Two gun safes in one room

[reed1285]

Ok, since my brain makes me overthink things way too much, Im here for some reassurance. Would you all feel comfortable with this setup (see crudely drawn picture below lol). Two gun safes (both approximately 30 gun size) in one room in opposite corners along an exterior wall of about 11.5 ft in length, with NO floor reinforcements? Im hoping that since they would be along an exterior wall that the floor joists sitting on the block foundation of my house will be sufficient enough to hold the weight of both safes with no sagging or ill effect on the long term. Thoughts?

[pop pop]

If both safes are not on the same floor joist, under your floor, you will be ok. If the safes are on the front wall, of the house, or back wall, usually the floor joist run from front of the house  toward the back. That should have only one safe on each set of joist and should support the weight all right. One safe will have at least 3 or maybe 4 joist supporting/dispersing the weight, depending on the width of the safe. That will be the desired result you will want to achieve.  

Edited February 15, 2021 by pop pop

[gregintenn]

Shouldn't be a problem.

[peejman]

Depends on which way the joists run, what kind of joists they are, how they're attached, and how much the safes weigh. 

[gregintenn]

If you are concerned, would you be able to get under there and do some extra bracing?

[reed1285]

Good point on which way the joists run. Id have to re-check, but I was under there a couple years ago and if my memory serves me right the floor joists run perpendicular to the exterior wall, not parallel.

I am working with a crawl space, so ultimately yeah I could get under there to do some bracing if need be. FWIW the house was built in 06. 

[gregintenn]

How big are the safes?

[Darrell]

There are span calculators available on-line. Here's one:  https://www.awc.org/codes-standards/calculators-software/reversecalc

An 11.5' span is relatively short, but it depends on the size of the joists and the loaded (dead) weight of the safes. A 2x12 will support more dead weight than a 2x8.  If you find that you're pushing the limits of the joists under your house, you can add some 4x4 posts on concrete piers midway between the safes to effectively reduce the span.  You can also add a couple of extra joists if you think you need them. 

[reed1285]

2 hours ago, Darrell said:

There are span calculators available on-line. Here's one:  https://www.awc.org/codes-standards/calculators-software/reversecalc

An 11.5' span is relatively short, but it depends on the size of the joists and the loaded (dead) weight of the safes. A 2x12 will support more dead weight than a 2x8.  If you find that you're pushing the limits of the joists under your house, you can add some 4x4 posts on concrete piers midway between the safes to effectively reduce the span.  You can also add a couple of extra joists if you think you need them. 

Thanks for the input.

2 hours ago, gregintenn said:

How big are the safes?

One is a 26 gun Winchester (the one TSC sells) and the other is an older 30-32 gun Remington safe that is a lil more heavy than the Winchester

[reed1285]

So lets assume the floor joists are indeed perpendicular to the exterior wall and they are at least a 2x10, which Im pretty sure they are.

[gregintenn]

I wouldn't worry about it.

[Johnny Rotten]

I have a 875 and a 550 side by side in my closet on a exterior wall, the floor joist are parallel with the wall, been there for years

[FUJIMO]

From the graphic and the size of safes you're describing i wouldn't give it another thought. With either stacked entirely with ammo i doubt you would see any structural long term damage.

[gregintenn]

If a piano, or back in the day, a waterbed wasn’t a problem, you’re good methinks.

[FUJIMO]

29 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

If a piano, or back in the day, a waterbed wasn’t a problem, you’re good methinks.

Funny you mentioned a waterbed because back in the day I had a sizeable safe and a waterbed in the same room. I can't recall ever giving a thought to the structural integrity of the house  

[peejman]

4 hours ago, reed1285 said:

Good point on which way the joists run. Id have to re-check, but I was under there a couple years ago and if my memory serves me right the floor joists run perpendicular to the exterior wall, not parallel.

I am working with a crawl space, so ultimately yeah I could get under there to do some bracing if need be. FWIW the house was built in 06. 

Perpendicular would be normal. Just because I'm the nerdy engineer type, I'd put some blocking between the joists about 4ft from the wall at a minimum.  I put cross braces with 4x4's on concrete bases under my aquarium.  

A water bed has a footprint at least 4x bigger than a typical safe.  That makes a big difference.  

[gregintenn]

1 minute ago, peejman said:

Perpendicular would be normal. Just because I'm the nerdy engineer type, I'd put some blocking between the joists about 4ft from the wall at a minimum.  I put cross braces with 4x4's on concrete bases under my aquarium.  

A water bed has a footprint at least 4x bigger than a typical safe.  That makes a big difference.  

And a piano would cover twice the area.

[Radtekk]

I wouldn't risk it. You should bring one of the safes, half the guns, and half the ammo to my house. I'll store them all for free in my climate controlled basement with a concrete floor. I'll even exercise the guns for you regularly. At least until you run out of ammo...