxury.
Normally, choosing an appropriate location and designing the blueprint for an underground safe room are usually done by the team or the contractors. Since we are talking about building highly safe rooms, it is best to leave such tasks to professionals who have expertise in this particular field.
4. Choose Right Building Material
The next and most important step is choosing the right building materials for the safe room. Since the safe room will be built underground, it becomes more important to choose strong materials that can withstand the extra pressure and must not crumble under the dirt!