Today, many people have a safe to store weapons, ammunition, and other important or valuable objects. Bolting it down to the floor is often not an option because it may be a rented house. Below are some alternatives.
We recommend you continue reading if you want to know how to secure a safe without bolting it to the floor.
The four methods we will cover include the following:
- Use Floorboards to Hide the Safe
- Glue the Safe
- Adding Weight
- Using a Heavy Steel Slab
We will assume the following:
- Your Floor Will Remain Intact
- Each Technique Requires an Acceptable Budget
- You Have Access to The Required Tools
- You Are Handy Enough to Do This Yourself
Let’s look at each of these techniques and get down to business.
method 1: Use Floorboards to Hide the Safe
It’s not necessary to bolt your safe and secure a safe to the floor with these other options. Sometimes, homes with wooden floors are the perfect place to hide a safe. It can be very useful to use boards on the floor that are removable when the user wants to access the safe.
It is impossible to apply this technique in homes where there are no wooden floors. It is a prerequisite to have a wooden floor. This technique can provide some advantages. One of the most obvious benefits is that a large amount of space in the home can be saved.
At the same time, it is one of the best hiding places to throw off most intruders. Beyond that, there is an equally obvious disadvantage to using this technique. The user will not have quick and easy access to their safe. So, if weapons and ammunition are stored here in an emergency, it would not be a suitable place for them.
Some people decide to carry out the installation and application of this technique by themselves. It is necessary to consider that some cutting mishaps could occur on the wooden boards. When this happens, the floor can be damaged, and the final shape of the boards could be different from how they were before.
Those people who are ready to start work will need some materials.
Grinder: This tool is used to work with floorboards. It also can be used to cut wood boards that are too long to work with.
Lever tool: You can use it to lift the wood boards from the floor.
1. Lifting the floorboards: You will need to use the lever tool and a grinder to access the space under the wood boards. It is essential to lift as many wooden boards as necessary to be able to locate the safe. Otherwise, the amount of space will not be sufficient.
2. The amount of space needed: It can be very useful to map out the best place to carry out this work. Sometimes different pipes can be found under some wooden boards. After checking that there is nothing like that in the chosen place, you can continue.
3. Finishing the process: Once your safe is correctly installed under the wooden boards, you can finish. It would be best if you did not seal the floorboards here to gain access to your safe. When the objects inside the safe are not used for a long time, sealing the floor can be an additional way to increase security.
method 2: Glue the Safe
A very easy and cheap technique to implement in just a few minutes.
You also can avoid screwing the floor producing a permanent hole.
The following materials are necessary:
High-strength polymer glue: Another name for this implement is super glue. As its name indicates, it is a high-durability glue. This glue is used with metals, ceramics, glass, or wood that is permanently glued. (1)
1. Take measurements: Find the safest place to put your safe. It is necessary to remember that this place is very important since it determines the easy or difficult access you can obtain.
You should take the measurements of the safe to know if the chosen area provides enough space.
2. Locating the safe: Once you have made sure that you have chosen the area with the correct space, you should place the safe down. It would be best if you used tape to mark where the safe will be located. It would be best if you took the measurements or dimensions of your safe to do a smooth job.
3. Using the glue: It is highly recommended to be generous when applying the glue.
You can also use a scraper or similar tool to evenly spread all the glue. Apply as much glue as you need, but don’t overdo it. Place the safe on top of the glue to finish this task.
After a few hours, the glue will be completely dry, and the safe will be strongly attached to the floor. Choosing the best area for this work is highly recommended since removing the safe is very difficult after it strongly adheres to the floor.
method 3: Adding Weight
This can be more difficult when someone wants to rob your safe directly. Most thieves do not crack the safe and take the contents; they usually take the safe itself and later work on breaking in; increasing the weight of it can make a thief struggle to remove the safe and require specialized dollys to wheel it out. Again this is meant to slow down thieves and make them come back or give up before you return home. You will also be able to prevent the safe from being stuck to the floor through drilled holes.
This is a very easy method; the cost is also very accessible. That is why it is one of the most chosen techniques by many users who do not want to spend a large amount of money. The main technique requires very few implements and no tools. All you will need is the following:
Weights: It may be advisable to choose conventional weights or the typical weights one can find in a gym. If you do not have these objects in your home, as is usually the case, it is possible to use any other heavy object. A home implement weighing 50 pounds will be more than sufficient. It will be much more useful if you have other objects heavier than that.
1. Precise location: As we mentioned before, you must have a precise area when applying this technique. Beyond being a technique to fix the safe to the floor without drilling holes, this does not mean it is the ideal option.
This technique is only intended to add a certain difficulty to prevent intruders from taking your safe. If your safe is correctly hidden, it will be much more difficult for an intruder to find it. In the same way, remember the ease of access that a certain area of the home can provide.
2. Adding extra weight: Many people might think that adding weight to the outside and top of the safe is a good idea. This may be a little difficult since securing these heavy objects with sealant or glue would be necessary. Adding all this extra weight to the safe inside will be much more useful.
That is why the objects chosen by each user to add weight are very important. Gym weights can be one of the best options. This type of object is made of metal and heavy materials.
These objects can offer a great weight without occupying too much volume in the space. As the objects are heavier, they require less space inside your safe. Typical gym weights can provide a large weight without taking up too much space in your safe.
Conversely, some heavy objects take up too much space. The objects you choose will need a certain amount of space in your safe.
method 4: Using a Heavy Steel Slab
Those who do not wish to screw down the safe to the floor of their home can screw down a heavy steel slab. This is another option to prevent an intruder from taking a gun safe without bolting. The procedure is very easy to perform for most.
This efficiently prevents a thief from taking your gun safe out of the house.
To perform this technique, you will need the following:
Inch thick steel piece from ¼: To add more difficulty and weight to the gun safe without bolting, the steel piece needs to be thick. This type of steel piece can be easily made to measure. The width of the f-piece adds to the difficulty for a thief. Proper dimensions prevent a thief from being able to pass through a door frame with this piece of steel next to the gun safe.
Electric drill: This can be very useful in this situation. For greater freedom of movement, cordless drills are recommended. You need the right size. The right size will depend on the screws you want to implement in this technique.
1. Preparing the materials: Once again, you make sure to choose the most appropriate area to put the safe inside. Remember that only the gun safe without bolting will be attached to the steel slab. This means that the steel sheet is not attached to the floor of your home. It is still a gun safe that could be transported. Once you have found the best location, you can place the steel slab on the concrete floor. It would be best if you placed your safe on the steel sheet.
2. Screwing it in: In most cases, a gun safe has certain holes that are already made at the factory. Of course, this saves a great deal of time since you do not have to drill holes in the gun safe. Sometimes this may be impossible with conventional tools.
Once you find where the holes are in the safe, you should try to mark them on the steel sheet. This way, you can match the holes you make in the steel sheet with the holes in the safe.
Once you drill holes in the steel slab using your drill, you can screw and secure your safe down. All in all, this method does not require much time once you have all the necessary attachments.
Add glue between the steel sheet and the safe if you wish. This would add more adhesion, although normally, the bolting is more than enough.
Some Useful Tips to Avoid Mistakes When Securing a Safe
Once you have chosen the best technique, your safe will be better protected. Beyond that, we can add a few additional tips for you to get a better result. You will be able to avoid beginner’s mistakes that could diminish the security of your most precious items in the safe.
- Do not choose obvious places: The above-mentioned techniques only make theft difficult. This does not mean that they are foolproof methods in any situation. It is advisable to choose a quiet place hidden inside the home. This way, your most valuable items will be better protected. Bolting your safe to a wall is another option.
- Large steel sheets: If you have decided to use the steel sheets technique, you can easily add more difficulty. Instead of choosing a single steel sheet, you can purchase two steel pieces. You must choose a large area to perform this procedure. Using a weld, you can join the two steel pieces. This way, the piece of steel obtained will be too big to go through any door.
- Choosing the right place: Your safe will be very difficult to transport from place to place once it is fixed in the wrong place. To avoid all these mistakes, choose the right place from the beginning. Bolting your safe to the wall is another alternative. The floor must be clean before securing your safe to the floor. If you secure your safe to the floor with dirt below, this may be a problem.
- Avoiding heavy objects with moisture: If you have decided to add weight to the inside of your safe, you should avoid some particular objects to secure the safe. Wet objects can affect the weapons, ammunition, and other objects you have decided to keep in your safe. The weights you put inside your safe should be completely dry and clean. Remember that these objects will be inside your safe for a long time.
Take a look at some of our related articles below.
- What can you put in a gun safe to keep moisture out
- What temperature should a dehumidifier be set at in a gun safe
- Are hotel safes safe
References
(1) polymer – https://www.britannica.com/science/polymer
(2) steel – https://sciencing.com/properties-uses-steel-7271721.html
Video References
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