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Louis, where I grew up we had basements. But not where I live now. We hit water at about 6 feet. People that put in pools have to install a pump under the pool to control the ground water. If the pool is empty or still under construction the water can push the pool out of the ground. If this wasn’t the case I would have dug under my house years ago. I could build up but at my age there aren’t going to be any stairs.
My take on basements; dig a hole in the ground and sooner or later You’ll get water in it. I have a basement but I wouldn’t keep My guns down there. My gun room is beside My living room on the main floor where I spend a lot of time and I can enjoy My guns. If I was fearful of having them stolen or wharever I wouldn’t have them. Reasonable security measures is all I deem necessary for peace of mind .
W.A.C.A. life member, Marlin Collectors Assn. charter and life member, C,S.S.A. member and general gun nut.
I live in Wisconsin and been hit twice by tornadoes, four years apart. I Like a basement, build on a high spot and no worries. When you pour the basement do the gun room, span-crete on top and you’ve got a storm shelter/gun room. T/R
We had a basement in KS, and it never did flood. Had one in NE and it got a little bit of water in it once. The floor was not covered, it was just like a little stream in it once. Had one in IN and on rare occasion it would get water, most I recall may have been an inch deep. So, I have had pretty good success with dry basements. However, if I had a basement, and it was historically proven dry, I would still likely not have my gun room there. But what it could do for me is to allow other parts of this house to be moved to the basement – Wifes craft room, my Man Cave, kids or guest room, or such and open up areas where I could have a gun room.
Dan
There are suppliers of prefabricated reinforced concrete houses of all sizes that are mainly used for transformer stations or similar. They are cast in one piece complete with roof and are delivered by truck with a crane.
The costs are manageable and they can be clad with a gable roof and external facade to match the house. Would that be a possibility or is above ground too dangerous for robbing?
https://www.ott-raummodule.de/templates/yootheme/cache/40/TechnikraumAufstellung1-407f362f.webp
That will be my next house. Concrete block wall/ceiling on slab gun room that doubles as a tornado shelter and fire resistant “storage”.
November 5, 2014
Online
Hi Henry-
I should have been a little clearer. My house is built on a shale slope. Ground water drains well in this soil. The foundation is 10″ poured concrete, not block, with water barrier, a gravel buffer, and perforated drain pipes to carry away any water that might run down along the outside of the foundation. The entire ground (basement) floor of the house is finished and climate controlled, even the small part that serves as a basement/HVAC/utility room.
The gun room itself has another water barrier layer under the furring strips (2″x4″) that the sheetrock is attached to. Because three walls/floor are on “dirt” and the fourth wall/ceiling adjoin climate-controlled space, the only openings in the reinforced concrete “sarcophagus” are for the vault door (Fort Knox) and small perforations for electric wiring and dehumidifier drain pipe. I chose not to run HVAC ductwork into that room, as the temp remains 65˚ to 72˚ F year round without it. I run a dehumidifier to keep the relative humidity at 45-50% and it doesn’t have to work very hard…
Moreover, I live in my “basement”… My bedroom is on this level. My wife’s domain is the main floor. I am in the gun room on a daily basis, as it adjoins my downstairs living room/office/work room space, and I am (almost) obsessive about temperature, humidity, etc. So far maybe I’ve just been “lucky”, but I’m pretty sure I would spot a moisture problem before it could result in damage…
IMHO… The room is about as “secure” and “fire resistant” as one can achieve in a residential home, as well as being comfortably climate controlled. NOTHING is “fire proof” but I don’t think I can do better…
Cheers,
Lou
WACA 9519; Studying Pre-64 Model 70 Winchesters
Folks, I finally have taken the bait and have to add my two cents. I am in Illinois and a part of town known to have water table nearer the surface. I have a full basement yet the place has not yet had water issues. It was built with a drain field around the outside of the foundation that empties into a large cistern with its own sump pump. The inside then has a full drain field under the floor that empties into its own sump with its own sump pump. There is a connecting drain pipe between the two with a hump in the middle so each acts as a backup for the other. My gun room and reloading room are in the basement. In event of a fire the water still will accumulate in the basement and likely the sumps will not work as the electric service will be cut. Most rifles are over 30 inches above floor level. Were they upstairs the heat and water likely would still get them. Tornadoes are a big threat and for that they are in a great location. As to theft, again they are in a great location as the gun room is a strong room with monitored security system (including a smoke detector). Like most things in life, there are no free lunches and whatever is done has its risks and benefits. There are times I would like to build a reinforced concrete vault outside the current foundation connecting from the basement yet not subject to fire and water from suppression efforts. However the water table would still require a sump. Tim
I’m my experience, in my current residence, water from inside is more of a threat in the basement than from outside.
Water in basement three times, none from outside. First time made me realize the lowest point in the floor is not the sump pump but the center of the floor due to poor and hasty workmanship.
Incident 1: Water heater ruptured, explosively, plumber had only seen that happen about 5 times in 30 years.
Incident 2: Leak from water heater
Incident 3: Pinhole leak in PEX pipe.
I should also ask, how many firearms were lost near Los Angeles this week?
MRCVS, and any others, I would suggest water heaters be in a pan able to contain leaks. Mine has a floor drain inside the pan that has kept up with my two incidents of water heater failures. Fool proof? Likely not but it reduces the odds at least. You can retroactively fit or make a pan around your heater if you would ahve a drain that could handle the leak. Also there are leak detectors that sound an alarm if water gets out on the floor. But nothing is fool proof, as nature just develops a better fool. Tim
Folks, I just thought of something to also consider. A now deceased friend had his basement flooded with sewage after the city worked on a main near his home. They did something that pressurized the sewer and blew sewage back through his basement toilet. Yeah, I have a full bath in the basement and there is a working valve that is supposed to keep back pressure from forcing sewage in, but then so did he. Check your valves with regularity if you have such a set up. A couple years ago in the late winter, the city tried pressure to get a flooded ditch and street to drain. It blew the clean out fittings off the PVC pipe at the edge of my yard, but also got the flood to go away. I contacted the city as I watched it happen. Lucky my valve worked and so on, yet the city denied it had happened. Just an area to be aware of and wary of. Tim
tim tomlinson said
Folks, I finally have taken the bait and have to add my two cents.
I knew we would eventually get you to bite!! 
Dan
My photos ae too big, but you can get the idea:
WACA Life Benefactor Member
NRA Life Member
I’ve really enjoyed all the “cave” photos. Some very nice looking collections displayed very attractively. I envy all who can do this. Mine are stuck in safes and unloading the rifles in the front to get at one in the back is always a pain. In fact, often a reason to just not even do it. I don’t have a single piece on display anywhere in my house. I would love to get up every morning and look at my rifles on display.
The variability among collectors regarding how they display their collection and how they feel about accessing their collection is very wide. As an example in the other direction, I once became acquainted with a collector who had his guns in a series of safes – I think about five if I recall. His space for these safes was a long narrow corridor. The safes were placed single-file, one in front of the other. I assume he kept those pieces he wanted ready access to in the front safe. To get at anything in the safe behind it, he had to unload the first safe, move it out of the way, and then he could open the second safe. And so on, all the way to the last safe. While we were talking, he mentioned a rifle he had that was of interest to me. He also mentioned, “I haven’t seen that rifle in over ten years.” Obviously, this rifle was not in the front safe. I commented something to the effect that it must be sad to not have seen the rifle for so long. His response was, “Why? I know what it looks like.”
Different strokes for different folks 
mrcvs said
I should also ask, how many firearms were lost near Los Angeles this week?
No idea but they are saying at least 5000 homes destroyed. 7 confirmed deaths. More than 250,000 people evacuated. The winds have died down but are expected to come back next week. Very little containment on the 2 largest fires. I have stopped watching TV. It is so depressing. Failed infrastructure, reduced police and fire employees and incompetent local, state and federal employees. Before the fires insurance companies have been dropping fire coverage for many in the high fire areas. Just a terrible state of affairs. One of two of the major water dropping planes is grounded because it hit some idiots drone. Looting and scams. Biden was here and promised the State to fully cover their cost but nothing for the people.
This is a wake up call to everyone.
Ya’ I see We,(Canada), had 3 water bombers there and one got hit with a drone so it’s down for repairs. I think We’ve deployed some of Our military and emergency crews to help out. It really is sad, but there ain’t no stopping Mother Nature , especially when mankind gets involved.
W.A.C.A. life member, Marlin Collectors Assn. charter and life member, C,S.S.A. member and general gun nut.
November 7, 2015
Offline
My loading room benefitted from a few snow days, I brought in dozens of boxes of loading room stuff (finally!) from my onsite storage before the snow. I’ve unpacked those boxes, inventoried and organized the contents. I’m OCD in some areas but the cleanliness and organization of my loading room has traditionally not been affected. I suspect all this tidiness will not last more than a few reloading sessions. I still have a few boxes in storage, will tote them in as conditions improve.I am a bit jealous of Lou’s photo setup, I took some pics for an upcoming TGCA magazine article this morning and the sunlight reflected off the snow through a sliding glass door allowed me to capture something I haven’t been able to see before.
Apparently I don’t know how to save changes made in the edit function. The rotate gremlin will not postpone my nap any longer!
Mike
TXGunNut said
My loading room benefitted from a few snow days, I brought in dozens of boxes of loading room stuff (finally!) from my onsite storage before the snow. I’ve unpacked those boxes, inventoried and organized the contents. I’m OCD in some areas but the cleanliness and organization of my loading room has traditionally not been affected. I suspect all this tidiness will not last more than a few reloading sessions. I still have a few boxes in storage, will tote them in as conditions improve.I am a bit jealous of Lou’s photo setup, I took some pics for an upcoming TGCA magazine article this morning and the sunlight reflected off the snow through a sliding glass door allowed me to capture something I haven’t been able to see before.Apparently I don’t know how to save changes made in the edit function. The rotate gremlin will not postpone my nap any longer!
Mike
Mike – I too, found myself jealous of Lou’s photo set-up. More than a bit! As you experienced, sometimes the light can happen to fall into place and it’s a a very enjoyable experience. And yes, the rotation gremlin sometimes shows up for me as well.
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