“On April 27th, 2011, the state of Alabama and the Southeast experienced a record 216 tornadoes, four of which were rated EF5. That day forever changed our perception of severe weather events and tornado safety. After experiencing first hand the physical, mental and emotional toll it took on everyone, it became a top priority to provide the highest quality shelters with the highest standards. I hope in the future we can all find shelter from the storm.” – Merry Hardy
In 2009, Merry and her youngest daughter experienced a near miss from a tornado and their only option was to take cover in a bathtub. She told her daughter that would be the last time they would go through a severe weather event without a shelter. So, the search began and led to an extensive search for adequate protection for her family. Prior to entering the storm shelter business, Merry was a licensed Alabama contractor involved in building custom horse barns through Barnmaster Barns, Inc. Her responsibilities included sales, site location, design, concrete installation and management of crews.
Barn contracting provided invaluable experience in modular construction and helped prepare her for the storm shelter industry.
Merry’s husband Steve spent eight years in the Navy flying as a Naval Flight Officer, the next 20 years in equipment sales for Caterpillar and was busy restoring classic wooden boats and canoes when he and Merry met. Now they operate Lake Martin Storm Shelters together as a family-owned business with a core group of dedicated employees all committed to quality and family safety.
Lake Martin Storm Shelters was founded in 2010. Since installing that first underground fiberglass shelter Merry and Steve have expanded the business to include above ground concrete shelters and steel safe rooms.
In 2018 Lake Martin Storm Shelters designed a prototype steel safe room that improved upon basic safe rooms. After further engineering and thorough testing by Intertek, the Everest line of steel safe rooms was born! Steve, who had been helping with the growing company, came on full-time and manages the production of Everest safe rooms.
Lake Martin Storm Shelters manufactures, sells and installs FEMA compliant storm shelters all rated for EF5 tornados throughout Alabama. We provide our customers with the safest shelters on the market and install them professionally and responsibly. Lake Martin Storm Shelters specializes in providing proper evaluations based on our customer’s needs or circumstances.
Our ultimate goal is to provide quality products that offer superior protection for families from severe weather events such as tornadoes, hurricanes, high winds, micro-bursts and thunderstorms. We take our work seriously and that’s why we abide by all FEMA guidelines and engineered recommendations.
Lake Martin Storm Shelters represents three storm shelter manufacturers plus we manufacture our own line of steel safe rooms. We offer underground fiberglass storm shelters, Everest steel safe rooms and one-pour above-ground concrete shelters. Combined these companies have over 60 years of experience! All shelters have been tested at Texas Tech University or Intertek Labs and have the Alabama seal for support calculations. We have an answer for almost any situation which allows us to provide solutions rather than simply sell a single one-size-fits-all answer.
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We listen to our customer’s needs and wants. Everyone has different circumstances which can really make a huge difference in the shelter that may be right for them. We take the time to explain every feature and option of each shelter to match your needs. We’ve installed thousands of shelters across Alabama and have the experience that really separates us from the rest. We want to make the decision of investing in a shelter an easy experience for our customers.
Our key people are an asset to our continued success. This includes our own employees, long-term relationships with our suppliers and our excavators. We carry a large inventory of shelters in order to give our customers the chance to find the perfect shelter and to be able to get their shelters in a timely manner.
We are A+ members of Better Business Bureau, American Tornado Shelter Association (certified as a manufacturer and installer), and NFIB National Federation of Independent Business. We participate in Continuing Education programs with FEMA and work closely with both state and county EMA’s.
