Panic Rooms

[Debbieangel]

I am wondering if anyone knows someone that has a "Panic Room" or have one yourself? Asking the latter is kindof dumb really you wouldn't want people to know if you did have one.
I was thinking of "Panic Rooms" in a survival situation and what they would be like if someone had one. I think they would be a real benefit in a crisis depending what crisis you were going through at the time.

[Yojimbo]

I don't but would like to have one - my own secret batcave!:)

[Crappingbear]

I dont like the idea of being trapped anywhere. Id rather be on the roof than in a locked room. Armed of course.

[kortick]

I can panic in just about any room I want to Deb.

[Debbieangel]

I dont like the idea of being trapped anywhere. Id rather be on the roof than in a locked room. Armed of course.

I wouldn't mind abit of both worlds, the panic room and the roof.
I wouldn't like the idea of being trapped either.
I watched the movie "Panic Room" with Jodi Foster and her panic room had a phone not connected to the main line and also had tv monitors to see throughtout the house. Also, in "Diary" same thing.
I think it would be a good place to chill or get some sleep,this is all depending on what sortof crisis is going on of course.

[Purge]

Just buy some guns.

[AcesandEights]

Sure, in theory panic rooms are great and I think some of it would depend on what/who I had to protect and what sort of target I thought I might be. Honestly, in the fantasy-land of my mind, I have this idea that a box with no escape route would be horrible, but I can't say the idea is something that's unworkable for all people, depending on resources and their situation. Just don't try and use it when people know where it is and you have no access to your outside, independent line...you'd be screwed if it was your only line of defense, then.

I'd just rather go with that old, converted root cellar or coal bin, that no one realizes you have under your homestead. This is especially great if you have an older, irregularly built home (like a farmhouse). I've seen some set ups where friends of mine could just hang out for a week and in some cases a lot more with out having to leave their little safe area and I doubt anything short of the most concerted search would have found the hatches that led to their hidey-holes.

[SymphonicX]

Just pure paranoia inducing shit to have in your house. I'd rather take my chances with a burgular than build a room specifically for hiding out, I seriously doubt they're useful to anyone - I'd wager that those with panic rooms ironically never get burgled!

[zombieparanoia]

I don't get panic rooms. They seem silly even if imagining a worst case scenario

"And then I'll hide in a walk in closet until I run out of whatever I forgot to bring in"

[Danny]

i think id honestly take my chances rather than seal myself in a walk in freezer:skull:

[Yojimbo]

i think id honestly take my chances rather than seal myself in a walk in freezer:skull:
I have always toyed with the idea of building a fallout shelter - one of those swanky 1950's setups that look like a lounge/recreation room replete with a bar, kitchenette and an entertainment center and it's own bathroom and shower. If one of these were well hidden in the home, it could serve the purpose as a panic room as well.

I assume, perhaps wrongly, that panic rooms are supposed to also serve as a bomb shelter as well - if this is the case then these rooms are much more than just a place to hide from a home invader. Certainly, if you set your room up to double as a lounge/rec room, it could be a really nice place to kick back in addition to a safe room to hide from fallout and burglars. Those of you who are married will understand, but sometimes it is nice to have a little hideaway where you can dissapear to for some solitude and just chill out.

[Tricky]

nah,im not paranoid enough to need a panic room!i always wondered though,what happens if you lock yourself in your panic room & whoever has broken into your house decides to go all arsonist & set the place on fire?

[Yojimbo]

nah,im not paranoid enough to need a panic room!i always wondered though,what happens if you lock yourself in your panic room & whoever has broken into your house decides to go all arsonist & set the place on fire?

Oh, I'm not paranoid, but it doesn't mean they are not out to get me! ;)

If I built my shelter, it would be for the hell of it, and not out of any tangible need, though I think I would be glad to have it in case of dirty bombs and the like.

Regarding arson as a threat, I think that a proper "panic room" would be fire resistant with it's own oxygen supply so that you could sit in there while your house burns down and still be ok. But it occurs to me that only the very, very rich would be able to afford such a thing, so likely if I was to build my hideout it would only look like a 1050's bomb shelter/recreation room since I don't think I would be able to afford - or justify the expense even if I could afford it - to make mine impervious to fire and radiation.

[Skippy911sc]

I have a bomb shelter in my basement...concrete on all sides except a 4 inch thick door...oh and air vents that can be turned on or off. Then a few months ago I fount another shelter in my yard, it was designed in case of nuclear attack and had direction on what to do, just in case. I like them and currently use the basement one for my office.

[SRP76]

I never saw a point to a "panic room". If you're the type who has the money to shell out for these things while building a home in the first place, why go half-assed? Just build a whole "panic house". If the house itself is mega-allproof, there's no need for one fortified room.

[Wooley]

I think some folks are confusing a panic room with a fallout shelter, two very different rooms for two very different sets of circumstances, and requiring two very different plans.

A panic room is the place you herd the wife and kids into when you hear glass breaking at 2am while you call the police with a with a cell phone in one hand, a semiautomatic handgun in the other. A panic room has a reinforced door, with heavy duty locks, weapons, communications, the keypad to your alarm so they can't shut it off or otherwise disable it, plus it'll tell you where the intrusion is, maybe some monitors so you can see how many bad guys and where they are as you relate info to the cops, and maybe armored walls for that extreme case where the douchebag shoots through the walls.

In short, it's a short term bunker to hold out until the cavalry arrives.

A fallout shelter is more like a little complete life support system, especially since you can figure on staying for at least two weeks following the delivery of the last bomb in your area. Two weeks being the minimum for fallout to degrade to a point where going outside isn't quickly incapacitating due to fallout exposure. At a minimum, you need shielding from the radiation, thickness depends on what you use, for example, 3 feet of earth, water, food, some method of sewage, which can be as basic as a bucket with a lid on it, light and bedding. A basement in a home several miles outside a target area might make a good start. Download Cresson H Kearny's book Nuclear War Survival Skills for some neat info on fallout shelters.

[Yojimbo]

I think some folks are confusing a panic room with a fallout shelter, two very different rooms for two very different sets of circumstances, and requiring two very different plans.


That would likely be me. :o

Actually, I realize that they are two different things with different purposes- I just thought that it would be cool to combine the two and make it into my Fortress of Solitude, with a nice retro feel.

[Debbieangel]

I like the idea of a panic house, you know, trouble starts be it zombies, or a fallout shelter. It's a normal looking house til trouble starts then blam a steel wall goes over the windows and doors and you are safe.
You have all the stuff you need in this house too. Food, water, all kinds of supplies. Can you imagine the cost to build this house? lol
But, that is my imagination getting away from me,it is a cool thought!