# Just how common are "panic rooms"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2007, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312 "2007-05-16T13:19:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/1 "2007-05-16T13:19:12Z")
> **[Safe room](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_room)** > > A safe room or panic room is a fortified room that is installed in a private residence or business to provide a safe shelter, or hiding place, for the inhabitants in the event of a break in, home invasion, tornado, terror attack, or other threat. Safe rooms usually contain communications equipment, so that law enforcement authorities can be contacted. > The most basic safe room is simply a closet with the hollow-core door replaced with an exterior-grade solid-core door that has a deadbolt and lo... Do any Dopers know someone with a panic room? Does anyone work for a company or organization with a panic room on the premises? I wonder if it’s the province of the ultra-rich, or is just Hollywood hype (as in the Jodie Foster movie of the same name). ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/2 "2007-05-16T13:22:23Z")
I have read that they were a minor fad during the 1990’s. I have never known anyone with a panic room though. They are very expensive and most people don’t have a good place foor one. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/3 "2007-05-16T13:45:28Z")
When we built or house three years ago, we created a “safe room” in the basement. Poured concrete walls and a steel door with three deadbolts. Has a sleeper sofa and recliner. Also TV, phone and communications gear. More for tornado protection than anything more serious. We’re located in mid eastern Missouri, so tornados are not uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/4 "2007-05-16T14:04:56Z")
[QUOTE=GaryM] When we built or house three years ago, we created a “safe room” in the basement. Poured concrete walls and a steel door with three deadbolts. Has a sleeper sofa and recliner. Also TV, phone and communications gear. More for tornado protection than anything more serious. We’re located in mid eastern Missouri, so tornados are not uncommon. [/QUOTE] My uncle in Arkansas has the same thing, but he’s the only person I know that has that. His wife is paranoid about tornados so they built it into their new house. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/5 "2007-05-16T14:31:52Z")
Yes, they exist. Often in more expensive homes they are labeled otherwise on the plans submitted for construction; storage, wine cellar, craft room. After initial construction phase is over, and they’ve moved in, they’ll bring in a different crew to finish those rooms. Like us rubes working on the house can’t figure it out… Rich paranoids always make life just a little more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/6 "2007-05-16T15:38:25Z")
Our house was built in the 19th century [very much modernized and updated] but when we were tearing down a wall we thought was a wall to expand our kitchen we discovered a very tiny door 2-ft X 5-ft rectangle: it led down a small set of stairs and into a little room. No one knew it was there, the realtor was mystified when we called her. We found that it was an underground root cellar. It had some jars and lot’s of cobwebs. I salvaged some cool glass bottles, but otherwise it was cut off for whatever reason. We ended up filling it in, and moving on with the renovation. I doubt it was a panic room, but finding a room that we previusly thought didn’t exist was pretty cool. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/7 "2007-05-16T15:48:27Z")
My panic room doubles as a tornado shelter as well. Being the midwest and in a very safe community, I am trully more worried about tornadoes than bad guys. That being said, it is stocked with food and water, some other items for defense as well as communications gear not accessible through the rest of the house. If a tornado hits, I am pretty well screwed, but I wont go out without a fight I guess… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/8 "2007-05-16T15:59:43Z")
[QUOTE=JXJohns] My panic room doubles as a tornado shelter as well. Being the midwest and in a very safe community, I am trully more worried about tornadoes than bad guys. [/QUOTE] “Honey, quick, into the safe room and lock the door. The neighbors are bringing another hotdish!” ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/9 "2007-05-16T16:01:59Z")
We also have a designed “safe room” we built it in for any emergency when we completely remodeled our home. It’s off an old root cellar, concreted and I-beamed. We use it mostly to store a few weeks worth of grub, but it has communication equipment both hand charged and solar operated lighting, well water hand pumped in. Now why did we build it considering we are not “rich” or even upper middle class. We had extra material, a root cellar already and boredom. And after a few disasters left people fending for themselves for a bit, seemed like a cheap way for a little peace of mind. Far from a Panic Room of Hollywood though. ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/10 "2007-05-16T16:09:37Z")
[QUOTE=DanBlather] “Honey, quick, into the safe room and lock the door. The neighbors are bringing another hotdish!” [/QUOTE] I hate casseroles 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MrJackboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MrJackboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrJackboots)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/11 "2007-05-16T23:37:03Z")
I remember reading a Wall Street Journal article, back when I was in high school I think, about the fallout shelters (much the same) that were required in Switzerland for quite some time. “For every Swiss a shelter” was the motto. They get converted to rec rooms and such quite a bit. [Ah, here we go. Cite for the curious.](http://www.realestatejournal.com/buildimprove/20010125-thurow.html) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/12 "2007-05-17T00:23:13Z")
If I had space for an extra room, I would use it for something more fun like a home theatre, rather than a panic room. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/13 "2007-05-17T00:29:58Z")
I’ve worked in some of the most expensive houses in my area and have never seen anyone devote a room for such purposes. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/14 "2007-05-17T00:31:30Z")
[QUOTE=Phlosphr] Our house was built in the 19th century [very much modernized and updated] but when we were tearing down a wall we thought was a wall to expand our kitchen we discovered a very tiny door 2-ft X 5-ft rectangle: it led down a small set of stairs and into a little room. No one knew it was there, the realtor was mystified when we called her. We found that it was an underground root cellar. It had some jars and lot’s of cobwebs. I salvaged some cool glass bottles, but otherwise it was cut off for whatever reason. We ended up filling it in, and moving on with the renovation. I doubt it was a panic room, but finding a room that we previusly thought didn’t exist was pretty cool. 🙂 [/QUOTE] There were a number of homes which were modified in the Prohibition period to hid rooms where alcohol was made. One of my friends in Salt Lake (yes, in Salt Lake) lived in a house which was built during the period and had a number of false walls for storage as well as a secret room. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/15 "2007-05-17T00:39:29Z")
Some friends of ours have one, and the house is not that expensive. I know that they bought it for less than a million, although no telling what the housing bubble did to it. But I wouldn’t have known it was one if they hadn’t told me (they didn’t build the house). They used it mostly as a closet, and he keeps his Playboy magazine collection in there. It is not very large, and is much more likely to see use during a storm or hurricane – we Floridians don’t have basements. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/16 "2007-05-17T00:43:07Z")
[QUOTE=boytyperanma] I’ve worked in some of the most expensive houses in my area and have never seen anyone devote a room for such purposes. [/QUOTE] Of COURSE you didn’t see it- it’s a secret! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/17 "2007-05-17T01:43:42Z")
[QUOTE=ShibbOleth] Some friends of ours have one, and the house is not that expensive. I know that they bought it for less than a million, although no telling what the housing bubble did to it. [/QUOTE] Where the heck do you live that less than a million isn’t that expensive? I’ve assuming here that by less than a million, you’re not talking about a mere $300,000 house. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/18 "2007-05-17T01:56:14Z")
> [@](#): > > There were a number of homes which were modified in the Prohibition period to hid rooms where alcohol was made. One of my friends in Salt Lake (yes, in Salt Lake) lived in a house which was built during the period and had a number of false walls for storage as well as a secret room. Even more excitingly, you’ll occasionally encounter a house from the 1800s with one or more secret rooms for use by the Underground Railroad. One of the old churches in Cleveland even has a tunnel leading to the river, for boarding boats to Canada. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/19 "2007-05-17T02:05:58Z")
[QUOTE=Balthisar] Where the heck do you live that less than a million isn’t that expensive? I’ve assuming here that by less than a million, you’re not talking about a mere $300,000 house. [/QUOTE] Pretty much any large coastal city. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312/20 "2007-05-17T02:07:36Z")
[QUOTE=boytyperanma] I’ve worked in some of the most expensive houses in my area and have never seen anyone devote a room for such purposes. [/QUOTE] That’s because the guys who built it are under the driveway slab, pal. Dead men tell no tales. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-common-are-panic-rooms/404312.md?page=2)