Gun safe regrets.....what are yours ???

[Skeeter XRi]

For those of you with the bigger safes…are they on Concrete slabs? Or,did you go under the house & reinforce the floor? I can’t imagine a 500-1,000lb Safe sitting stationary wouldn’t cause the floor to sag/fail ?

Mine is sitting on the main floor directly over an engineered beam. It does not appear to be causing any sag (yet), but I did take measurements before I put it there and verify it hasn’t moved occasionally.

IIRC the empty safe is ~1000 pounds, and I couldn’t guess what the contents weigh.

YMMV

jim

 

[sleepr71]

Skeeter,that’s my concern. A 1,000 lb safe,with 500lbs of content…1500 lbs..sitting on 2-3 sq ft?

 

[Jester896]

For those of you with the bigger safes…are they on Concrete slabs? Or,did you go under the house & reinforce the floor? I can’t imagine a 500-1,000lb Safe sitting stationary wouldn’t cause the floor to sag/fail ?

raised residential flooring is designed to hold 600# in a 3' sq area. Anything greater than that will need additional support.

 

[Nimrod71]

I have steel beams under the floor. I had noticed the vault door would swing open on its own so I checked the top of the safe with a 4 ft. level and the floor was sagging.

Lucky for me the state was rebuilding a bridge down the road from my home. I stopped and ask what they were going to do with the old beams, I was told they were going to the junk yard, I ask if I could have one. The engineer made a call and came back and ask for my drivers license. I showed him my license and he ask when I wanted it and how was I going to move it, The beams were 30 ft. long. He then ask what I was going to do with it and I told him to brace my floor. He ask if I needed it cut and I told him I needed three 8 ft. pieces. They cut it for me and now every thing is level.

 

[trial&error]

In retrospec I should have gotten a bigger safe. But in the end you always over fill them. Hopefully the second safe will not overflow. If I was to do it again I would buy several small ones, because it's too difficult to reach all my toys.

 

[SC Hunter]

@sleepr71 my 80 gun safe is sitting on the corner of the foundation. If I recall correctly when I went under the house last there were 3 floor joist under it, I could be wrong. Either way that's of no matter because we went under the house and braced it the same day we put in it the house. I think 3 or 4 of us moved it in, 2 of us are above average size and strength. I'd honestly like to know how much it weighs with everything in there. I almost need a safe for ammo and a safe for guns as I've got ammo spread out all over the house.

 

[Dub]

@sleepr71 my 80 gun safe is sitting on the corner of the foundation. If I recall correctly when I went under the house last there were 3 floor joist under it, I could be wrong. Either way that's of no matter because we went under the house and braced it the same day we put in it the house. I think 3 or 4 of us moved it in, 2 of us are above average size and strength. I'd honestly like to know how much it weighs with everything in there. I almost need a safe for ammo and a safe for guns as I've got ammo spread out all over the house.

I'm sharing that concern.

Was considering using the smaller safe for ammo.

raised residential flooring is designed to hold 600# in a 3' sq area. Anything greater than that will need additional support.

If I decide to go inside....first floor....not on a slab....I'm going to have to address adding support.

Safe dimensions are 42” x 27 5/8” (width x depth) and it's 1,250 lbs.

I would really prefer to get it inside the house vs garage.

Gotta mull this 'un over a bit.

 

[SC Hunter]

@Dub my wife and I are wanting to sell our house and either rent or put a trailer on our property for a few years until we build. I've rough sketched house plans and have an 8x8 room behind one of the closets in the master bathroom. That will be for guns and ammo exclusively. I'm talking concrete walls and all kind of room. It'll be the last time I ever move so I want what I want. ??

 

[Nimrod71]

SC a friend of mine built himself a gun vault using sheet steel and 4 inch angle iron. He used the small bedroom, 12 X 12. The house has a slab floor. He bolted the sheet metal and angle iron together with carriage bolts and attached over sheetrock walls and ceiling. The door was steel door with four long dead bolts. After he finished it out it looked really good. He calls it his safe room.

 

[NCHillbilly]

My regret is that I didn't get one sooner, before losing about 25-30 guns to the methheads.

 

[GLS]

Moons ago the woman to whom I am related to by marriage complained about my guns being scattered all over the house and said "you should get a safe." I kept my mouth shut and didn't give her any room to define what she meant or set boundaries. When she was visiting family for a week, I found one and had a safe mover install it in my home in a hall closet. "What's that thing doing in the hall closet?" she gasped the first time she saw it. "Oh, that's the safe you told me to buy." The dial safe has long since been overfilled with barrels removed from guns to make room for more long guns. Carrying capacity has been exceeded and through triage, the lesser delights have been scattered all over house once again. I'm starting to thin the herd and won't be buying a bigger safe. Gil.

 

[Dub]

In my case it was almost more about location & convenience than it was about needing a bigger safe.

The old safe is upstairs in the bonus room over the garage.. where my reloading bench & workbench are. It was not fun getting it up there years ago when I was younger and at full strength. Let's just say...it ain't coming down now...at least on my watch.

It has always been somewhat aggravating having to tote guns up/down stairs every time I went hunting or went to the range.

New safe downstairs will be much easier to access.

 

[Baroque Brass]

Dial style for me. Empty safe weighs about 700 lbs. When we moved two guys used a body harness like used for moving a refrigerator. They really struggled to get it in the house. Our builder planned for the safe and anticipated weight so as far as I know the floor has adequate support. I too wish I had more room In mine.

 

[Jester896]

as far as I know???…. sure would hate to find out when the crown moulding pulls away from the ceiling

 

[chuckdog]

I have a keypad type. It was a Christmas present, so I'm not complaining.

If I live long enough to buy others they will be conventional rotary dial lock types. Unless it's a walk-in type, one large doesn't have the appeal of multiple medium size ones for different type weapons and perhaps survival chances when located in different areas of the house.

Mine is supported concrete. I keep the battery changed regularly to prevent corrosion.

I doubt any will truly survive a severe fire, but I know the keypad itself on mine doesn't stand a chance.

 

[GLS]

When a friend built a house, he poured reinforced concrete on all four walls and ceiling and slab of his gun room. Long guns were on gun store type racks on a room length countertop with cabinets beneath for storage. Entry was through a vault door and inside that room he had another safe for other valuables. It was as neat and secure a set up that I've seen. Gil

 

[pacecars]

I should have gotten a bigger one and I should have gotten the Gun Safe Storage Solutiions sooner

 

[Nimrod71]

Multiple gun safes may be a good thing. Have three: handgun, rifle and shotgun. You could place them in different parts of the house thereby mediating any possible lose.

 

[GregoryB.]

I like the keypad entry since I need reading glasses now that I am in my mid 50's. No way I could see the dial mark's without glasses. No problem using the keypad without glasses.

 

[ChidJ]

Not really a regret just yet but I do want a walk in safe. Also not a regret but more of a critique; why do most safes come with the least accessible rifle stage racks ever. Gotta dig through 5 to get to 1. Never mind that I’m banging valuable collectible guns off of one another but in a hurry, you’d be wrapping with your guns in one hand and a burglar in the other haha. None of the racks in either of my big safes came with racks designed for rifles stored with loaded magazines.

Also, I use keypads. I switch out the batteries when I switch out the batteries on the exterior doors of the house, which is annually.

Anywho, for now, the safes I’ve got do their job. Keep my kids hands off of guns, valuables and documents.