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Best Location for Gun Safe Installation

Dixie Safe & Lock Service Inc. • Jul 22, 2019

Gun Safe Installation — Houston, TX — Dixie Safe & Lock Service Inc.
It’s advisable to consider gun safe placement as one of its security features. The less obvious the gun safe is the less likely a burglar will quickly notice the safe and head straight to it.

Choosing a place where the gun safe can be adequately anchored is also an important consideration you should decide on prior to purchasing a gun safe. If you plan to anchor the gun safe to a concrete slab floor, you’ll want to consider where you have ideal floor space to fit it. If you’re considering bolting it to a wall or anchoring it to floor joists in a wood-framed floor, you may need to purchase a gun safe with specific dimensions to fit the space you have in mind.

If you only have a handgun or two and want to be able to store documents or other valuables, we also offer expert wall safe installation and floor safe installation services in the Houston area.

Gun Safe Environmental Factors

Another important thing to consider is the environment in which the gun safe is going to be stored. Basements often offer low theft risk but can potentially have a high flood risk or high humidity. An interior hallway may have low humidity and a regulated temperature but have a high theft risk due to its visibility.

Gun Safe Movability Factors

Don’t purchase a gun safe before ascertaining your ability to maneuver it to the position where you want it to be installed and anchored. It may be hard or even impossible to maneuver a large 500-pound or 1,000-pound gun safe through a narrow hallway and into its intended room or down a set of narrow stairs into a basement.

The physical dangers of moving a gun safe shouldn’t be ignored either. There’s significant risk to life and limb if you attempt to move and install a large gun safe on your own, which is why it often makes sense to call in professional help to make sure it’s done safely and correctly.

Gun Safe Weight and Location

You will want to consult with professionals regarding how much weight your floors can carry, especially if you want to install a gun safe upstairs in your home. Floors in newer homes are built to bear a significant amount of dead weight, or weight that doesn’t move, but the last thing any gun safe buyer wants to do is have a gun safe plummet through their floor. This is especially important for gun safes that are 1,000 pounds or more. As a rule of thumb, if you have your eye set on a safe that’s in the 1,000 to 2,000-pound range, you’ll likely want to place it on a concrete slab floor.

If you’re going to anchor a gun safe into a wood-framed floor, it’s a good idea to determine the effective size, materials and spacing of your floor joists before you make any decisions. It’s possible that floor joists can be notched out improperly, so you’ll want to consult with a safe installation specialist or carpenter to ascertain exactly how much weight your floor can support.

If you do end up bolting a gun safe to a subfloor, you’ll want to make sure the safe is being bolted to the floor joists and not just the plywood subfloor surface. These bolts can be easily ripped out of the subfloor plywood but will be much more secure if anchored directly into the floor joists.

Gun Safe Leveling

Proper closing and locking are heavily reliant on the safe being level. The locks and bolts may not align properly if the gun safe isn’t level, and there’s a risk of a heavy gun safe door swinging open or closing unexpectedly if the gun safe isn’t properly leveled. Ensuring gun safes are perfectly level is one of the great services we provide at Dixie Safe & Lock Service Inc.

Anchoring a Gun Safe

It’s generally recommended to use bolts that are at least one-half inch or larger when anchoring a gun safe. If you do anchor your gun safe to a concrete slab floor, be cognizant of the risks. Under no circumstances should a post-tensioned concrete slab be drilled into. These slabs are crisscrossed with high-strength steel cables under thousands of pounds of pressure. Hitting a steel cable and damaging it can cause the whole cable to rip up and out of the concrete with incredible force, doing massive damage to anything in the way.

Some slabs may also contain plumbing, HVAC or other utilities within them, which you won’t want to damage during drilling. Before attempting to install a gun safe into a concrete slab, it’s important to know whether it is post-tensioned and if there’s anything else in there that you could potentially damage.

A basic hand drill with a large bit generally won’t do the job, or it’ll take so long to accomplish that it’s not worth the time and energy as well as the cost you’ll pay for replacement bits. A hammer drill is essentially a requirement to do the job right without wasting a lot of time, which is another reason to seriously consider calling professionals.

Learn More About Gun Safe Installation by Calling Dixie Safe & Lock Service Inc.

Our gun safe experts have safely moved and securely installed a lot of gun safes over the years. Even if you have a situation where you can’t easily install a gun safe, chances are good we can develop a customized solution to meet your needs. Our safe installation experts can ensure your safe is securely anchored in a place that will reduce chance of theft and the potential for flood or fire damage.

Call Dixie Safe & Lock Service Inc. at (713) 643-5767 for more information and a fast price quote on gun safes and safe installation services!
Number First Name Last Name Email Address
1 Anne Evans anne.evans@mail.com
2 Bill Fernandez bill.fernandez@mail.com
3 Candice Gates candice.gates@mail.com
4 Dave Hill dave.hill@mail.com
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