Texas Tornadoes

[GianniFocaccia]

Wow, I just saw footage of the string of tornadoes that ripped through Texas the day before yesterday. Thoughts and prayers out to those who may have been affected by these terrible twisters.
John

[Les]

Re: Texas Tornadoes

Yea, incredible. I was talking with an engineer located in Dallas today and they were only a few miles away. He said he just kept working. The footage of those trailers flying around looked like something from Hollywood. It is a miracle that there was no loss of life.

[Gulf]

Re: Texas Tornadoes

As so do mine.
I would like to challenge everyone on this forum who lives in "tornado alley" who has built a WFO to build a "Safe Room". You either have the skills now to build one yourself or the means to have one installed.
When Katrina hit my small forested acreage
and I saw the fear in my families eyes, I decided that day to build one myself.

Mine is an all masonry 12'X12' ID room: 6" of 4500 psi concrete sandwiched between the forms and 4" of old used face brick to match my home. The rebar you see is on 12" centers. The Floor and footings were one pour and the walls and ceiling were one pour. The windows that you see in the pics are not usually placed in a saferoom.
They are 2" thick lexan bullet proof plastic. They were a very lucky find on ebay. My wife is chlostrophobic. She can't even pee in a bathroom without a window. It is very interesting on some family trips when I have to stand outside of a restroom guarding a partially open door!
The interior forms were left in place, insulated, and then finished with sheetrock to match the house. With the porthole windows the inside kind of looks like a small stateroom on a passenger ship.
You don't have to do something this time consuming . A small reinforced closet or pantry will do in a pinch. As long as you have something to get into or behind real damn quick.
Chek out FEMA Saferooms.

[Les]

Re: Texas Tornadoes

Gulf - thats pretty impressive. Are you subject to flood or is your home on high ground? It looks like it could take a pretty good direct hit from a storm and survive with no problems.

[Gulf]

Re: Texas Tornadoes

Gulf - Are you subject to flood or is your home on high ground? It looks like it could take a pretty good direct hit from a storm and survive with no problems.

Thank's Les,
We live on high ground. The windows are the only draw back to a direct hit from a tornado. They rate materials which can survive a 2X4 fired from an air cannon at what ever maximum speed an F5 tornado can launch one. At least at the time the time that I built, there were no approved windows for a saferoom. To get a an F5 rating I had to install retractable reinforced shutters behind each of the port holes.
Most folks around here who have them build theirs underground, and most are set some distance from the house. That can lead to waiting to late to try to reach safety. If we know that a potentially problem weather front is going to come through during the night we just sleep in the saferoom. If it is during waking hours, it is on the same level as any other room of our home, so we just step in there until it passes.
It is great peace of mind to look down at a scared grandchild and truthfully be able to say It is going to be OK.

[brickie in oz]

Re: Texas Tornadoes

My wife is chlostrophobic.

I can relate to that.
I had a small paying job some time ago deep inside a boiler, I had to keep telling my brain that it was ok, its ok, its ok, its ok.
But my brain just kept telling me to get the $%#@ out of there, all the while screaming at me to run.....

[C5dad]

Re: Texas Tornadoes

Having suffered through sqeeezing between boiler tubes, I can totally relate. Funny that I can be 4000 feet off the deck rock climbing with no problems, yet some confined spaces drive me bonkers!

Light is good, darkness, BAD