How can i build a cheep storm shelter?

I hope you do not mean 'cheap' in quality, as someone's life is going to depend on this..... Storm shelters can be expensive... but you can minimize some of this cost by the choices you make. There are a few basic approaches you can work from.... Use steel.... either above or below ground level. Use fiberglass, below ground level. Use poured, reinforced concrete, above or below ground level. Which approach you take depends on a few factors... how much room you have to work with, whether you have a basement, etc.... a steel or concrete shelter is easy to install in an already existing basement. The underground option of steel or fiberglass is usually considered the safest approach, and fiberglass shelters cost less than steel units. Anytime you build above ground level, then you have to be concerned with wall penetration, thus your choices are thick steel, or reinforced concrete (or a combination of the two). FEMA actually has a publication on this subject, and offers a set of plans. ...  more