Location for Gun Safe

K

Kansas Shooter

New member
I looked to see if this topic has come up on the boards and I couldn't find where it had, so my appologies if it's a dupe.

I'm in ther market for a gun safe and would like some opinions as to where to put it at the house. I've got a roomy attached garage where I had planned to secure it to the floor, however I am second guessing that now after talking to the salesman at the gun shop. He told me garages and detached buildings are not good places for gun safes to be kept in due to humidity. He said even with a dehumidifier inside the safe, I would still get condensation on my guns and they would be prone to rust. My brother in-law has a Fat Boy that sits in his shop and he hasn't noticed any moisture throughout the year (the shop is heated, but not air conditioned). I have a place inside the house for the safe, but I don't want the hassel of moving it in and the chance of tearing the floor up getting it situated if I don't need to (it will be 1,000+ lbs.) If it matters, I'm looking at Browning's offerings that have a decent fire rating.

Thanks for any thoughts,
Marty
 
In addition to what room you place it, consider what else is around it.

The door is typically the strongest part of a safe. The other three sides, top and bottom are generally not as strong as the door (made out of thinner steel and not reinforced, or not as much as the door).

To minimize this, I placed mine in a corner and then placed my reloading bench (about 250 pounds empty, plus all my stuff) against the other side, and bolted it to the floor as well as the two walls it is against. There is also a lot more pretty heavy items on the other side of the bench to make it more difficult to just slide the bench down.

The average, quality safe (which includes the 1,000 pound Browning as you mentioned), will keep out the average smash-and-grab burglar but someone with the knowledge and/or the right tools and sufficient time will still get in (to mine included). But by placing it where I did and bolting it to three surfaces, I have at least made it as hard as I can for them to get in without spending several thousand more dollars on a different safe.
 
I too have a Fat Boy, that is bolted to the concrete floor in what we call "the basement" although it's on grade, and we live on the second floor, for a better year round view of the lake.
The basement has a little supplemental non vented propane heater, that keeps the temps at about 55 to 60 thru the colder months. I have one of those dessicant type dehumidifiers, that has to be recycled about every six weeks or so. But it's just a matter of plugging it into a duplex for 24 hours to dry it out, and it's good to go again. So far, I've had no moisture problems.
 
A safe that big and heavy could be put anywhere to defeat a smash and grab style burglary. The garage is about the only place I would avoid (or anywhere else a truck could be backed up to it). Regardless of how it is placed or secured just hope a would be burglar doesn't have a gasoline powered chop saw handy.
 
Thanks for the replies. I knew if I put the safe in the garage I would possibly make it easier for thieves to pull it out; the garage looked more appealing to the guys who will help me get it in...
 
You can move them around on a piece of old carpet, put the safe on the carpet and pull it across hardwood or slab floors. Carpeted floors, don't push it along, it may tip over, use the carpet piece trick over the carpeted floor. You can get on the floor and push with your legs, easier than pushing from higher on the safe.

The main thing is to avoid tipping the safe. Push or pull down low on the safe and take your time. If you do tip the safe, get out of the way and let it go.

On a slab, put a piece of plywood or flooring under the safe to lift it off the slab a 1/4 inch or a bit more. Moisture in the concrete can rust your safe if in contact.

One thing about garage placement : Open the garage door, and your safe is probably visible to anyone passing by.

If you have to lift it up a short step to the house interior, get a pallet jack. Anything more than a foot or so of lift, best to lay the safe on it's side and shove it in the door, with some lumber down to protect the entry.

Moving a safe with buddies is usually a full case job, with pizza.
 
One thing about garage placement : Open the garage door, and your safe is probably visible to anyone passing by.
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That's a good point I hadn't fully considered (I uaually have my door up when I'm home, until dark anyway). In my case, the safe would be partially shielded from view by my furnace and hot water tank. The moisture issue is the biggest question/hinderance to me putting it there.

Moving a safe with buddies is usually a full case job, with pizza.
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A case and pizza for sure! I'd probably want to get the work done first, though......lol
 
Kansas Shooter: Garage door up, anyone casing your place, in just a short amount of time, will know when you are home, and when you are away. This happened to a friend of mine. As soon as he got home, he opened up the garage, or in his case the barn doors. When he was gone, they were down. Just like running up a flag, telling everyone when to hit your place.
 
Someone else posted on TFL awhile back that the safe movers used a whole bunch of golf balls on the floor to roll it around, sounds easy enough. Maybe that will make it a little easier.
 
Climate control.

You can use golf balls or rollers/pipe or slide it around on carpet to move the safe.

Out of casual view for house guests. Especially out of view to the general public like in front of open exterior doors or windows. Part of security is secrecy.

Place on a load bearing wall, ideally a corner wall. Place over as many floor joints as possible.

Bolt to floor if possible, but realize that a thief with a skill saw or reciprocating saw can defeat this measure quickly if it's bolted to studs.

Balance the weight of the room so not too much is in one area.

Balance the safe with shims so the door doesn't slam open or closed which can cause damage or injuries.
 
Mine has been in a garage with no heating or cooling for close to twenty years. I have a golden rod inside, and I have not had a rust problem (none at all).
 
Thanks again for all of the great posts and good advice. Security is something I think about, but I've gotten a bit laxed living in a quiet neighborhood - quiet doesn't mean it will never happen though. I appreciate the ideas for moving and securing the safe once inside, I hadn't thought of some of them.

I have never seen a safe with places in the back or sides to secure them to the wall (everything I have seen have a location for bolts in the subfloor). Is there such a thing, or would that make it too difficult to protect against fire? I guess a fire might tend to be around the upper part of the safe if it didn't start on the ground next to it.
 
A 1000 pound safe = safe movers!

Get a company that just moves safes or heavy equipment. They know how to move it into place without damaging anything, it will be the best money you ever spent.
 
I have never seen a safe with places in the back or sides to secure them to the wall (everything I have seen have a location for bolts in the subfloor). Is there such a thing, or would that make it too difficult to protect against fire? I guess a fire might tend to be around the upper part of the safe if it didn't start on the ground next to it.
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Yeah, they do not usually come that way, but a good drill bit designed for metal will do the trick. Then back fill around the hole with fire-proof spray insulation. I forget the brand name of the stuff I used, but it came highly recommended for the application from both gentlemen I spoke to at two different hardware stores about it.

In reality, the screws should be tight enough against the metal for it not to matter, but I did it for peace of mind.
 
I just had a Liberty "Franklin" delivered. He had a special motorized hand truck like thing to get it up the steps and in the front door. After that he used 3-4 pieces of PVC pipe about 3' long to roll it on hardwood and carpet. When he needed to make a turn the PVC when in from the corner and he slid it around. I was amazed.
 
I'm thinking more about hiring a safe mover. The cost I was quoted doesn't out weigh the trouble (and liability) I would have moving it myself with some friends.
 
I have several.....living room,garage,closet and bedroom
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IMO this is a better set-up. The reality is the best heaviest safe is not more difficult to break into than 3-4 small safes. Esspecially if they are bolted down correctly. The small safes are MUCH easier to move around.
The garage is about the only place I would avoid (or anywhere else a truck could be backed up to it).
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The reality is anyone after the safe that has planned it is going to attach a cable to it and pull it out. I saw an old apt building where "miners" did that to a boiler. I have seen pictures where it was done with safes.
On a slab, put a piece of plywood or flooring under the safe to lift it off the slab a 1/4 inch or a bit more. Moisture in the concrete can rust your safe if in contact.
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This is very true. I pulled up an onld safe some time ago and the finish on the bottom was all scratched from moving it in. There ended up being a lot of rust on the bottom. It was only in for a few years and no so bad, but in 20 years the bolt holes might have been compromised.
One thing about garage placement : Open the garage door, and your safe is probably visible to anyone passing by.
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You can hang a sheet or something. Even frame in a wall.
Mine has been in a garage with no heating or cooling for close to twenty years. I have a golden rod inside, and I have not had a rust problem (none at all).
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I use a golden rod and it has really impressed me. I have no idea as to the electric cost of running it though.

IMO the important thing is to bolt it down. It is hilarious the number of safes I have seen that aren't bolted down. 1000 pounds is REALLY heavy if you don't want to damage the floor. Not so much if you are ok with it falling through an exterior wall.
 
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