Gun Safe in Garage?

[JPR1959]

I was told by several safe manufacturers at the NRA show to put hockey pucks under the safe to keep the bottom from rusting out.  If you anchor your safe to the floor per manufacturer's instructions, I don't see how many people would be able to get your safe out of your garage.  Cutting through thick threaded rods would be awfully noisy and very difficult.

[56FordGuy]

I was told by several safe manufacturers at the NRA show to put hockey pucks under the safe to keep the bottom from rusting out. If you anchor your safe to the floor per manufacturer's instructions, I don't see how many people would be able to get your safe out of your garage. Cutting through thick threaded rods would be awfully noisy and very difficult.

Truck. Chain. Those red head anchors will pull right out. They may bust the concrete when they do, but a thief isn't likely to care.

[bersaguy]

When you build, just have a safe room added. Call it a panic room for the construction crew. Or even a tornado room.  They don't need to know either.

 

If I ever get out of here and build, not likely, I will have one added.

 

:ugh: Reminds me of my brother up in Essex Illinois. He is a Browning Shotgun collector mostly but does have many other brands of guns he has collected over the many years he has been doing this. He began construction on his new home just about the same time they began tearing down the Old Joliet Branch bank. He actually purchased the vault from the old bank and they placed it directly in the middle of his basement and proceeded to build his 4500 square foot house around it. This safe (vault) has built in equipment to make sure nothing will rust or mold or anything else. Twice since they have moved into the house it has suffered Tornado damage and they just get in the safe and ride it out. The house has been rebuilt twice around this bank vault. I think he did an over kill at times and then other times I wonder if he would have survived the tornado's without it............... :shrug:  Maybe if I had his money I would have done something similar. :whistle:

Edited September 18, 2015 by bersaguy

[patrick28]

I don't have a safe in my garage, I have a reloading room for it, I have gone the route of using a secured room with a security door and heavy duty locks ad a safe room.

Now my garage I never open it, it's humidity is controlled set up a unit, attached a hose and feed it under the crack under the garage door.
Works awesome
My garage stays locked
I also don't have one of those secondary exits ex. A door off the garage,

My 2 cents

[peejman]

What did you use for your concrete "pads" under your columns? Just 12x12 patio pavers, or are there special built ones of harder concrete for this purpose?



The column supports plus sistering would make the section of floor super strong.

The aquarium sits perpendicular to the existing joists and is 5 ft wide. I sandwiched two 8ft 2x8's perpendicular to the joists and attached them under the existing joists with hurricane ties. I used two 4x4's centered 5ft apart tied to the 2x8' with the appropriate Simpson brackets. The 4x4's are screwed to pieces of treated 4x6, which have plastic between them and the ground.

The only thing I had to buy were the 2x8's, the rest were leftovers from other projects. I cut the 4x4's pretty tight. I had to drive them in with a mini sledge.

I wouldn't use concrete stepping stones unless you could stack a couple up. I'd be afraid they'd crack. I suppose the proper thing is to use the pre-made concrete post supports, but I had 4x6's laying around and they're rated for ground contact.

[Erik88]

I just purchased two safes and put them in my master closet. No way I would put one in a garage.

[TrickyNicky]

:ugh: Reminds me of my brother up in Essex Illinois. He is a Browning Shotgun collector mostly but does have many other brands of guns he has collected over the many years he has been doing this. He began construction on his new home just about the same time they began tearing down the Old Joliet Branch bank. He actually purchased the vault from the old bank and they placed it directly in the middle of his basement and proceeded to build his 4500 square foot house around it. This safe (vault) has built in equipment to make sure nothing will rust or mold or anything else. Twice since they have moved into the house it has suffered Tornado damage and they just get in the safe and ride it out. The house has been rebuilt twice around this bank vault. I think he did an over kill at times and then other times I wonder if he would have survived the tornado's without it............... :shrug:  Maybe if I had his money I would have done something similar. :whistle:

 

 

Now that would be sweet. I shudder at the idea of what just a bank vault door would cost even second hand, but the idea of a vault door on a reinforced subterranean room has crossed my mind. Sort of like what I imagine your brother has going on, but with a less robust door. At a certain point I think you have to sleep well at night knowing insurance is going to cover any loss and you've made the job unduly difficult for the SOB trying to take your stuff.

[JPR1959]

Truck. Chain. Those red head anchors will pull right out. They may bust the concrete when they do, but a thief isn't likely to care.

 

I was thinking of high strength epoxy to hold 3/8" rods sunk 3-4" into concrete.  We used epoxy to hold bolts that supported 13,000 pound machines.  I didn't think of a pickup truck trying to pull a safe out of my garage.  That would cause a ruckus in my neighborhood.  Truck would probably win though.  I wouldn't put a safe in my garage anyway, but that's for enlightening me.

[vontar]

East TN might as well be a rain Forrest.  I battle high humidity in my house certain times of the year.

[bud]

. Edited November 9, 2015 by bud

[56FordGuy]

I was thinking of high strength epoxy to hold 3/8" rods sunk 3-4" into concrete.  We used epoxy to hold bolts that supported 13,000 pound machines.  I didn't think of a pickup truck trying to pull a safe out of my garage.  That would cause a ruckus in my neighborhood.  Truck would probably win though.  I wouldn't put a safe in my garage anyway, but that's for enlightening me.

 

Your garage floor is probably only 4" thick, and the concrete itself probably isn't as strong as where you were setting a 13,000 lb machine. I would practically guarantee a chain wrapped around the top of a 5' tall safe will have enough leverage to either break your all thread anchors, break the concrete, or just rip through the bottom of your safe. At best the safe is usually no thick than 10 gauge steel.

 

Speaking of, what else is in your garage? Do you have a grinder, a reciprocating saw, cutting torch, heck even an axe or wood splitting maul? Any of the above will go through the side of most residential gun safes without too much trouble. All they are is a sheet metal box with a fancy door. In any case, I'm not too excited about putting my safe right next to all the tools a person would need to cut it open. 

[peejman]

East TN might as well be a rain Forrest. I battle high humidity in my house certain times of the year.

East TN is a rain forest. The southern Appalachian Mountians are a temperate rain forest.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_temperate_rainforest

[KKing]

Maybe something that doesn't scream "I'm a safe!" Like this?


Just a vinyl wrap.

In all seriousness, have a vinyl sheet cut to match the color of your garage walls and apply it to all sides visible from the street. Will it make it disappear? No. But it might make it just hard enough to see that anyone passing by wouldn't think twice about it. Just a small additional step that is relatively cheap and might help camo the thing. A garage isn't the ideal place, but it certainly isn't as big of a deal as you will read about online if done properly




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited September 19, 2015 by KKing

[McGarrett]

I'd say they are right about it being an easy target. Rednecks + 4x4 pickup + chains = safe gone

 

I have 2 4x4 1 ton service trucks that could easily pull out an anchored safe, and they are both equipped with plenty of chains and tommy liftgates. Being in the garage makes it easy to get to for sure.

 

What did you say your address was again?

 

Edit: I do like KKing's vending machine disguise as long as they don't think it's full of money or the thieves get thirsty you should be alright.

Edited September 19, 2015 by McGarrett

[KKing]

Edit: I do like KKing's vending machine disguise as long as they don't think it's full of money or the thieves get thirsty you should be alright.

Just to clarify, my idea is only to get sheets of vinyl cut that are similar color to the walls to blend in more


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[McGarrett]

Hey KKing good idea, I didn't read, I just looked at the pictures. Maybe a vinyl wrap that looks like junk piled up in a garage.

 

I probably wouldn't have to worry, if i had a garage it would be piled full of junk and so blocked up even i wouldn't be able to see or access the safe.

[KKing]

I saw a neat one that I can't find the picture of now, but it was vinyl wrap to make the safe look like a stand up freezer. I mean how many people have stand up freezers in the garage? I'd say a lot


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[enfield]

Where does one get these sheets of suburban camo?

I'd think a disguise as a storage cabinet, shelf unit or freezer would be ideal.

[KKing]

Where does one get these sheets of suburban camo?

I'd think a disguise as a storage cabinet, shelf unit or freezer would be ideal.

I would think any place that does graphics could do it. Here in Columbia we have a graphics/custom vinyl place that you can just email a picture and they can replicate it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited September 19, 2015 by KKing

[dawgdoc]

I have imagined a safe in the corner of a garage with a drywall bulkhead built around it to camouflage it.  At first glance it would just look like a way to hide pipes and stuff.  You would have to make some type of hidden door.  Or maybe just a real door if your were just trying to hide it from view.  My garage is occupied on every corner, so I have no way to test the idea.

[TNWNGR]

I have imagined a safe in the corner of a garage with a drywall bulkhead built around it to camouflage it.  At first glance it would just look like a way to hide pipes and stuff.  You would have to make some type of hidden door.  Or maybe just a real door if your were just trying to hide it from view.  My garage is occupied on every corner, so I have no way to test the idea.

 

That's actually doable and unlikely to attract notice is you go the extra step of turning it into an "obvious" storage closet or pantry.

[monkeylizard]

This is what I want.

 

 

[TrickyNicky]

This is what I want.

 

 

 

 

Yeah yeah! Only instead of books I want a rack of Mosins that opens up to a vault door. No one would think to look for the gun safe behind the guns now would they?

[dats82]

When my wife and I built a house, we will be building a safe room.  It was actually her idea.  For one, she thinks we can never have too many guns (I'd say she's right on that one), and two, she is terrified of tornados.  She wants a fortified room to take shelter. 

 

Ideally, I would like to built a house with a drive in basement and build the safe room into the hill at the end opposite end behind a hidden door.  If that is not feasible, the idea above would be the next best option, but it's difficult to hide an entire room within a structure like a house.  It doesn't take a genius to figure out when there is space missing when walking around a house. 

[reed1285]

My family is actually in the process of moving right now. Thankfully, our new house is 4 bedroom, which was a requirement when we were looking. We either had to have a 4 bedroom or 3 bedroom with a bonus room to use as an office area for me, which is where my safe will be going. The thought had crossed my mind to put mine in the garage, but I quickly talked myself out of it for the reasons everybody has listed here. The garage for me just did not seem like a very secure area, and every time we would go on vacation, I could see myself worrying the whole time about how vulnerable my stuff was. Between being inside, anchored to the floor, and the security system installed on the house, I will be able to rest easy.