Click here to see the Daily News Journal Article about our shelters
Our Shelters in action:
The FlatSafe storm shelter can be installed in almost any new or existing home.
On April 10, 2009, Good Friday, an F4 Tornado ripped through Rutherford County.
Packing sustained winds of 170 mph with gusts over 200, the tornado
destroyed over 111 homes, and damaged another 800. Kori Bryant, and her
9 week old daughter Olivia were killed. Kori's husband John was sucked up
through the roof and sustained a broken back, punctured lung, and broken
ribs. John and his family were friends of mine. John does the roofing on
my homes. He owns CopperTect Roofing and hand crafted the copper counter
tops in our 2008 Parade of Homes Entry.
John rushed home as reports of the tornado were broadcast on the radio. He and his family sought refuge in the center of their home and covered themselves with blankets and mattress'. Little Olivia was strapped in a car seat for added protection. They did everything they could, but their home was in the direct path of the F4 tornado.
Had their home had a shelter, they would still be here today.
As of April 10th, 2009, Jensen Quality Homes is including a Tornado Shelter in every home we build.
The shelter will be included in the base price of your home, at my cost. I have negotiated a deal with a shelter company to give me a discount on these life saving shelters as I buy them in quantity.
The home in the upper left corner of the picture below, belonged to another friend of mine. She and her two daughters sought shelter in the laundry room of their home. This room, located in the center of the home came through the tornado, but the roof and the ceilings in the home were ripped off. Their home didn't sustain a direct hit, but had to be torn down as it was structurally unsafe.
Across the street from where John lived is a subdivision called Jamison Place. Jensen Quality Homes built 13 homes in that subdivision. That represents 13 families that are friends of mine. I am committed to providing protection from these destructive storms.
Life is too short, death too ugly, and life and loved ones too valuable not to.
In Memory of Kori and Olivia Bryant
The Shelter
I have done research on different shelters. My criteria was simple:
SAFE, cost effective, and one that would work in any Jensen Quality
Home, with any floor plan. We have done safe rooms in the past, and they
were 'designed' into the home from the beginning. This works, but also
takes up interior floor space. Being inside the home is good because
seconds count, but also requires additional 'foundation work' to secure
the shelter to. This adds expense but is obviously an option when we are
custom building your home and working on your floor plan.
Since most Jensen Quality Homes have a 2.5 or 3.5 car garage, my first
thought was to install the shelter in the garage. This is an option open
to you should you want a 'walk-in' solution. But ultimately, the
solution I settled on is an in-ground shelter that is installed in the
garage floor
This solution meets all the criteria I had set. We have several
placement options in the garage, and it will work with any floor plan.
This patent-pending innovative new product is a below ground shelter
designed for use in your home's garage. Providing beyond F5 protection.
Evaluated by four independent engineering firms, the Tornado Shelter
respects every aspect of your safety and convenience, including in-home
access. The extensive research and development of the Tornado Shelter
addresses the fundamental components of a reliable tornado shelter. The
most important considerations for a below grade shelter consist of
proper ventilation, impact strength, corrosion control, buoyancy
resistance, safe entry, and emergency egress.
This underground, safe, cost effective Tornado Shelter is included in the base price of your new Jensen Quality Home. Upgrades in size and options are available.
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