Gun Safe Installation

[Bo]

I'm in the market for a bigger better safe, or RSC as some would call it. I have questions to pose.
Assuming the weight will be approximately 700-800 lbs., and my house sits on a crawl space, do I need to re-enforce the floor? My house was built in 1972 and has 2x8 or bigger I think, floor joists. (been awhile since I was down there) Also, height and width isn't really a problem but it needs to be no more than 24 " deep including the handle.
Any comments or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[JoeMal]

Keep in mind a 700-800 lbs. RSC will obviously weigh more once you get your guns and ammo inside. Say you put 20 longguns that weigh an average of 8 lbs. in it, that adds an extra 160 lbs. right there. Ammo is very heavy too. I would take this into consideration. I would reinforce the floor just so you can sleep good at night not worrying that your safe will end up in your crawlspace someday. And I'm no safe expert, but 24" deep doesn't sound like much to me...especially when you consider a few inches of that will be taken up by the frame of the safe itself and the opening unit. Doesn't give you much room inside. My $.02. How big of a safe are you trying to get? Gun wise?

 

[DWC]

A couple of trailer leveling jacks sitting on a steel base plate might not be necessary but should provide a a lot of peace-of-mind for very little money.

 

[Bo]

JoeMal,
I'm looking at a 24-30 gun safe. The reason for the 24" depth is, I'm putting it in a closet and I want the door to close.

 

[JoeMal]

I'm looking at a 24-30 gun safe. The reason for the 24" depth is, I'm putting it in a closet and I want the door to close.

Will the safe door be able to swing open while it's in the closet?

 

[Bo]

JoeMal,
Yes, there're sliding doors.

 

[alfack]

I put two concrete post footings with two of those screw jacks on them supporting two 4x4 which span two parallel joists. One on each end of the safe, if that makes sense.

Probably not necessary, but peace of mind.

 

[a1abdj]

As others have mentioned, probably not necessary. Of course my opinion is that it's better to have and not need, than need and not have.

 

[scaatylobo]

I agree with the posters saying that you should go under and reinenforce the floor.

But the very least I would do is use 4X4's across a few floor beams to spread that load across as many beams as possible.

Or consider a base made from 1" plywood X 2 to spread that weight if you dont want to raise the safe.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

My 24 gun is sitting in my living room filled and pretty full. It's in a corner. I have no concerns with it. If it were in the middle of the room, I might think twice about supporting it from underneath.........I'd guess a large fridge full of beer and frozen steaks weighs about the same. Of course, you have to look at what your house is constructed with. My house was built in 1954 and had no corners cut. It's pretty stout.

If I were worried about it and had a crawl space, I'd go under there and put down a 12" concrete paver and use one of the short screw jack levelers to push up under the safe. You might have to give it a turn or two every few weeks for while until the ground gets good and compacted.

 

[brickeyee]

Howbig is the footprint of the safe?

Houses are normally built for a load of 40 pounds per square foot of live load and another 10 pounds per square foot of 'dead' load.

That load is assumed on every square foot of floor when sizing joists.

If you are near the end of a joist you should not have any problems.
Mid-span you may need some additional support.

 

[lightman]

The first thing that I thought when I read this post was "a bridge timber and about half-a-dozen concrete blocks".The brick pavers and the leveling jacks probably make more sense.I would beef the floor up with something,for sure.As others have said,its a lot of dead weight that will continue to get heavier.Good Luck with your new safe, Lightman

 

[a1abdj]

Gun safes are very light compared to real safes. Look at all of the other items often found in homes that are in the same ballpark weight wise: Aquariums, large appliances, pianos, waterbeds, etc.....

1,000 pounds up against a load bearing wall inside of a home is nothing at all.

 

[teumessian_fox]

Gun safes are very light compared to real safes.

Which is why they're actually easy to break into. Given sufficient time (an hour or so) and privacy. I could do it with merely a circular saw and masonry blades. Assuming I could get to the side of the safe. (The side is thinner than the door.)

That's why the best safe is the one nobody knows about.

But re the OP's question. If you're concerned about floor strength, just nail solid bridging in between the floor joists underneath where you plan to put the safe. Very simple.