Shelter Room for Your Home

Yes, an existing basement can be retrofitted as a shelter room if certain structural and technical requirements are met. BSSD assesses, among other things, the existing building structure, structural integrity, ceiling height, access points and technical possibilities. Based on this assessment, an individual shelter room concept is developed.

Depending on the desired level of protection, a shelter room retrofit may include structural reinforcements, a shelter room door, filtration and ventilation technology, as well as other security-relevant components.

→ Plan a shelter room in your basement

Yes. A new build offers particularly good conditions for integrating a shelter room into the building plans at an early stage. Room layout, structural requirements, access, ventilation, utilities and technical equipment can already be taken into account during the planning phase.

This allows the shelter room to be better integrated into the architecture and building services. The appropriate solution depends, among other things, on the building, property, intended use and desired level of protection.

→ Plan a shelter room in a new build

In principle, an individual security or shelter room solution can also be assessed for an apartment. However, whether and to what extent implementation is possible depends heavily on the building structure, structural integrity, location of the apartment, available space and construction possibilities.

For this reason, an individual technical assessment is particularly important for apartments. BSSD first evaluates the existing conditions and then develops a suitable solution.

→ Have the options for your apartment assessed

The possible number of occupants is determined individually based on the size, equipment, ventilation and intended use concept of the shelter room. The intended duration of stay also plays an important role.

Planning therefore takes into account not only the available floor area, but also air supply, sanitary facilities, equipment and circulation space. For BSSD projects, the desired number of occupants is already taken into account during the technical preliminary planning stage.

As an example, BSSD specifies at least 1 m² of floor area and 2.5 m³ of room volume per shelter position for certain ventilation systems. However, these values cannot be applied universally to every shelter room concept.

→ Plan a shelter room for your number of occupants

The required equipment depends on the intended level of protection, room size and planned duration of stay. An individual shelter room concept may include ventilation and filtration technology, shelter room doors, emergency exits, emergency lighting, power supply and communications technology.

Higher protection requirements may require additional technical systems. BSSD therefore plans the equipment to suit the respective building and security concept. For shelter room retrofits, BSSD lists NBC filtration technology, pressure-resistant or armored doors, explosion protection valves and an emergency exit among the possible components.

→ Discover shelter room technology

The cost of a shelter room in a single-family home cannot be stated as a standard figure. It depends, among other things, on the size, condition of the building, structural circumstances, desired level of protection, technical equipment and scope of the required construction work.

For an existing building, structural reinforcements, modifications to openings and additional shelter room technology may be required. In a new build, the shelter room and technical components can be integrated into the building plans from the outset.

BSSD therefore prepares a project-specific concept and quotation after assessing the individual requirements. An on-site inspection can serve as the basis for the technical assessment and quotation; BSSD credits the inspection fee against the subsequent order.

→ Request individual consultation and cost planning