Why TAA?
QUALITY AND SERVICE YOU CAN TRUST
Buying a tornado safe room is less common than buying a house, and we know it can be an overwhelming process. You probably have questions about safety and durability and whether that metal box will really protect your family during a tornado. You can rest assured knowing that we are experts in this industry, and that your family’s safety, not just another sale, is our #1 priority.
It’s important to know that the safe room and tornado shelter industry isn’t regulated at all. Anyone with the ability to pour concrete, cut and assemble sheet metal, or work fiberglass can start a company and market their product tomorrow. Many companies are simply dealers for someone else’s product. As you make your decision about a safe room to protect your family, do your research and ask lots of questions about quality standards, testing and most importantly an independent peer-reviewed engineering verification process! Many claiming compliance do not require this vital final step, which is crucial to your safety.
- We manufacture our safe rooms in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with strict quality standards for the process, the materials, and the labor.
- We use Tornado Alley Armor employees, not contractors, to manufacture our safe rooms. Even installation is provided by our employees, no matter where in the country you live.
- Every safe room meets all construction and quality control guidelines set forth by FEMA, ICC-500, and the National Storm Shelter Association.
- We have satisfied customers in 31+ states, and nearly a third of those customers are Do-It-Yourselfers who were thrilled to finally locate a high-quality, modular, and easy-to-assemble safe room.
A quality product that speaks for itself
You won’t find any high-pressure sales tactics here! Our sales team doesn’t work on commission, and our focus is to educate our customers so they’re confident in the decision they make.
If you have questions beyond what you find on our website, please give us a call or complete our contact form . We’re happy to answer any questions about Tornado Alley Armor safe rooms.
Design Features
Our safe rooms have full-size walk-in doors and plenty of room for the tall people in your life! You don’t need to bend, stoop, or crawl to get in the safe room, and there are no stairs required since it’s an above-ground model. Our safe rooms provide 6’6” of head clearance and either 30” or 36” wide doors, which means easy access for any family members with mobility concerns plus kids and pets.
YES! If your family grows or the kids head off to college or you simply realize the safe room is taking up more space than necessary, you can add or subtract panels to adjust the size or easily disassemble and move it to a new spot in your home. Our flexible sizing is one of the things our customers love most about Tornado Alley Armor safe rooms.
Yes, our safe rooms are multi-purpose to fit your needs! They can be used as a tornado shelter, safe room for protection from intruders, or to store guns or other valuables. We have 2 deadbolt options you can choose from to lock valuables away, plus a unique optional internal lock-off to keep firearms or valuables secured separately from the occupants. Because our safe rooms are installed indoors and above-ground, you know your valuables are safe.
Yes, you can, with the exception of our smallest models where the narrow end of the safe room can’t accommodate the width of the door. But other than that, you can choose whether the 30” door goes on the left, right, center, or end of your safe room for easy access.
Our modular, bolt-together, above-ground design means our safe rooms are completely entrapment-proof. Every Tornado Alley Armor safe room comes with two wrenches inside that allow you to remove one panel or multiple panels to safely exit the safe room even if debris blocks the door. Most other safe rooms only have one way in or out — the door. If that door becomes blocked by debris or damaged in some way, it becomes unusable.
Your safety is our #1 priority. An outward-swing door enhances your chance of survival by removing the hinges and latches as potential failure points. When impacted by debris missiles, our door closes harder against the frame…unlike inswing doors that try to open inward toward you with every debris strike. Only the hinges and latches stand between you and disaster. With our bolt together design, we don’t have to compromise door design safety in the name of a convenient escape. If our door gets blocked, simply unbolt a panel, or two, or whatever it takes to free yourself, but rest assured you WILL get out, and your door WON’T fail inward during the storm. The best door design plus it’s entrapment proof. It’s a win-win.
We can manufacture a completely custom safe room, but the cost can be anywhere from 15% to 40% higher than our modular designs. Where possible, our recommendation is to use one of our standard modular designs and adjust the sizing by adding or removing a panel where needed. If you still need a custom option, contact us for pricing details.
Cost of TAA Safe Rooms
We offer multiple models of safe rooms to accommodate a wide range of spaces and budgets, with a starting price of around $4,000 for a fully installed safe room. We squeezed every unneeded penny out of our design, fabrication, and overhead (without sacrificing quality) to keep our costs low and pass those savings on to you. We use only the highest-grade materials in our design, not low-end cheap general construction steel, so you can be confident in the quality of the safe room you’re buying.Accordion Sample Description
Yes, we do! You can find a links to Credible personal loans on our site, where some of our customers have experienced same-day credit approval and funding. We know times are tough and money is tight, and we want to help our customers protect their family now, not later. Reach out to us for more information about financing options.
Yes, we charge for professional installations, and the price is clearly listed with the details of each model. Our basic installation fee covers locations with drive-up access, a level location for the safe room, and ample space to work, such as in a garage or a shop. Our custom installation covers the slightly more complex installs, like basements, closets, patios or anywhere inside the home or business.
Quality and Testing
FEMA doesn’t approve, certify, or recommend safe rooms, so don’t be misled by these marketing claims from other companies. FEMA publishes the standards for safe rooms, but there are no requirement for manufacturers of safe rooms or tornado shelters to follow those standards. Failure to follow recommended guidelines carries little or no penalty from a legal standpoint. Tornado Alley Armor products are independently verified by peer review to meet or exceed FEMA P-320/361, ICC-500 and NSSA standards.
The WISE Center at Texas Tech University set the standard in impact testing for shelters and safe rooms. There are four tests that a product undergoes during EF-5 impact testing, and the results of each are documented and provided to the manufacturer. If a product passes all four tests, it’s strong enough to stand up to an EF-5 tornado. When we had our products tested, we requested five additional impact tests to ensure it was the best quality possible. If you’re purchasing a safe room, be sure to ask for documentation of the impact testing results AND independent verification of full compliance.
The National Storm Shelter Association is a FEMA-recognized and self-governing association of safe room/ storm shelter manufacturers. To gain membership, you must pass an independent third-party review to ensure compliance with FEMA standards, adhere to the association’s high standards of integrity, and take the oath of ethics to provide only the highest-quality FEMA-compliant safe rooms. Tornado Alley Armor is a proud Producer Member of the NSSA.
Shipping and Installation
The average installation takes about four hours, but that time can vary based on the size of your safe room and where it’s being installed.
We are committed to providing a high-quality product and outstanding customer service for every single safe room we sell, which means we don’t use contractors for any part of our business. Tornado Alley Armor installers can travel anywhere in the continental United States to professionally install a safe room. If you’re more than 50 miles from Tulsa, Oklahoma, ask about professional installation costs when you request a quote.
Yes, we can! While most customers put their safe room in the garage, we’ve installed our bolt-together safe rooms in closets, basements, barns, covered patios, and much more. Our customers have also completed DIY installs in those same areas.
Our modular design allows us to palletize an entire safe room on a single compact pallet, which is why we can ship anywhere in the country and do so at a lower cost. Many other safe rooms come pre-built, and shipping a large steel or fiberglass box costs a lot more than shipping a compact pallet.
Shipping costs will vary depending on your location, but we can usually ship a safe room from Oklahoma to the East coast for around $500. The closer you are to Oklahoma, the cheaper the shipping costs will be. Ask us about shipping costs when you request a quote. The modular design and easy DIY assembly of Tornado Alley Armor safe rooms means you’re not limited to purchasing from a company that is in your area.
A lot of safe rooms require heavy machinery for installation, but you only need a short list of tools (some wrenches and a hammer drill or rotary hammer) to assemble a Tornado Alley Armor safe room. The install is well within the capabilities of most DIYers and can be completed in about half a day.
We recommend grabbing a friend or two to help lift panels for safety, but we also have modified instructions for a single-person install. We provide our DIY customers with professional 24/7 phone support, how-to videos, detailed instructions, and tips and tricks from professional installers. If you don’t feel like tackling the project yourself, we also offer professional installation by NSSA certified TAA employees across the United States.