Bolting a safe to the floor?

[74novaman]

One thing about funiture dollies is the wheels will sink in the carpet and sometimes it is harder to roll. The pipes distribute the weight better and they roll more easily. Just something to consider.

Coming from someone who used to move furniture for a living, this is so absolutely true. Particularly with something as heavy as a gun safe. If your carpet is thick at all, its going to be a fun push with those dollies. Oh the memories of home deliveries for that job....

"Did you measure the desk at the store?"

'oh yeah it should fit'

"oh it will...if I take it apart, and reassemble it in the room". (did that one a few too many times)

[Pawpaw]

I wonder if anyone makes "homing devices" that you could put in your safe?

by homing devices do you mean like GPS?

http://www.ecrater.com/p/8177703/insign ... ps-tracker" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

no reason to think you couldnt just put one of those inside of the safe or somethign similar you could be notified if the safe was even moved

That's what I was thinking.

Actually, there's a very good reason why it won't work. That big steel safe would be a nearly perfect Faraday cage.

A Faraday cage is an enclosure that RF can't get into or out of. There's a good way to test it... put a cell phone inside the safe & almost close the door. Now, try to call the cell phone & see if it rings.

[RSJ]

I'm moving to Houston soon, and want a secure place to store 2-3 long guns and 3 pistols, if room is left, some ammo also.
How could I buy "safe" for 200-400 and attach it without damaging the apartment? I am going for something like http://www.academy.com/index.php?page=c ... 03031-1455" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[03Lightningrocks]

The place I bought my safe from was adamant that I allow them to bolt it down. My safe weighs 1200 pounds...EMPTY and I figured nobody would be able to get it out. After watching how easy two guys moved my safe inside my house, I was glad to to have it bolted to the floor. I am sure it could still be stolen but anything I could do that will make it more of a pain is OK by me. I have a concrete slab with no carpet in the safe area. It only took an extra fifteen minutes or so for them to drill the four holes into the concrete. The safe was pre-drilled from the factory.

If carpet is under the safe, be careful about unraveling the carpet. I would suggest cutting the carpet away from the holes before drilling.

[03Lightningrocks]

I'm moving to Houston soon, and want a secure place to store 2-3 long guns and 3 pistols, if room is left, some ammo also.
How could I buy "safe" for 200-400 and attach it without damaging the apartment? I am going for something like http://www.academy.com/index.php?page=c ... 03031-1455" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If I were in your shoes, I would probably stack some weight in the bottom. If your on a upper floor, be careful you don't make it so heavy it crashes through the floor. Most apartment managers would flip if you drilled into the floor.

One more thing. Most low end safes are easy to pry open with a couple crow bars. They won't need to drag off the safe.

[RSJ]

Thanks. Yeah, I am actually not looking to spend a bunch of money, in part because more money = more weight and harder to move (for me) and risk of damaging the apartment. I still think something is better than just hiding them in a closet or under a bed.

What is a good form of weight to put in the bottom?

[03Lightningrocks]

Thanks. Yeah, I am actually not looking to spend a bunch of money, in part because more money = more weight and harder to move (for me) and risk of damaging the apartment. I still think something is better than just hiding them in a closet or under a bed.

What is a good form of weight to put in the bottom?

I absolutely agree with you. Locking them in any safe will probably foil most amateur burglars. The average burglar breaks in, runs around like a nut looking for easy to grab items and leaves fast. Your safe will foil this clown. I would get concerned about a follow up visit... some thieves come back later for something they see but can't get.

Ammo makes a great weight!

[RSJ]

Guess I'll just throw all of my extra ammo in some of those .50 cal cans at the bottom of the safe. Or just acquire more guns

[troglodyte]

OK I'm just brainstorming and trying to think out of the box on the apartment safe. I take no responsibility on the feasibility or crack-pottedness of these.

1. Depending on the safe you could hide it under a bed and secure it to the bed frame. If your bed frame comes apart easily then bolt it together also. You may have to move your mattress/box springs everytime you want in. It makes it harder to move if there is a lot of stuff hanging off of it. Think about moving an old TV. That stupid cord was always under your feet grabbing every door frame and table leg as you dragged it through the house. Now, can you imagine a thief trying to drag a safe out with a bed attached to it?

2. Do you have your own refridgerator? Secure the safe to the fridge.

3. Run a big chain or cable from the safe around plumbing, furniture, appliances, structural elements.

4. Figure out a way to bolt/weld/secure a big long heavy gauge steel bar across the back/side/top so the safe can't fit through the door.

5. Bolt it down to a big steel plate that can't fit through the door. Hey! I actually like this idea. A safe with 4x4 heavy gauge plate attached to the bottom would not fit through a standard door and 1/4" thick would be pretty heavy (about 160#) yet spread out the load over 16 sq.ft. That roughly doubles the weight of the safe (157#). Throw in a hundred pounds of guns and ammo and you have a 400# load (25#/sq.ft if you're upstairs) with a horrible growth on the bottom that is going to make life miserable trying to get it out. You can use an area rug to cover the plate. You'll need to pay attention to how you mount the plate so it can't be easily removed from the outside. You may also need to paint the plate and put something under it so it doesnt rust on the carpet.

6. I had a cheapo stamped metal safe when I first had kids that I lag bolted to the 2x4s in the wall. When I moved I simply spackled the holes and touched them up.

That's all I can think of now. Maybe that will spark some other creative idea.

[Skaven]

I wonder if anyone makes "homing devices" that you could put in your safe?

by homing devices do you mean like GPS?

http://www.ecrater.com/p/8177703/insign ... ps-tracker" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

no reason to think you couldnt just put one of those inside of the safe or somethign similar you could be notified if the safe was even moved

Just wanted to let you know that if the case is metal in construction, it will act as a Faraday blocking all transmissions.

[WildBill]

I wonder if anyone makes "homing devices" that you could put in your safe?

by homing devices do you mean like GPS?

http://www.ecrater.com/p/8177703/insign ... ps-tracker" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

no reason to think you couldnt just put one of those inside of the safe or somethign similar you could be notified if the safe was even moved

Just wanted to let you know that if the case is metal in construction, it will act as a Faraday blocking all transmissions.

This one says that it will work from the trunk of a car.

[Skaven]

I wonder if anyone makes "homing devices" that you could put in your safe?

by homing devices do you mean like GPS?

http://www.ecrater.com/p/8177703/insign ... ps-tracker" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

no reason to think you couldnt just put one of those inside of the safe or somethign similar you could be notified if the safe was even moved

Just wanted to let you know that if the case is metal in construction, it will act as a Faraday blocking all transmissions.

This one says that it will work from the trunk of a car.

Hrmmm.... I guess it would depend on how thick the safe walls are. If you guys do end up getting one and trying it out, I would recommend that you get it from a place that you can return it too. Also would have to check out how long the battery life is. Maybe you could rig it so that you can thread a charger, and antenna through a small hole so it will always stay charged, and can transmit a strong signal if it is ever stolen.

[heeler]

It is absolutely essential that the safe be bolted down.
A lot of lower end gun safes can be defeated by a pry attack due to little to no plate steel in the door along with thin 12 gauge steel used for the body so if the perp(s) can lay the safe on it's back they can get some very good leverage on the safe thereby defeating it.
On some better safes another reason for bolting it down is due to the fact that the safe is very door heavy and when the door is swung open can result in the safe actually tipping over.
My safe is a American Security BF 66X36 that weighs 1250 pounds empty and Amsec tells you in the safe literature that it must be bolted to prevent tipping.
I had just done a flooring remodel of my home right before my safe arrived and since the floors are a laminate I had the flooring contractor place a 4'x3' pad of very hard porcelin tile in the corner of the room specifically to place the safe there.
The safe and vault company that I paid to bring this beast in placed it on the tile and then drilled four holes through the predrilled safe floor bottom and put in four half inch diameter by four inch long Red Head concrete anchors and bolted it down.
It is very secure in it's present setting and since these safes have outer hinges so you can get a full 180 degree door swing I can tell you if the safe had not been anchored the first time you swung that heavy door open the safe would have landed right on you.
The door is a full half inch of plate steel backed by a steel encased one inch thickness of a concrete material inside the door.
HEAVY.

[RSJ]

OK I'm just brainstorming and trying to think out of the box on the apartment safe. I take no responsibility on the feasibility or crack-pottedness of these.

1. Depending on the safe you could hide it under a bed and secure it to the bed frame. If your bed frame comes apart easily then bolt it together also. You may have to move your mattress/box springs everytime you want in. It makes it harder to move if there is a lot of stuff hanging off of it. Think about moving an old TV. That stupid cord was always under your feet grabbing every door frame and table leg as you dragged it through the house. Now, can you imagine a thief trying to drag a safe out with a bed attached to it?

2. Do you have your own refridgerator? Secure the safe to the fridge.

3. Run a big chain or cable from the safe around plumbing, furniture, appliances, structural elements.

4. Figure out a way to bolt/weld/secure a big long heavy gauge steel bar across the back/side/top so the safe can't fit through the door.

5. Bolt it down to a big steel plate that can't fit through the door. Hey! I actually like this idea. A safe with 4x4 heavy gauge plate attached to the bottom would not fit through a standard door and 1/4" thick would be pretty heavy (about 160#) yet spread out the load over 16 sq.ft. That roughly doubles the weight of the safe (157#). Throw in a hundred pounds of guns and ammo and you have a 400# load (25#/sq.ft if you're upstairs) with a horrible growth on the bottom that is going to make life miserable trying to get it out. You can use an area rug to cover the plate. You'll need to pay attention to how you mount the plate so it can't be easily removed from the outside. You may also need to paint the plate and put something under it so it doesnt rust on the carpet.

6. I had a cheapo stamped metal safe when I first had kids that I lag bolted to the 2x4s in the wall. When I moved I simply spackled the holes and touched them up.

That's all I can think of now. Maybe that will spark some other creative idea.

Thanks! I like 3,4, and 5 the most.

[Skaven]

OK I'm just brainstorming and trying to think out of the box on the apartment safe. I take no responsibility on the feasibility or crack-pottedness of these.

1. Depending on the safe you could hide it under a bed and secure it to the bed frame. If your bed frame comes apart easily then bolt it together also. You may have to move your mattress/box springs everytime you want in. It makes it harder to move if there is a lot of stuff hanging off of it. Think about moving an old TV. That stupid cord was always under your feet grabbing every door frame and table leg as you dragged it through the house. Now, can you imagine a thief trying to drag a safe out with a bed attached to it?

2. Do you have your own refridgerator? Secure the safe to the fridge.

3. Run a big chain or cable from the safe around plumbing, furniture, appliances, structural elements.

4. Figure out a way to bolt/weld/secure a big long heavy gauge steel bar across the back/side/top so the safe can't fit through the door.

5. Bolt it down to a big steel plate that can't fit through the door. Hey! I actually like this idea. A safe with 4x4 heavy gauge plate attached to the bottom would not fit through a standard door and 1/4" thick would be pretty heavy (about 160#) yet spread out the load over 16 sq.ft. That roughly doubles the weight of the safe (157#). Throw in a hundred pounds of guns and ammo and you have a 400# load (25#/sq.ft if you're upstairs) with a horrible growth on the bottom that is going to make life miserable trying to get it out. You can use an area rug to cover the plate. You'll need to pay attention to how you mount the plate so it can't be easily removed from the outside. You may also need to paint the plate and put something under it so it doesnt rust on the carpet.

6. I had a cheapo stamped metal safe when I first had kids that I lag bolted to the 2x4s in the wall. When I moved I simply spackled the holes and touched them up.

That's all I can think of now. Maybe that will spark some other creative idea.

Thanks! I like 3,4, and 5 the most.

I know that some of the wal-marts have discontinued their extremely heavy duty brinks chains. You may be able to get it at a discount. Look over in the housing electrical/ locks section to see if yours has any on sale.