[Goldanna]

Let me begin this by stating that I am not paranoid. I don't think anyone is after me and this is on for SHTF situation. Not a burglar.

I downloaded some plans for a safe room. It assumed that the room would only be used in cases of protecting yourself from a burglar until the police could arrive. It had an air ventilation (hope I am saying this right) vent on the side of the room so that fresh could get into the room if many people were stuck in the small space.

In a situation where the police might not be coming and it is your last defense. (IE overrun by looters or such and your hiding in there with your children/family until they leave) I showed the room plans to a friend and she said if someone was shut inside she would just look for their air hole and fill it with smoke or chemicals to flush them out That never occurred to me:


If you are making a long term safe room, how would you go about hiding your air intake??

 

[goose3]

I might consider running a vent to the roof, disguised as a vent stack for the plumbing.

An alternative is to stock a couple of air cylinders inside, and simply crack them open and create a positive air pressure, with a vent disguised as anything.

 

[14DFASniper]

Depends on the location. If near the roof - do the plumbing vent stack or roof vent disquise. If in basement - then maybe you could place the vent under the porch steps or deck. Maybe tie it into the rain gutter, or make it look like a sump pump hose. Shouldn't be very hard. Even a dryer vent cover would work. They don't know your house.

 

[hank2222]

or try running them out along the walkway in the rock crib design to hide the ventilation pipes units with inside the oversized 8."inchs to 12"inchs sized rocks with pipe inside the crib that place allong the walkway ..The design to look like part of the landscapeing that you have on the area around the place..

 

[Goldanna]

I appreciate the suggestions. Simple and easy to accomplish

 

[Texas Patriot]

Up a chimney. We never build a fire in it, so it is never used. It's concrete and it's capped, their not going to be looking in it. Probably would fall off the roof and break their neck if they did try. TP

 

[joes]

Always have more than one air vent as far away from each other as possible...Also more than one entry/exit...

 

[Deputy Dawg]

I have an underground cellar that we constructed into the side of a hill, with the roof exposed, (plan to eventually cover it with dirt), and never thought of disguising the vent. Good thinking. How about sitting a bee hive on top of it? Empty of course. I'm going to try that. I think it'd probably keep anyone at bay, since they wouldn't risk getting stung by a bee??? ::

 

[SgtBooker44]

I like the idea of running a false plumbing vent throught the roof and dryer vent out the side. Just make sure there is a way to seal it on the inside in the event it's compromised and gas is pumped in.

 

[elkhills]

A few thoughts right off the bat:
1. Bad air needs to get out + Good air needs to get in= you really need 2 vents, and a fan to move the air.
2. Smoke/Heat/Fire all go UP. Up to the ceiling, into the attic, eventually out the soffit vents and the roof itself. You would probably do best to bring fresh air in from low under the house, and vent high out a roof vent.

Where is this "Safe Room" going to be- upstairs, basement, central ground floor...? That will dictate a lot of the construction details.

 

[maine-marine]

You want to have two vent pipes at different levels, remember hot air rises cold air drops. Have the exhaust fan higher up and the in bound air lower.

 

[Time Will Tell huh]

I was just going to put up a fake cold are return grille on the wall allowing air from the rest of the house in. No one is going to know the difference unless they start tearing out walls and then it'd be too late anyway. I'm also betting on the fact that intruder/s aren't going to be packing chemicals to blow in vents.

D

 

[ecilop]

Keep in mind that sounds made by you and your family will travel through your air ventilation pipes. Try to plumb the intake and exhaust to areas where you could not be heard.

 

[Goldanna]

have an underground cellar that we constructed into the side of a hill, with the roof exposed, (plan to eventually cover it with dirt), and never thought of disguising the vent. Good thinking. How about sitting a bee hive on top of it? Empty of course. I'm going to try that. I think it'd probably keep anyone at bay, since they wouldn't risk getting stung by a bee???

I was thinking of making a rock bed and having the pipe go up inside a bird house. (My son then said someone would steal the birdhouse )
The bee house now, that is good idea.

Keep in mind that sounds made by you and your family will travel through your air ventilation pipes. Try to plumb the intake and exhaust to areas where you could not be heard.

I hadn't thought of that! Thank you for reminding us of this

Always have more than one air vent as far away from each other as possible...Also more than one entry/exit...

The safe room plans I have only have one enterance/exit?


You are also supposed to have an air purifier inside the room. If you have looters break inside in a SHTF situation, they wouldn't squat in your place would they? They would break in, smash the place searching for goods, and then leave? How long do you guys think that would take? That isn't something that was mentioned in Katrina...

Something else I thought about was fire, looters wouldn't set the place on fire, right?

 

[AKM.]

I would suggest maybe googling old public/military civil defence shelters even back in the 60's especially some of those sites dealing with the history of civil defence.
From what I remember there were some quite innovative ways of hiding such vents/intakes.

 

[Nimmer]

Just make the Safe Room big enough to store alot of O2 tanks and masks.

My preferred Safe Room would have an emergency exit like a tunnel going out to a tree stump like in the Old Hogan's Hero's TV show. Actually two or three would be best along with multiple air intakes and exhausts with valves to close them of just in case