Over the last several years severe weather has become more frequent. Just last year, Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck FL two weeks apart, ranking among the most devastating storms to hit Florida’s West Coast in a century. If you’re thinking of building a new home in the Tampa Bay Area, customizing your home with a hurricane safe room might be something to consider.
There are two choices when a hurricane approaches: prepare your home the best you can and evacuate—or hunker down and weather the storm. My wife and I have lived in Pasco County since 1995 and have always opted to hunker down, and never once felt the need to evacuate or even board up our windows—that is until Hurricane Irma 2017. It was a good thing we did, because even as a Category 1, Irma brought down several trees on our property and left us without power for a week. Since then, we invested in a generator and have boarded up our windows several times—a sign of how much things have changed since we 1st moved to Florida almost 30 years ago. .
Homeowners who live along the Gulf Coast, near the Bay or along the Hillsborough River, tend to worry most about water damage from storm surges and flooding. Homeowners who live further inland like we do are more concerned with wind damage and the threat of falling trees.
Northern Hillsborough, Eastern Pasco and Eastern Hernando are becoming increasingly popular locations to build a new home. These beautiful, rural areas are filled with mature trees and open land, but that also increases the risk of wind damage and falling trees during a hurricane.
The homeowners of our latest project in Brooksville recognized this potential risk on their 81-acre property, and requested a reinforced safe room as part of their new home’s design. A well-designed safe room is the kind of request only a true custom home builder can offer their clients.
So, what exactly is a hurricane safe room? While there are various ways to construct one, this particular home features a windowless room that functions as primary bedroom closet, but is specifically engineered to be a safe room during an extreme weather event.
The closet walls are built with reinforced masonry, incorporating extra rebar and poured solid concrete to create an impenetrable structure. The ceiling is constructed using a metal deck with overlapping rebar 12-inches on center, and is poured solid with concrete, ensuring maximum strength in the case of a large tree falling on to the home. To complete the safe room, an impact-rated access door will be installed, providing a fortified entry point that can withstand hurricane-force winds and flying debris.
We generate detailed 3D drawings for critical structural elements—like this hurricane safe room. These 3D visuals ensure our trades know exactly how to build it, eliminating guesswork, minimizing rework, and keeping every detail on point. From reinforced masonry walls to the concrete ceiling structure, nothing gets missed.
Even in the event of a strong hurricane or tornado, our homeowners and their family will have a secure space to retreat to. Paired with a standby generator (which we’ll discuss in a future post), this safe room will allow them to ride out the storm with access to electricity, air conditioning, and essential systems.
In a landscape filled with mass-produced houses, it’s thoughtful details like this that truly distinguish a custom home from the rest. It’s not just about building a house; it’s about designing a home that meets our homeowner’s every need and provides them peace of mind.
That’s the power of going custom—if it matters to you, we make it happen.
Contact us today to see how we can help!
