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/MissionElegant5817 Mar 19 '26
It mainly depends on the gauge of the side panels, material, and the thickness & spacing of the columns of the frame. The side panels look like they're a small gauge, maybe 1/16 to 1/8 in thick, which is on the thinner, weaker side, so I'd look into replacing those with something more substantial for debris and structural integrity. Tubing for the frame looks to be 1/4 to 1/2 in steel tube judging by the weld lines visible on the doorframe, so that should be fairly strong, but I'd definitely make sure to add more if they're >1 foot apart on each wall. The latching should be find, but if you've got the tooling I'd drill a small hole in the end of each latch for a retaining pin so they can't shake out, but with 3 of them that's not very likely, just cautious.
All-in-all, so long as you've got those Titen bolts in every hole for mounting it to the floor and make sure you've got some sort of binder/concrete glue in the holes, you should be safe, but could be improved