Tornadoes

[mfurrh55]

We all need to be praying for the families of the ones that died in the tornadoes, and praying for the ones that lost their homes , the storm that hit them came within 2 miles of me, i am on standby to head that way with my disaster relief crew, This time of year seems to bring in an overwhelming disaster of some sort, Anyway keep these states that got hit in your prayers as they try to get their lives back to normal, may God bless, Monte

 

[jhenderson]

Sorry for those who are in a bad way. I do have one question: what ever happened to cellars? Storm or basement. There's hardly a house in the NE that doesn't have a basement. Some have a root cellar too. If I lived in an area where storms like this were commonplace, the first thing I'd have would be a cellar under my house with a hard room.

 

[Killgore]

Thanks Monte for your prayers and outreach. The tornadoes passed north of us but I have four kids and seven grandkids that were in the path last night. Thank goodness, they all made it through okay.
- Ed

 

[Bill Stockard]

I do have one question: what ever happened to cellars? Storm or basement. There's hardly a house in the NE that doesn't have a basement. Some have a root cellar too. If I lived in an area where storms like this were commonplace, the first thing I'd have would be a cellar under my house with a hard room.

We don't have a cellar or a storm cellar, but do have a safe room. It is custom built in a closet in the center of the house lined with 1/8" steel plate, reinforced and wrapped on the exterior with thick wall 4" steel tubing placed on 12" centers, steel entry door, and bolted to the concrete slab. There is a vent in the top. We keep it stocked with emergency provisions.

Bill

 

[Killgore]

Bill, that sounds like a winner. A good safe room should also contain a working flashlight, an extra set of car keys, your charger for the cell phone and your 12 ga. :-laf

My middle son is a homebuilder in Huntsville of high-dollar homes. Safe-rooms and storm shelters are now a popular option with many families. Unfortunately, the poor rascal living in a mobile home and out on the flats can't afford the storm shelter as a rule. He takes his chances and doesn't sleep well this time of year. He depends on luck and the prayers of others, and my heart goes out to him.
- Ed

 

[Bill Stockard]

Bill, that sounds like a winner. A good safe room should also contain a working flashlight, an extra set of car keys, your charger for the cell phone and your 12 ga. :-laf
- Ed

Yep, those items are kept in there.

Bill

 

[Wayne M.]

Indeed the thoughts and prayers out to those affected by the tornadoes and nasty weather.

This is whats great about the TDR forums. Always learning something. Never knew about a safe room like that! Around here, most houses have a basement, but more newer buildings are on slabs.

Not to hijack, but as a side discussion, has anyone been thinking about chemtrails? Lunch room talk recently has been blaming the weather on the authorities seeding the sky with chemicals.

 

[jhenderson]

If you believe that I've got a tin foil hat you can buy cheap.

 

[Killgore]

Wayne, a safe-room can be a room at the end of a hallway, solid door with matching well built door frame, where the family knows and you've practiced, withdrawing under stress. If you are ever forced by an intruder to retreat to such a location, it is extremely important for you to stay on the cellphone with the police dispatcher so that the responding officer knows where you are and what he's up against.

Remember, he's just as nervous as you and confusion can lead to mistakes. Ouch! It makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.
- Ed

 

[Wayne M.]

Good points Ed.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Sorry for those who are in a bad way. I do have one question: what ever happened to cellars? Storm or basement. There's hardly a house in the NE that doesn't have a basement. Some have a root cellar too. If I lived in an area where storms like this were commonplace, the first thing I'd have would be a cellar under my house with a hard room.

Radon Gas is more of a problem in some parts of the country than others but it looks as if all have some degree to think about.


http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/citguide.html#howdoes

 

[jhenderson]

I suppose but you can vent radon gas if you know you have it. Pretty tough to vent a tornado.

 

[BIGNASTY]

I suppose but you can vent radon gas if you know you have it. Pretty tough to vent a tornado.

This was in response to your question about why there are less storm cellars and basements, and yes there are ways to take care of the radon gas problems but they are pretty expensive.

Cloud seeding has been going on for quite awhile, silver nitrate has been dumped it the clouds without concern as to what goes up must come down. With all the crap that is put into the air now with our ADVANCED products we are only starting to see what the side affects of it is. Look at the rise in Cancer alone don't need to have a ton of Bricks to fall on me to know that it could hurt when it was dropped.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Wayne, a safe-room can be a room at the end of a hallway, solid door with matching well built door frame, where the family knows and you've practiced, withdrawing under stress. If you are ever forced by an intruder to retreat to such a location, it is extremely important for you to stay on the cellphone with the police dispatcher so that the responding officer knows where you are and what he's up against.

Remember, he's just as nervous as you and confusion can lead to mistakes. Ouch! It makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.
- Ed

Safe rooms are cool and all but most times if put inside the home the debris of the house falls on the indoor shelter and prevents any leaving of them, sure someone will EVENTUALLY find you when they remove the remains of the home but in the case of Andrew in FL I passed some homes when working on the disaster relief that had not been touched for weeks. If I lived in tornado alley I would have an in-ground shelter AWAY from things.

With our 911 system the way it is, if your counting on them for ANYTHING your in deep ****

 

[Jim W]

I think it is cheaper to build a house on a slab or craw space than to build on a full basement. That is why you see homes without basements, also in some areas the ground conditions will not allow a basement.

A craw space or slab will not have the foundation draining that is required now on new construction. In most states that have basements built with new homes you must have a sump pump and ejection pit along with an escape window from the basement plus all electric must be in conduit in the basement (at least in my home town). I know with my house that was built in 1996 the basement was an additional $20K.

Jim W.

 

[BIGNASTY]

I think it is cheaper to build a house on a slab or craw space than to build on a full basement. That is why you see homes without basements, also in some areas the ground conditions will not allow a basement.

A craw space or slab will not have the foundation draining that is required now on new construction. In most states that have basements built with new homes you must have a sump pump and ejection pit along with an escape window from the basement plus all electric must be in conduit in the basement (at least in my home town). I know with my house that was built in 1996 the basement was an additional $20K.





Jim W.

Your exactly right Jim our home has a walk out basement, (its on a slope the garage and home is on the upper level of the slope, *the walkout basement was dug into the slope and use ICF construction to form the basement walls and foundation of the house above.*

Living in an unincorporated part of the county we have very few building restrictions, they are more concerned with ground penetration than building codes. I asked the code enforcement people to take a look at the house plans. He said he would but its your land and if you feel good about getting in it after you build it GOOD ENOUGH for him

The things that they were pretty insistent on was the electrical in the basement had to be in METAL Conduit, and a sump pump

 

[Killgore]

A storm shelter that I lean towards that is sold around here is the pre-fab unit made of concrete or fiberglass that sells for roughly $6,000 installed. I wish we had one; we normally head to a neighbor's basement. The centrally located closet, staircase or bathtub is a poor substitute, but better than nothing. And yes, the safe room that I mentioned at the end of the hallway is for two-legged predators. BIG, Monte and I have all worked relief efforts I'm sure when there was nothing left of some poor family's home except a clean slab.

Jennifer and I have been through several and you never forget the sound of the "freight train" bearing down on you.
- Ed

 

[Killgore]

From a builder's standpoint, building a home with a basement can be a real nightmare down the road. A leaking basement is job security for a lawyer. Proper preparation of the foundation, sealing inside as well as outside of the basement walls, re-direction of ground runoff, gutters, perc of the soil, and the list goes on and on. Sump pumps and dehumidifiers are standard add-ons. However, done right with some fore-thought, a basement is money well spent especially if the topography lends itself to this type of construction.

 

[BIGNASTY]

FIL's and BIL's house was built on a slab during the winter their floors get cold, ours is wood floor with Engineered wood floor joists covered with 3/4 in T & G OSB is nice to walk on for my FOOT and leg and a half, and alot easier to fix things under it as well as run new electrical, plumbing if needed.

 

[Killgore]

I like that! This old house was built probably before there was a concrete supplier within a hundred miles so it has a crawl space. Geez, I wouldn't go under there with a gun at my back. Every year when the termite inspector crawls under there I stand in awe at his bravery.
- Ed