Where do people put their private safe in the home.

[ferniesnow]

I'm not talking about gun safes but rather the smaller safes for storing valuables and cash. Are some places in the house better than other places? Fireproof/waterproof or just a relatively cheap one? Mounted in a manner that it can't be carted off? Hidden between the studs? In the attic? In a suspended ceiling?

Also, what kind of price range? Do you get what you pay for?

 

[lilduke]

I'm not talking about gun safes but rather the smaller safes for storing valuables and cash. Are some places in the house better than other places? Fireproof/waterproof or just a relatively cheap one? Mounted in a manner that it can't be carted off? Hidden between the studs? In the attic? In a suspended ceiling?

Also, what kind of price range? Do you get what you pay for?

You definitely get what you pay for, hidden. Bolted down and heavier duty the better. Imo

 

[Lightningmike]

Buy a gun safe that looks like you could make it work. If you have the room. Lag it down and put some shelves in it. Kinda like a garage... when you build it you think it's big enough but very soon is not.

 

[arff]

One thing to consider. If the house burns to the ground. A track hoe will need to find it.
In the burnt out houses in Fort Mac people wanted saves found.
Not sure how water proof in under a few feet of water for a few days.

 

[Lightningmike]

Yup. Buddy who's cabin burnt down had 2 of the cheap metal gun safes.... all guns inside toast. Check for fire rating

 

[Lightningmike]

Tall ones will stand out in a fire.

 

[arff]

Yup. Buddy who's cabin burnt down had 2 of the cheap metal gun safes.... all guns inside toast. Check for fire rating

That really sucks. I know crappy way to explain it but worst case would be a fire.

 

[getzcold]

Best set up I’ve seen was a floor safe cut into the basement slab

 

[Toyboy]

Best set up I’ve seen was a floor safe cut into the basement slab

Nope moldy money. I've seen two cases of basement floor safes having moisture issues.

 

[Grinder]

John Wick style

 

[Tchetek]

Yup. Buddy who's cabin burnt down had 2 of the cheap metal gun safes.... all guns inside toast. Check for fire rating

Was that the sheet metal locker style or the one piece units with the 30-45 min fire rating?

 

[JayT]

I built a house where the homeowner wanted the foundation for his front step poured full height. We framed a floor on top of it and poured concrete on top of that. He cut a hole through his house foundation into that open space, insulated it put a big steel door on and made it his gun safe. The room was about 12 by 8, pretty slick setup. The door was located in his mechanical room and he had built a movable shelf to hide it

 

[snopro]

My gun safe is rated 60 minutes for fire. I live 2.1 miles from the fire dept on a highway. I hope I'm covered.

 

[Cyle]

My gun safe is rated 60 minutes for fire. I live 2.1 miles from the fire dept on a highway. I hope I'm covered.

The capabilities of the nearest fire dept is more important then the distance. Many are not capable of putting out a house fire effectively compared to big city depts. If my house started on fire, i'd want it to completely go, rebuilding part way and it would never be the same, but considering the station nearest to me that's exactly what would happen anyway.

 

[Lightningmike]

Was that the sheet metal locker style or the one piece units with the 30-45 min fire rating?

Just the cheap metal ones... similar to school lockers

 

[Lightningmike]

I built a house where the homeowner wanted the foundation for his front step poured full height. We framed a floor on top of it and poured concrete on top of that. He cut a hole through his house foundation into that open space, insulated it put a big steel door on and made it his gun safe. The room was about 12 by 8, pretty slick setup. The door was located in his mechanical room and he had built a movable shelf to hide it

I may or may not know someone else that may or may not have a similar set up.

 

[rknight111]

Ive been to thousands of house fires over 30 years of restoration and in a bad fire I have never seen the contents inside survive. A recent example of this is the one guy in the BC Fires that had his Wayne Gretzky card burn.

 

[Cableguy]

False floor in bottom of a big freezer. Pretty safe down there in a bsmt

 

[Cdnfireman]

I'm not talking about gun safes but rather the smaller safes for storing valuables and cash. Are some places in the house better than other places? Fireproof/waterproof or just a relatively cheap one? Mounted in a manner that it can't be carted off? Hidden between the studs? In the attic? In a suspended ceiling?

Also, what kind of price range? Do you get what you pay for?

Buy the best fire rated safe you can afford that will fit inside a normal closet. Install a double layer of drywall in the closet including the floor, paying attention to overlapping the joints so there is no direct path into the stud space. Mud and tape to seal the joints. Secure to the studs using metal straps on the outside of the safe so that it can’t be easily removed, and install it with the non hinge side of the door adjacent to the back wall to make prying the door difficult. Try not to put anything else in the closet that will burn. DO NOT drill holes in the safe or buy one with holes pre drilled. Put a fire rated solid core metal door on the closet with weatherstripping And a good deadbolt. All this in a room WITH a window.
If you have a fire, the double drywall will give you added time that will allow the fire department to get control of things. If they can’t/don’t, or you live in a rural area, the window in the room should fail from the heat and ventilate the room. If the house is a total loss and everything ends up in the basement, all bets are off and most likely the safe will be full of water.
Ive seen three protected closets and their contents like this survive fires where the rooms surrounding were totally burned out. The contents of even a good fire rated safe will not survive direct flame impingement for anything but a brief time.

 

[rknight111]

Here is average total loss house fires, and everything is burnt bad don't buy a cheap safe.