Hidden Refuge

We think of our homes as our sanctuary, the one place to live and relax in relative comfort and safety. The proverbial roof over our head offers protection and security — that is, until the unexpected strikes. Hidden, secure rooms are appealing to some homeowners who know that not even their best laid plans may be enough to prepare for a worst-case scenario.

High-tech hidden rooms are not just the stuff of caped crusaders or international spies in the movies. They address real-life concerns for homeowners, such as deadly natural disasters and the threat of equally dangerous intruders. For peace of mind and an added sense of security, builders are offering hidden rooms to reveal an alternate place to seek refuge.

With security and protection in mind, there are a number of options available for you to protect against intruders. Where barking dogs and alarm systems fail, safe rooms are another option.

General contractor Dub Giltner builds safe rooms for clients who want an enhanced form of protection. According to Dub, essential components for safe rooms include monitoring systems for all video cameras located in the house, internal latches, refrigeration, cellular reception and battery back-up. In addition to being impenetrable to anyone on the outside, the rooms need to have self-contained air for those inside.

Ron Ratliff of Bryant-Ratliff Construction has built safe rooms behind bookshelves and cabinets in a home. He says the price to install a safe room can vary; if you want one in a closet, it can run you $1,500, but larger, more ambitious rooms can easily run well into the millions.

For one client, Ron built a James Bond-inspired basement with all the requisite trappings. (See KCH&G's July/August 2008 issue.) The bar features a secret passageway to a hidden kitchen behind a wine rack. He also built a blackjack room complete with a martini bar that revolves into the home theater. While he concedes that these features are “somewhat of a novelty,” he's also built cabinets for clients to conceal safes for added security.

Another type of safe room is one that protects against dangerous weather. Storm rooms are becoming increasingly popular for the tornado-prone Midwest. DuPont offers an alternative to basements, closets, bathrooms or other windowless rooms when natural disaster strikes. The DuPont StormRoom with Kevlar, which just became available in the Missouri and Kansas market in 2007 from Hallmark Building Supply, is an aboveground, in-home hurricane and tornado shelter.

The secret to the storm room is Kevlar — yes, the life-saving material impervious to bullets used by police and the military. According to DuPont, Kevlar is, pound for pound, five times stronger than steel yet    surprisingly lightweight.

The room consists of wall panels containing Kevlar, structural steel connectors and a concrete slab foundation. The walls are designed to withstand the impact of dangerous wind-borne debris of an F5 tornado. Complete with a steel door, the DuPont StormRoom meets the national requirements for hurricane and tornado shelters as established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The room can be easily added to an existing home or incorporated into any new design. The security door with keypad also allows the StormRoom to act as a safe room and deter intruders. It is well-ventilated, can be wired for electricity and plumbing, and reliable reception ensures that radios and other equipment will still work inside. 

According to Dick DeVuyst, president of Outdoor Environments, which installs the StormRoom in houses and commercial buildings, pricing for the StormRoom varies, but smaller units start in the $8,000 range and can go up to $15,000 depending on the options selected and whether the install is in new construction or being retrofitted to an existing home. DuPont notes that the price point and the fact that the product just recently entered the market may take a while for the StormRoom to catch on. But builders know there are homeowners who view it as a premium for some peace of mind. 

“It's definitely a place that's a lot safer than going into the bathroom and hiding in the tub,” Dick says.

As much as safe rooms are noted for their inconspicuous design, they also stress function. Dick also touts the ‘blink and you'll miss it' feature of these rooms. The StormRoom can be fully functional during the year when inclement weather is not a threat. “The neat thing is that it can be converted into any room depending on the size — bathroom, laundry room, kid's playroom or wine cellar,” he says. “You'd never even know it's a storm shelter.”