How do you anchor your safe?

[bassjam]

Like I said it's your safe so do what you like. Seems to me that being bolted down would help with that leverage standing up as well. Just a thought...

Not really, you can't apply nearly as much force laterally, especially higher up on the safe. When it's laying down you can really put your weight into it. Not to mention mine's bolted in a corner so you couldn't even pry from the non-hinge side. Worth a watch.

 

[mjsdwash]

just a reminder to all who don't use any bolt downs, if a thief knocks it over on himself, you'll probably be sued, and your insurer will probably pay them.

 

[DeepSouth]

, I bolted it to the concrete floor using your standard expansion wedge anchor. This "works" in the sense that it makes it difficult to scoot the safe across the floor, but if someone successfully applied some crowbar leverage to knock over the safe, its weight would simply pull the wedges right out of their holes.

Those wedge anchors are used to install car lifts, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you’ve never tried to remove any that were properly installed. They will likely pull in half or rip trough the bottom of the average RSC before pulling out.

But as has been said, not all concrete is equal and not all anchors are installed properly.

 

[Tayne]

Those wedge anchors are used to install car lifts, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you’ve never tried to remove any that were properly installed. They will likely pull in half or rip trough the bottom of the average RSC before pulling out.

But as has been said, not all concrete is equal and not all anchors are installed properly.

You might be right. I'm not an expert by any means. This thread has been helpful to educate me.

The real reason I'm wanting to bolt it down is because it is supposedly waterproof if I do so (with the proper gaskets). If a thief gets all the way to the back room in my basement and really wants to spend the time to break into it, they can have the contents. They're insured. But no one will ever get it back out of the house. It took four men to get it down the stairs. I imagine it will take more than that to get it back up...

 

[jaguarxk120]

In a back room in a basement is the best place for the safe!
Most if not all thief's are snatch and grab, they do not want to be cornered in a basement where there is no
escape.

 

[bassjam]

just a reminder to all who don't use any bolt downs, if a thief knocks it over on himself, you'll probably be sued, and your insurer will probably pay them.

Along those same lines, if you have kids, and for whatever reason they get access to the safe when it's unlocked (which hopefully never happens) its extremely easy to tip a safe forward when the door is open. Kids like to climb things, which is why most furniture you buy these days comes with anchors to attach them to a wall.

 

[Hikingman]

I just filled it.

Yes! Mine has large cables and big locks that were pricey and are also connected to the base.

Nobody is getting any of that out of here in a hurry. Plus, there's "Smile- you're on camera" signs and such- placed next to it.

 

[jaguarxk120]

If they can breach a side wall with your cutting tools, what good are locks and cables?

 

[langss]

Speaking from personal experience, not bolting down your safe is asking for trouble. When I moved my safe into the Garage, I thought this thing is so heavy, its never going anyplace. And until I decided exactly where I wanted it, I moved it a few times, so bolting it down would have been a hassle. But all that went right out the window the morning of the Northridge Earthquake. That 1200# chunk of steel fell over on my car. It took hours of jacking and blocking just to get it off the car. At one point I had a Bottle Jack, applying pressure across the fender, using the smashed fender and tire to apply pressure to the Safe's Handle with 2X4's. Of course everything in the safe was against the door,and the car had moved during the earthquake so it was at some point up against the safe before the safe fell over. I realize that some of you do not live in Earth Quake Country, but I have also seen a safe fall over from the weight of the door, and all the stuff the guy had hanging on it...One Hand Gun To Many....

 

[HowieG]

I have a neighbor up the street that didn't anchor his and didn't have an alarm. Thieves broke in in the wee hours of the morning while the neighbor was out of town. They gutted the house pretty much. They noted that the safe wasn't anchored, but it was full and heavy, so they whistled up some help with another truck. They muscled that safe right out the front door after sunrise and boosted it into the truck and left. A neighbor kid saw them do it and mentioned it to his parents who finally called the cops. Too late. Moral of the story? Anchor your safe and have an alarm.

 

[jaguarxk120]

This is when out of sight out of mind is very true.

If the guns were stored in the ceiling out of sight and the safe filled with bricks.

 

[whughett]

I have a neighbor up the street that didn't anchor his and didn't have an alarm. Thieves broke in in the wee hours of the morning while the neighbor was out of town. They gutted the house pretty much. They noted that the safe wasn't anchored, but it was full and heavy, so they whistled up some help with another truck. They muscled that safe right out the front door after sunrise and boosted it into the truck and left. A neighbor kid saw them do it and mentioned it to his parents who finally called the cops. Too late. Moral of the story? Anchor your safe and have an alarm.

Sounds like some pretty determined people with time and resources. That safe could have been an anchored to the hubs of hades and they would have got it.

 

[X-Maker]

I put two the same size side by side, then drilled a hole in each of the 4 corners, then bolted them together with short 5/8" bolts/nuts. You can't see the bolts or nuts unless you open one of them.

NO ONE is going to carry them out the door!