Open Up: The Fascinating World Of Locks, Keys And Safes

Useful Advice to Keep in Mind When Getting a Safe for Your Home

14 December 2015

Lumi Perala

When your valuables are adequately protected, you will have peace of mind when you are away from your house. While you always want to be safe in your own home and do everything you can to protect it, sometimes intruders will gain entry. If this occurs, you don't want them to have easy access to all of your valuable possessions. Therefore, you will need to invest in a home safe in order to keep your valuables away from prying fingers.

However, choosing a safe is a lengthy and often difficult process. Some of the products on the market are subpar and will not offer much protection. It is important that you are fully aware of the pros and cons of different types of safes.

Here is some advice that will help you through the navigation process.

Should you use a wall safe?

This type of safe is not a good option when you want to store items that are particularly valuable. The main benefit of having a wall safe is being able to conceal it. However, if the safe is located, it is normally a straightforward process to remove it from the wall. This is due to the fact that it is only attached to the wall by a few studs that can be easily pried away. The models will also rarely offer much fire protection.

Wall safes can often be quite obvious, even if they are concealed, and will be the first thing that a burglar will look for. These safes are handy if you need to store items in the short term that are not particularly valuable or if you just want to keep something away from your children.

Should you use a floor safe?

Floor safes do offer great protection from removal and penetration when they are installed in concrete and firmly cemented in place on five sides.

However, they are often not very fire resistant. The main reason that they are not great for fire protection is that they have an exposed door which cannot dissipate heat. This means that the heat will quickly compromise the contents, destroying them rather quickly.

A more suitable option may be a safe that is free standing and has a fire rating of 1–2 hours, provided that it is anchored in concrete and securely bolted.

It can often be a very difficult decision as to where exactly you should place your safe and what kind you should purchase. The most important thing is to have it out of sight if you do not have a house alarm. The longer it takes for a potential burglar to find the safe, the greater the chance that they will give up on finding one.

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