How to Build Your Safe Room Fortified with a Vault Door

What room makes the best safe room

• Strategic location

From a security standpoint, the number one rule in securing an area or room 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. Hence, the room/entrance must be covert yet easily accessible in an emergency.

• Structural integrity

A safe room must have not just strong walls but also solid floor and ceiling. I mean, what good is a 10-inch titanium wall if the intruder can easily break in from above or burrow underground?

Pro tips:

• Often, the strongest room in a one-story house is the bathroom while in a two-story house is near the staircase. Furthermore, the closet, basement, and underground cellar can all make a great safe room.
• Your existing structure doesn’t seem strong enough? A ballistic fiberglass or concrete board will drastically strengthen it.

• Service access

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

Pro tips:

• Keep a backup phone and charger inside the safe room or panic room. When things go south, you may not have the time to find and grab your communication devices.
• Pre-wire your safe room for security and intercom system so you can keep an eye on the outside perimeter.

• Ventilation

Your safe room is only as good as the air you breathe. In a sealed room, oxygen is limited and the carbon buildup becomes a threat.

To avoid suffocation, equip the safe room with an air vent and filtration system (to avoid toxic gas from coming in).

• Room size

Although a safe room is for temporary shelter, comfort should not be neglected. Surely, you don’t wanna be standing and cramped for hours let alone days due to lack of space, do you?

So, 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 and all, 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. Here’s the thing… whatever you put together in pieces, comes apart in pieces.

That said, a regular door won’t suffice.

The solution?Vault door.

A vault door is the main piece of the puzzle that will turn your closet or any room into a fortified safe room. What’s more? Some states may require you to use a gun safe or storage room with a vault door to protect your guns from unauthorized access.

Mess not with lawbreakers and lawmakers⸺ get a vault door.

The best vault door for your safe room

There are bazillions of vault doors on the market. And trust me, not all are created equal. Most are mere gimmicks even.That’s why you should only entrust your hard-earned money to reputable vault door manufacturers and providers ⸺ your life and others depend on it.

Always look for the following:

• Vault door with thick steel construction and a UL-Certified lock

For proven heavy-duty protection and effectiveness.

• Vault door with fire seal and insulation

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

Note: Fortified safe room or storm shelter can protect you from gusts and torrents, but not from the house fire’s heat and smoke.

• Vault door with an internal lockout mechanism

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

• Vault door that can be opened 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 useful when someone, kids especially, accidentally locked themselves in the safe room. In which case, teach every family member how to open the vault door from the inside.

• Vault door that inswings or swings into the safe room (preferably)

Why is this important? Because you don’t wanna trap yourself inside the panic room in case there’s debris blocking the door outside.

But if it’s just for storing guns and valuables, then an outswing vault door will do.

Pro tip:

• No time to search, plan, and install the right vault door? Let the experts at Safe and Vault Store help you out!

What should go in your safe room

So, you’re now safe behind the vault door, now what?You see, a safe room should not only protect you from the outside world but also keep you sustained and sane for the entire ordeal (who knows how long).

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. Got any favorite non-perishable food?

• First-aid kit plus prescriptions

• Portable toilet, wipes, and disinfectants

If your safe room isn’t plumbed, the smell will make you succumb. (You’re welcome… about the ventilation).

• Blankets and extra clothing

• Power and light source not dependent to the house’s electricity

• Backup communication devices with chargers (as mentioned earlier)

• Defensive weapons like guns (check your local laws first)
• Entertainment (board games, books, etc.)

Pro tips:

• Change your supplies regularly to beat expiration dates.
• Test backup devices frequently and keep the batteries above 80%.

Survive the doom behind the vault door of your safe room

With everything done and dusted, constantly practice emergency procedures and safe room survival together with your family. It’s one of those things which hopefully you’ll never have to use but gives you peace of mind knowing it’s there.

Now… what’s your preferred vault door size?

“It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.”

―Howard Ruff