Washington building a room for guns

[Mustang186]

figured I would ask around before i went down the rabbit hole that is the internet search. I'm looking to build a smaller room in my garage that would house both reloading and guns. I want the room to comply with safe storage laws since I would like to leave things out of my safe while I'm working on them over the course of my projects. I'm really just looking for any document/ rules i can keep in mind while designing the walls.

current idea is using a commercial steel door with rebar welded to the jams and running horizontally through the studs on all sides making it very difficult to cut through. any ideas to enhance the basic idea? or rules I should be following?


thanks for the ideas in advance and anything to keep the law man happy if he were to get too curious.

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[dselwood]

That or rebar inside cinder block construction filled with concrete, then the rebar thru stud treatment for potential overhead access thru attic space etc, in swinging steel door with deadbolts top middle and bottom to help with prying and or kicking in , whatever way you do make sure door frame is built to resist spreading, I'll pm why

 

[bradsteen]

Would also be interested in hearing more about this topic. Neat idea!

 

[Mustang186]

im on the same page deslwood, I would end up retro fitting some type of grid in the ceiling to help prevent access. i was also hoping to stay away from CMU style wall because on how much work they are.

I'm really interested to see if anyone knows how secure the room needs to be to qualify

 

[User 1234]

Get a small steel shipping container set inside your garage? Bolt it to the slab?

 

[bradsteen]

Regarding the build, what types of risks are you trying to mitigate? Children in the home, routine break in, fire, etc? Are you aiming for a simple locking storage room, or full-blown panic room / bunker?

I would think metal sheet layered with plywood on the walls and a multi-point locking mechanism on a steel door (or a full-blown vault door) would be pretty effective at keeping the average crowbar-wielding crackhead at bay and meet any government requirements for locking storage space. Heck, that would be more than most gun shops have.

 

[echo1]

Regarding the build, what types of risks are you trying to mitigate? Children in the home, routine break in, fire, etc? Are you aiming for a simple locking storage room, or full-blown panic room / bunker?

I have a gun room with all the long guns out, on bipods, in racks, stands, or glass cabinets. Displayed in some manner A few are stacked up against a wall on ammo cans. Only the pistols are in a safe. I went with a simple fireproof door and dead bolt in an existing room. Anything short of a vault isn't stopping anyone determined. PAX

The cream of the crop. The actual Thompsen isn't mine...yet.



The huntin rigs and my Rossi in the center. Almost hidden by the door stop.


Cabinet full of SKSs and a rack of bolt guns


Some of the SKSs I sold/traded last January. Usually on lead sleads or bipods.

 

[bionic knees]

I have a gun room with all the long guns out, on bipods, in racks, stands, or glass cabinets. Displayed in some manner A few are stacked up against a wall on ammo cans. Only the pistols are in a safe. I went with a simple fireproof door and dead bolt in an existing room. Anything short of a vault isn't stopping anyone determined. PAX

The cream of the crop. The actual Thompsen isn't mine...yet.
View attachment 1124301
View attachment 1124302

The huntin rigs and my Rossi in the center. Almost hidden by the door stop.
View attachment 1124303

Cabinet full of SKSs and a rack of bolt guns
View attachment 1124304

Some of the SKSs I sold/traded last January. Usually on lead sleads or bipods.
View attachment 1124305
View attachment 1124306

you have a problem, you need to send me some of those.

 

[ma96782]

IMHO….a locked door to your home and/or storage room/closet would be "Good Enough." But……that is mostly "assuming".

Aloha, Mark

PS…..also, consider the budget and figure in the repair cost. IF….such a "break in" were to occur. Yeah….the legislature will continue to have laws upon laws…….to discourag firearms ownership. Never mind that "Criminals do crime"….duh. LOL. Rrrrrrright….without even mentioning, the lack of real punishment.

 

[Knobgoblin]

I would worry equally about moisture.
Security concerns are understandable, but a lot of concrete and metal (especially re-purposed steel ) sounds like rusty environment in the making. Getting your heat and ventilation right prior to building seems critical.

 

[Mustang186]

Get a small steel shipping container set inside your garage? Bolt it to the slab?

it wont fit i have 7' doors and i would have to modify the size even if it was a small sized one

 

[Mustang186]

IMHO….a locked door to your home and/or storage room/closet would be "Good Enough." But……that is mostly "assuming".

Aloha, Mark

PS…..also, consider the budget and figure in the repair cost. IF….such a "break in" were to occur. Yeah….the legislature will continue to have laws upon laws…….to discourag firearms ownership. Never mind that "Criminals do crime"….duh. LOL. Rrrrrrright….without even mentioning, the lack of real punishment.

that's what i assume as well but i was just seeing if anyone had more knowledge on it. i figure a fire proof door and some decent reinforcement should work. as far as moisture and ventilation ill have that covered, perks of being a sparky as well

I guess an effort is better then nothing when it comes to confusing laws.

 

[Mustang186]

thanks for the input guys all of this is making my final plan that much better when it comes to execution.

 

[jjfitch]

You didn't mention space or budget. A friend decided he was going to collect all the Winchester Commerative 30-30 rifles from 30-40 years ago. The ones I saw were "purty" but not my cup of tea.

He purchased a safe door designed to be used with a walk-in cinder block safe set up. The interior was about 10'X10 ' or about 1/2 of a single garage. It was a nice set up. Not sure how the collection worked out for a retirement plan though!

Smiles,

 

[Jay Walk]

you have a problem, you need to send me some of those.

Huge problem, where's the rack of Lever Guns?
Nice room

 

[echo1]

Huge problem, where's the rack of Lever Guns?
Nice room

FROM ABOVE PICTURES IN POST #7
The huntin rigs including a .308 Savage 99F, .30-30 Marlin 30AS, .41 mag Henry and my .357 Rossi 92 in the center. Almost hidden by the door stop. I just picked up another Rossi .357, octagon barrel carbine, crescent butt, case harden receiver. I'm going to put a little bigger loop on. I have a blonde 5-gun rack that the levers will solo in. PAX

 

[Burpboxhero]

Well you don't have to lock up your guns because of the safe storage law. It is to penalize those who do not lock up their guns when kids and others who cannot possess firearms get them and commit crimes. if your house is broken into and guns are stolen, that is a valid defense so long as you report such within a certain time frame that you would have reasonably known such did occur.
As for locks, rebar and such, lockpickinglawyer, cordless angle grinders and a poor man's thermal lance are humbling considerations.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Well you don't have to lock up your guns because of the safe storage law. It is to penalize those who do not lock up their guns when kids and others who cannot possess firearms get them and commit crimes. if your house is broken into and guns are stolen, that is a valid defense so long as you report such within a certain time frame that you would have reasonably known such did occur.
As for locks, rebar and such, lockpickinglawyer, cordless angle grinders and a poor man's thermal lance are humbling considerations.

Yea, hardened windows if any and a heavy duty steel door and casing with a very high quality deadbolt in conjunction with one or more quality gun safes inside for the good stuff is way better than 99% of average.

 

[echo1]

Ever see the ytube of the die grinder & safes? Pretty fast and easy with most lock boxes. PAX

 

[dangerranger60]

Storage is one thing, But if I were going to reload and work on guns in there I would spend more thought on environmental controls. Lighting, A/C, Flooring, and even the color of the walls contribute to how much time I could spend in there! Also dust control, Displayed guns and game heads are great till you have to spend more time cleaning them than you intended.
Also with the advent of standing desks, adjustable height work stations and tables are becoming easy to find.
My wife and I are planning to move, and a dedicated gun room is one of the things I'm looking at. Security is one concern but also it has to be a comfortable work space. DR