600 lb gun safe upstairs, thoughts?

[LoneStarWings]

Okay, i've got my eye on a Zanotti Armor ZA-II, which is a modular safe that breaks down into pieces for easy moving. The heaviest piece is the door, at 170lbs so with 2 or 3 friends moving the thing upstairs should not be a problem. I realize it's not the most break-in-proof safe out there, but my primary goal is to keep the weapons secure from household visitors, roomates, etc. I currently have 5 long guns and 3 handguns.

http://www.zanottiarmor.com/safes.html

I am plannning on placing the safe upstairs, in a corner against two exterior load bearing walls. I'm not going to fill it up with ammo, so full it shouldn't weigh more than 700 lbs or so. The foot print of the safe is 31"x25". Do you think this will be OK for my floor (condo built in the mid 70's), or should i go with the smaller, 300lb version? The 300lb ZA-1 would hold all my guns for now, but wouldn't leave much room for expanding the collection in the future.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[a1abdj]

You're fine. 700 pounds should not be an issue on a second floor.

 

[LoneStarWings]

Thanks for the reassurance. The gentleman I spoke with at Zanotti armor seemed to think it would be ok too. They're sending me a catalog next week, hopefully I can get onto their 9 month waiting list soon!

 

[45crittergitter]

Common residential construction design loads are 40 PSF live load (your stuff) and 10 PSF dead load (house only), for a total load of 50 PSF. I think commercial construction is usually designed for about 175 PSF. Your live load for that safe is 130 PSF. Be darn sure you center it over a joist, and better yet, put down a thick piece of plywood somewhat larger than the safe to spread the load out. No one can really say what's safe without actually knowing what's in your floor or walls.

 

[a1abdj]

Common residential construction design loads are 40 PSF live load (your stuff) and 10 PSF dead load (house only), for a total load of 50 PSF. I think commercial construction is usually designed for about 175 PSF. Your live load for that safe is 130 PSF. Be darn sure you center it over a joist, and better yet, put down a thick piece of plywood somewhat larger than the safe to spread the load out. No one can really say what's safe without actually knowing what's in your floor or walls.

Yes, but.......

A 200 pound guy standing there is placing 200 pounds per square foot on the floor, and will probably not fall through.

Waterbeds, dressers, aquariums, hot water heaters, bathtubs, are also items that can certainly exceed that figure as well. However, people use these items all of the time, and its rare to hear of one causing a structural failure.

Per my insurance company, if you question the load capacity of your structure, contact a qualified engineer.

 

[Guns and more]

Do you worry when four people are standing on your second floor?