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philpom
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# Posted: 29 Apr 2026 07:34pm
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We've been through some big storms up at the cabin. Truth is that sitting on our screened in back porch 10' off the ground at 2am with a clod brew in hand while a wild thunder storm comes through is about as great as it gets but.... we have nowhere to go if we really needed to. We could climb down the ridge but I hear trees falling on nice days, we had a large hickory that was 5' from the porch fall 2 years ago during a storm right in front of us.
Got me thinking about a solution, I could buy one of those steel tubes you can just barely fit in for $4k or maybe I could make something a little more comfy at a lower price. Wondered about a 5'x10' foot print on a 6" cement pad at 5' tall using 6x6 lumber with 3/4" threaded rod out of the slab every 20" that feed through the 6x6 lumber stacked log cabin style so it's bolted down tight. The roof would be similar with a 6x6" lumber lip, rods go throught the roof also and a reinforced cement slab poured on top. Everything glued and lagged together etc, etc. There are details I won't immediately get in to but it's stuff like venting, door, comfort etc.
Has anyone come up with a solution, what did you do and how do you feel about it? Looking for ideas.
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DRP
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# Posted: 29 Apr 2026 09:53pm - Edited by: DRP
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I heard the big dead maple along the driveway let go last night. Happily it was polite.
It looks like this page from the FPL might be breaking up, I hope not. The FEMA link did come up and has good info but the wood shelter is the one I hoped to point to;
https://research.fs.usda.gov/fpl/tornado-shelter
If it doesn't come back up try the email for Bob Falk, if they weren't stupid enough to let those guys go he will have the plans.
Edit, this page did load;
https://research.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2023-12/fpl-ConstructionDrawings.pdf
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philpom
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# Posted: 29 Apr 2026 10:14pm
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@DRP thank you for post. I am very familiar with these plans and method, it's what got me thinking about alternatives to expensive commercial solutions that are often very small and lack any and all amenities.
Have you built one of these? What do you do?
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DRP
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# Posted: 30 Apr 2026 07:14am
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I have not, in the Cuban missile crisis era Dad built a few backyard fallout shelters. I'm a builder. I have built quite a few milled log houses and buildings, the core of this is similar. Those typically do survive storms better than stick frame houses. There was one log house with basically a bunker poured under the porch.. What do you do?
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 30 Apr 2026 09:58am
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Imo some kind of bunker which could double as a 'root cellar' makes sense.
Whatever you use be sure to have enough tools in it so you can get yourself back OUT and have some fam/friends aware that is where you might be stuck.
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philpom
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# Posted: 30 Apr 2026 05:21pm
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Quoting: DRP What do you do?
Currently we pray but I need to get something.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 1 May 2026 01:10pm
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The USDA tornado shelter is interesting. I found some other USDA links regarding that shelter. Scroll down to the bottom of this page. There are links to pages that have videos on building one.
This page is a complete construction guide in PDF form.
The method of constructing the walls and ceiling reminds me of the cabin a guy who calls himself "Stoney" posted in a topic here. This is NOT to suggest that Stoney's cabin is totnado proof.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 6 May 2026 11:54am
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buy a 20' shipping container and lag it to the ground. Easy and cheap ish. And good for storage
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DRP
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# Posted: 6 May 2026 03:42pm - Edited by: DRP
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With any of these, I'd think about an inswing door that is heavily barred on the inside. There is liable to be a tree, car or house piled up against the outside of the structure.
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