How Much Will Installing a Panic Room Cost You?

Over the past decade, the fig of Americans actively preparing for disaster has skyrocketed. According to FEMA data, the fig of self-identified “preppers” has astir doubled since 2017, reaching 20 million. Part of that mentation sometimes includes a “panic room” oregon bunker to support themselves harmless successful an emergency.

While custom-built, multi-room underground shelters with precocious information systems tin outgo hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more), simpler pre-fabricated options installed above-ground tin beryllium overmuch much affordable and accessible.

So, however overmuch volition installing a panic country truly tally you? Below, we interruption down imaginable costs progressive and the factors that power them.

Why Are More Americans Building Panic Rooms?

A increasing interest implicit civilian unrest, crime, and worsening earthy disasters has driven galore Americans to see investing successful exigency preparations similar a panic room. A 2023 Finder survey recovered that 29% of U.S. adults spent a corporate $11 cardinal connected exigency preparedness successful 12 months.

A dedicated space, similar a panic country oregon bunker, allows you to stockpile necessities and enactment protected from the extracurricular satellite successful times of chaos. For disaster-prepared homeowners, having this entree tin supply comfortableness and information for themselves and their families.

Colorado-based wide contractor Chris Hock, proprietor of Earth Saving Solutions and Colorado Homes and Design, says helium hasn’t had the accidental to physique a panic country yet, but they often look successful his societal media feeds.

“I’ve done rather a spot of probe connected [panic rooms] implicit the years,” Hock said. “I’ve seen homes with extended nutrient retention and a increasing request for backup power. Solar systems with backup batteries person been peculiarly applicable successful Colorado.”

Different Types of Panic Rooms and Their Price Ranges

Panic country costs tin drastically disagree from 1 task to the next, ranging from a fewer 1000 to a fewer cardinal dollars. The terms yet depends connected task scope, materials, and desired features. Here’s what you tin expect to wage for antithetic types of panic rooms, based connected information from Home Guide.

• Low end: Above-ground harmless rooms. Installing a simple, above-ground panic country offers an affordable enactment for homeowners looking for accrued home security. These rooms, which are often pre-fabricated alloy harmless rooms installed successful a closet oregon garage, mostly commencement astatine astir $3,600 and tally upwards of $11,200. While much affordable, they connection less protections than below-ground bunkers.
• Mid-range: Prefabricated underground bunkers. Ideal for extortion from earthy disasters and large-scale emergencies, these tin scope from $4,000 to implicit $20,000 for smaller one-room tempest shelters, including excavation and installation costs. Multi-room bunkers with utilities, exigency flight hatches, and filtration systems tin outgo upwards of $400,000.
• High-end: Custom-built bunkers. Tailored to circumstantial needs, these tin see amenities similar aerial filtration systems, solar-powered infrastructure, and flight tunnels. The nationalist mean outgo to physique a customized bunker, including excavation, materials, and labor, is astir $60,000, but it tin transcend $9 cardinal for high-end installations.
  

Features That Impact Your Panic Room Cost

As with immoderate operation project, your preferences and specifications tin greatly interaction the full outgo of a panic room. The much extortion and information features you want, the much costly your physique volition be, said Hock. 

“You person to deliberation astir the complexity of materials, plan choices, and ongoing maintenance,” helium said.

Here are a fewer cardinal factors that mightiness thrust up your full cost.

Materials and Size

Many panic rooms and bunkers are made of steel, but safely burying them underground requires reinforced concrete. Ryan Meagher, pre-construction manager astatine BVM Contracting, said that factual is typically the biggest worldly outgo progressive successful an underground panic country build. The mean outgo of factual walls is $90 to $320 per linear foot, truthful the larger your structure, the higher your costs volition be.

“Understanding however overmuch factual volition beryllium needed and the benignant of reinforcements needed volition beryllium an important outgo consideration,” Meagher said.

Utilities and Functionality

Meagher said utilities are a large outgo information for a panic country oregon bunker, including backup powerfulness for energy successful the lawsuit of a powerfulness outage, plumbing and caller h2o supply, ventilation, and HVAC.

Greenhouses, which are perfect for self-sustainability, tin scope from $2,500 to $15,000, positive further lighting and watering systems.

“Adding elements similar hydroponics for increasing nutrient underground is possible, but you request to see the necessity of these features based connected your budget,” Hock said.

New Construction vs. Retrofitting

Hock noted that gathering a panic country oregon bunker into a caller operation task is overmuch easier than adding 1 to an existing property.

“If the bunker is portion of the archetypal location design, the task costs tin beryllium overmuch much tenable from the start,” helium explained. “Additionally, the amenities volition beryllium amended integrated, and the owners and their families volition perchance beryllium safer.”

Hock said it’s inactive “absolutely feasible” to retrofit an existing location with an supra oregon below-ground panic room—though the outgo and complexity of your task volition increase.

“Lots of investigating volition beryllium necessary,” helium added. “Consider h2o tables, ungraded testing, metropolis codes, and spot lines.”

Additional Cost Factors

• Above-ground vs. below-ground: Safe rooms and above-ground tempest shelters are importantly cheaper than underground bunkers. Excavation unsocial tin scope from $1,100 to $5,600, but that outgo whitethorn beryllium worthy it if you’re looking for added extortion from the elements.
• Pre-fabricated vs. custom-built: Pre-fabricated bunkers and shelters tin beryllium much cost-effective than customized builds. However, determination whitethorn beryllium transportation and installation costs involved, which tin adhd thousands (or more) to your last bill.
• Advanced information features: You tin expect to wage other for features similar exigency exits, flight hatches, and reinforced alloy oregon factual walls. Other imaginable information features see privateness fencing and camouflage entrances.
• Permits: Building permits for large-scale operation projects similar a bunker oregon a panic country summation tin scope from $500 to $2,000, though this whitethorn beryllium built into your contractor oregon installer’s cost.

Considerations Before You Start Your Panic Room Build 

No substance what benignant of panic country task you’re funny in, it’s omniscient to enactment with a nonrecreational who has acquisition successful these types of location renovations to guarantee your panic country is built correctly. 

“Make definite you person elaborate architectural drawings,” Meagher said. “Working with an architectural spouse that has acquisition specifying the close partition configurations and different details for your panic country is paramount successful having the operation executed properly.”

Once you find a contractor, Hock advised communicating intelligibly with them astir the intended intent of your panic room, arsenic this tin pass which features are astir important to the build.

“Understand wherefore you privation this space, whether it’s for earthy catastrophe protection, location penetration security, oregon semipermanent self-sufficiency successful the lawsuit of atomic fallout,” helium said. “Budget realistically and prioritize prime to guarantee your information and bid of mind.”

Finally, you'll person to determine how to wage for your project, whether it's cash, a home betterment loan, a location equity enactment of recognition (HELOC), recognition cards, oregon a operation of options.

The Bottom Line

For immoderate Americans, nary terms is excessively precocious to protect their household and property. A panic country oregon bunker tin springiness you bid of caput astir your information and quality to navigate an exigency situation. As with immoderate operation project, it’s important to measure your needs, budget, and disposable options to recognize each the costs progressive successful gathering your panic room.