new gun safe inside house or in the garage?

[thefamcnaj]

I'm about to buy a new bigger gun safe as I've out frown my small one.
I was going to have it bolted down in my garage. However I'm kind of scared to put it in the garage because of possible rust issuse.
I live in upstate South Carolina and it gets pretty humid here in the summers. My current safe is indoors where its nice and air conditioned.
The garage is un ventilated. My question is are the golden rods alone keep me from having rust problems. Well golden rods and keeping the guns oiled up.
I'm willing to put it inside the house but its just real big and I don't have a place for it to look good.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

Golden Rods and I would also put in one of these http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=Moisture+absorbing+packets&hl=en&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1024&bih=653&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=1690698999710139065&sa=X&ei=p3F3T8KLEeHf0QH1zrmqDQ&ved=0CJMBEPMCMAQ

They work really well and will back up the golden rods. Golden rods work well but they do have their limits. I know Southern humidity and it can be hell on firearms. Just use a good oil, golden rods, and one of those moisture packs and you should be fine.

 

[allaroundhunter]

I would never put a gunsafe in a garage. Not because of rust, but because of security.

Put it into a closet if you have to, but the garage is far from ideal.

 

[glove]

In the house.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

An enclosed garage is just as secure as a locked door to your house. If he bolts it to the concrete floor, it's even MORE secure than bolted to the wood floor of a house wouldn't you think? If they are going to break into your garage, and try to crack a safe or remove it entirely, I don't think a little puny front or back door would be any more secure than a garage door.

 

[allaroundhunter]

An enclosed garage is just as secure as a locked door to your house. If he bolts it to the concrete floor, it's even MORE secure than bolted to the wood floor of a house wouldn't you think?

It actually isn't. If you have a safe in your house, you shouldn't bolt it to the wood floor, you should bolt it into the concrete foundation.

It is also more secure in the house because there are more places to hide it. You don't leave your front door open when you leave it, but when you back your car out of the garage it is open long enough for someone to get a good view of what is inside...

 

[Old Time Hunter]

Put it in your climate controlled basement.

 

[gunnutery]

I'd put it in a basement before I put it into a garage. But I'd still opt for the main or second floor inside because it's even more climate controlled. I agree with the security issues also.

 

[hso]

In the house.

 

[thefamcnaj]

I don't think it will fit in the closets in my house. Mabey the master closet, but that's a no go for the wife. My only option in side is my man cave where the current safe is. Only problem with this room is the safe will be out in the open. It can't be hidden in any way unless I make some modifications to the room. Which I could do.
I don't have a basement, my house is on a concrete slab. I would have more options as to how to hide it in the garage, but my alarm system doesn't protect my garage.
It will be bolted down I just have to come up with a way to have it placed and only have the door exsposed. I would like to have the 3 weak sides as protected as possible, after all its only 10 gage steel on the sides and top, but its the best my wallet can do right now. It's a winchester model silverado 38 I believe, it will be here late April, so I have time to make plans

 

[allaroundhunter]

I would say to put it in the man-cave.....

 

[Fremmer]

Man cave. Build something to conceal it.

 

[bannockburn]

Keep it in the house and conceal it as best you can.

 

[oneounceload]

Living here in FL, the golden rod and # big boxes of dessicant work to keep my guns from rusting - along with using silicone socks and a nice wipe down with gun oil

As for the safe, if you can fit it inside, you are better off - bolting steel to concrete causes reaction/corrosion issues without some barrier in between

 

[Nuclear]

When I had my safe bolted to the concrete pad with a wood floor in between, the wood rotted due to the moisture being trapped between the concrete and the steel (this was in South Florida).

I'd find somewhere I could bolt it directly to the concrete floor. Steel in contact with concrete actually corrodes less than exposed steel.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Go to Opsman thread Made in America Gunsafe Question on safes in the assessories forum. I have a post there on security.

 

[Seven High]

It would be nice if a manufacturer would produce a gun safe that looks like an upright freezer or refrigerator. It could be placed in a garage and would not attract any unwanted attention. Great for houses that do not have basements.

 

[Ranger30-06]

Just my input here, but I did construction for plenty long enough to know what I was doing, and I think it's pretty important for me to say that bolting your safe to a concrete foundation isn't nearly as safe as you think.

Concrete acts as a rock, and drilling it out to bolt something into it (even with inserts) is really not that hard to defeat. Get a crowbar and a 6' cast iron pipe and you could pull just about any safe out of a foundation that has had the bolts drilled into it because it will start crumbling with pressure on it.

The much stronger alternative is having the bolt keepers (can't remember the correct name) set into the concrete while it's still wet. Yes, its difficult and very time consuming, but it's truly the only way you'll have an unmovable safe.

My point in all that was bolting a safe to the foundation in your garage is really not a good idea. A good crowbar and a length of thick, cast pipe will make that safe in the garage not nearly as big of a deterrent as you think it will be. The basement is a whole separate beast though. Ever try getting a washing machine down the stairs? You know what I'm talking about then

 

[sharkman]

Garage...

I live in North Carolina, I have my safe in the garage. Use a goldenrod and have had no problems. As for security, I don't use the garage for my car, just yard tools. Door opens just long enough to go in/out, and the safe is covered anyway so no problems with peeping eyes. Side door has two locks and a hook latch. Both it and inside door are hooked into alarm system. Garage door has standard handle/turnbolt that is always latched and vice grips applied to ends so it can't be popped.

 

[Fremmer]

Ask pamela anderson her opinion about garage safes, lol.

 

[denton]

I've got my eye on a new safe, and when I can afford it, it will go in the finished workshop in the back of my garage. I've got a couple of sticks of hardwood that I dadoed out so I could insert a 1/2" x 1" strip of polyethylene. The safe will sit maybe 1/4" above the wood on non-absorptive polyethylene.

I will bolt it to the floor. Yes, I know that can be defeated. So can any defense. But it takes a while, and makes us a less attractive target.

One trick is to get a safe with fat, long bolts on all sides of the door. If you only have bolts on the side opposite the hinges, two guys with pry bars can pop the door in just minutes.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Were it mine, I would not think twice about putting it in the air conditioned house over an unventilated garage. Instead of it clashing with the "decor," make it part of the decor. You can store other small valuables and documents in it, too.

 

[cstarr3]

Just my two cents in here;

I think that there are a lot of good reasons to put your safe inside. That doesn't mean that any one of these reasons is enough, but all together, they should steer you towards keeping your safe inside.

Just pointing out the ones that came up in this thread:

I'm assuming you are going to get a big ol' safe, not some sheet metal cabinet. It is usually easier to wheel a safe out a garage door and into a truck than to navigate it through a house, especially if there are stairs. The last safe I moved was about as big as an ordinary safe comes, and it took my two brothers (both 6+ feet and over 220) and myself fifteen minutes to move it the thirty feet needed to get it through the house, out the garage and into the truck. Thieves generally don't usually go around with safe-moving equipment, unless they are specifically after a safe. If you put it in your garage, it is more likely that a passer-by will see it, and be able to make preparations to steal it.

As far as humidity is concerned, given that you use ordinary gun care, such as oils, if you put enough desiccates and dehumidifiers in a safe, you ought to be pretty much safe from everything short of Noah's flood. However, the prospect of rust and theft together might make you want to seriously consider putting your safe inside.

Then there are the odd-ball things. Por ejemplo; more fires start in the garage than other rooms, so if your safe isn't fireproof, that is another reason to keep it inside.

Reasons why you should store it inside are cumulative, so you might want to just keep it inside, anyway.

 

[thefamcnaj]

I'm leaning towards inside. I'm concerned about security, so I like the fact I have the alarm system for the inside of the house. I just have to come up with a way to "hide it" in a 81 sq. Ft. Room.
I am nervous about having two safes in one room. All my eggs in one basket sort of thing.
I'm considering a false wall to go in front of both safes. My current safe(liberty Centurion POS) is useless but I don't want to unbolt it.
I think it being bolted down behind a false wall will be good. If my little set up get defeated I do have a seperate insurance policy for my guns.

 

[exavid]

I installed the safe I have in my garage the same way I did it in my pat three houses. It's bolted into 6" of reinforced concrete with six bolts in the bottom and three into the stem wall in the rear. The safe is set in epoxy to prevent water from coming in contact with the bottom and to make the mounting even more secure. The gap between the safe and floor is too tight to get a saw blade into. Nine 1/2" wedge locks aren't easy to pull out. It would be difficult to equal such a solid mounting in the house, there's only the floor, subfloor and floor joists to fasten to. I really doubt it's practical to depend on hiding a safe inside a house, it's not at all unusual for a thief to prowl the whole house looking for valuables. Also the garage makes it convenient to remove and replace my firearms as I come and go to the range, gun club, etc.