Storm Shelter

The storm shelter is done!  I must say I felt completely comfortable when the most recent tornado warning message went out a few weeks ago.  Knowing that just a few hundred feet from my bed is an in-ground steel box that will keep my family safe had me sleeping easy!  I was going to post step by step photos of the whole process, but the cell phone I had the video and pictures of the process on died, leaving no hope for retrieving the data. :-(  So where's what I have:

First they cut the concrete in the garage then they started digging out the dirt.  

After the 6x10x6 hole was completely dug and the water pipe re-routed we just had to wait for the shelter itself to come.

They dragged it off the trailer and then rolled it over the hole using the good old fashioned cavemen method of rolling it on top of pipes that you move to the front when they come out the back.  

Next he built a big frame and pulley system to lower the box into the ground.  It was pretty cool.. I'm bummed the video got lost!

After that they filled in the space around the edges with dirt and then poured concrete on top.  A few days later Joel reinforced it with steel rebar and then poured more cement to level it off with the old garage floor.  

All that you see now is the door of the shelter.  It is small enough that we can park our cars on top of it and its close enough to the garage door that when we pull our cars toward the front of the garage we can still get into the shelter without moving the car outside.  

The part of the door you can see in the above picture is the part of the door that is cemented into the ground.  There is another section of the door that fits just under the first part.  The 2nd section rolls forward and locks in place with a very thick steel rod inside the shelter.  

We've got enough water and food to last Mark, Gizmo, and I a few days, plus blankets, an emergency toilet, lanterns, batteries, and 2 first aid kits.  The only problem is that about 7 families have told us they are coming to our house for the next tornado.  If that's the case, we will only have enough food and water for 1 night. :-(.  The idea of selling seats is looking more and more appealing as more people "inform" us of their intentions.  I guess we'll see what actually happens if we ever get a tornado close to Bentonville.

Well that's it for now.  I've been busy these past two weeks with nanny work from 7am-2:30pm.  I also took a long weekend vacation to Atlanta to visit Kristi and her growing family.  I'm gearing up for a nice long memorial day weekend as I remember the awesome gift my grandfathers and Mark's family members gave us when they chose to serve our country in the armed forces.  I just wish I were near Ogden or Danville so we could go pay proper respects to those great men!