Need help with safe room...

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SilentStalker

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So, me and my wife are building a house. We are two months into this and the weather has been terrible. Anyways I am building a safe room under the porch area of the house and am wondering if I should drylok the inside of the concrete walls? Unfortunately, the builder already studded the inside of these walls before I could drylok them so to me it seems that water could still come in behind them which, IMO, makes dryloking the rest of it kind if a moot point. Your thoughts?

The contractor already has a corrugated roof over this room, which has brick on top of it, a moisture barrier, then the first concrete slab tied in with rebar above that which he suggested I drylok this morning, and he will come back and pour the finishing slab on top of all of that. What are you alls thoughts? This area will have heat and AC. The outside has a real nice thick layer of waterproofing around it so we should be good there. However, we are most worried about water coming in on the top. Technically most of this porch is covered but we still want to make every effort we can to keep water out. I am most concerned with moisture in the air and condensation here. Any help and advice would be most appreciated.
 
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^^^You got it. Its still going to be awhile and its not super huge but it should work. The plan originally was to put my other safe inside this vault room. However, the room is smaller than anticipated and while the other safe could go in here with no problem and there still be room I have opted not to put it in there. I figured the stuff I will be keeping in here may grow and since this is doubling as a shelter/panic room I didn't want to overcrowd it.
 
Is this a 'safe room' as in a place to hide during a home invasion, or 'safe room' as in a room sized gun safe? I'd imagine climate control matters more for the latter than the former :).

If the existing studs aren't structural, removing them, adding some extruded styrofoam, and replacing isn't a big job. That gives you both a moisture barrier and some insulation.

You could try sprayed in closed cell foam, but I still wouldn't want studs directly against a basement wall. Eventually you will get hairline cracks, and if one is letting water wick into a stud you'll get rot.

I'd be pretty paranoid about drainage, too - route downspouts away from the house, etc. If the water table outside the wall is above the basement floor, you'll always be fighting leaks. If the foundation isn't backfilled yet, some exterior styrofoam can't hurt.

Sorry, I don't have many suggestions about the ceiling. Short of installing another waterproof roof inside, and allowing it to drain, I think you just have to hope the galvanized steel works. I'd make sure the porch slopes to drain, and carefully caulk where it joins the house.
 
I would ask the contractor to remove the studs. Installing studs or reinstalling studs isn't the end of the world and if they are already cut, reinstallation should not be difficult or time consuming.

It sounds like another layer of exterior roofing material is going to be installed. I would opt for sheet membrane ( rubber roofing type of material) before the final topping is complete.

I'm having a 18 X 21 shed / garage installed.
Architect drew up 8 X 18's with 2X8 spanning between. Plywood on top and rubber membrane under 4" of concrete.

Good luck
 
Being a contractor myself I've seen a ton of rooms like this built under porches. Most people don't do them right to be appropriate storage for firearms and other moisture sensitive items. The first one I did I didn't take all the precautions either and it was too damp.

Heat and AC is the main thing provided the concrete is waterproofed and a good foundation drainage.

A floor drain is a nice feature too so a dehumidifier can be put in the room. You can probably even get by without the heat and air with a good dehumidifier but with most porches being at least partially exposed to the outside elements on the top part of the foundation it is good to keep the temps more consistent so nothing sweats.
 
The way we do the top is have the foundation wall poured so that there is a 4 inch ledge outside the house wall for the porch top to sit on like a brick drop.

Then when we pour we form it so the porch cap sits against that back wall and pours down over the foundation around the outside a couple inches or so. You can then seal it next to the house foundation and as long as the porch top doesn't crack it cant leak.

The top is poured eight inches thick with rebar tied in 12 inch grid and then the porch top is sealed on the outside.
 
I would have to insist on a second way out.

Wouldn't want to be trapped like a rat in a safe room under the porch with the rest of the house on fire or blown in on top of it and no way to get out!!

rc
 
Also have metal duct work through the walls and install fire dampers.

You will likely have some shelving and racks for your guns in the safe room that could be flammable and don't want fire to penetrate the duct openings should there be a house fire.

Run any electric in the room itself in steel conduit on the concrete wall and ceiling and not in any contact with wood in the room. That helps eliminate any chance of a fire actually starting in the safe room itself.
 
Listen to Cliff

And make SURE you have good drainage away from room, and the rest of the house. The floor drain, good A/C, and a good dehumidifier will help avoid rust and mold.
Kcace
 
Listen to Cliff x 2

Luckily when I had our "safe room" built under our 3 car garage our contractor already had a few under his belt. Mine has drainage for a dehumidifier and is on it's own zone for the geothermal system. We also framed, insulated and dry-walled it, as one wall was partially above grade. Warm air hitting cold concrete isn't a good thing.

So far going on 3 years zero moisture/drainage issues.

Chuck
 
Thanks for the tips guys. Luckily, only 1/3 of it is actually below ground. Unfortunately, there is no drain for a dehumidifier. However, I suppose I could still run one and just be adamant about emtying the catch pan out it something. I sure hope this works because I have a $7000 vault door already here in a warehouse. If it gets moisture in there than I spent a lot of money for nothing. And the stuff I plan on storing in there isn't any rifles I want to see degrade due to something like moisture in the air. Another thing against me is we live in one of the most humid places in the US. Geez, you guys have me worried.
 
SilentStalker said:
Thanks for the tips guys. Luckily, only 1/3 of it is actually below ground. Unfortunately, there is no drain for a dehumidifier. However, I suppose I could still run one and just be adamant about emtying the catch pan out it something. I sure hope this works because I have a $7000 vault door already here in a warehouse. If it gets moisture in there than I spent a lot of money for nothing. And the stuff I plan on storing in there isn't any rifles I want to see degrade due to something like moisture in the air. Another thing against me is we live in one of the most humid places in the US. Geez, you guys have me worried.
Click to expand...

The bolded actually caused me more concern, and that's what I mean about warm air hitting cold concrete. Do't know how cold it gets where you are, but I walked in my safe room prior to insulating and drywalling it in, and I could see a frost line that mirrored the above grade section. That section of wall was actually wet, where the inside warm air made contact.

Chuck
 
Thanks for the response Chuck. So far I have not noticed any condensation as you mention and it has been in the 18-20 degree range pretty much all this week here. I think what may be helping is the fact that this wall faces west. So, it can gradually heat up as the day goes on and then gradually cool as the sun sets. Its not a fast change where it is located. So, I think that helps but I could have this all wrong. I sure hope not. I think I will be more concerned here during the summer months as it gets 100+ degrees with humidity levels in the 80% range at times.

Also, the wall there has been waterproofed all the way up to the top of the porch slab so that may help as well. Once this is all bricked it that should help even more with keeping things more consistent I would think. I believe we have taken every precaution we can aside from putting a drain in the floor for a full time dehumidifier just in case. if I had thought about that from the beginning I would have added it but thats not a huge deal, I may just have to get one that I will have to manually empty every so many days, if its even needed. Honestly, I am not sure what more we could do to prevent any moisture aside from building the room in the center of the basement away from any walls and even then its not guaranteed. And, our plans really would not allow for something like that to be done since the stairs for the basement and the AC/furnace stuff is located in the center.
 
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