Safe in a dank garage

[GuyBMeredith]

I will have to place my safe in our dank, humid garage. It will be bolted to the concrete and the company suggested 1/4" washers under the corners for air circulation , but I am not good with providing pry points. I see a suggestion of roofing felt in another thread, but no response pro or con. Opinions?

Also, we have a habit of providing up to 4" behind furniture, but I don't want to make it easy to throw a chain or cable around the safe to drag it off. So, any issues with the safe against the wall? Maybe again with roofing felt? Or is it better to leave a space and build barriers to make lassoing difficult?

I will have a storage cabinet overhead.

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[Dreams of Steel]

I bolted my vault right up against a wall to my concrete garage floor that is covered in thin carpet. I added a dehumidifier inside the safe, any chance you could run a large(r) dehumidifier in the area to keep moisture down? You might be able to run multiple units inside the safe if moisture is going to be a constant problem.

 

[Kruel J]

Wedge anchors in the concrete. As tight to the wall as possible. Along with Lag bolts to the wall studs. A dehumidifier inside to keep things dry. I bolt my safe to the wall and floor. No gaps of any kind. Gaps are pry points.

 

[GuyBMeredith]

The safe is a Sturdy brand safe with no wall bolt down holes and 1/4 steel wall. Have to do with the floor bolts.

 

[Kruel J]

Drill your own holes. As long as the back is up against drywall, the fire rating will remain. Most high end safes have a layer of drywall as a fire barrier.

 

[jbett98]

Buy a Golden Rod. You will have to drill a small hole for the power cord, but that can be plugged with some Firestop caulking from Lowes or Home Depot.

 

[GuyBMeredith]

I have a Dri Rod, but that is only for the interior isn't it?

 

[jbett98]

A simple answer is that a Dri-Rod or Golden Rod, is used to prevent condensation from forming on metal when colder air enters the interior of the safe.

 

[Joe13]

Buy a small dehumidifier for your garage...?

We have to run one in our basement in the winter at times.

 

[techiej]

+1 on a golden rod.

 

[albin25]

Ok, I'll readily admit that I am NOT a snappy dresser...
...I'd hang my clothes in the garage and install the safe in my share of the closet.

I'll also admit I'm not exactly a "Dr. Phil" either (I'm approaching 40 years married but still only on my first wife)...
...If I was told that I had to put the gun safe in the garage because someone living with me just didn't want "it", holding "those" in the house, that individuals bed would be in the garage long before the safe would be.

This is of course just my opinion on gun safe placement choices based on no actual information about why it "will have to" go into a "dank" location with wide daily temp swings, on public view whenever the big door is open, and accessible by a vehicle.

Of course if the safe is so big it can't physically fit through any doorway....
1) congratulations
and...
2) goldenrod (or equivalent) really work.

 

[jbett98]

Most garages are so full of junk, you'd be hard pressed to see a gun safe let alone get a car in it.

 

[CHLChris]

Just as long as we're all clear and in the same page...a Golden Rod and all the same types of rod warmers do NOT act as dehumidifiers. They merely heat the metal items inside by a degree or two more. I'm my opinion, and in my practice, I think one should use a rod heater and some sort of dehumidifying device.

I use a few of those things with dessicant that I take out every week or so, plug in, and dry out to recharge them.

 

[Joe13]

Just as long as we're all clear and in the same page...a Golden Rod and all the same types of rid warmers do NOT act as dehumidifiers. They merely head the metal items inside by a degree or two more. I'm my opinion, and in my practice, I think one should use a rod heater and some sort of dehumidifying device.

I use a few of those things with dessicant that I take out every week or so, plug in, and dry out to recharge them.

+1 on the rechargeable desiccant tins (mine go in the oven for 2 hours 3-4 times a year).

My safe would be hard to drill thru to get power inside.

 

[etrain16]

I've got a heating rod but haven't installed it yet. I've used one of these for the last 2 years in my safe and it's worked wonderfully - not a single issue with moisture in the safe - and the safe is in my garage. It just plugs in all day every week or couple of weeks (depending on how humid it's been) to recharge and it's good as new again. I certainly would recommend it. And at $30 it's a cheap investment:






http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H0XFD2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00

 

[jbett98]

You should have one of these.
Without one, you don't know what's going on inside the safe with the moisture.
Wood stocks need a certain amount of moisture to keep from drying out and cracking, or swelling with too much humidity.
Remote wireless temp/humidity meter.

 

[GuyBMeredith]

The reason for putting the safe in the garage is lack of space in the house to hide and secure even this small safe. The closets don't work. Anywhere else it'd stand out like a neon sign. I am also concerned about bolting to wood frames not being secure even with beefed up lumber in the crawlspace.

 

[NWGlockgal]

I put my safe in the basement on top of a rubber barrier, bolted to the floor.
I have a Golden Rod in it as well as one of these, which works really well:

 

[Koda]

I will have to place my safe in our dank, humid garage. It will be bolted to the concrete and the company suggested 1/4" washers under the corners for air circulation , but I am not good with providing pry points. I see a suggestion of roofing felt in another thread, but no response pro or con. Opinions?

Also, we have a habit of providing up to 4" behind furniture, but I don't want to make it easy to throw a chain or cable around the safe to drag it off. So, any issues with the safe against the wall? Maybe again with roofing felt? Or is it better to leave a space and build barriers to make lassoing difficult?

I will have a storage cabinet overhead.

my vote is bolt the safe directly to the concrete and wall, no gaps, no padding, fillers etc.
the safe is steel, the floor is concrete nothing needs to be placed in between.... would only compromise the security. I also wonder what any material would do in a fire or if it got wet it could grow mold, attract bugs or ants.....

people have been bolting their safes directly to garage floors and walls forever.... I have never heard of any problems.

 

[GuyBMeredith]

My concern is that moisture may collect causing rust where bottom paint may have been abraded in moving. In most cases people would probably never note any rust even in moving, so I don't know how frequently this happens.