Anchoring a safe

[The Heretic]

Putting your safe in the garage is not ideal since garages are easy to break into. Every time someone drivers by and your garage door is up they wonder what you got in it. It makes you a candidate for a home invasion or break-in. If you do use the garage you should build a temporary wall or curtain so people can't see the safe. Also, garages have more humidity than inside the house so you will need to dehumidify garage or take other precautions.

Some people put some kind of wood cabinet around the safe. I think I saw someone here post pics of how they did that.

I am torn; I have a nice shop with a thick concrete slab floor, and it would be a lot easier to put a safe there than in my house. I could also build some kind of something around it to camouflage it.

That said, the shop is a good 200 feet away from the house and more visible from the road than the house is. I wouldn't hear someone breaking into it unless I put alarms on it (something I may do anyway as I have stuff out there that is more valuable monetarily than my guns).

If I put the safe in the back of the large walkin closet in the master bedroom, then at least 75% of the time I am home (12 hrs a day and all day weekends) and within spitting distance of the safe; a thief having to go through me to get to the safe. But I am afraid of the capability of the floor in my manufactured home to hold up a heavy safe.

 

[HotRod61]

I have my safe in the garage. I put one of those retractable curtains in front of the safe that is attached to the ceiling so when I do open the garage door people can't see the safe. I never raise the garage door with the safe open.

It's not anchored to the concrete floor. Haven't gotten around to it yet.

HotRod

 

[TJdamon]

That's what I'm thinking about doing. Or building a cabinet around it with a door in front of it

 

[jbett98]

My neighbor set his safe next to his garage gas furnace, and then had some sheet metal made to fit the front of it. He then installed storage cabinets over the top and down the other side
It looks just like it's part of the house duct work when placed in front of the safe.

 

[The B]

But I am afraid of the capability of the floor in my manufactured home to hold up a heavy safe.

A halfway decent carpenter could install a little extra post-and-beam brace under the affected joists. Would solve any issue with overweight.

 

[jake2far]

Vapor pressure, read about it for flooring. If your concrete has vapor pressure greater than 3 lbs per 1000 sqft over 24 hours, water can condensate under the safe.

http://www.concretenetwork.com/bob_cain/

Fast and cheap, roofing felt, cut a piece the size of the safe, or set the safe on a piece of roofing felt and cut around the safe.

Drill through the holes and install the anchors.

Don't bolt the safe to wood only, I had a friend who bolted his safe to wall beams and floor beams, someone drove up with a flat bed trailer used a chain saw and cut the wood members laying the safe down on the trailer and drove off.

The holding factor of the bolts, almost any size is far greater than the concrete. The important part, you need the bolts to go into the concrete at least 3/4 of the thickness. If your concrete is in good shape and thick enough Red Head wedge anchors will work.

If the concrete is thinner than 4 inch and it is not reinforced with wire or rebar drill through the concrete and expoxy the anchors into the holes.

Jim

 

[evltwn]

I have a 2000 lb Rogue safe my manufactured home with no extra reinforcement beneath. No problemo. Hope this helps.

 

[mjbskwim]

Don't bolt the safe to wood only, I had a friend who bolted his safe to wall beams and floor beams, someone drove up with a flat bed trailer used a chain saw and cut the wood members laying the safe down on the trailer and drove off.

The safe and how you tie it down are feel good measures.They keep cheapo thieves from taking your guns but a real thief will just wrap a chain around the safe and drag it thru the wall.
Hiding it is the best way of securing it.Not saying your tie down methods aren't good,i would do as you stated myself,but in a "hidden as much as possible" location