Although they've been around for years, many people had never heard of them until the Jodie Foster movie, 'Panic Room', came out. This is not a new concept, but it seems to be gaining in popularity as time goes by.

In the past, only those who were rich could spend the kind of cash needed for this sort of safe. However, building a safe room it is just as affordable as building or renovating any other room currently. If it's not feasible to build an addition for whatever reason, you can just as easily convert an existing room. Each will cost you some money, but the designs are similar.

A panic room should have a reinforced door that is impassable and you must have strong, reinforced walls and ceiling. A panic room can contain communications equipment and personal effects that allow one to stay there comfortably for a while.

The standard 2 x 4 skeleton with drywall construction is not sufficient for the walls of a safe room. If you can afford it, steel lined walls will make for good fortification. A less expensive option is cement or brick reinforcement. Just like any construction project, local building codes and zoning regulations must be observed.

Cement or brick reinforcement is not suitable for ceilings due to weight bearing issues. Layers of tin or heavy duty wood can be used to fortify this area. For many, the ceiling is not so important as few homes have areas such as a skylight that allows for easy penetration into the home.

Obviously, the door should be given the greatest consideration. It should be as close to impenetrable as you can make it. Many office buildings are equipped with double core metal doors that should work for this purpose. Finish by adding a heavy duty deadbolt lock system.

Should you need to double up the room as a type of shelter, you need to check the other requirements. You should prepare some food and water as well install sanitary functions just on the off chance that you need to spend quite a while in there.

Other things to include are a telephone, for sure, and possibly a video camera system to see what's going on outside. The telephone is essential for keeping in contact with local authorities, as well as family and other loved ones.

In addition to the uses mentioned above, a panic room can also provide shelter form a house fire in the event there is no way out. It will only be effective if you have built our room in the right manner. These rooms can basically serve as a vault for storing valuable and important items of any size. They are also effective for use as tornado and hurricane shelters.

We all hope it will never come to this, but your safe room can be used to protect you from intruders if you can get to it quickly. The FBI reports that a forcible rape takes place every five minutes in this country. Unfortunately, a fairly high percentage of these occur inside the home. Even worse is that out of these, many are committed by people you know or live with.

It's not as expensive as it sounds to create a room like this. You should take a look at one and it might make you reconsider setting up such a room.