Material to put in walls to reduce penetration

What about plaster instead of drywall?

Ceramic tile - especially a couple of layers with space in between them (perhaps the inside of drywall on either side of the wall - might do something.

Plaster is generally a bit tougher than drywall, but there's many different wall compositions that would be all called "plaster."

The best would be a heavy, multi-coat plaster job over wooden lath (preferably split oak lath), and that in sound shape. But there's also forms of plaster applied over some old types of wallboard which wouldn't be as good.

Then there's the old style masonry "plaster" used as a base for tile in victorian and early 20th century bathrooms. Sometimes that adds to nearly 2" of hard, Portland-based, cement material which would indeed at least deflect many projectiles.

OK, my idea. Can go 2 ways, can strip the existing sheetrock or just over lay it with 3/4" plywood then fill the voids with dry sand. e another 2" of material + sand. A second layer of sheetrock could then be screwed to the plywood. This would result in a wall that could contain the sand and would havOf course all your outlet boxes will need to be sealed very well and I would lower them to near floor level (in case of a direct hit on that area the trajectory would have to be almost on the floor. This is reasonably inexpensive.

I saw somewhere on an article on the internet (must be true) where a guy was testing
penetration through sand filled dry wall panels using a 2x6. A single layer of sand filled drywall panels stopped almost all rounds. The original test was discussing sandbag effectiveness.

OK, quick search and here it is: http://www.naturalbuildingblog.com/bullet-resistance-of-sandbags/

5.56 mm ammo, especially the current military rounds with the steel core, is intended to go through stuff like walls, car sheet metal, and anything else a bad guy might hide behind. A modern military rifle is a horrible HD weapon if you're concerned about overpenetration. You're better off choosing something with less penetrating ability, such as a shotgun loaded with standard bird shot (#8 or #9, no magnums). But you still have to attend to safety rule #4.

6' X 3' Lexan panels are commonly available at home centers for about $100/sheet. Remove the drywall, cut some 2X4s to ~14" and glue thin edge to edge. (in the garage with clamps) to 7' and let dry. Bring your wooden walls in and install between studs with a few short nails, cover the wall in Lexan and hang drywall.

Some people utilize those shipping containers. If you sunk one of those into fifty yards of granite.. well, I'd laugh at you.

ediogenes said:

5.56 mm ammo, especially the current military rounds with the steel core, is intended to go through stuff like walls, car sheet metal, and anything else a bad guy might hide behind. A modern military rifle is a horrible HD weapon if you're concerned about overpenetration. You're better off choosing something with less penetrating ability, such as a shotgun loaded with standard bird shot (#8 or #9, no magnums). But you still have to attend to safety rule #4.

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Well, you got that wrong. Any normal pistol round penetrates more than 55gr ball.

You still need to worry about doors and windows, Glass is tough in modern FL homes, as each room has at least 1-3 windows, and putting in 20 plus bullet proof windows and sliders is an expensive proposition. I would concentrate on the exterior walls, and bed rooms. But I never bothered past the thought phase because of the windows, there is no place you are safe that has no window access other than a couple of the bathrooms, even the master has windows floor to ceiling, so anyone who really wanted to could shoot anyone inside just by waiting for them to walk from room to room.
3M makes a foil that I had in one of my cars, I looked it up recentely and it's made to withstand a couple good swings with a sledge hammer. It also is somwhat bullet resistant. My nephew had it done to his house.
I never tested it but that is the most practicle stuff I saw for windows. When I bought a Vette years ago, they had a display in the showroom, with a window and a hammer. You couldn't break the window, if you eventually did it would take so long to get through and make so much noise, that it would deter most. It came on the car as a special they were running with chevy. Google it, it may be the best way to have some protetion from handgun ammo.
There is a lot of stuff out there, here are 2 links I found for walls and glass.
http://www.pimall.com/nais/bulletprooffilm.html
http://www.usbulletproofing.com/USBPProductarmor.htm

You could add two layers of 1 1/8" SturdiFloor (T&G plywood) to one side and then drywall. Surface- mount the electrical to avoid voids.

Or use 3/4" on both sides, fill with concrete, drywall.

Or build a concrete block wall against the existing one, fill with mortar, and build a conventional wall against that. Costs you about 9" of space.

Or you could move into a poured-in-place concrete home. These, while not real common, offer tremendous energy savings.

Heavy dressers around the child's bed offer some protection without the expense and disruption of demolition.

If penetration is that big a worry, a 12ga with #4 buck is a great choice.

Finally, having raised kids, this should be pretty low on your list of worries. There are many more common disasters to fret over in your future.

Why?

Dirty Harry hates the childerns.

Certaindeaf: I love the "Sent from my computer using my fingers" tag that is thee best i have seen thus far.

2 7' 2Xs and a 2' square sheet will run you less than $25 to test. That's drywall, 1 3/4" of wooden stud, 1/8" or 1/4" Lexan and another layer of Sheetrock.

Worried about the floor? Lexan, vapor barrier, laminate or hardwood and a nice room-size wool rug.

By far the cheapest and most efficient way to build up mass is to add more compressed gypsum dust panels (I.e., more drywall). Go watch the Box o' Truth to see how many layers you feel comfortable with, and start screwing them up. 5/8" gyp board is heavy, so bring a friend. Also remember you'll have to either extend your electrical boxes or remount them.

And there may come a day you wish you can hear what the kids are doing at night...

I just carry a length of 2x4 in my back pocket for just such occasions. You want to squint a bit though lest wood shards spear your eyeball.

New house with walls backfilled with dirt and bullet proof glass. Of course that creates humidity issues, but they are addressable.

Fryerpower said:

@Arp32, Box o truth, see post 34.
Jim

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I have. Didn't say add one layer, said keep adding layers! Don't have Excel handy but I can almost guarantee adding drywall is going to be cheaper and easier than building a "solid" 2x4 wall. Plus you'll get and excellent fire rating and STC rating.

The Lexan sandwich sounds great until you price Lexan, or try and cut out J-boxes or hang pictures. Plus depending on how the assembly is put together, you may be creating vapor barrier issues.

I know this thread has to do with the walls themselves, but since we've started talking about projectile selection and drywall penetration...

Rounds which will not go far through drywall will go less far through a human target, making them very bad attack stoppers.
Look at most sources which do testing of terminal ballistics after drywall, and you will find it has more effect on the lethality of rifle rounds than shotgun pellets, unless the pellets are really light. If overpenetration in the house is your primary concern, the .223 is probably your best bet. It will still be very dangerous.