Anyone ever have a gun safe fall through the floor? I just bought a 13-20 gun fire safe and it weighs about 450Lbs. empty. I live on second floor of a wood frame house. I rent and I'm afraid it is too heavy and will end up in my downstairs neighbors living room. Can anyone w/ construction or engineering background offer any suggestions?
Gun safe falling through floor??
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xring44
Member
Think of it like this, if the floor will suport you, it is supporting more weight per square foot than the safe, Unless the floor is in poor shape, it should have no problems supporting that amount of weight.
1 old 0311
member
450 Lbs is not a problem. The 1000-1500 lb safes usually get cross support.
Kevin
Kevin
a1abdj
Member
Most structural damage from safes is not caused by the weight suddenly ripping through the floor, but rather the floor sagging over time from the weight of the safe.
I have seen stairways collapse under the weight of a safe, and broken floor joists, but in 15 years, have never seen a safe fall through a floor (except during fire).
If you can jump up and down on your floor without falling through, 500 pounds will not be a problem. I always suggest placing the safe along an exterior wall or interior load bearing wall. This will help eliminate sagging issues. I also suggest that you max out the weight in a residential setting at 1,100 pounds. Anything over 1,100 pounds, and you should seriously consider additional support for the safe.
With all of this said, if you are unsure of anything, you should seek the advice of a local engineer.
I have seen stairways collapse under the weight of a safe, and broken floor joists, but in 15 years, have never seen a safe fall through a floor (except during fire).
If you can jump up and down on your floor without falling through, 500 pounds will not be a problem. I always suggest placing the safe along an exterior wall or interior load bearing wall. This will help eliminate sagging issues. I also suggest that you max out the weight in a residential setting at 1,100 pounds. Anything over 1,100 pounds, and you should seriously consider additional support for the safe.
With all of this said, if you are unsure of anything, you should seek the advice of a local engineer.
George S.
Member
Kevin Quinlan said:
The 450 lbs empty weight may not be a problem as that is no real different thatn two 225lb adult males standing side by side, but add 20 long guns and the weight can grow to 600lbs or even more. A corner location is a good choice or at least along a load-bearing wall where the safe is perpendicular to the floor joists.
Getting it upstairs is going to be fun
That project in itself may be reason to keep it on the ground floor!Thanks for all the advice guys. I feel better now. I am still concerned about floor sag. But only time will tell. It took 3 med. weight guys to get it upstairs. 15 steps to be exact. It was tough but not that tough. When I'm ready to move getting it down the stairs should be much easier. It is rated for 13-20 guns, but I will only be putting 5 long guns in it. I figured a safe is a once in a lifetime purchase so I went bigger instead of smaller.
mfree
Member
You could put it on a large platform of 3/4" plywood to spread the weight around.
Just a suggestion.
Just a suggestion.
Husker1911
Member
Be sure to place the safe in a corner of the room, if possible. Last choice would be the middle of the room.
Stand with your feet together....
the area occupied by your feet is approximately 1 square foot. Determine the square footage of the bottom of your safe. Divide the square footage into the weight to get a pounds per square foot. You will find out that when you are standing there, you are putting more weight per square foot than your safe is. Me? My house is on a concrete slab.....no problems there.....chris3
the area occupied by your feet is approximately 1 square foot. Determine the square footage of the bottom of your safe. Divide the square footage into the weight to get a pounds per square foot. You will find out that when you are standing there, you are putting more weight per square foot than your safe is. Me? My house is on a concrete slab.....no problems there.....chris3
Or consider my king sized waterbed...It holds 320 or so gallons of water...at 8 lbs per gallon thats over 2500 lbs. in water alone (but spread over a larger area)...Still In my current house, and the previous one, I've never had a problem with floors sagging, and both houses are 100+ yrs old, and bed was on second floor. Although being 100 yrs old may be a good thing...
rayra
member
ha. Lay it on it's back, make a coffee table out of it!
As ball3006 and dfaugh have said, it's not so much the weight, but the weight per square foot. With a waterbed many, many years ago, I found out that the refrigerator had a greater load per square foot.
If still concerned - and this will keep very determined thieves from simply using a hand truck to remove the safe in your absence - bolt it to studs in the wall, preferably a corner. My safe is secured to two walls and someone is gonna have to knock down that corner of the house to get the safe out.
Cheers
If still concerned - and this will keep very determined thieves from simply using a hand truck to remove the safe in your absence - bolt it to studs in the wall, preferably a corner. My safe is secured to two walls and someone is gonna have to knock down that corner of the house to get the safe out.
Cheers
afasano
Member
It shouldn't be a problem, many old houses have new bathrooms upstairs that are much heavier with a full tub. Just be careful on the stairs.
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