How to Build Your Safe Room Fortified with a Vault Door

If you've ever thought about having a safe room at home, then you seem wiser than ±99.1386% of the population.

But why just think about it when you can make it a reality? The Arctic tribe didn't survive the winter just by "thinking" about building an igloo, did they?

Now, you might be thinking (again)... "Safe rooms are only for the super-rich." "Building a safe room takes a lot of time." "It's too complicated for me."

Listen, we get you. And we've got good news.

The Safe and Vault Store team is here for you. We understand that not everyone is a security-savvy expert with a fat bank account. So we're here to simplify the process and help you build the best safe room that's worth every penny.

You with us? Read on to discover how to turn your room into a fortified safe room, plus the essentials to survive inside.

Let's get into your fortress.

What a Safe Room Is and Who Needs One

A safe room (also called a panic room or fallout shelter) is a room dedicated to protecting you, your loved ones, and valuables from intruders and disasters. It can be as fancy as a home theatre safe room, or as simple as a home office with a vault door. We don't know about you, but a house feels insecure without one.

Believe it or not, a survey commissioned by National Geographic found that 40% of Americans believe stockpiling or building a bomb shelter (or safe room) was a wiser investment than a 401(k). That's saying a lot.

For as sad as it is, there's no denying that our world is becoming more dangerous every day. Whether it's a celebrity or your neighbor Billy, crime spares nobody. And let's not forget, geopolitical tensions keep rising. Long ominous stories short, there's never been a better time to have a safe room for when (not "if") things get ugly.

So, who needs a safe room? Everyone who wants to protect their household. Everyone with guns and gold. Everyone who wants to die old. In other words: everyone.

Two SnapSafe Vault Doors Popular for Safe Rooms

Before we get into the how, here are two inswing vault doors that customers most often choose when converting a closet or spare room into a safe room. Both are ready to ship and pair well with the room-selection tips coming up next.

What Room Makes the Best Safe Room

Strategic Location

From a security standpoint, the number one rule in securing an area is to reduce points of entry. Meaning: stay away from windows as much as possible.

Other than that, secrecy is the key. Intruders can't target what they can't see. The room and its entrance should be covert yet easily accessible in an emergency.

Structural Integrity

A safe room needs strong walls, a solid floor, and a solid ceiling. What good is a 10-inch titanium wall if the intruder can easily break in from above or burrow underground?

Service Access

An ideal safe room should not disrupt communication. Make sure phone service isn't cut off inside (especially for an underground safe room) so you can call the authorities for help and stay updated with the outside world.

Ventilation

Your safe room is only as good as the air you breathe. In a sealed room, oxygen is limited and carbon buildup becomes a threat. To avoid suffocation, equip the safe room with an air vent and filtration system (which also keeps toxic gas from coming in).

Room Size

Although a safe room is for temporary shelter, comfort shouldn't be neglected. You don't want to be standing and cramped for hours (let alone days) due to lack of space. Beforehand, know how many occupants are expected and plan accordingly.

The Door Is the Make-or-Break of the Safe Room

Now that you've chosen a safe room with strong walls, let's talk about perhaps the most important part.

Have you heard the saying, "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link"?

With any room, the Achilles heel often lies where bolts and moving parts exist: doors. Whatever you put together in pieces, comes apart in pieces. A regular door won't suffice.

The solution is a vault door.

A vault door is the main piece of the puzzle that turns your closet or spare room into a fortified safe room. Some states may also require you to use a gun safe or storage room with a vault door to protect firearms from unauthorized access.

Don't mess with lawbreakers or lawmakers. Get a vault door.

What to Look For in a Vault Door

There are countless vault doors on the market. Trust us, not all are created equal, and some are downright gimmicks. Only entrust your money to reputable vault door manufacturers. Your life and others may depend on it.

Always look for these features:

Thick Steel Construction and a UL-Certified Lock

For proven heavy-duty protection and effectiveness.

Fire Seal and Insulation

The main purpose is to protect your guns and valuables (not necessarily you) from a house fire and water damage due to firefighting efforts.

Internal Lockout Mechanism

A must-have for a panic room. When fleeing from an intruder, you can lock the vault door from the inside and disable the external unlocking system, so the door can't be opened from outside even with the combination code.

Ability to Open From the Inside

If you can lock the vault door from the inside, you should also be able to unlock it from in there. This is essential when someone (kids especially) accidentally locks themselves in. Teach every family member how to open the vault door from the inside.

Inswing (Preferably)

Why is this important? Because you don't want to trap yourself inside the panic room in case there's debris blocking the door outside. If the vault door is only for storing guns and valuables, an outswing model will do just fine.

Already evaluating vault doors? Our 7-decision vault door buying guide walks through swing direction, frame type, hand orientation, lock options, and lead times, with manufacturer-specific specs and a Top 5 comparison table.

What Should Go in Your Safe Room

You're now safe behind the vault door. Now what? A safe room should not only protect you from the outside world, it should also keep you sustained and sane for the entire ordeal (however long that may be).

That's where stockpiling comes in. Keep these essentials in your safe room:

• Food and water. The CDC recommends storing at least 1 gallon of water per person per day for 3 days, for drinking and sanitation. Add any favorite non-perishable food.
• First-aid kit plus prescriptions.
• Portable toilet, wipes, and disinfectants. If your safe room isn't plumbed, you'll thank us later.
• Blankets and extra clothing.
• Power and light source independent of the house's electricity.
• Backup communication devices with chargers.
• Defensive weapons like firearms (check your local laws first).
• Entertainment (board games, books, etc.).

Survive Behind the Vault Door of Your Safe Room

With everything in place, constantly practice emergency procedures and safe room drills with your family. A safe room is one of those things you hope you'll never have to use, but knowing it's there gives you real peace of mind.

"It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark." Howard Ruff

Keep Reading

• How to Prepare for a Long-Term Power Outage
• The Safe by Mykel Hawke (Survival Expert)