Woo hoo! Gettin my storm shelter!!!!!

YAY! Holi you will especially be happy for me! We live in TN, which is known as part of the NEW tornado alley in the US. We actually have the most deaths in the US from tornadoes, because most of ours happen at night

WELL...FINALLY after much discussion and hair pulling Ray and I have finally decided to get the Hurricane Vault (which can withstand an F4 tornado - 200 mph winds) AND its going in my bedroom closet!! I ordered it on Friday and we will be getting it next weekend. Its gonna be some extensive work. I should take pix like Gutter did!!!!

I'm SOOOOOO EXCITED THOUGH! I am horrified of tornadoes and now I have somehwere safe for my family! XXXX

woohoo Ginny!thats great,I was kinda hoping you would get the underground one.Would feel safer if you were under ground,but that vault is as tough as they get and I am sure it's very safe and it will make you feel better.What happend to the other plans?I am so glad it's coming quikly...may is a busy month for tornados! Please take pics.OI want to see

Thank you!

Holi, Rays vision of the underground was NOT my vision of the underground one, plus the sunroom + shelter was gonna be over 20k. This new idea is going to be IN our bedroom, so we don't have to go far to jump in the closet and then we are safe! PLUS its about $6500 instead! If you wanna look at the site...its www.remagensaferooms.com and we are getting the Hurricane Vault. The Storm Closet (F5 tornado resistant) was gonna be way more and I know he wouldn't go for that!

BUT, I am very excited! I have wanted a shelter since I was about 17 so I am very happy!!

Would it be like a panic room????

yes georgi, a lot like a panic room. we are pulling up the floor and putting down a concrete slab that the room will be anchored on. the room is made of 14 guage steel i believe.

Holy cow Ginny that'll be awesome to have just incase!! I've always thought of tornados as an amazing thing, but in reality it's soooo scary!! It'll be a good thing to have and I bet a good feature to have if you ever move aswell (not saying that you will, but always a good way to sell your house too, I bet). Yeah take some pics for sure!!!! I'm probably annoying everyone with my pics, haha!!! We aren't done, but I'm soooo excited, should be another month and a half until I get my kitchen YAY!!!

Gosh, I can't understand why on earth you've never had one put in until now!!!! And where are your clothes going to go LOL???

HAHA! my clothes weren't in there anyway! it was ray's stuff mostly. I have an armoire. But, the closet will still be used as a closet. we just get to hide in there now during storms and it will protect us About a month ago, there were some deaths about 40 miles from my house in Murfreesboro. A mother and her little newborn, so that really got me thinking about it even more than normal. So, i am really happy that me and ray came up with a plan that HE will go for too

I actually never of such a thing! But very cool. Almost all houses around here have basements (cellars) unless you're in an area where the water table is too high. So I never *really* worry about storms.

In October 2001 our area was hit by a string of tornados. My house did not take a direct hit or anything but sustained very bad water damage because our house was being re-roofed at the time. My in-laws were a couple miles away in the area with the most damage. They had $14,000+ of damage to their home -- a crane was required to lift a tree off their house. But the damage to their home was relatively minor considering. Unlike Tennesse, our tornados DO NOT seem to come at night. More later in the afternoon or early evening. This 2001 tornado was maybe around 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

Gutter, does Canada ever get tornados? I don't recall ever hearing of one.

BethG wrote: Gutter, does Canada ever get tornados? I don't recall ever hearing of one.

LOL, no we actually don't, what we get are called micro-burst, haha!! We had a few in the area a few years ago, I remember it got really windy I thought our furnace pipe wouldn't be able to withstand all that wind, but it turned out fine. Only a few wooded areas north of us and just west of the city I work in got hit, but only tree damage.

I was obsessed with the Twister movie when it came out, I wanted to be a tornado chaser when I grew up

Ok so here are my starting pix! The floor is GONE already I have a big @ss hole (Edit reason...I just realized I said I have a big @sshole in my house ) in my house now til Thursday!!!! That's when the concrete is comiing...

BEFORE:



The floor is now gone, you are looking at the crawlspace:


And my friend Marc who is doing the work:

Georgi - you asked why she hadn't gotten one before now and I think for most of us that live in an area that is prone to tornadoes it just becomes a way of life and most of the time (in the areas Ginny and I live) they aren't THAT severe but in the last 4/5 years they have become more dangerous.
Beth - I've ever met anyone with a basement in the south! The first time I ever saw a basement was when my husband I went to visit his Grandmother in Ohio when I was 20!!!! It totally freaked me out and I couldn't go past the 2 stair!!!!!

Ginny I know you will feel much safer than you do sitting in the bathtub with a pillow over your head! (That's what we do!)

lol, we have a basement. but out of the 3 houses ive lived in since ive moved back to NC this is the only one! hahaha.

Haha! Actually Lou Lou, its in the middle closet with the motorcycle helmet on! I have been scared of tornadoes since one hit my daddy's dairy barn (with him in it!! - he was fine by the way...he said "Wow, i thought it was a little windy! :O ) when I was 17. I haven't been quite rite during storms ever since To see the destruction and knowing it was a weak one :S Then there have been so many tornado deaths the last several years, and the tornadoes seem to keep finding their way to my road!!!! So, finally i was like screw it! I am going to get one (if ray will say yes!) and finally, Holi knows...he finally said ok! He thinks its ridiculous, but funny who was calling me freakin out last month when they named OUR road for the tornado WARNING!? He was worried about Thane just as I was and on the news I saw the circles for the tornado right on top of our house but THANK GOD it didn't touch down til after it went past my house and landed at the air force base instead...

But anyway, I am just really thankful and grateful to finally have some peace of mind after 14 years!

I told ray "Now watch, there won't even be a thunderstorm now!"

Great startup pics Ginny, looking forward to the progress

well the concrete is slab is down and now we are sorta in limbo til the steel comes in next wed or so. so basically i just have a concrete floor room

How exciting hun!!! Can't wait to see the end result!!

Ok looks like it will be done tomorrow i think YAY!!

Here is the pic BEFORE drywall (sorry the pic ain't all that great!):

Ok here is the drywall: ALMOST DONE!!!!

he needs to add the light, switch, and of course, the big @ss 200 lb steel door But its almost done!

lookin good!!! hahaha i love thanes little head in the corner checkin everything out

haha! yeah thats' fun trying to keep him out of the way!!

Oh wow, what are you naming your little girl??? Hang on andi 'll check your sig! Oh tha'ts a GORGEOUS name!! I LOVE IT I have always LOVED the name Elizabeth Very sweet!!!!