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Hello,
I live in a wooden villa where I have a boiler room built with masonry blocks like Leca. I have been considering replacing the regular interior door with a security door RC3. The idea is also to use it as a "safe room."
But I suspect that the weak link will be the masonry wall. How much resistance does a wall of masonry blocks offer? It feels like you could take a sledgehammer and go right through it in 1 minute, but hopefully, I'm entirely wrong.
If that's the case, is there a good way to reinforce the wall? I've considered framing and building an interior wall with OSB and steel plates, but due to space constraints, it's difficult to achieve. On one of the inner walls, there are water pipes and other obstructions.
Is there any bonding agent that can be sprayed on as reinforcement, or is the existing wall sufficient as protection? The thinnest masonry wall (unfortunately the one the existing door sits in) is 15-16 cm.
I live in a wooden villa where I have a boiler room built with masonry blocks like Leca. I have been considering replacing the regular interior door with a security door RC3. The idea is also to use it as a "safe room."
But I suspect that the weak link will be the masonry wall. How much resistance does a wall of masonry blocks offer? It feels like you could take a sledgehammer and go right through it in 1 minute, but hopefully, I'm entirely wrong.
If that's the case, is there a good way to reinforce the wall? I've considered framing and building an interior wall with OSB and steel plates, but due to space constraints, it's difficult to achieve. On one of the inner walls, there are water pipes and other obstructions.
Is there any bonding agent that can be sprayed on as reinforcement, or is the existing wall sufficient as protection? The thinnest masonry wall (unfortunately the one the existing door sits in) is 15-16 cm.
15 cm leca is not something you can easily hack through by hand. If it's also reinforced, it's really tough to penetrate. If you lay a block flat on the ground and try to chop through it, you'll notice that it absorbs the sledgehammer's energy.
Yes, that's how it is, and there's no universal remedy to spray on either. The simplest measure is probably to line the inside with a slightly thicker sheet metal attached to angle iron on the floor and ceiling.
That's what I was hoping forA Alexn72 said:
I haven't built the house myself, but I assume it's reinforced as it should be, at least every third row. I saw a video where they reinforce with some kind of rubber compound, but maybe that's overkill. They break through an unreinforced wall quite easily, but it's completely freestanding. My wall has a whole bathroom above it pressing down. I'm not entirely sure it's Leca, though; it could be some type of hollow block. Are they weaker than Leca?If it is 15-16 cm leca, it is, as mentioned, not easy to break this. The weakest link is probably the door's attachment to the leca.
Alternatives for internal reinforcement include gluing large plates or carbon fiber reinforcement (expensive).
Alternatives for internal reinforcement include gluing large plates or carbon fiber reinforcement (expensive).
That looks more like shell blocks intended to be filled with concrete. It's not quite comparable to lecablock.T Trulli said:
Sure, you might be able to get through a lecawall with a sledgehammer, but it would probably take a lot longer than 1 minute. More like at least 1 hour.
Hmm... I can see that I have just Leca in the foundation. However, the wall I'm thinking of reinforcing is both plastered and painted, so I'm a bit unsure of the material. When you knock on the wall, it doesn't sound like it's filled. Unfortunately, I have a pile of shell blocks out in the yard that the house builder left behind (the house was built in the '90s, so I have no one to ask).V vectrex said:
Still easier to chisel out the door than to break through the wall. However, I think these discussions are very theoretical. Who are you expecting an attack from? Is there a wooden beam ceiling above?T Trulli said:
Okay, then I know that a security door isn't a waste of money. The idea is to protect against burglary. We have a basic security mindset, including cameras outside and inside, recording 24/7, electronic locks on all doors and windows, always automatic locking so everything is locked even when we're home. We never open the door for strangers. We have motorized electric gates and driveway alarms. If someone knocks on the entrance door, they've climbed over. The idea is to lock oneself in the security room if something happens. Once inside the security room, you call the police, film everything, and watch the cameras to see what the intruders are doing. Inside the room, there should always be a phone charging.
The security room should be hidden, and if they happen to find the room, it should take a while to get in. Hopefully, the police will have arrived by then. I expect the police to arrive in 10, maximum 20 minutes.
It's not that we have a threat against us; rather, we might have a slightly increased risk of being targeted. But mainly because I like technology, slightly unusual things, and above all, I like to be prepared
The security room should be hidden, and if they happen to find the room, it should take a while to get in. Hopefully, the police will have arrived by then. I expect the police to arrive in 10, maximum 20 minutes.
It's not that we have a threat against us; rather, we might have a slightly increased risk of being targeted. But mainly because I like technology, slightly unusual things, and above all, I like to be prepared