How does it apply?

Tornado Shelter

The United States experiences more tornado activity than any other country in the world, with more than 1,000 tornadoes recorded each year. These storms cause billions of dollars in damage and on average claim the lives of 60 people and injure 1,500 more annually.

Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) researchers have developed a residential tornado shelter that meets industry safety standards andcan be built into an existing home using readily available materials and tools. The 8-ft by 8-ft room can be built by a local contractor, or even assembled by a handy homeowner, which can result in substantial cost savings.

Here you’ll find all the information you need to build a tornado shelter in your own home. The documents and videos were produced in partnership with Home Innovation Research Labs.

Materials include an overview of the shelter and introduction to the project; technical construction drawings; and a detailed guide that provides all you need to know about where to locateyour shelter, the materials required, andsequenced instructions including the tools and materials used for each step. Six how-to videos also illustratethe step-by-step construction process.

Resources

• Construction Guide
• Construction Drawings
• TechSpec

Watch and Learn

If you’re interested inthe science behind the development of this cost-effective wood tornado shelter, FPL technical reports are also available.

• Residential tornado safe room from commodity wood products – design and development
• Residential tornado safe room from commodity wood products – impact and wind pressure testing