You want a secure room? This guy will have one soon.

[Pilgrim]

from the article: "The floor, ceiling, and wall are 12" thick, high psi concrete, with 3 layers of alternating rebar. I believe they are using some sort of prestressed panels for the roof/garage floor and pouring the concrete on top of it."

click here

 

[Rockrivr1]

Wow. I'd love to have that in my basement. Hopefully they counterwieghted the door so it doesn't easily swing closed when your in there. Also, I would never step into that vault until a phone line was added. If you get stuck in there when your home alone your screwed. I wonder how long you could last in there before you ran out of breathable air.

 

[Jose]

Most houses in Puerto Rico are built completely of concrete blocks and poured concrete, all reinforced with rebar. That includes the roof.

That is done so that houses can withstand a cat 5 hurricane, which they do. I watched hurricane David from my house when I was a kid. I am almost sure they will defeat an F4 tornado, maybe even a 5 with relatively little damage.

Most people who have not seen this kind of construction in a residential home will argue with me. Go ahead. I've BTDT.

 

[Jose]

Wow. I'd love to have that in my basement. Hopefully they counterwieghted the door so it doesn't easily swing closed when your in there. Also, I would never step into that vault until a phone line was added. If you get stuck in there when your home alone your screwed. I wonder how long you could last in there before you ran out of breathable air.

Most vault doors have an emergency release inside. My friend's does.

 

[hminsky]

I was impressed when I lived in Japan and saw an apartment building going up next door. The thing was built within a few months, and it was unbelievable how much rebar went in to it. It looked like a building made entirely of steel, with a little concrete poured over it. They must have some serious building codes due to the earthquakes there (we felt a few minor ones while we lived there).

 

[LoginName]

Damn, that's nice!

I can only imagine what kind of valuables the owners has to warrant that level of security.

Wow. I'd love to have that in my basement. Hopefully they counterwieghted the door so it doesn't easily swing closed when your in there. Also, I would never step into that vault until a phone line was added. If you get stuck in there when your home alone your screwed. I wonder how long you could last in there before you ran out of breathable air.

According to the OP...

Quote:
That's a good question. Can the door be opened from the inside, in case someone got locked inside?
Typically only light duty doors are equipped to open from the inside (gun safe manufacturer and record room doors). Bank quality doors do not have an internal release mechanism for security reasons.

Without giving away any security secrets, I will say that these types of doors will not just close and lock. There is an additional step in the door closing process that allows the door to lock. A criminal wouldn't be able to march you into the vault and lock you inside it, even if he shut the door and turned the handle.

Quote:
How about air? In a typical vault like that, are provisions made for ventilation?
People have still been locked in vaults, and usually, there is a small electric fan mounted in or near the door that will allow outside air into the vault. Most vaults in commercial use are time locked. If you're locked inside of one, you'll probably end up spending the night.

I would assume this vault will be climate & humidity controlled from within. Running ductwork into a vault from outside defeats the purpose of the security the vault is supposed to offer. Electric, telephone, and a second set of alarm lines are pretty standard also.

 

[Fooped]

Damn, that's nice!

I can only imagine what kind of valuables the owners has to warrant that level of security.

He may also have a HUGE tin foil hat collection.

 

[John2]

As much as I'd like a vault like that, by the time it was built, I'd have nothing left to put in it! And with my luck the door will lock behind me, the emergency won't work nor the phone. Archeologists would find me milliniums later....

 

[MrsWildweasel]

Most houses in Puerto Rico are built completely of concrete blocks and poured concrete, all reinforced with rebar. That includes the roof.

That is done so that houses can withstand a cat 5 hurricane, which they do. I watched hurricane David from my house when I was a kid. I am almost sure they will defeat an F4 tornado, maybe even a 5 with relatively little damage.

Most people who have not seen this kind of construction in a residential home will argue with me. Go ahead. I've BTDT.

Nope won't argue with you on that one. When we lived in Berlin our apartment was all concrete, and if someone wanted to murder someone you would not have ever heard them. Never heard the neighbors on either side of us, or above and below us. we worked weird hours. It was great.
Can't find an apartment like that here in the states.

 

[Prepper]

That'd make a very nice fallout shelter too. Ideally you'd want the concrete roof to be 18", but 12" is not bad especially when the walls are underground. That'll stop nearly all the radiation.

 

[depicts]

Vaults are made to keep people OUT, not in. It is relatively easy to get get out of a vault from the inside if you have some know how and a few tools to access the innards of the door.

 

[Cuda444]

Psh... only 1000 sqft? I don't think that's big enough.

That's pretty impressive. Based on the rest of the posts, it seems far less expensive than I would have imagined... so long as you do it during construction of the house.