Bit of an open question that mate. Depends on size, construction etc. PM MarcJ he supplies them.
Anyone got one? How easy are they to fix in place?
Bit of an open question that mate. Depends on size, construction etc. PM MarcJ he supplies them.
Depends on the value (cash & valuables) and the volume you need TBH.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Nothing large, less than cubic foot I reckon..
Do you need an insurance rating?
Just bought one of these if it's any help?
Decent volume - we will be sitting it into the floor.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282009031624
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Insurance company asked me if I had one, no questions about ratings though?
Might be worth clarifying with them.
The smaller it is, the easier it is to lift and be off with.
As said speak to MarcJ. The safe bolts through to the wall and floor. The insurance rating is based on cash value and then you can have 10x that in valuables. It's also handy if they are fire proof. Electronic is better than key as there is nothing to lose/find.
I have been researching this recently. I'm no expert by any means, but my findings so far:
- As mentioned, cash rating of £X = valuables rating of £10X (e.g. Cash £10k = £100k valuables) - so play it safe and get more if you're sitting on a boundary (imho)
- Safe can come with Insurance rating for theft protection, but some also offer Fire protection (e.g. up to 60 minutes fire proof protection), handy for watch paperwork (e.g. unique Patek certificate)
- Fire protection safes generally only offer Base fitting (so as to not compromise the fire protection) but a few models do offer Base and Back fitting (Burg Wachter Diplomat, or Insafe EuroGrade 1 with additional backing plate)
- Base should ideally be fitted to a floor joist, and back fitted to sold wall (e.g. stone, brick)
- Safes come with key or electronic keypad, the latter is more expensive (c£200 more), so I am going for key
- I'm of the view that heavier not a disadvantage, more difficult to steal (especially from a 2nd floor flat).
Still in the midst of getting quotes, take far longer than you would think.
I have one. It took three rather large guys to man handle it into position, they fixed it to our ground floor concrete floor, with a large bolt internally. Needs professionals.
Martyn.
Try SMP directly and ask about refurbed safes. Some great deals. Ask for Paul ;)
Does it need to be fire proof or is it just for valuables?
Another recommendation for MarcJ. He's a great guy to deal with and will be able to offer a suggestion based on your requirements.
its for the house, so I will look for something fireproof just in case..
With regards the key, be careful. Any decent sized safe has a massive key. I don't trust electonicity so ordered mine with a key. Lasted about a month of either being stabbed in the leg or appearing to have an erection all the time and I changed it to a mechanical combination lock. Much better.
Ordered one with both..
It depends on how much money you want to spend. I have a 700 lb Liberty Franklin 12 Best Gun Safe Under 1000 Reviews - Affordable Pick in [2017-2018] bolted to a concrete floor. The design is very pry resistant (high build quality) but with 11 ga steel that can be cut through using a $100 tool (cutter weighs about 3 lbs) (and plenty of spare blades) available at Home Depot in less than an hour. We're talking about a 2' x 4' hole in the side with little or no damage to the contents. Liberty makes lower end models than my safe and models with much thicker steel that requires a thicker wallet to buy. The lower end Liberty Centurion safes https://secretstorages.com/best-wall-safes/ have 14 ga steel an ax can punch through. But I bet I could get into the top of the line with 5/16" steel safes in less than 3-4 hrs with the same tool although I may bring a spare tool in case the 1st one burned out. Any experienced burglar can get into safes like this given enough time. Your goal is to make getting into the safe require more time than the burglar is willing to spend getting into it. A torch will get into the safe even faster but would probably damage the contents. Any safe with steel less than 5/8" thick and super well designed can be cut into given a few hours using readily available tools. They all talk about how they protect from drilling the lock or punching back the pins (drill small hole in the side of the safe to do this if the lock has a poor cam design) but with modern mechanical cutting tools (no torch or plasma cutter needed) cutting 3/8" steel isn't that hard to do given some time. Keep in mind that 95% of home burglars don't know how to cut a safe and want to get out of your home in less than 5 minutes so get some thick steel and slow them down if your budget allows for it and what you store in the safe is worth the additional expense.
I bought an old 2ft square by 3 ft high solid steel safe about 20 years ago. It took 3 men to get it in the house and basically now that it's bolted to a concrete floor, it would take an awful lot of shifting. It is operated by a key and is ultra reliable. The walls are about 2.5" thick.
You can still pick these old safes in good condition as small businesses slowly fold up and ebay always has quite a few for sale.
The only downside is that because they were usually made around the time of WW11, they do not have an insurance rating but the chances of someone breaking in and opening the safe is virtually zero.