By far the most important question to ask when shopping for a tornado shelter is “Are you a member of the National Storm Shelter Association?”
NSSA Producer Members (like us) are your only assured way to know that the shelter is in fact FEMA compliant and built to withstand EF-5 forces. We are required by the NSSA to pass a full 3rd party engineering peer review of our entire design package, including quality control measures, full compliance
with FEMA361 and ICC-500 guidelines, calculations, construction prints, and impact test verification to name a few. No other association or certainly no
independent provider will have their designs independently verified…they’ll instead give you lots of well-rehearsed excuses why they’re not members of the NSSA. The NSSA does all the leg work and covers all the bases for you, so you simply have to look for NSSA Producer Members.
We use a smart design in our shelters. We chose 10 gauge TEMPERED steel for our panels while the vast majority uses A36 COLD ROLLED general construction steel. The difference is dramatic, like comparing the old lead bullet proof vests to the new Kevlar ones, and the same mechanical principles apply. I encourage you to watch our impact test videos on our website to see for yourself. The panels absorb and transfer the energy so efficiently that the boards don’t shatter like you’d expect, they simply bounce off. Since our panels are designed to deflect on impact we carry a full life time
replacement warranty against tornado damage. One side note….you ultimately pay by the pound for the extra steel required to make cold rolled A36 stand up to EF-5 debris impacts, so why pay for all that extra weight you don’t need?
Tornado Alley Armor fasteners are Grade 8 yellow zinc plated, the hardest you can get without purchasing exotic alloys like titanium at $50/bolt. It’s the same grade used in bridge and building construction. Many manufactures use larger but softer bolts in their designs to save a few cents per fastener. Your safety is on the line so we choose only the best materials. Our fasteners are 3/8″ diameter because larger is just overkill and these provide ample
holding power.
We know there’s a lot of misinformation out there, which is to be expected in this unregulated industry. That’s why our website is packed full of
information to help you make the best decision. You might be interested to know that between 7%-10% of our customers hold degrees in one field of
study….mechanical design/engineering….