Bolt Together DIY Above Ground Safe Room Tornado Alley Armor

Do It Yourself

Tornado Alley Armor assembly takes the average DIYer half a day or less to completely assemble and anchor our standard sized model. A wrench. A hammer drill. If you can tighten nuts and bolts, drill a few holes, and stand a few panels upright (we recommend a friend’s help for safety), then you can install your own safe room. Learn more about DIY installation below.

INSTALLING YOUR STORM SHELTER

DO IT YOURSELF or ASK FOR THE PROS

Professional Safe Room Installation by Tornado Alley Armor

Professional Installation

If DIY isn’t your thing or you just want the assurance of proper installation, we can schedule one of our professional installers to provide that service for you. It’s your choice. Basic installations typically take around 2 to 3-1/2 hours to complete, while custom installations take about 50% longer.

Professional Installation Details

We offer two levels of professional installation – basic and custom.

Basic installation pricing is for drive-up access with ample work space, typically within 20 feet of the delivery vehicle or trailer, such as a garage or shop. This is our standard installation rate.

Custom installation pricing is for indoor locations, restricted work spaces, or remote access requiring installers to shuttle panels and equipment to the installation site. This type of site includes, but is not limited to closets, basements, storage rooms, spare bedrooms, offices, patios, etc. Site hazards such as mud, steep slopes or excessive construction debris are also considered custom if the installer can safely navigate them. Custom installations typically take at least 1-1/2 times longer than basic installations due the challenges associated with the custom installation site. Therefore, the rate for custom installations is 1-1/2 times the basic rate for the model installed.

 

Installation Time Lapse

DIY Installation

Our modular bolted design is the gold standard of the safe room and storm shelter industry. About 10-15% of our customers choose the DIY option every year and save hundreds on delivery and installation. You can too!

If you choose to DIY, you get online access to detailed downloadable step by step written instructions, tips & tricks from our professional installers, and how-to videos….plus expert 24/7 phone support!

Plus, if you have Facetime or Skype on your smart phone or tablet, we can be right there with you via the web to advise, assist, and inspect every step of the way if needed. If you don’t have these apps now, they’re easy to download and set up.

DIY Frequently Asked Questions

The only tools required to completely assemble and anchor our safe room to your concrete slab are shown here. You can mix and match the tools you have, borrow from a friend, or rent the best tools for the job at many of the big box home improvement stores. The better the tools, the faster and easier the job!



 

That’s really all you need… really!

No concrete saw, no backhoe, no cement truck, no forklift, no heavy duty trucks or trailers, no ruts in your yard, no fences to take down, no unsightly dirt mounds in the yard, and no mess before, during or after the installation. Of course there are always little “tricks of the trade” that professional installers may use to make the job a little more efficient, but the tools listed are all you really need to get the job done….really!



Most of “the other guys” design their shelters another way. Their products are typically cumbersome concrete or welded steel boxes that can’t be altered without a welder, can’t be moved without expensive heavy equipment, or worse still…. they’re buried in the ground forever. You move away, and the shelter stays with its happy new owners.

They are either digging a huge hole in your yard or garage floor, or they’re bringing in a convoy of heavy equipment to get it off the trailer and into your garage.

This gets to be a mess very quickly and can be very expensive too.

No Problem!

 

With our modular system it’s easy to carry all the components through any standard door in your home to any room with a concrete slab floor. There’s no need to tear out walls or door frames to get a shelter in there, and no need for custom fit installations, usually costing twice the price of a standard unit.