Gun safes, which weigh around or less than 500 pounds, can tip over. This becomes riskier if the safe is not bolted correctly. Therefore, it is always advisable to bolt the gun safe on the floor. If you have a lighter one, much of the weight may be toward the front.
So, if you keep the loaded weapons, knives, and other dangerous or valuable items, these contents will make the front load increase. If you need to protect your family member or yourself, make sure you anchor the safe on the floor. Essentially, this is one way to prevent a gun safe from tipping over. Also, it prevents thieves from tipping over and entering and opening the safe.
How can you protect your gun safe from falls?
Plan ahead
You always need to plan. Before the safe arrives, make a plan so that the team installing it is also prepared. It is essential to inform the installers if the gun safe can’t be secured to the floor. For more information on the safe installation of a gun, contact the local safe dealer.
Anchoring the gun safe on the floor
Drilling a few holes on the floor may not be enough to anchor the safe. The anchoring method depends on the subfloor and the flooring. It’s common for the crawlspaces and basements to have plywood material, which increases some of the underneath joints.
For this reason, you need wooden anchors. Concrete anchors can be required if the gun safe is placed under the floor or in the basement. To do this, it is necessary to replace the panels and caps of the floor. Drill holes at four different mounting points. The anchor bolts must be equipped with the kit provided. After drilling the holes, the bolts must be installed with the socket set.
How to anchor the gun safe to the hard floor
Anchoring the gun safe can be tricky when you have the concrete subfloor. On top of anchoring the unit, a hammer drill is required to drill into the concrete. Kits specially designed to secure safes are available. It would be best if you also made sure that the floor is not the post-stress type. On the post-tension type, the slabs are reinforced with steel cables which are essential because they can withstand the pressure of several thousand pounds.
The damaged cable can slip off the concrete and can cause damage or injury. The slab can be considered post-stressed if it is marked with a post-stress symbol. Otherwise, you must anchor the safe as follows:
- Find the pre-drilled safe anchoring holes
- The floor panels or caps can be removed to make them visible
- Drill holes in every four anchor corners with a hammer drill
- Clean holes if they have dust
- Bolts must be installed and use the socket sets
Anchoring the gun safe to the wall
A cheap safe that can’t be bolted on the floor can anchor to the wall, mainly if you rent it. Instead of changing the floor or carpet when you move, it’s easier to poke some small holes in the wall. Liberty safes, together with other gun safes from other major safes, are not pre-drilled, as is the case with holes like different manufacturers do.
Therefore, it is much easier to anchor a safe to the floor than bolt it on the wall. A professional should always install a safe, as they have the correct tools and information for the job. To install the safe, the assembly team drills holes in a wall exactly where the studs are.
For this, stud finders are needed. Safes should not only be anchored to the sheetrock only. Anchoring the safe to sheetrock is not recommended as screws can be easily be pulled. Rather than figuring out where to place the safe to anchor to the studs, the installers need to take care of the most complex part of the installation, drilling into the safe.
Anchoring the gun safe through tile or stone
The gun safe can be placed on a tile or stone floor to prevent it from tipping over. To avoid breaking a stone, make sure the weight is evenly distributed in the safe. Generally, most stones can support the weight of the gun safe installed on the bedside. Alternatively, it can be difficult to anchor the safe to the tiles as there is a risk of breaking them. The installer needs to mount on a wall rather than a tile if the floor is tiled.
Bolt to the steel
It is possible to bolt a large safe to a heavy piece of steel or a large pallet to keep it from tipping over. The safe will not be moved through the door. Essentially, the large safe may be mounted on a steel surface or a heavy pallet using the bolts. It can be challenging to move the safe this way. This method has some disadvantages, and this makes many people use to use it as an alternative. Store it with a good dehumidifier to prolong its life.
Bolt safes together
Bolt gun safes together to keep them from tipping over. If you have two large safes, it is advisable to screw them together. This makes it hard to knock them and tip over. Also, the large safe can be bolted to the two smaller ones. If safes are not completely dismantled or require a lot of work, you will not be able to move them. Luckily, everything you can do to prevent criminals from moving the safe any place they want.
Conclusion
The gun safe need to be kept in the right state to prevent it from tipping over. There are several reasons, which include providing additional security. Hard-to-move safes are less broken into or stolen. For instance, you can bolt the safe to prevent it from accidentally tipping over, which can cause injury. Likewise, it is recommended to bolt the gun safes for full use. Also, installing it can be done without the help of professionals.
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