I'm considering getting one. Does anyone have one or know things to consider before getting one?
Also, I need some recommendations on a company to install it? Most of what read about them are concerns about leaking water.

Well, there is good reason why there aren’t many basements around in TX…

Does it have to below ground? I know a few folks that have beefed up closets in their houses that double as gun safes and shelters…not sure how good they are. But probably better than the bath tub

My sister lives next door and we were going to split the cost and put it halfway between our houses.

I got an in ground spa in the back. As long as I don't get hit by lightning, I may as well soak it out, I will just go under water when the Tornado comes over head.

That’s smart. I would like something like that if it could keel
Things cool, to store vegetables and things like that. A “root cellar”

Sounds like a plan, let me know how it works out. Some might say a below ground shelter is a ground spa.

Below ground doesn’t work well in Texas . Takes on a lot of water .

Sure they do as long as they are waterproof. Most all are built that way, but quality may vary between companies.

I own two homes with below ground shelters. One is nearly entirely flat with the ground, so it is deeper than the other and the stairs are quite steep. The other has about two feet of the concrete above ground with the door at an angle. This one is far easier to climb inside. However, the next one that I buy will be an above ground shelter. In our late seventies, climbing into one is getting more difficult.

One thing to be aware of was not immediately obvious. There are two kinds of latch mechanisms. One lets someone inside the shelter open the door whether or not there is a lock on the outside. The other type, if locked on the outside, cannot be opened from the inside. I prefer the former.

We had one put in last year , US Shelters in Decatur Texas . $7,100 . He is always busy . No problems so far . He travels all over .

Do it!

I always wondered why there wasn’t more basements in Texas, kinda figured it was because of water table. It’s funny though because I never experienced unless it was just a swampy area.

My stepson had one put in at his house in Norman, OK. They cut a hole in his garage floor, used a backhoe to dig the hole, brought in a precast concrete bunker and dropped it in the hole, installed a floor level tornado proof trap door, and were gone in one day. They can get in and out of the shelter without moving their vehicle. It is registered with the sheriffs department and has some kind of GPS locator. I think, at the time, the whole turnkey was under $10k. Probably higher now.

Not sure if this was the company they used, but it was similar. It’s a booming business in Norman.

https://www.groundzeroshelters.com/underground-garage-shelters

I think it counts because the movement from a tornado is an act of god

We have one that's underground and it was probably built well when first installed, but now the SOB takes on water. We have to put a sump in it when it rains anything more than an inch. I'm currently in the process of sealing it up with whatever means possible.

But, I'd rather be a tad bit damp than dead. So there's that. AHAHAHHA