Hi all,

I've got an unfinished room in my basement that's part of an extension by the previous owner. I'm thinking about converting part of that room into a secure "closet" -- not vault, because I'm not sure it has the proper infrastructure to be a real vault (ceiling is plywood below the office), poor HVAC in the area, and part of the section that I could make into a vault contains a sump pump and an electrical panel.

My plan would be to make the closet a bit more hardened so I can put sensitive stuff inside (bows, ammo) and also have a decent gun safe or two inside for the real goodies. The space available is probably 8'x8' (two exterior walls) but I'd have to check the code for the electrical panel (might be a bit bigger).

The question then becomes:
a) does this merit putting up a couple of layers of plywood/sheetrock/metal for the walls, or should I just build it out "regular"?
b) if I should go through the effort of hardening it, what kind of door should I use? I think a vault door is overkill...like a regular steel exterior door with longer hinge screws, etc be ok?

Thanks!

It is all about time, the more time to defeat your security measures, the less likely the bad guys will hang around and risk getting caught.

a) does this merit putting up a couple of layers of plywood/sheetrock/metal for the walls, or should I just build it out "regular"?

If you are upgrading the door it makes sense to put in extra layers, look into expanded metal as a possible layer.

b) if I should go through the effort of hardening it, what kind of door should I use? I think a vault door is overkill...like a regular steel exterior door with longer hinge screws, etc be ok?

Vault door is overkill for what you are doing, steel door with steel frame, commercial is better if you can afford the extra costs. Good locks too (ASSA/Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, or equal).

Easy to DIY an alarm system for your room too (as part of the build).