Building a "dream" gun room

[Chemist]

If you built a gun room, how would you do it?

Design features?

Location? (Inside the home or in another building/shed/barn)

Security features?

Other things I haven't asked or thought to consider that I need to before meeting with the architect?

I'm looking at putting one in our next home if the hubby will let me and I can make my case for it.

FWIW, we have young children and at the present I don't reload but it wouldn't take much to get me into it.

Update for clarification:

I just plan on keeping things locked down and away from little fingers and nosey folks, including BG's if they break into the house.

I don't want a room to decorate with guns, I want a room to clean/store/secure my guns. I've even thought about having a hidden room and was wondering if others had ideas to share about what they have seen/done for themselves. I really want to learn from others experiences and mistakes.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Well discussed thread
if you have the space you can build a vault
lacking that
pushing out a closet so it's large enough with a beefed up door, solid walls and double sheet rock for fire is a start.

 

[Hatterasguy]

Some people say, when is enough enough? When I get to this point, I'll have enough guns!


I love how the first one is done, why bother with crown molding when you can just hang BAR's?

 

[Shadow 7D]

Yeah, I guess the flamethrowers are great for lighting the BBQ

You can never go wrong with brass on a maxim

 

[Chemist]

Sorry Shadow 7D, but my search must have been faulty because it either came up with everything or nothing.

Hatterasguy, while my husband lets me do just about everything I want, that is far from my reality.

 

[Harley Rider 55]

 

[Red Cent]

Expand on "Gun Room". Decorate? Security? Entertain? Reload? Combination?

 

[Maverick223]

I second the notion to explain exactly what you are looking for. I am planning to add a gun vault to the plans for my house (still a couple of years out), but I plan to keep it fairly simple. Just a large armored (well-reinforced, nuclear containment structure grade concrete) walk-in closet in the basement with a heavy vault door (that is concealed). I figured that about 100-200 square feet will suffice (dependent upon whether the reloading area will be located within), but I don't plan to set it up to show off the guns, only for easily storage (vertical racks to lean the rifles on similar to average gun shop shelves, and a few drawers/counters). I'm not real big on showing off my collection to guests, the folks that are interested in seeing them are usually the folks that go to the range with me anyway.

Additionally, I think it is best to keep a small safe in the living portion of the house for emergency use (bedroom would be best), whereas the basement is best for a dedicated gun room/vault from a security standpoint. Doesn't have to be anything special (you probably already have one), just something to keep the "go-to guns" in. I use guns of moderate value for this, so i'm not particularly concerned about these, but some security is certainly beneficial (especially for people with young children).

 

[Chemist]

I just plan on keeping things locked down and away from little fingers and nosey folks, including BG's if they break into the house.

I don't want a room to decorate with guns, I want a room to clean/store/secure my guns. I've even thought about having a hidden room and was wondering if others had ideas to share about what they have seen/done for themselves. I really want to learn from others experiences and mistakes.

 

[Maverick223]

I don't feel like sharing details (especially with my locality listed under my name), but i'm sending you a PM with a very good idea, that I plan to use in my own home.

 

[mchaley]

I wanted to make my future room have a strong Japanese influence. A bit like a Dojo but with rifles mounted on every spot on the wall. ... That may be a PITA to keep clean though now that I think about it.

 

[content]

Hello friends and neighbors // I took over the walk in pantry for mine.

For the walls; Double sheet rock then chainlink fence then plywood to hang racks on. Steel door/dead bolt on the reinforced frame.

If I leave for an extended time I cable lock all the trigger guards together also.

Just secure storage I don't clean/repair firearms there.

I use an old desk in my "office area", I also have my bb/airsoft guns and "in closet" range in here so I can shoot anytime.

 

[Red Cent]

One fellow took a 24' section of his den (new home construction) and created a "false" wall with no apparent door. The room was about 8' wide. Simple room with safe and gunracks.Wired for TV and stereo. Heat and air.
I confiscated the other half of the washroom(approximately 12'X6') for reloading and cleaning. Gun safe is in the family room.

 

[Red Cent]

Want to show Chemist some of our rooms?

 

[Kingofthehill]

re-enforced wall, Vault door. Generator, fuel, water, air purification.

Then, TV (BIG!), surround sound, well lit coffee table to clean my guns while watching TV.

Then all my guns, reloading equipment mounted all the time, kegerator, tools, heating, cooling, central drain... SECRETE Passage ways for the hell of it

Ahhh... i could only imagine being able to build my dream gun room

 

[sledhead76]

Are these gun/reloading rooms you guys are describing, or panic rooms?

 

[Rembrandt]

If its a hidden area your after.....check this company out. Features hidden panels behind book cases and fireplaces. Go to the Gallery section.....

http://www.hiddenpassageway.com/?gclid=CILGi-jfi6ICFQ_yDAodpBD6Vg

 

[Hatterasguy]

Yeah, I guess the flamethrowers are great for lighting the BBQ

The question that needs to be asked...is why don't you need a flamethrower?!


Building a gun room into a new construction wouldn't be to hard. When I build my house I plan on putting one in. Mine is going to be very modern, with pegs to hold all my toys on the walls, probably black marble floors with white walls, something very 21st century James Bond looking, a desk for working on them, and probably a bar just because. Also a TV for watching war and gun related movies.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Hatter, a supersoaker with gas, mix gas diesel and a few melted Styrofoam cups to get the right consistency, yes it's not 70' of roaring furry, but I did get a good 50'

sometimes I'm amazed I survived my childhood.

Personally I'd love to have one, just don't know how I would explain it to the wife...

 

[Red Cent]

Chemist, start another thread and ask to see gun rooms. There is an old thread somewhere on here (months and months ago) but it must be 30 pages. Bet there is a lot of new and remodeled rooms that we would like to show off. Tell them you are aware of the old thread but you would like to see current pictures.

 

[mjkten]

I remember a gunsmith I knew had a separate area in his shop (this was detached from his house) that was walled up in concrete block, he used take-off gun barrels for reinforcement in the hollow portion which was also filled with concrete. Of course, rebar would be the way to go if you didn't build custom rifles for a living. He had a vault door for access and security, but I remember it was about 8 feet wide and 12 or 16 feet long. You could do almost anything in that space, but I would want some good ventilation if I were to clean guns there.

 

[Hawthorne2k]

My dream gun room would be adjacent to one (or more) of these, because what's the point of having your own gun room if you don't have any place to shoot?

 

[Aw4g63]

I saw mention of heat and air but more importantly is moisture control. A vital part to keeping guns protected. A solid vapor barrier needs to be established when building the room.

I worked in a room that was a large gun vault controlled by a Liebert cooling unit. They make precision cooling units for applications like this, labs, computer rooms, etc...