If you’ve seen the 2002 David Fincher movie, “Panic Room” then you have a pretty good understanding about the purpose of having a special room that's able to protect you from any outside threats or dangers. These can be in the form of a home invasion, tornado, ballistic missile strike, swarm of killer bees or even an apocalypse. Though the thought of such things might be terrifying, for some who have the funds, it may be possible to protect yourself during such unprecedented events
Essentially, a safe room or panic room is a highly secure location within your own home. Its purpose is to provide protection, safety and security for residents. Many very wealthy people, as well as celebrities, have installed panic rooms in their own houses. For example, after the assassination of John Lennon and the stabbing of George Harrison during a home invasion, Sir Paul McCartney build a panic room for himself and his family. Another famous example is Madonna, who has a safe room boasting 5 inch thick Steel walls, TV monitors, phones and supplies to last for a month.
In reality, a panic room is not going to guarantee you 100% protection from a serious disaster. Nevertheless, it can offer peace of mind and comfort when the possibility of being outside of the panic room is going to be more dangerous than being within it. Thanks to a steady stream of movies featuring alien invasions and zombie apocalypse, we all are familiar with the idea of a panic room being able to protect our family. So if you are feeling slightly nervous about the coming Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse galloping towards your front door, then now may be the time to start planning and building your very own panic room. Today we thought we would take a deep dive into exactly what's necessary in order to both build and stock your panic room in preparation for the worst.
The typical panic room we may have seen in a movie often looks expensive, and is often filled with all sorts of toys including security systems, food, and fantastic entertainment systems. Of course, you can have all of this, but it's certainly going to cost you dearly. It's not necessary to spend so much money to create a proper panic room. There are some bare essential ingredients and the rest you can add on, though these extras may not be necessary when it comes to saving your skin.
As a panic room's primary purpose is to protect its occupants, it obviously needs strong and thick walls. Soundproofing is an added benefit. For the best security, ideally there needs to be just one point of entry, which is guarded by an extremely strong door. There's no point of windows or any other openings as those would only increase the number of weak points in the room’s structure. When we talk about a strong door, we're not talking about something really made of wood. Although this may be more aesthetically pleasing, it certainly won't have the strength to keep you safe should you be struck by a disaster. We were trying to suggest nothing less than 8 thick steel doors set in an equally strong and secure frame.
When it comes to the location of where to situate your panic room, we would suggest that the basement is probably your best option. You're more likely to have thick concrete walls here as opposed to the wooden walls you might find in other places around the house. If you want to really step up to the next level, then you can always install extra protection such as armoured steel panels to the wall which also help to keep the room yourself with and even more secure. When SkyNet becomes self-aware, you’ll be glad you did.
Most of today's panic rooms will have their own self-contained power system. The fact that this is self-contained is absolutely essential, as you don't want to end up in a dark and airless room. You can imagine how scary this might be for both yourself and your family if the power went out, and in so doing, your supply of fresh air stopped. Remember that the power can be used, not just for lighting, but also for means of communication, as well as ventilation. Of all the things to spend money on, this is something you don't want to cheap-out on. It's probably the one major factor that is going to decide whether you live or die.
As we reduced the number of entry points to just one, and there are no windows, then you're going to have to plan as to how you're going to ventilate the room. You'll need a source of fresh air and vents that can be open and closed for this purpose. Ventilation is an incredibly important factor. As without it you're going to quickly grow very uncomfortable, not just because the breathable air will become stuffy, but more importantly because your oxygen levels will quickly become depleted.
Whilst the apocalypse rains down all around you, you may find that you'll be held-up in your safe room for days or even weeks. Now imagine life without any plumbing. Especially if you have more than two people in the room. The first thing you'll need are toilet facilities. If you have the money, then it's logical to install a separate subject tank. And if you don't, then a portable loo will do the job perfectly. Although it may stink up the room. You'll also need an area to wash, along with an ample supply of drinking water. We suggest that you also keep a large amount of bottled water at hand, just in case the plumbing is damaged.
Finally, we should talk about the type of supplies you need. Obviously a lot will depend on the type of impending problems that force you and your family into the panic room in the first place. If it's a simple home invasion, then you may only need to be spending a few hours in the panic room. But if it's something much larger, like the Biblical Rapture, then you may find yourself living for a much longer period inside the safe room. As a given, your panic room should be well stocked with everything you need including water, medication and blankets. Whether you are able to cook within the room will very much depend on the ventilation situation. We suggest that you keep a well-stocked pantry within your panic room. It's important to periodically check on the contents stored as you'll need to keep an eye on use-by dates with food goods. It’s also a good idea to have activities such as books, movies and board games that can keep you entertained.
The average panic room does not need to be a pricey addition to your home. There's no need for fancy goods and luxurious fittings. Providing you have food, a secure entrance, water and ventilation then you can survive most disasters.