It’s funny how after all this time building houses, we are
still coming up with new and different rooms to include in our homes.
But after
Katrina, 9/11 and even the movie Panic Room, what was once considered
eccentric is now becoming a little more in vogue.
Architects and builders will say that panic rooms are a boutique construction
feature that is coming out of the closet, or in some cases, becoming the closet;
sometimes competing on homeowners' wish lists with cozy keeping rooms by the
kitchen and cutting-edge home theaters.
Panic rooms are not just for well-to-do with the irreplaceable art
collection. They don't all have to be ultra- high-tech reinforced steel
boxes.
It's
the kind of thing where clients will say, “We definitely want to
have the master closet be a safe room." Simple upgrades to
a closet can start with plywood reinforcing and beefier stud walls
and goes up
from there. You would add a phone line, security pad. Other items
might be medical supplies, battery operated radio, flashlight,
etc.
A recent project of ours called for a safe room that functioned
as the master closet. The four interior walls were 12” concrete
and rebar set on the foundation footers and extending up to the
roof line. This home was built in
a high storm area and the idea was simply for protection from the elements.
We all agreed that if the house blew away, we would find our clients left
standing in the closet and they would at least have their clothes!
Keeping safe
 Well
equipped panic room can be quite extensive. Decorative steel doors with
concealed cylinders that extend into the jamb like multiple deadbolts
when activated by the door lock. Ductwork dampers that move into place
to prevent smoke or intruder entry. Dedicated phone lines and cell phones
are inside, with communications tied to a remote satellite that can't
be compromised. Higher-end panic rooms include HVAC systems separate
from the remainder of the house; or, like bank vaults, they have a wholly
contained ventilation system inside, that might require a backup generator
for emergency use. California-based American Saferoom Door sells bullet-resistant
electronic doors that cost $22,000 alone.
There are more down-to-earth solutions, especially when protecting
contents is the aim. Safes from the size of a microwave to larger sized
gun safes can be glued or bolted to walls and floors to foil thieves.
Most people are interested in fire protection as well as burglar protection
and safes provide both. They're more convenient and homeowners can get
more room than in a safety deposit box.
This interior bathroom—the only room with walls still standing
in a home destroyed by a 1974 tornado in Xenia, Ohio—inspired
the creation of safe room |
In this post Katrina era it would seem wise for safe rooms to be
a standard feature for new homes built in hurricane-prone areas.
Insurance companies
would eventually give a discount for people that have safe
rooms that are more storm related than just for personal safety.
The criminal element
Often, residential interest in secure zones comes
from wanting to keep kids safe from weapons or wanting to protect
valuable collections, Alford
says. But the fear of home invaders is never far removed from the
discussion. The idea of a family being able to retreat to a secure
and fortified
room with communication and supplies can be a huge reassurance to
many.
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