Home safe's

[Brian Runau]

Anyone have a home safe they are happy with? Are they really fireproof/waterproof? Trying to figure out a convenient place to put one. Thanks brian

[Ralph Okonieski]

We had a small safe but outgrew it. Then switched to a tall gun safe having shelves. Never had a fire or water so cannot comment on that aspect. It has a keypad for entry. We are very happy with it. No way one guy or maybe even two regular people are going to carry it out. I would buy a gun safe again without hesitation.

[Tom M King]

I'm using my Grandfather's. It weighs about 2500 pounds judging by my front end loader could barely lift it, and needed its own foundation under the floor in the office. At first I thought all the weight was steel, but when we took the panel off the inside of the door to oil the lock, half of the weight is fire clay. It was new in 1890 and about four feet tall.

[Bill Howatt]

Have one that fits between the studs but interior space is limited. At best is fire and water resistant, certainly not fire or water proof by any stretch of the imagination. If you are really looking for good, broad protection then this is not what you want.

[Bruce Page]

I have a firearm safe that is bolted to the concrete pad. It is both fire and water resistant. It offers good fire protection to a point. If it is subject a typical urban fire where the FD quickly arrives the contents will likely survive. If it is subject to an inferno, the contents will be cooked.

[glenn bradley]

Tough subject. You need to clearly decide what you are using the device for. A waterproof / fireproof safe doesn't have to be terribly hard to break into. A security safe that is not well hidden needs to be hella-stout. Bolting to the slab and two perpendicular walls resists most brute force attacks but, wall holes can compromise (if not nullify) any water / fire resistant warranty of the manufacturer. Cast into the floor is always good for security as they resist a lot of attacks but, a waterproof version gets pricey. I took the cost of a safe and installation I could really trust for my specific purposes and realized I could rent a bank box for a lot of years for about the same cost. There is no insurance for items in a bank box so that may be a consideration.

[Pat Germain]

I looked into various home safes years ago. I was surprised by how little protection a "Fire Safe" provides against fire. It doesn't take much fire at all to destroy the contents of a "Fire Safe". My wife works at a bank where we get a free safe deposit box. We put any documents we want to protect in that safe deposit box. Will that safe deposit box survive a nuclear apocalypse? No, but neither will the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. Whatcha gonna do?

[Mike Null]

I switched to a safe deposit box as the small safe I had was subject to mildew. It was marginally secure from theft but the water, fire and mildew risks weren't satisfactory.

[Scott Winners]

It really matters how big a thing you want to store and how often you want to open the door. You might look at just buying a vault door and frame. Then you can build anything you want behind the door.

[Rob Luter]

I have a gun safe in the basement. It serves the conventional gun safe role. Valuables/documents/computer backups are kept off site in a safe deposit box at the bank.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I have helped several clients with purchasing, delivery, and installation of their safes. The safe salesman at our Dungarees store has a method of calculating the fire load of the building and makes an hour rating recommendation based on the home & where the safe will be within the home. I have had some neat projects creating ways to disguise the presence of some big ones. We recently inherited some guns and I am thinking we need one too. Quick and easy access to the contents is on my mind. I did not want guns in the house until after I had served on our County's Grand Jury in 2006. Having to hear the details of a lot of crimes convinced me to retrieve the shotgun that I bought when I was 10.

Liberty is the brand at Dungarees
Liberty Safe - America's #1 Gun Safes, Fire Safes and Home Safes (https://www.libertysafe.com/)

[Brian Runau]

I really only need a small one to hold some paperwork, flash drive, checks et ....maybe in a basement location. Need it to survive a fire and water . Trying to avoid safe deposit box. Thanks brian

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I looked at Liberty's website a little more, they have a "Help Me Chose" section. I have heard sad stories from folks who have had fires and their safes did not preform as promised. A little overkill rather than taking a chance will give some peace of mind.

Which Liberty Safe Model is Right for You? | Buying a Gun Safe (https://www.libertysafe.com/pages/liberty-safe-quiz)

[Bill Dufour]

There is an old assay office with a large vault in California's gold country. It is now a hotel. You can sleep inside the vault as one of the bedrooms.
Bill D

[Brian Runau]

I looked at Liberty's website a little more, they have a "Help Me Chose" section. I have heard sad stories from folks who have had fires and their safes did not preform as promised. A little overkill rather than taking a chance will give some peace of mind.

Which Liberty Safe Model is Right for You? | Buying a Gun Safe (https://www.libertysafe.com/pages/liberty-safe-quiz)

Thanks Maurice. Brian

[George Yetka]

If it is for fire protection or to keep it out of the kids hands safes are great. But if you want to keep even worst thief out a gun safe would need to be $10,000 or more. A cordless circular saw with a metal blade can have you in in a liberty gun safe in 1 minute. I deliberated for a long time over spending money. Then I realized I cared about keeping the kids out not the criminals. So I got a gun locker for $600 then got 2 more.

I do have a sentry fire safe. Which is on the lower level of fire protection. I keep it on the basement floor so it should be sufficient

[Alan Rutherford]

I really only need a small one to hold some paperwork, flash drive, checks et ....maybe in a basement location. Need it to survive a fire and water . Trying to avoid safe deposit box. Thanks brian

Speaking as someone who was developing computer systems for small businesses before the first IBM PC and for a long time after, you should always have off-site backups. Period.

[Jim Koepke]

Many years ago a safe deposit box was rented at my bank. The first sign of trouble should have been there system wasn't set up for me to charge it to my credit card issued by the same bank. (at the time this credit card was nationally named after the bank of issue)

Not long after that my brother picked up a four drawer file cabinet fire safe at an auction of surplus U.S. Navy items.

509135

My recollection is it is rated for one hour. It can be moved with a large hand truck, though at ~400 lbs it isn't easy.

jtk

[Jason Roehl]

“Fireproof” is really a misnomer. It’s about time. A burning couch can have a room up to 1200°F in a couple of minutes. A fully-engulfed home can be over 2000°F. If you’re storing papers, it’s about how long the safe can keep the contents below 451°F, and if that’s long enough for the local FD to get some water on it and cooled down.

The same goes for security. It’s about time. A skilled person with the right tools will eventually get into any safe. What you really want is to guard against the most likely attacks in your area. A safe that’s easily removed from the premises will give the thief all the time in the world in his own lair to crack it. But, if it can resist removal for at least as long as the local PD response time (provided there is an alarm system that notifies them), then it may suffice.

[Brian Runau]

If it is for fire protection or to keep it out of the kids hands safes are great. But if you want to keep even worst thief out a gun safe would need to be $10,000 or more. A cordless circular saw with a metal blade can have you in in a liberty gun safe in 1 minute. I deliberated for a long time over spending money. Then I realized I cared about keeping the kids out not the criminals. So I got a gun locker for $600 then got 2 more.

I do have a sentry fire safe. Which is on the lower level of fire protection. I keep it on the basement floor so it should be sufficient

I was thinking basement floor would be a good location for a document safe. Thanks Brian

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Quick and easy access to the contents is on my mind. I did not want guns in the house until after I had served on our County's Grand Jury in 2006. Having to hear the details of a lot of crimes convinced me to retrieve the shotgun that I bought when I was 10.

A weird coincidence: I spent 10 hours yesterday on my 3rd jury. A domestic assault case with the fight documented on cellphone video. We had to watch the video many times. It includes a struggle to find the keys and get the gun out of the pistol case. If there had been "quick and easy access" it would have been a murder case.
I am going to keep thinking about how to handle the presence of guns in the house.

[Phil Mueller]

A few years back our bank quit having safe deposit boxes. We too only needed something small. I purchased a Guardall..seemed to be well regarded by our local safe/locksmith. Its interior is 12”x12”…just enough room for us. Rated fireproof for one hour. It’s bolted to the concrete floor.

[Bill Dufour]

My aunt and uncle bought a house with a floor safe. It was in a closet under a trapdoor in the floor. Inside was piece of paper with the combination. I think it was unlocked so they could open it.
BilL D.

[Jim R Edwards]

I advise you to do research on the company who makes the safe and if it has an electronic lock understand you will not be the only person with the combination. Several articles and you tube videos out there addressing this subject and recent events that transpired.

[Brian Runau]

I could put a safe inside one of our two sheds? Brian

[Rich Engelhardt]

We had a guy in the next town over stick his gun safe in his detached garage.
Somebody stole a tow truck, wrapped a chain around the safe and dragged it right through the side of the garage.

[George Yetka]

I am going to keep thinking about how to handle the presence of guns in the house.

I have a bunch. Kids have zero access and zero curiosity. I was taught to demystify them so they don't go looking. And if My wife or myself were capable of that kind of anger towards anyone we would not have them(guns) to begin with. Same goes for the people in the case you mentioned. If I were them I would have got the weapons out of the house long ago.

[George Yetka]

I was thinking basement floor would be a good location for a document safe. Thanks Brian

As long as you dont have water issues.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Basements do have a potential for water problems. I had several conversations with people from Vermont recently. Basement flooding is something none of them had ever heard of until this year. One young lady was living in a hotel while her house was being dried out.

Non sequitor back to gun safety. I have decided to lock the guns up safe and hidden and get a non lethal personal protection device to keep handy.

[Jim Koepke]

I have a bunch. Kids have zero access and zero curiosity. I was taught to demystify them so they don't go looking. And if My wife or myself were capable of that kind of anger towards anyone we would not have them(guns) to begin with. Same goes for the people in the case you mentioned. If I were them I would have got the weapons out of the house long ago.

George, I would guess you do not have any mental health issues. There seems to be a lot of people with such issues who also feel it is necessary to own guns.

Too many people think, "it won't happen here." Then it does.

jtk

[ChrisA Edwards]

I have two small Sentry safes. Both are the same size physically. One is rated for media, i.e. floppy disks, cassettes, etc. and is much smaller inside as it has an extra layer of fir protection.

When I was a software developer, working from home for 20+ years, I would put my backup copies in the media safe, along with a backup copy in both of our cars. Chances of all three burning down or being stolen were slim.

For the most part now, I keep important documents in a safety deposit box at the bank, stuff is pretty well locked up and they have sprinkler systems.

[Dave Lehnert]

My local Bank closed. When I looked to get a new safety deposit Box, I was surprised banks are starting to get away from them. A lot of banks I checked still have them but no longer rents to new customers. I got one at a different location but already getting letters for me to consider getting rid of it. They recommended I check with self storage places in my area. Sounds like they are the ones taking over the safety deposit box bizz. Did not sound like a safe option to me.

I asked the bank why they are no longer offing it. They said the vast majority of box renters lose the keys and it just too big of a deal and expense for a locksmith, they customer has to be their, Just not worth it.

[Roger Feeley]

We got a fire safe from a big box store years ago and found that we had to keep desiccant in it or the paper would crumble. I have no idea how moisture gets in there.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

George, I would guess you do not have any mental health issues. There seems to be a lot of people with such issues who also feel it is necessary to own guns.

Too many people think, "it won't happen here." Then it does.

jtk

My wife is very relieved to have heard from her cousin. Her cousin was in the Spare Time Bowling Alley in Lewiston Maine when a horrible shooting happened earlier this week. The Police returned her phone to her yesterday. A member of the cousins bowling team was shot and killed.
I continue to seek a balance between paranoia and naivety regarding gun issues.

[Tom Bender]

The most common cause of gun deaths is suicide. Often this is the result of depression.There are many causes of depression. I wouldn't want a bad day to be my last so no guns in my home.

[Edwin Santos]

Tough subject. You need to clearly decide what you are using the device for. A waterproof / fireproof safe doesn't have to be terribly hard to break into. A security safe that is not well hidden needs to be hella-stout. Bolting to the slab and two perpendicular walls resists most brute force attacks but, wall holes can compromise (if not nullify) any water / fire resistant warranty of the manufacturer. Cast into the floor is always good for security as they resist a lot of attacks but, a waterproof version gets pricey. I took the cost of a safe and installation I could really trust for my specific purposes and realized I could rent a bank box for a lot of years for about the same cost. There is no insurance for items in a bank box so that may be a consideration.

These are good points. It is possible to make the contents of a safe waterproof. For example you could store jewelry in tupperware containers, and I knew a guy who sealed documents and cash in Foodsaver vacuum seal bags. The 2500 lb safe mentioned above is pretty impressive.

Security devices are definitely a slippery slope. I knew one guy who told me he had two safes. One was the real deal, containing his valuables, the other with just a little bit of cash and a few other low value sundries.
His theory was if an intruder put a gun to his head and demanded that he open his safe, he would go to the latter one and the thief would be none the wiser.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

The most common cause of gun deaths is suicide. Often this is the result of depression.There are many causes of depression. I wouldn't want a bad day to be my last so no guns in my home.

Thanks for good advice Tom, My wife agrees. I am thinking the guns can go back to the farm and I will keep the slingshot handy. May no day ever be that bad for anyone.

[Tom Bender]

Good plan, suicide by slingshot is far less common.

[George Yetka]

George, I would guess you do not have any mental health issues. There seems to be a lot of people with such issues who also feel it is necessary to own guns.

Too many people think, "it won't happen here." Then it does.

jtk

No. unless you count the need for new tools.

It is a delicate line. But if you or anyone you know flirts with depression or anger it should be talked about.

[Zachary Hoyt]

My wife is very relieved to have heard from her cousin. Her cousin was in the Spare Time Bowling Alley in Lewiston Maine when a horrible shooting happened earlier this week. The Police returned her phone to her yesterday. A member of the cousins bowling team was shot and killed.
I continue to seek a balance between paranoia and naivety regarding gun issues.

When given a choice between paranoia and naivety my answer is "Why not have it all?"

I had a 22 rifle for a few years when we were at the farm that was loaned to us to try to shoot woodchucks, but other than that I've never owned nor wished to own a gun.

[Patty Hann]

I own 4 pistols (three 9mm and one 22).
None are locked up nor are they unloaded. "An unloaded gun is dangerous". The safeties are engaged on all of them.
I keep one by the front door, one by my bedside, one by the back door and one in my purse.
When I drive the one in my purse comes out and goes in the driver's door "stowage slot".
It takes the police where I live on average 10 minutes to respond to a 911 call, even for a B&E call.
A lot can happen in 10 minutes. There may be no time to open a safe, and remove a lock on the trigger.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I own 4 pistols (three 9mm and one 22).
None are locked up nor are they unloaded. "An unloaded gun is dangerous". The safeties are engaged on all of them.
I keep one by the front door, one by my bedside, one by the back door and one in my purse.
When I drive the one in my purse comes out and goes in the driver's door "stowage slot".
It takes the police where I live on average 10 minutes to respond to a 911 call, even for a B&E call.
A lot can happen in 10 minutes. There may be no time to open a safe, and remove a lock on the trigger.

Yippee Ki-Yay! I hope you are around Patty if I am slow to draw with my slingshot during a time of need. My wife loves to cycle and often does so in lonely places. She has out run some spooky, too friendly men. I have brought up teaching her to shoot, she says "No way". It is the same conflict, paranoia vs. naivety. I will stop commenting on this thread. I hope I did not violate the guidelines.

[Dave Zellers]

Everyone knows the saying-

"When seconds count, the police are only minutes away."

[Patty Hann]

Everyone knows the saying-

"When seconds count, the police are only minutes away."
Also: "I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six."