Local residents who huddled in their basements Friday during severe weather might be surprised to learn it may not be the safest place to take shelter, a contractor said.

“A basement itself is really not a good safe place to be during a tornado,” said local contractor Keith Griffin. “A lot of people are misled about being in a basement.”

If a tornado hits a home, he said, it can suck up or shift the home, taking the people in the basement with it, or debris can come tumbling down on top of the occupants.

He said an underground storm shelter is safest, but an above-ground safe room is the most economical.

Griffin estimates that on presale homes in his business, probably 30 percent want a safe room above or underground. The above-ground safe rooms are typically done in the garage or in the home structure somewhere, Griffin said.

Safe rooms vary in cost but one constructed in a garage can run from $2,500-$3,500; an underground facility would cost a minimum of $8,000, he said.

People typically want to build safe rooms as small as they can, with a 6-foot-by-8-foot room being an average size. These rooms are typically concrete with a steel frame and door.

Griffin said his business also equips the rooms with a light, plug-in as well as a phone and cable jack.

Griffin said for the next few months, safe rooms would probably be a priority on his presale homes in the wake of Friday’s inclement weather and that safe rooms are always a question from homebuyers.

While local homebuilder Lynn Persell is not as familiar with safe rooms, he has built underground storm shelters.

He said an underground storm shelter is below or behind a home with 12-inch blocks used below ground and eight-inch blocks used above ground. He said they are reinforced with rebar and concrete is poured into the cells of the blocks and a concrete top with a minimum of six inches is poured atop the facility.

Ventilation and drainage are also included in the structure.

He said an underground storm shelter could cost $5,000 to $6,000 and comfortably hold 16 people.

Persell said, “You always have most requests after a tornado has hit the area.”

Rita White with Limestone County Emergency Management Agency, said some safe rooms that have been tested and are FEMA-certified to withstand an F-5 tornado.

White said the EMA advises that a storm shelter meet FEMA specifications.