Gun Safe - Houston, TX

[Cawdor]

I need a new gun safe. I've narrowed it down to two: AMSEC BF or Sturdy.

I'd prefer to purchase it from a local dealer, but that isn't possible with Sturdy, and a local AMSEC dealer wants $1200 more for the same safe than the prices I've seen online.

Has anyone in Houston bought a safe online and had it dropped shipped to a local safe company for delivery and installation? If so, which company did you use? How much did it cost? Were you happy with the installation?

Thanks.

 

[heeler]

Cawdor,although I did not order my Amsec BF 66X36 online I did shop around and had Carters Country to order mine.
Simply put their price blew away by hundreds of dollars every other dealer I contacted.
I paid $2299.00 for my safe in October 2009.
Mine was ordered with the textured paint (Sandstone) the regular spinner combination lock as I do not trust electronic locks,and at the last minute I had the Storit shelfs included which raised the price $48.00.
No shipping charges either.

Edit to add...I had B&L Safe & Vault to pick it up at Carters and install and bolt it down.
Very professional.
Although they carry Amsecs they wanted close to $600.00 more for the same safe but if I had bought from them it would have been cheaper on the install but even though I paid them nearly twice what they normally charge for installation I still came out ahead by doing it the way I did.

 

[Walkalong]

Both are nice. I was in the same boat, and picked Sturdy, but would have been happy either way. If you can get it in the house yourself, Sturdy will ship it to your driveway. If not AMSEC installed by a local crew may be the better option. If your eyes are not as good as they used to be (Like me), consider the white on black dial and ring. It's awesome. I can open it without glasses.

 

[heeler]

I came very close to buying the Sturdy but the fact that I could not see one up close made the Amsec my choice.
Good thing about the Sturdy today is pricing includes garage delivery.
That wasnt part of the deal when I purchased.
But on the other hand once it is in the garage a safe and vault company surely would not charge much to simply put it in the house and bolt it down.
I know some of the guys here will attempt to get some friends and tackle the job but I can tell you in no uncertain way would I attempt to move something that weighs as much as my Amsec.
The safe and vault company had the correct machinery and are insured and bonded.
Plus since they do this for a living they did it very quickly and in fact made the job look easy.

 

[Cawdor]

Heeler,

Thanks for the tip. I went to Carter's and the prices are close to what I've seen online. However, I have another question. My slab is post-tension. According to what I've read, it is not advisable to drill into these unless you know where the cables are. Is your slab post-tension? If so, how did B&L handle it?

 

[heeler]

My slab is not post tension as the house was built in 1967.
I have heard that if you line out the area the safe is going to be placed and go outside and measure the slab to get an idea where the safe will be located you can dig down along the slab to see where these tension cables are running.
Then it's only a matter of making sure the safes foot print is correct with the cables.
I spoke with someone once that said the part of the slab you had in mind to drill the slab could be X-Rayed but that's something you would have to check into.
B&L didnt asked about the slab but in all honesty the head guy could probably look at the homes in my no longer not so nice area to tell they were not built anytime in the era of these types of slabs in Houston.
Not sure how much research you have done on safe movers but there is/was a guy by the name of Heath Moore that moved a bunch of the safes for Gander Mt. and another guy by the last name of Kizer that did the same.
Now I am not sure where you live in this vast city but some of the other safe dealers such as Lone Star safes which carry Champion and Graffunder among others was not negative towards me when I inquired if they would be willing to take on the job even though it was not their brand of safe they sold.
Actually how I ended up using B&L was Carters's called me on the Friday of opening deer season weekend as I was hurtling along I-10 heading west, to of course go deer hunting, that my safe came in(actually a couple of weeks quicker than they had anticipated) and they recommended B&L to me due to the weight of my Amsec.
They do sell Amsecs too so I felt comfortable enough to use them on Carter's suggestion.

 

[dirtykid]

I am an HVAC-dude by trade so i built my own safe from multiple-layers of 10-ga G90 galvanized sheet steel and a small 110-volt wire-feed, made brackets to weld to steel then bolted them to floor and welded brackets to bolt-heads, then built clothes-closet around whole works,, door is 3x layers of MDF (medium-density fiberboard) secured by 4-schlage deadbolts,,, their gonna have afight on their hands getting this open!!

 

[TXdefender]

The fellow named Jeff Kiser at safemoves.net is local and moved my safe in for me. Very professional and I recommend him. He was the only one brave enough to tackle my rather special request.

 

[marklbucla]

What kind of ball park figures am I looking at for an install? I am thinking of ordering a Sturdy, so I guess I would just need it moved from the garage into a bedroom closet and then bolted down.

 

[heeler]

markbucla,I would say it would be in the price range of $175-400 depending on who you use and the difficulties of the move.
The good thing is there are several people in the Houston area that do this work to choose from.

 

[Keizer]

I am an HVAC-dude by trade so i built my own safe from multiple-layers of 10-ga G90 galvanized sheet steel and a small 110-volt wire-feed, made brackets to weld to steel then bolted them to floor and welded brackets to bolt-heads, then built clothes-closet around whole works,, door is 3x layers of MDF (medium-density fiberboard) secured by 4-schlage deadbolts,,,

Do you have any photos of your home made safe? I'd like to see it.