The Truth About Residential Safes
A safe is a metal box right? Upon further investigation, you find that there’s more to a safe than you originally thought. In the unfortunate case of an emergency, fire, or burglary, there is no safer place for your valuable belongings and important documents to be stored than a secure residential safe.
Residential safes are designed for the home and are generally smaller and more lightweight than a more traditional safe. The truth is that many burglaries occur because someone in the family/friends tells someone else in an innocent way that they have a safe.
Gun Safes
Gun Safes come in many different styles and sizes. Many of which are merely gun cabinets without fire or burglary protection. Construction thickness of metal type of locking mechanism should be your first concern followed by fire rating. Gun cabinets have surprisingly thin metal similar to 16- or 18-gauge steel. A standard household hammer/large screw driver can easily break into a gun cabinet.
Door construction is also very important, so look for a gun safe with at least ¼ inch of solid plate steel. Fire ratings are often overlooked but should be one of your top considerations. We recommend that you purchase a minimum 1-hour fire rated fun safe. Why? Because, safes with less than 1 hour rarely survive a fire, especially in a woodland brush area such as Los Angeles which is frequently prone to wildfires.
These specific safes do a great job of protecting paper documents and even small amounts of cash from heat and smoke damage. However, fireproof safes use very thin metal (16-18 inches). The metal in the construction of the safe which makes them easier to attack for a burglar. These safes are engineered and designed to protect your valuables against both burglar attacks and fires.
Modern Safes
Called “Composite Safes” or burglar fire safes, Modern Safes are a combination of burglar and fire ratings. With these safes, you get the best of both worlds. When you’re considering purchasing a safe, think about the maximum value and type the contents you will ever store inside over the next 10+ years. Why? As your content value grows over a period of time.
Floor Safes
Floor Safes are great for gold, silver, coins, jewelry and other valuables because they are engineered to protect against burglary attacks. Most people assume floor safes will provide excellent fire protection because 5 sides of a floor safe are surrounded by concrete. Nearly all floor safes do not have fire retardant material included in the door. Therefore, most floor safes are NOT a good product to protect against the ravages of a fire.
Wall Safes
These are wonderful little safes that can be concealed and don’t take up a lot of room, but they have severe limitations when it comes to burglary and fire resistance. Wall safes are typically constructed of thin gauge metal and are not the best place to keep large amounts of cash, high value jewelry or gold, silver and coins. Why? No need to break open the safe with heavy tools, when all you need to do is saw the wall to extract the safe from the wall.
“Out of Sight”
There is no “best place” to install a safe- it is an important decision that you will need to make based on your own concerns and convenience needs. Keep in mind, however, that concrete is much better than wood. Concrete floors with a good concrete expansion anchor “fight back” against burglars. With that in mind, the secure way to go then would be to install a monitored burglar alarm system. Here are some ideas on places to put your new safe.
- Under an enclosed stairway with an access door.
- In a guest bedroom closet
- The Garage/ Attic
- In a utility room
- In your children’s play room
Additionally, anchoring your safe is extremely important. Want to know why? Believe it or not, safes get carried out of a home by a few strong burglars and a utility dolly. Even if you think your safe is hidden, you still want to anchor it in case it is found by burglars.
Therefore, being extra careful and taking extra security precautions will keep your items safe. Almost all safes have anchor holes and it is fairly simple to anchor a safe into either wood or concrete.
Our Residential Safe Services
We value the privacy of our customers, and experience has shown that those who don’t talk openly about what they’re protecting with a safe, increase their odds of avoiding becoming a target of a burglary. If you’re looking for some specific information according to your special needs, we encourage you to talk to one of our safe professionals.
We carry the most comprehensive line of safe equipment that can fulfill virtually any safe-related need you may have. Contact Locksmith Woodland Hills today and get all your questions answered. Let us help you find the right residential safe for you.