Where do you keep your safe?

[Kelby]

I have been single for about 10 years. For most of that time I have had my gun safe in my bedroom right next to my dresser. I think it is a very good looking safe.

 

Recently my fiancee has moved in and I am sensing that she is not as attracted to the look of the safe as I am. I am hesitant to move it down to the garage. So, my question is, where do you keep your gun safe(s)?

[Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217]

I'd have to shoot you if I told you. However, if there was room in the bedroom, I would not object.

 

May I recommend you take her to some CAS matches and she might be more receptive to wherever you want it?

[Moose Wesson]

Frankly. this is not a subject to discuss in an open forum. Just my two cents worth.

 

Moose

[Cliff Hanger #3720LR]

I would say the same as Miss Allie Mo.

-------------------------

She knew the safe was there.

Little late to start complaining.

But you can offer the top of the safe for her to put some of her things.

Just make sure to put down a nice top covering.

-----------------------

[Pit Bull Tex]

I have two in our pantry and one in our den.

[Knarley Bob]

I'd guess puttin' her in the safe is out? ..............................

[Yul Lose]

Paint it pink and she won't even notice it.

[Shorty Jack Hammer]

Inside another safe

[Springfield Slim SASS #24733]

Where I can keep an eye on them.

[Tyrel Cody]

In a safe place.

[Deja Vous]

^{In the master closest only because we ran out of room in the living room.. lol.. I love the decals for Wells Fargo Stages, I would add one of those if I could fit it into the living room space.. lol..}

[Hurricane Deck 100366]

Safe? Don't know what you're talking about. I don't have anything of value to keep in a safe.

 

Lost all my guns in a tragic boating accident . . . all of them.

 

thats all I have to say about that.

[Dewey Cheatem, SASS #75620]

When I got remarried I had 2 stipulations. The safe is not moving and animals mounted on wall are not moving. The rest of the house is yours

 

DC

[Colt McCloud, SASS #65003L]

Think about why you were single and happy for 10 years then ask your self this question one more time!!!

[Sedalia Dave]

I know residential security containers (they are not safes) are beautiful to look at but they should be kept outa sight. Thieves cannot steal what they cannot find. They should also be located where it is hard if not impossible to access them with pry bars. Only 2 people and two dogs know where our safe is and none of us are talking.

[357wheelgunner]

It keep my safe where the Bandidos will have to go through me, Betsy, and Spike to get to it, and Betsy's double bark is much worse than Spikes bite!

[Rusty Chains]

Mine is in the basement, but it was rather 2nd hand. Ugly but functional so not helpful as a comparison (the shotgun sits by the side of the bed for security). You might also want to explain to her why it belongs where it currently resides after all she is going to be living there. I am hardly an expert, I may make that claim if we both live long enough to be married another thirty years, but I have found her much more amenable to my viewpoint when I explain my reasons for doing or wanting something done a particular way.

 

Your mileage may vary....

[Abanaki, SASS #34557]

Just explain to her that moving the safe requires a gun room/mancave to move it to. If there's a spare bedroom in the house then the problem is solved, if not you can always make one out of some other room or move to a bigger place like I did. Also if the safe ends up being moved to a garage/basement with a cement floor keep in mind that you may have to set it up off the floor to prevent moisture building up due to condensation building up.

[Michigan Slim]

In my den. Bolted to the floor and wall. In no way would I move it to my garage, nor would she ever ask. Your safe is there to keep honest folks honest and, at best, slow a would be thief down. In no way do they provide climate control adequate to protect your guns in an unheated/cooled/humid space, such as my (most) garage(s).

If she loves ya, she'll compromise with ya on safe placement -in the house.

[Rye Miles #13621]

I'd suggest ya'll lay down the law now!! If you like the safe there why should you move it? She has to learn to give some too!

[Oklahoma Dee]

When I got remarried I had 2 stipulations. The safe is not moving and animals mounted on wall are not moving. The rest of the house is yours

 

DC

:lol: - You da man!!!

[Barry Sloe]

If you have a spare bedroom......

 

BS

[Pit Bull Tex]

Put Her in the spare bedroom.The sale was there first.

[BankRoll]

I purposely bought two smallish size safes instead of one big one .... that way I could haul them down to the basement fairly easily.

 

I like having them in the basement ... its dry and cool, close to my reloading table, and out of sight from visitors.

 

As much as like how big safes look, I'd never have one out in the open in a main living space ..... just too darn noticeable.

[Rye Miles #13621]

Put Her in the spare bedroom.The sale was there first.

Atta boy!!!

[Hoss]

Mine is in a walk in closet in our utility room. Would be very difficult to get tools to it to force or cut it open, and nearly imossible to get it out of the closet. Plus, its out of sight to casual visitors to my house.

 

Now what I have to decide is where is the 2nd safe going to go???? My first is starting to get full. I think safes & guns are like biscuits & honey; its hard to get them to come out even

[Deuce Stevens SASS#55996]

Leave it where it is.

[Bart Solo]

Gun safe? Who owns guns? Do you own guns? Really?

 

Actually a gun safe can store more than guns. I have known folks to store all kinds of valuables in them. I would look for a place that is out of the way. A lightly used closet in a spare bedroom might be a good choice. That is if you owned guns and actually thought you needed to store them in a safe.

[Anvil Al #59168]

Did she not know it was there BEFORE she moved in???

 

 

 

Tell her how much they are worth. And how bad it would be for them in the garage due

to moisture.

[Seldom Seen #16162]

Without knowing the floor plan to you house and your space requirements although it sounds like just two of you. I have helped other gun owners with d-I-y safe projects. Some ideas;

 

Garage - I know you said it isn't your preferred choice but I see that you live in Southern California. What is the temperature and humidity like year round? How secure is the garage? How much space do you have available? in other words do you have a three car garage that only has room for one vehicle because of all of the junk stored in it?

 

A key part of garage storage is concealment. Drive through some neighborhoods and see on many garage doors are standing open with everything inside visible from the street. A safe can be hidden rather easily with false panels.

 

Closet - This is the first choice that comes to mind. Move the safe into a closet before your fiancé moves her stuff in and takes over all of the closet space. If you really want to harden the closet install a steel covered door on it.

 

Nooks - Look around, Is there a nook that could be utilized (for example: a area that has built in unused book shelves). Folks don't keep a lot of books anymore so shelving may be underutilized and just a dust magnet.

 

Pantry - Already mentioned.

 

Basement - Probably not in Southern California.

 

Here is a idea we have done that has worked out really well. Prefab concrete underground tornado shelters. In your case it could be your SHTF shelter.

 

There are two common types here it the Midwest. The first are install in a hole somewhere outside of the house. You have your choice of the entrance being above ground (easier to get in and out of) or having the entrance flat on the roof. The flat entrance is hardier to get in and out of but it can be made to look like part of a patio and the entrance concealed with patio furniture.

 

However the type I like are installed in the garage. A large hole is cut into the concrete slab in your garage, dirt is dug out and a prefab concrete safe room is lowered in. The hole is backfilled and the edges are filled with concrete and matches the existing garage floor.

 

Here is the neat part. The roof of the room is flat and the entrance hatch slides open and shut. You can park your car over it and still have use of your garage. Plus being flat it is not easily seen from the outside.

 

For gun storage and doomsday it is easily to run electricity to vaults with a little preplanning. That way you can control the humidity and have lights.

 

Underground shelters can be made of concrete, steel and fiberglass. Avoid fiberglass. Our experience is they will shift after being buried if your ground gets wet or from the water table rising. The are other types of materials that can be used such as steel freight storage containers but these are what I have experience with.

 

Are earthquakes a concern. If so concrete might not be a good choice. However steel would seem to be. You could partially bury it and then cover the above part with dirt for a domed roof.

 

The only limits in your budget and imagination.

[Duncan Disorderly]

In the bedroom but moving it to the den (2nd floor to first floor). I reload and 'go shooting' from the basement and tend to keep my guns there, well, the ones I use often. Rifles in cases (locked) and pistols in my range bag or under the bench. Not ideal for many reasons. But lugging evderything to the second floor and back every week gets old. I"m hoping in the den I'll do better.

 

A benefit of the den is it's on a slab, so should some catastrophe strike the house the guns won't end up in a basement full of firehose water under 2+ stories of debrs.

[Ramblin Gambler]

If your safe is light enough that you can move around easily, then you need to worry more about concealment. The garage would be a terrible place for a safe that could be walked off with. Mine is not such a safe, so I have it in a spare bedroom on an outside wall (in case of fire, it won't be as hot on the outside walls as it is in the middle of the house).

 

I refused to put mine in the garage mainly because of humidity concerns, but if the wife had pushed it, I know there are good humidity controls that can be put in place.

 

I'd suggest draping something over the safe if she doesn't like the looks of it, or decorate it up like a refrigerator.

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

Once upon a time I was researching safes. I found out that there is a rating system for both fire and for burglary! Seems ever one focus's on fire rating and not how easy it is to get into a safe. Everyone looks at how the door is built, how many locking bars and all that. The issue is the gage of the metal that the safe is wrapped in. And what the material is that provides the fire protection. Basically most any safe can be gotten into with a metal saw and going in thru the sides, cutting right thru the gypsum board used for the fire rating. So prying open the door isn't the issue. It's how fast can one cut thru the side.

 

The vendor suggested bolting it to the floor so it can't be moved. As in turning it to allow better access to the sides. Ultimately the best solution would have been a heavy gage sheet metal and a concrete core that can't be sawed thru with normal metal blades.

 

So in the garage, or anywhere, the safe should be bolted down and check the gage of metal. A lot of videos out there showing people cutting into safes with a saw in just a few minutes!!!

 

If broken into your insurance company will ask what the burglary rating was for the safe.

 

Just my two cents worth if I was to buy a safe.

Ike

[Seldom Seen #16162]

Safes on the second floor is a bad idea and on the first floor if you have a basement. In the event of bad enough fire everything is going to fall to the ground level or into the basement.

 

However all the burning material and water used to fight the fire will go into the basement. Thus the safe should be raised off the floor as high as possible on concrete slab or blocks. Also helps if the basement ever floods.

 

One of the problems with having a safe in the garage is tools are often kept there also making it easier for the thieves to attack it. Of course the thieves could use the tools in the garage to attack a safe in the house also.

[Diamond S Doug]

Personnaly I would never put a container full of guns (safe) behind just a measly garage door. Especially if the whole neighborhood can see when you open the door.