moving a Safe alone?

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I moved my safe, a Winchester 26 gun safe by myself. It weighs about 375 pounds. I rented a 4 wheel cart and I used a couple of 4x4 posts, used them like a teeter-totter rocked it up and down and lifted it up. It can be done. Im about 5'4 and 165 pounds. Just be safe, pun intended and you can do it. :)
 
Dibbs said:
I can and have called professional movers. Find movers who work with safes, they have special dollies and lifts, and they also protect your steps and door thresholds. The damage you save the house, alone, makes paying a couple pros to do it.
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your not kidding!
 
Given current lumber prices, you may have to hunt down galvanized studs for the surround in the garage.
You need channel for the top & bottom "plates." You'll need a mice big box of 5/16" self-frill self-tapping screws (known as "points" in the trade).

Upside to metal is that you can cut them to fit with tin snips. No having to take a measurement, get off the stepstool, go to the saw, and chopsaw the one stud at a time. Instead, you take the measurement, then put the tape on the stud, then tin snip it to correct length. Then, spin on a couple of points while you are right there (leave the foot loose). Move 16" further down (or 19.2" the black diamond distance on the tape) and repeat.

Invest in some mineral wool insulation and you get a two-hour wall assembly for your safe surround.

I have this habit for such builds to lay in a hank of 12/2 romex at 12" up, then some 12/3 up around 72" off the floor, and just leave the ends looped in the existing walls. Just never know what sort of new power or lights that might want installing 20 or 25 years down the line, and having the material in place can help.

That's my 2¢, spend it as you will.
 
CapnMac said:
Given current lumber prices, you may have to hunt down galvanized studs for the surround in the garage.
You need channel for the top & bottom "plates." You'll need a mice big box of 5/16" self-frill self-tapping screws (known as "points" in the trade).

Upside to metal is that you can cut them to fit with tin snips. No having to take a measurement, get off the stepstool, go to the saw, and chopsaw the one stud at a time. Instead, you take the measurement, then put the tape on the stud, then tin snip it to correct length. Then, spin on a couple of points while you are right there (leave the foot loose). Move 16" further down (or 19.2" the black diamond distance on the tape) and repeat.

Invest in some mineral wool insulation and you get a two-hour wall assembly for your safe surround.

I have this habit for such builds to lay in a hank of 12/2 romex at 12" up, then some 12/3 up around 72" off the floor, and just leave the ends looped in the existing walls. Just never know what sort of new power or lights that might want installing 20 or 25 years down the line, and having the material in place can help.

That's my 2¢, spend it as you will.
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Sounds Complicated. I’m going the Home Style (Ghetto) route with left over lumber and stuff I picked up off the curb. I’m really good with drywall and mudding and tile. I’ll make it look good and on a budget
 
My safe was moved and installed by pros, it wasn’t worth the hassle or back strain to save $250 bucks.

They used a tilting dolly to move it from their truck into my garage. The final moving was done using about six pieces of 1/2” gas line pipe cut into 2’ lengths. They used the old Roman way of moving stuff, roll onto the pipes and bring the rear one forward as you move it. The safe rolled right across the remaining length of floor, swiveled around and popped into place under an overhanging shelf :thumbup:.

Stay safe.
 
I’ve moved mine (#1200) a couple times with the help of two other guys…no stairs and only a 6” threshold to get into the house. A dozen or so 2” schedule 80 PVC pipes about 30” long and a 42” pry bar, if you’re going across carpet I’d get larger diameter pipe…keeps the carpet from “waving”. Hamburger and beer after…everybody happy(ish).
 
Mark_Mark said:
I can tip it to move it. like walking a barrel
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No, and hell no. I remember reading about the number of people crushed by vending machines tipping over and killing them, and while the number is small, the rate is about four times higher than being eaten by a shark. This is from 1998


WARNING: DON'T JIGGLE THAT VENDING MACHINE

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-09-13-9809130280-story.html

Dear Laura: That news story is sure to save lives. I had no idea a soft-drink machine could be a killer. The statistics are staggering. Thank you for sending it on. Here's a shortened version of the story:


A man whose son was crushed to death by a soda vending machine has filed a $500,000 wrongful-death lawsuit against the soda company and the companies that manufactured and serviced the vending machine.


The 27-year-old man apparently rocked the machine, which fell, pinning him against a wall and crushing his chest. The father decided to sue after learning his son's death was not an isolated incident. "The penalty for jiggling a machine to get a quarter out or a free Coke shouldn't be death," said the man's lawyer.


The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found that between 1978 and 1995, at least 37 deaths and 113 injuries resulted from falling vending machines, which can weigh 1,000 pounds.


A 10-year-old boy in Arizona was killed when a soda vending machine fell over after he and another boy jostled it. A college senior in Kansas died of internal injuries after a soda machine fell on him in a college dining room. A Michigan high school student died when a machine fell on him in a city recreation center.


Three years ago, seven manufacturers of soda machines mounted an industry-wide warning-label campaign to alert customers to the dangers. One label states, "Warning! Never rock or tilt. Machine can fall over and cause serious injury or death." Usually, a bank of machines is bolted together, making them virtually immovable. Stand-alone machines may be bolted to a wall, but owners aren't required to do so.


According to the attorney, almost everyone who uses vending machines knows the annoyance of dropping coins in the slot and not getting the goods, which results in people kicking or jostling the machines. "Even though it's not their intent that people should be jiggling the machines, manufacturers and distributors should know that in the real world, that's happening," he said.


And now, dear readers, this is Ann talking. There should be a law requiring all vending machines to be bolted to the wall. Meanwhile, a copy of this column posted next to the vending machines in your building could save a life. I recommend it.

You plan to wobble a safe into place, there are risks. If you plan to do it by yourself, there are more risks. The big risk is if you lose control. If you tip a 700 lb safe over, are you strong enough to prevent it from crushing you?

As I recall, when office safes were brought into buildings, the movers had a special safe dolly, it was at least a four wheel affair. And there were usually three guys, and these guys rolled the thing on hard floors and up elevators.

Depending on how far you are going to move the thing, get friends to help, get the proper moving equipment. Don't end up smashed flat under a safe.
 
I did a couple months at a furniture store doing deliveries a while back. We used an appliance dollie for anything up to about 700 pounds. 2 people is pretty well a necessity though as you need a spotter. Those safes are wide and long so it’s hard to see the far end when you have it up on its balance point but it moves easy and you can quickly wreck a wall (or a fridge like we did once). With no steps along the way it should be a fairly simple move.

Also a possibility depending upon clearance underneath, a pallet jack could be just the ticket if it will fit. That’s how I moved my personal safe at the previous house. I’m likely moving again in the near future to a place a bit bigger so kids have more room, and next time I will use a furniture dollie.
 
Mark_Mark said:
great Idea!
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I should add that if you go this route you really need to practice walking by shuffling your feet. You absolutely do NOT want to try to walk on a layer of BBs. My wife and I used brooms to gently reposition the layer of BBs as I pushed it toward the wall. It’s amazing how easy it was to roll something so heavy...but it’s not so easy to stop so don’t be giving it a giant shove it there’s someone between it and the wall.
 
index.php


DeMille used old women to grease the skids....of course it might be a bit messy on your floor.;)
 
Elkins45 said:
I should add that if you go this route you really need to practice walking by shuffling your feet. You absolutely do NOT want to try to walk on a layer of BBs. My wife and I used brooms to gently reposition the layer of BBs as I pushed it toward the wall. It’s amazing how easy it was to roll something so heavy...but it’s not so easy to stop so don’t be giving it a giant shove it there’s someone between it and the wall.
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what size BB’s did you use?
 
Shooterbob said:
3/4 wooden dial rod get about 5 of them just keep putting the ones in the rear back to the front as you go. I moved my safe alone this way very easy.As long as you can lift one side you can do it
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My nephews and I used 1" nylon bars for my 1200 pound safe years back, but same theory. Since the safe in question here has outside hinges, he can take the door off to help get the weight down. We did that as well. My son and I moved his the other day, took the door off and used a hand truck. Maybe 400 pounds.
 
Absolutely! If you can take the door off, you just removed 1/3 of the weight
 
Elkins45 said:
But then you have to get it back on, and that’s more difficult than you might imagine.
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True, many have washers or bearings that must placed properly and all aligned precisely and simultaneously while lifting the heavy door into position, Even 4 hands may not be enough unless skilled. After 70 plus years you "gots to know your limitations" and how long it takes (or costs) to heal.
 
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