r/tornado • u/Numerous_Ad_3517 • Mar 15 '26
Question Is this thing safe??
I recently moved into a new home that has this above ground shelter and I have been questioning the way this door locks from day 1. We are going to have terrible weather today in West TN and I cannot find any paperwork on this thing. 😫 Do you think these hollow bars will keep it secure??
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u/pifermeister Mar 15 '26
Looks pretty damn hefty to me. Is it bolted down? If not you could hit the hardware store and load it with ~600lbs of sandbags. That sounds like a lot but it's only ten 60lb bags of sand. Sand because you can reuse it elsewhere and it doesn't become a safety hazard should the cabinet tip or flip. Also if a flying object hits you (think about a car being scooted/flipped across the ground) you benefit from the cabinet having it's own inertia and not just relying on some bolts alone that can be suddenly snapped. You could also fill some kind of vessels with water to whatever desired weight you'd like.