Why F-5 Storm Shelters and Safe Rooms?

Our shelters have been tested by the National Storm Shelter Association / Wind Engineering Department in Lubbock, TX.


All of our Shelters are made to withstand the most severe F5 tornados with winds up to 320 miles per hour.  Many of the shelters on the market today are made to F.E.M.A. requirements of withstanding a medium range F4 tornado with winds of 250 mph.  Our shelters are designed by structural engineers.  They have been tested by the National Storm Shelter Association's wind engineer department in Lubbock TX, as well as the National Weather Channel.  If you do have a tornado, the shelter decision you have chosen could be the most important decision you ever make.  We can build you a safe shelter for you and your family.  We have built shelters for 18 years for individuals, schools, churches, businesses, daycares, ETC.

Most metal shelters on the market is made with metal 1/8" thick. Ours is much stronger.

Another thing to watch for is putting a steel storm shelter and using the concrete floor instead of a metal floor. If lightning strikes our shelter or even if a power line fell on the shelter, you are safe inside. The metal is a complete ground. If you have a concrete floor, and you are touching the metal and the floor, you are the ground.


Why do I need a Storm Shelter or Safe room?

Spring is tornado season in the South with 50% of all tornadoes occurring between the months of April and June. Most tornadoes occur between noon and sunset. However, tornadoes are unpredictable, and can occur any time, day or night, January through December. The eastern 2/3 of the United States has the greatest concentration of tornadoes on earth.

Thunderstorms and their attendant tornadoes typically move northeasterly or easterly, but tornado tracks can be erratic. Tornadoes move forward at speeds ranging from nearly stationary to 60 M.P.H. or more. Measurements from the Doppler Radar give top speeds in the 250-300 M.P.H. range.

Safe rooms not only protect you from storms but can also offer protection for you and your valuables from thieves and from those wishing you or your family harm.

Why Metal?

When we started checking into building underground shelters, we were very thorough.  We talked to several engineers about the structure, strength, and durability of different types of shelters.

We were interested in fiberglass shelters because they were cheaper, light, and easy to install.  We were warned that a fiberglass shelter is not safe from a severe tornado.

Then we started researching concrete shelters. Again, these shelters have many bad points.  The concrete walls sweat and often become moldy inside.  Sometimes the concrete cracks and seeps water.

Then, we thoroughly checked into metal shelters, and found that if coated properly, they are safe, long-lasting, and stay dry inside.  Compare our shelters to any other on the market.  They are better than any we have found.  You might find a cheaper shelter, but it will not have the quality of our shelters.

Our safe rooms can go inside any home that is going to be built, or outside existing homes.

If you live in a low lying area or an area prone to rising waters from hurricanes, etc. we have the ideal safe room for you.  We can put a safe room in the first floor of a two story home with the door entrance to the safe room on top. Now you can enter the saferoom from the second floor of your home. The entrance can be inside a closet or any where you choose. When this is done, the water would be 8' or 9' deep inside your home before it can enter the safe room.  These safe rooms can be put under homes that are built up on poles in low lying areas where the entrance is still inside the home. These have to be installed before the home is built. We can put these outside an existing home. When we do this, we build steps on the outside of the shelter going up to the top. Once you are at the top, you open the door and step into the shelter and go down the steps inside.

Looking for a Fallout Shelter?  NBC Fallout Shelters is a division of F-5 Storm Shelters & Safe Rooms.