Archived Posts » 59,757,950
Bullet proofing interior walls
4/12/2012 10:30:29 AM
The wife and I were going over our home defense plans and immediately ran across a problem. Now that we have a second child on the way our rooms are getting repurposed. We are finishing the basement and moving our home office downstairs so we can use the 2 upstairs bedrooms as the kids rooms. The problem is the layout of our home has our bedroom door facing our living room. The back wall of our living room is a shared wall with the soon to arrive baby's room and across the hall where our bathroom is is a shared wall with what will become our 2 year old sons room. Exiting our bedroom puts both of these rooms directly in our line of fire in the event of a home invasion. Is there anything commercially available that the walls can be filled with that will stop a handgun, 7.62x39 round and buckshot in the event of a miss or over penetration? I prefer not to send random rounds through the rooms that my offspring are occupying. 
4/12/2012 10:43:32 AM
Bullet proof fiberglass panels would be your best option. You can find many suppliers online.
4/12/2012 11:05:39 AM
Personally, I would not rely on my child's bedroom wall as a bullet backstop regardless of what you use. Re-think your plan and re-plan your tactics. Consider a dog as a warning and a deterrent and a stronger bolted door so that any intruder will be forced to take the route you choose that WILL fall in the best field of fire for you.
4/12/2012 11:22:10 AM
The front door and entry door from the garage are reinforced so most likely scenario would be smashing the rear doorwall and coming though that way unless they came through a window which would be a tough prospect. The most likely point of entry has a clear line of fire. I am looking at something more of a little insurance against a worst case scenario as added protection if someone happened to make it over the fence and around the early warning systems that are in place and actually make it into the house. The odds of them even making it that far are minimal at best but I am looking at adding that extra layer of just in case protection.
4/12/2012 11:26:40 AM
So, make a plan for bringing your kids to a "Hold point" in your house. I just wouldn't be firing at all knowing my kid was behind the line of fire. What's to say they wouldn't exit the room when they heard commotion? Recipe for disaster in my opinion. Grab your kids, know that they are safe with your spouse, then return fire as needed. Make sure all your firearms have a dedicated weapon light for target ID.
4/12/2012 11:45:22 AM
Its pretty amazing what you can find on line. Bullet resistant fiberglass panel! But they didn't list the R- value for insulation purposes, 
.
Seriously though, that's not a cheap way to go, looks like $1100-$1300 for one 4x8 panel, but you might get away with few well placed panels. But like others have said you should look at your plan as in my opinion its not your shots that are the biggest worry, its the other guys...
.
Seriously though, that's not a cheap way to go, looks like $1100-$1300 for one 4x8 panel, but you might get away with few well placed panels. But like others have said you should look at your plan as in my opinion its not your shots that are the biggest worry, its the other guys...
4/12/2012 11:58:07 AM
Originally Posted By Bonz23:
Its pretty amazing what you can find on line. Bullet resistant fiberglass panel! But they didn't list the R- value for insulation purposes,.
Seriously though, that's not a cheap way to go, looks like $1100-$1300 for one 4x8 panel, but you might get away with few well placed panels. But like others have said you should look at your plan as in my opinion its not your shots that are the biggest worry, its the other guys...
Its pretty amazing what you can find on line. Bullet resistant fiberglass panel! But they didn't list the R- value for insulation purposes,
.
Seriously though, that's not a cheap way to go, looks like $1100-$1300 for one 4x8 panel, but you might get away with few well placed panels. But like others have said you should look at your plan as in my opinion its not your shots that are the biggest worry, its the other guys...
Yeah, just picture yourself having this conversation with your wife and let me know how it goes:
"Honey, I think we need to spend about $3000 to protect our children's bedrooms from incoming rifle fire in case of a home invasion. The guys on ARFCOM SF say I can do this by myself!"
4/12/2012 12:12:44 PM
You could pull out the drywall and fill in the space between the studs (when not taken up by wiring or HVAC) with lumber. If I remember the studs will usually be 2 x 4s, so you can get a few inches of wood in there that would absorb a lot of calibers.
You can always buy some lumber, bind it together and test for penetration at the range. It might not stop 7.62x39, but then alter your defensive plans.
Don't know if this would actually work, but you could try it out and would only cost you lumber, drywall and labor.
You can always buy some lumber, bind it together and test for penetration at the range. It might not stop 7.62x39, but then alter your defensive plans.
Don't know if this would actually work, but you could try it out and would only cost you lumber, drywall and labor.
4/12/2012 12:17:40 PM
Fill the walls with gravel. It will not totally bullet proof them, it's real hard to bullet proof for .50, but it will make them much more bullet resistant. It causes the bullets to start to tumble and they bleed off energy very fast. They may not make it out of the wall but if they do, more than likely will have very little energy left.
4/12/2012 12:27:17 PM
Originally Posted By Bonz23:
Its pretty amazing what you can find on line. Bullet resistant fiberglass panel! But they didn't list the R- value for insulation purposes,.
Seriously though, that's not a cheap way to go, looks like $1100-$1300 for one 4x8 panel, but you might get away with few well placed panels. But like others have said you should look at your plan as in my opinion its not your shots that are the biggest worry, its the other guys...
Its pretty amazing what you can find on line. Bullet resistant fiberglass panel! But they didn't list the R- value for insulation purposes,
.
Seriously though, that's not a cheap way to go, looks like $1100-$1300 for one 4x8 panel, but you might get away with few well placed panels. But like others have said you should look at your plan as in my opinion its not your shots that are the biggest worry, its the other guys...
Just be cheaper (and probably more aesthetically pleasing) to buy a book shelf and stock it with books.
4/12/2012 1:56:26 PM
Originally Posted By SIG_gunner:
You could pull out the drywall and fill in the space between the studs (when not taken up by wiring or HVAC) with lumber. If I remember the studs will usually be 2 x 4s, so you can get a few inches of wood in there that would absorb a lot of calibers.
You can always buy some lumber, bind it together and test for penetration at the range. It might not stop 7.62x39, but then alter your defensive plans.
Don't know if this would actually work, but you could try it out and would only cost you lumber, drywall and labor.
You could pull out the drywall and fill in the space between the studs (when not taken up by wiring or HVAC) with lumber. If I remember the studs will usually be 2 x 4s, so you can get a few inches of wood in there that would absorb a lot of calibers.
You can always buy some lumber, bind it together and test for penetration at the range. It might not stop 7.62x39, but then alter your defensive plans.
Don't know if this would actually work, but you could try it out and would only cost you lumber, drywall and labor.
Sorry, bad plan. it will not stop 7.62x39. any other caliber is going to be in the maybe category unless you use solid wood so there are no gaps.
The book case suggestion is easier and more effective if you do it right. Buy shelves over 12 inches deep and pack books to the edge or back them with tightly packed newspaper, cinder blocks bricks or whatever you have handy. On the kids side put the dresser or book cases backing to the book shelves.
OP while some of the suggestions will work the best is change your plan. Also, plan to locate everyone to one room.
You might also look into frangible ammo. In the mid-90s when I did swat, i tested some 5.56 frangible (longbow ammunition out of OK but they are no more). One sheet of sheet rock and the exit was nickle sized. Exit from the the second sheet was quarter to 50 cent piece sized. sheets were spaced 3 inches apart with no inervening material. If you go this route invest the money to test it though.
4/12/2012 1:56:29 PM
4/12/2012 2:22:53 PM
4/12/2012 2:42:21 PM
Thanks for the info and input everyone. I am doing some research. Again this is not my primary plan and not even plan B, C, D, E, or F. This is just added insurance in case every other plan fails and it all goes to shit. We have several other plans in place and this is just an added layer of protection as I have no intention of shooting remotely in that direction under any foreseeable circumstances. However things do happen and I tend to try to be over prepared for anything that involves my families safety.
4/12/2012 3:53:51 PM
Originally Posted By paddymurphy:
You might also look into frangible ammo. In the mid-90s when I did swat, i tested some 5.56 frangible (longbow ammunition out of OK but they are no more). One sheet of sheet rock and the exit was nickle sized. Exit from the the second sheet was quarter to 50 cent piece sized. sheets were spaced 3 inches apart with no inervening material. If you go this route invest the money to test it though.
You might also look into frangible ammo. In the mid-90s when I did swat, i tested some 5.56 frangible (longbow ammunition out of OK but they are no more). One sheet of sheet rock and the exit was nickle sized. Exit from the the second sheet was quarter to 50 cent piece sized. sheets were spaced 3 inches apart with no inervening material. If you go this route invest the money to test it though.
FWIW, Frangible does not even come close to minimum FBI penetration depth standards. Not only does it not penetrate drywall for shit, it works poorly on humans, animals or anything else with organs or nervous system protected with clothing, skin and bone.
4/12/2012 4:53:23 PM
You could experiment with some different homemade laminates, especially if you are planning on using 00 buck, I would think that marine grade plywood backed by sheet metal backed by cement board inside the walls would stop 00 buck and be much cheaper than the fiberglass. I wouldn't trust anyone's life on it, but if your choice is between this and nothing, I'd go with this.
4/12/2012 4:58:12 PM
I worked for about 5 years at a indoor gun range. We were constantly replacing and repairing the angled steel plates that deform and redirect the rounds. The 3rd year I was there we dismantled our rifle backstop, and replaced it with a comercially avalable unit from caswell. This backstop consisted of a series of steps with a 2" tube frame onto which we piled tiny bits of mulch made from recycled tires. Aside from being groind, this material was also treated to supress fire. Behind the backstop from floor to ceiling was a curtan, also made of rubber, holding a scant 8" of the rubber mulch. I asked the fellow who over saw the construction about this wall and he said that it served as a backup in the event that a section of the main trap were to become barren of rubber. He also specifically mentioned that the backup was rated the same as the trap, for up to 460 weatherby. The guideline was 300 grain bullets, at 3000 fps if I recall correctly.
Anyway, a couple of years later my coworkers and I liberated a few bags of the stuff to experiment on. We learned that if you filled a 3.5" wall space with the stuff, it would stop buckshot, pistol rounds, and rimfires. The wall we built from 2x8s would stop 30-30, and shotgun slugs. It also had the tendancy to make the sheet rock tear off the wall.
I have thought about covering some strategic areas in the house interior studs with thin sheet metal to support the weight during construction, but I haven't figured out how to retrofit it into existing construction.
Now that rubber mulch is avalable everywhere including home depot and Walmart, I really need to do some more experimenting.
Anyway, a couple of years later my coworkers and I liberated a few bags of the stuff to experiment on. We learned that if you filled a 3.5" wall space with the stuff, it would stop buckshot, pistol rounds, and rimfires. The wall we built from 2x8s would stop 30-30, and shotgun slugs. It also had the tendancy to make the sheet rock tear off the wall.
I have thought about covering some strategic areas in the house interior studs with thin sheet metal to support the weight during construction, but I haven't figured out how to retrofit it into existing construction.
Now that rubber mulch is avalable everywhere including home depot and Walmart, I really need to do some more experimenting.
4/12/2012 5:05:19 PM
Originally Posted By abinok:
I worked for about 5 years at a indoor gun range. We were constantly replacing and repairing the angled steel plates that deform and redirect the rounds. The 3rd year I was there we dismantled our rifle backstop, and replaced it with a comercially avalable unit from caswell. This backstop consisted of a series of steps with a 2" tube frame onto which we piled tiny bits of mulch made from recycled tires. Aside from being groind, this material was also treated to supress fire. Behind the backstop from floor to ceiling was a curtan, also made of rubber, holding a scant 8" of the rubber mulch. I asked the fellow who over saw the construction about this wall and he said that it served as a backup in the event that a section of the main trap were to become barren of rubber. He also specifically mentioned that the backup was rated the same as the trap, for up to 460 weatherby. The guideline was 300 grain bullets, at 3000 fps if I recall correctly.
Anyway, a couple of years later my coworkers and I liberated a few bags of the stuff to experiment on. We learned that if you filled a 3.5" wall space with the stuff, it would stop buckshot, pistol rounds, and rimfires. The wall we built from 2x8s would stop 30-30, and shotgun slugs. It also had the tendancy to make the sheet rock tear off the wall.
I have thought about covering some strategic areas in the house interior studs with thin sheet metal to support the weight during construction, but I haven't figured out how to retrofit it into existing construction.
Now that rubber mulch is avalable everywhere including home depot and Walmart, I really need to do some more experimenting.
I worked for about 5 years at a indoor gun range. We were constantly replacing and repairing the angled steel plates that deform and redirect the rounds. The 3rd year I was there we dismantled our rifle backstop, and replaced it with a comercially avalable unit from caswell. This backstop consisted of a series of steps with a 2" tube frame onto which we piled tiny bits of mulch made from recycled tires. Aside from being groind, this material was also treated to supress fire. Behind the backstop from floor to ceiling was a curtan, also made of rubber, holding a scant 8" of the rubber mulch. I asked the fellow who over saw the construction about this wall and he said that it served as a backup in the event that a section of the main trap were to become barren of rubber. He also specifically mentioned that the backup was rated the same as the trap, for up to 460 weatherby. The guideline was 300 grain bullets, at 3000 fps if I recall correctly.
Anyway, a couple of years later my coworkers and I liberated a few bags of the stuff to experiment on. We learned that if you filled a 3.5" wall space with the stuff, it would stop buckshot, pistol rounds, and rimfires. The wall we built from 2x8s would stop 30-30, and shotgun slugs. It also had the tendancy to make the sheet rock tear off the wall.
I have thought about covering some strategic areas in the house interior studs with thin sheet metal to support the weight during construction, but I haven't figured out how to retrofit it into existing construction.
Now that rubber mulch is avalable everywhere including home depot and Walmart, I really need to do some more experimenting.
Interesting, did you have to pack/tamp it? Again, not something I would risk anyone's life on, but if it is better than 3.5" of air (and actually affordable) it sounds better than nothing as long as you understand it's limitations.
4/12/2012 5:51:00 PM
I just was doing elevator installs in the new federal courthouse and they used this in some of their walls. I may or may not have gotten a small sample piece....
http://www.armortex.com/Composite.html
http://www.armortex.com/Composite.html
4/12/2012 6:05:05 PM
Try using 5/8ths, sometimes referred to as 11/16, OSB or wafer board screwed to the studs. That should hold the weight and you can then put the sheet rock up against the wafer board. As a plus I bet the rubber is good at sound blocking. Wonder if it has any R-value....
.4/12/2012 11:12:53 PM
Originally Posted By oscar615:
Fill the walls with gravel. It will not totally bullet proof them, it's real hard to bullet proof for .50, but it will make them much more bullet resistant. It causes the bullets to start to tumble and they bleed off energy very fast. They may not make it out of the wall but if they do, more than likely will have very little energy left.
Fill the walls with gravel. It will not totally bullet proof them, it's real hard to bullet proof for .50, but it will make them much more bullet resistant. It causes the bullets to start to tumble and they bleed off energy very fast. They may not make it out of the wall but if they do, more than likely will have very little energy left.
I made a mock wall up to try this, using 2x4 studs. Put about 20 rounds of .308 147g fmj into the same place from about 10-15 ft away & none of them penetrated. Used 1/2" plywood for the "wallcovering" instead of drywall, though. It's better to use steel studs, as space occupied by the wood 2x4's obviously won't stop bullets. I learned about this when reading the book The Secure Home by Joel Skoelesen. An extremely good book, by the way. I also saw folks doing the same thing on a home improvement show to increase the thermal mass in a home to Improve heating/cooling efficiency.
In looking at options for my own home, I can buy 1/4" AR500 steel for about $10/ft2, but have a friend with a fab shop & that's his cost. I make steel targets out of it & it will take thousands upon thousands of 223/308 full auto to even warp & dimple it. AR450 is just a little softer, but quite a bit cheaper. Never tried it, but expect it would be more than hard enough for anything we would encounter in a home invasion. Lots of Rifle rounds can punch right through normal 1/4" steel.
About 1.5" of High Density Polyethylene will stop most rifle rounds. I tried it about 20 years ago & was amazed how well it worked. May be a fire hazard, though, as would rubber & fiberglass, unless you use fire resistant resin. Mainly prob with fumes, I would think.
4/12/2012 11:32:21 PM
Originally Posted By mcnielsen:
FWIW, Frangible does not even come close to minimum FBI penetration depth standards. Not only does it not penetrate drywall for shit, it works poorly on humans, animals or anything else with organs or nervous system protected with clothing, skin and bone.
Originally Posted By paddymurphy:
You might also look into frangible ammo. In the mid-90s when I did swat, i tested some 5.56 frangible (longbow ammunition out of OK but they are no more). One sheet of sheet rock and the exit was nickle sized. Exit from the the second sheet was quarter to 50 cent piece sized. sheets were spaced 3 inches apart with no inervening material. If you go this route invest the money to test it though.
You might also look into frangible ammo. In the mid-90s when I did swat, i tested some 5.56 frangible (longbow ammunition out of OK but they are no more). One sheet of sheet rock and the exit was nickle sized. Exit from the the second sheet was quarter to 50 cent piece sized. sheets were spaced 3 inches apart with no inervening material. If you go this route invest the money to test it though.
FWIW, Frangible does not even come close to minimum FBI penetration depth standards. Not only does it not penetrate drywall for shit, it works poorly on humans, animals or anything else with organs or nervous system protected with clothing, skin and bone.
I think you are probably referring to the frangible projectiles made by John Mullins in OK. He licensed out his technology to RUAG who mfgs it near me in Tampa now, for the US mkt. I believe they call it Copper Matrix now. They make it in rifle, handgun, buckshot & slugs.
While certainly better than nothing, I dont think their 223 is great for protection. A friend & I cornered a bunch of hogs against an electric fence & blasted away at them with their 223 stuff & never dropped one. lots of thumping & squealing until they tore thru the hot wire, but nothing went down. We were using NV so shot placement was poor.
4/13/2012 12:38:09 AM
Insulate the walls with phone books.
4/13/2012 12:48:57 AM
Unless you're willing to spend thousands of $, get a dog that barks, evac the wife with the kids to the basement, have a 00 loaded 12 ga. for her to guard the basement door and leave you with a free-fire upstairs.
4/13/2012 3:17:48 AM
Thank you rallykid for this thread. 
4/13/2012 3:30:45 AM
I was installing cement board earlier this week. First thing I thought of when picking up a 4x6x 1/2" sheet was "I wonder how many layers would stop a bullet".
The stuffs pretty cheap, I'd love to have a place to buy some, build a little wall, and see what all it can stop.
Obviously any building material can stop handgun, shotgun, and rifle fire. It just depends on the thickness vs. cost and viability!
The stuffs pretty cheap, I'd love to have a place to buy some, build a little wall, and see what all it can stop.
Obviously any building material can stop handgun, shotgun, and rifle fire. It just depends on the thickness vs. cost and viability!
4/13/2012 9:21:53 AM
No tamping required. I'll wager that if you doubled or trippled up on sheetrock screws that sheetrock would hold up. Rubber is quite heavy. Lighter than gravel though...
I had origionally planned to fill wall sections by cutting a small section out of the top plate in the wall between studs to fill, then bridge the gap with another board when done. One of these days...
I had origionally planned to fill wall sections by cutting a small section out of the top plate in the wall between studs to fill, then bridge the gap with another board when done. One of these days...
4/13/2012 9:35:55 AM
Originally Posted By Bonz23:
Try using 5/8ths, sometimes referred to as 11/16, OSB or wafer board screwed to the studs. That should hold the weight and you can then put the sheet rock up against the wafer board. As a plus I bet the rubber is good at sound blocking. Wonder if it has any R-value....
Try using 5/8ths, sometimes referred to as 11/16, OSB or wafer board screwed to the studs. That should hold the weight and you can then put the sheet rock up against the wafer board. As a plus I bet the rubber is good at sound blocking. Wonder if it has any R-value...
.This would work. 5/8 is probably overkill though. I think the cheapest option, and what would fit under sheetrock best is metal. Flashing, or some very low gauge flat roofing material. I wasn't planning on doing whole wall sections, just strategic points at some door ways, and an opposing wall like the op was asking about to provide real cover.
4/13/2012 11:35:23 AM
All this talk about retrofitting an existing home to be bullet resistant. Let's look at the most likely scenario first and the least likely scenario last, shall we?
You are way likely to have a house fire than a home invasion and can you imagine what rubber interior walls would do to your family then? Black rubber smoke will kill everyone a lot faster than a stray bullet. How about re-selling your house? Do you think your new potential buyers will appreciate walls filled with shredded rubber or gravel? Just saying there are much more common sense ways of doing this without building your house into an indoor shooting gallery.
If you are so concerned with it, consider moving to a house that is in a much better configuration that has more bedrooms. It is a good time to make a lateral or upper move considering house prices...
You are way likely to have a house fire than a home invasion and can you imagine what rubber interior walls would do to your family then? Black rubber smoke will kill everyone a lot faster than a stray bullet. How about re-selling your house? Do you think your new potential buyers will appreciate walls filled with shredded rubber or gravel? Just saying there are much more common sense ways of doing this without building your house into an indoor shooting gallery.
If you are so concerned with it, consider moving to a house that is in a much better configuration that has more bedrooms. It is a good time to make a lateral or upper move considering house prices...
4/13/2012 11:58:14 AM
A friend who is a contractor and like minded was just having this discussion with a client. I think what we are going to end up doing is doing a couple of sheets of Kevlar sheeting, putting thin steel over that and then attach the drywall to the steel. Easy retrofit and only thickens the wall by about 5/8". We will obviously be doing some testing before we commit.
4/13/2012 12:02:37 PM
Originally Posted By 24Cans:
Thank you rallykid for this thread.
Thank you rallykid for this thread.
You're welcome and thank you if it was you that just did what I think you did. It is a very pleasant surprise.
4/13/2012 1:34:52 PM
Originally Posted By mcnielsen:
FWIW, Frangible does not even come close to minimum FBI penetration depth standards. Not only does it not penetrate drywall for shit, it works poorly on humans, animals or anything else with organs or nervous system protected with clothing, skin and bone.
Originally Posted By paddymurphy:
You might also look into frangible ammo. In the mid-90s when I did swat, i tested some 5.56 frangible (longbow ammunition out of OK but they are no more). One sheet of sheet rock and the exit was nickle sized. Exit from the the second sheet was quarter to 50 cent piece sized. sheets were spaced 3 inches apart with no inervening material. If you go this route invest the money to test it though.
You might also look into frangible ammo. In the mid-90s when I did swat, i tested some 5.56 frangible (longbow ammunition out of OK but they are no more). One sheet of sheet rock and the exit was nickle sized. Exit from the the second sheet was quarter to 50 cent piece sized. sheets were spaced 3 inches apart with no inervening material. If you go this route invest the money to test it though.
FWIW, Frangible does not even come close to minimum FBI penetration depth standards. Not only does it not penetrate drywall for shit, it works poorly on humans, animals or anything else with organs or nervous system protected with clothing, skin and bone.
Maybe so, but it is an option that addresses the op's situation. Perfect? No. Better than shooting your own kid or dropping a few grand on retrofitting your house? Up to the OP.
Every option has its limitations. An AK or shotgun(slug for preference) with frangibles could be used as an intermediate step while the OP gets the kids to the saferoom and transitions to a different load or weapon.
4/14/2012 11:38:28 AM
Originally Posted By Madcap72:
I was installing cement board earlier this week. First thing I thought of when picking up a 4x6x 1/2" sheet was "I wonder how many layers would stop a bullet".
The stuffs pretty cheap, I'd love to have a place to buy some, build a little wall, and see what all it can stop.
Obviously any building material can stop handgun, shotgun, and rifle fire. It just depends on the thickness vs. cost and viability!
I think there was a box o truth about those cement boards.I was installing cement board earlier this week. First thing I thought of when picking up a 4x6x 1/2" sheet was "I wonder how many layers would stop a bullet".
The stuffs pretty cheap, I'd love to have a place to buy some, build a little wall, and see what all it can stop.
Obviously any building material can stop handgun, shotgun, and rifle fire. It just depends on the thickness vs. cost and viability!
ETA guess not. I couldn't find it. There was one of him shooting quite unsuccessfully at some "bullet proof" wall liner that looks similar to what I have (although thinner) that only managed to stop 22LR.
4/14/2012 12:33:32 PM
Originally Posted By mcnielsen:
All this talk about retrofitting an existing home to be bullet resistant. Let's look at the most likely scenario first and the least likely scenario last, shall we?
You are way likely to have a house fire than a home invasion and can you imagine what rubber interior walls would do to your family then? Black rubber smoke will kill everyone a lot faster than a stray bullet. How about re-selling your house? Do you think your new potential buyers will appreciate walls filled with shredded rubber or gravel? Just saying there are much more common sense ways of doing this without building your house into an indoor shooting gallery.
If you are so concerned with it, consider moving to a house that is in a much better configuration that has more bedrooms. It is a good time to make a lateral or upper move considering house prices...
All this talk about retrofitting an existing home to be bullet resistant. Let's look at the most likely scenario first and the least likely scenario last, shall we?
You are way likely to have a house fire than a home invasion and can you imagine what rubber interior walls would do to your family then? Black rubber smoke will kill everyone a lot faster than a stray bullet. How about re-selling your house? Do you think your new potential buyers will appreciate walls filled with shredded rubber or gravel? Just saying there are much more common sense ways of doing this without building your house into an indoor shooting gallery.
If you are so concerned with it, consider moving to a house that is in a much better configuration that has more bedrooms. It is a good time to make a lateral or upper move considering house prices...
Very true!
4/14/2012 3:45:12 PM
Originally Posted By rallykid:
A friend who is a contractor and like minded was just having this discussion with a client. I think what we are going to end up doing is doing a couple of sheets of Kevlar sheeting, putting thin steel over that and then attach the drywall to the steel. Easy retrofit and only thickens the wall by about 5/8". We will obviously be doing some testing before we commit.
A friend who is a contractor and like minded was just having this discussion with a client. I think what we are going to end up doing is doing a couple of sheets of Kevlar sheeting, putting thin steel over that and then attach the drywall to the steel. Easy retrofit and only thickens the wall by about 5/8". We will obviously be doing some testing before we commit.
Christ almighty, the things people spend money on . . . .
Im a contractor too, and if somebody asked me to do this, I'd walk away without further discussion. Its hard to say who's crazier, the customer thats about to blow all that money with no promises, or the contractor that took the suggestion seriously.
Drywall is 1/2"-5/8" in itself, so how do you intend on only thickening the wall by 5/8"? If the steel is of substantial thickness to stop bullets (probably 1/4"+), how easy do you think its going to be to secure sheetrock to that, or even to secure the steel itself to a wall? Does putting screws through kevlar affect its integrity? Because your going to be putting a couple hundred through it. And how much does a walls worth of Kevlar go for? I know just a vests worth is enough to keep me from owning one. Do you know how many layers of Kevlar go into a vest? Easy retrofit my ass, more like crazy waste of time and money, with absolutely NO guarantees . . .
You need to change your layout or your plan. Or if your absolutely that concerned, you need to move into a home that suits your needs.
ETA: No offense Rally, just sayin . . .
4/14/2012 5:09:00 PM
No offense taken. I look at it as an extra security precaution. Cost wise all I can say is it really pays to know a lot of people in a lot of different industries and have them owe you favors. The entire thing is pretty much costing time, a lottle bit of material and a few sheets of wallboard. The entire project will be setting me back a couple hundred bucks to do both rooms. If I were paying retail prices and labor there is no way I would be taking it on as Kevlar is stupidly expensive. This is the preliminary plan and we will be testing it before we commit. When we get the test rigs built and tested I will post the findings.
4/14/2012 5:59:05 PM
Well then, more power to you my brotha. 
Be sure to let us know how the testing goes, and don't forget, pics or it didn't happen.
Be sure to let us know how the testing goes, and don't forget, pics or it didn't happen.
4/14/2012 8:33:19 PM
A few inches of sand does well at stopping bullets . Look at UL listed fire doors ,
