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I am moving next week and the house I am buying has a space the size of a bedroom that is pretty much hidden. I will be making it completely hidden. My reloading equipment, emergency supplies, guns etc. will all be stored in it. Any ideas on how to make it a safe room? What would be the best lining for the walls?
 
AR550 steal plates... Really though, I just watched a YouTube vid on a guy who did just this. He did plate it in 2 layers of 3/8" steel on top of mesh and practical board with 12" stud centers.

Way over built but pretty cool idea.
 
There are kits to line rooms with steel. There are kits to make a safe room in a basement. There are safe room doors you can buy varying from a security door to a full on vault door that costs more than a top of the line gun safe.

Personally I would just put a good security door on it and have my gun safe inside it. Not sure what I would line the walls with - if your gun safe was tall enough you could take the guns out and stand or sit inside it with the door partly open as an ad hoc protection from gun fire - but this would probably only allow one or two people inside it.
 
I think you have to determine what type(s) of threat you are protecting yourself from and go from there. Do you need to stop pistol or rifle rounds? Something bigger? Do you need to be able to fight your way out? Is this a place to hide in case of home invasion? Do you need a secondary entrance/exit? Will you be able to call for help by phone or other means? Are you going to wire surveillance to the room? What will happen in earthquake, mudslide, volcanic eruption or flooding - are the supplies in this room accessible or can they survive those events?

I've seen videos of guys building these safe rooms and I usually don't understand what threat they are protecting themselves from. They build the rooms to be survivable for the end of the world but don't have provisions inside. I saw one where the guy had a vault door and bullet resistant wall paneling but nothing on the ceiling - just sheetrock and wood-framing.

It sounds like you are being smart and trying to formulate a plan before spending a lot of money but you will need to examine what you are trying to protect yourself from using your best judgement, I wish you luck!
 
Hardy board for fire protection,inside and out if possible without tearing the place apart.Some use chain link fencing to slow down power saws.Heck if you had the room inside,you could use cinder blocks filled with gunite or just sand.Cinder blocks alone barely slow down a 308
And a sprinkler system around the outside perimeter of it so it will keep you and your valuable safe.
Oh and some type of waterproofing over the top of the room to keep all inside dry.
I have thought about this after hearing guy say they're buying their 3rrd or 4th safe.
You're half way or better,money wise, to a safe/gun room.Plus you get to walk in and look at your guns instead of banging them into each other getting them out of the safe
 
Hardy board for fire protection,inside and out if possible without tearing the place apart.Some use chain link fencing to slow down power saws.Heck if you had the room inside,you could use cinder blocks filled with gunite or just sand.Cinder blocks alone barely slow down a 308
And a sprinkler system around the outside perimeter of it so it will keep you and your valuable safe.
Oh and some type of waterproofing over the top of the room to keep all inside dry.
I have thought about this after hearing guy say they're buying their 3rrd or 4th safe.
You're half way or better,money wise, to a safe/gun room.Plus you get to walk in and look at your guns instead of banging them into each other getting them out of the safe
Yeah, I am thinking my next house, which I will probably have built when I retire, will have a safe room with concrete walls reinforced with rebar, and a vault door. It won't be so much to keep me safe as just a secure storage room instead of a safe. I am going to be traveling in the winter so I want a strong secure room to store valuables in.

I currently have a walk-in closet in the master bedroom that I could probably make hidden to a degree - if I hid the door somehow it isn't immediately apparent from the layout of the house that there should be space there.

Beyond that, the walk-in closet has a backend that could have a false wall and a safe could be put behind that, or just simply put a row of clothes in front of the safe.
 
"I currently have a walk-in closet in the master bedroom that I could probably make hidden to a degree - if I hid the door somehow it isn't immediately apparent from the layout of the house that there should be space there."

I would say,for the most part,unless it's a high end thief,they'll never no the difference.Most common folk couldn't tell if you hid a room.
 
Nothing stops fire, even fire board! I would probably install an armored steel door and frame and build a small armored box inside. Just big enough to hold the number of people involved. Mainly for the wife. Remember, fire! I'm convinced it's better to fight it out outside than wait for the Molotov Cocktails.
BTW, congratulates on your house and that room! SRG
 
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My kids have a master bedroom with bathroom upstairs that they don't use. It wouldn't be hard to hide the stairs entrance. If you don't look at the house from the backyard you don't even notice that it is a two story house with a room upstairs. Only from the backyard can you really see it.
 
Good points but If you surround the room with a sprinkler system,then fire isn't an issue
And if a guy built a room with steel that couldn't support itselt,then Darwin would win.
As far as the existing house supporting all this,you can always take up the floor and build a sub foundation to support all the new amenities.
I think flood proof is silly.Just don't live in a flood zone,but that's just me
 
If your the bad guy burning somebody out of their house and their sprinkler system goes off, wouldn't you just go out to the meter or pump and close it?
End of sprinkler system.
 
Safes can only protect what I can't protect because I am not there. I do believe that cover and concealment is a big safety feature.
In any assault I am staying mobile and addressing hostiles as they enter my perimeter.
 
If my power goes out, the well pump won't provide water pressure.

Also, not all fires can be fought with water, and sometimes buildings burn down regardless. If you are feeding your sprinkler system with PVC plumbing (which a lot of houses have today) the plumbing will melt in a fire.
 

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