Safe installation question

[Kharn]

I'm considering placing a gunsafe in an area under my stairs, below's a picture to explain how I'm considering doing it. Currently, the entire area is unused, so both the closet and safe's alcove will be built at the same time. I think the installation could either be from the gun room in with a dolly, or by using rollers/pipes to slide the safe in sideways from the basement.

Obviously, with the safe under the stairs, the vertical area I have to work with is limited, for every 1" extra space I need, I have to get a safe about 1" less in width.

So, my question is, how much vertical clearance do I need above the safe for the safe movers to install the safe? Has anyone done anything like this?

Kharn

 

[45crittergitter]

Almost none, IMO. If it's a non-carpeted floor, you can slide it in on a couple of pieces of pasteboard.

 

[Kharn]

And then just leave the paste board under the safe? I bet the hammer drill wont care when I drill it for the anchors, but what about moisture wicking into the material and rusting out the bottom of the safe?

The gun room's carpet isnt held down by anything, its just sitting there, so I could pull it off.

Kharn

 

[Car Knocker]

Get one of those thin, flexible cutting mats from a kitchen shop. They're slippery and only about 1/16" thick.

Of course, you could always swap the safe and the closet and end up with a bigger safe.

 

[Kharn]

The closet is going to be the only coat closet in my house (the current one projects into my kitchen, I'm tearing it out so I can get more cabinet and counter space), so swapping the two isnt an option. Also, the closet door will be in a straight line with the sliding glass door, perfect for someone with a 4x4 to give it a yank and flip it onto its front, not the best place to put it IMHO.

I like to to close and lock the gun room door so nobody knows I am into shooting; some of my friends dont even know I have guns. I dont need the neighborhood kids getting a view of all my toys while they're playing in the yard next door.

Kharn

 

[MLH]

Try

Getting some of those Moving Men pads they show on tv and just leave them under it. Then bolt it to the floor and wall or whatever you chose. You can easily move large weights with these and they are only about $10-12 a set.

 

[a1abdj]

I'd leave at least an extra inch in addition to the height of the safe plus the height of whatever you're sitting it on. Sometimes safes slide easy, sometimes they have to be "walked" a little to get them in place.

I normally suggest that people use 3/4 inch treated plywood as a base when the safe is going on concrete. Solves the moisture problem, is very stable, and super easy to drill through when anchoring the safe.

Cut the plywood to size and place it in the closet. Use a second piece of plywood in front of it to help start the safe. When the movers get there with the safe, they can slide it onto the plywood, and push it straight back into the closet. Once the safe is in position it will be on it's piece of plywood, and you can remove the second piece.

 

[dfaugh]

Used to do it for a living

and any safemover that's any good can put it in there with less than 1/2" clearance on any side. Better not to have anything underneath it, unless you foresee an issue with water. Most concrete anchorswill work better without anything in between, but it depends on what type you use.

 

[Kharn]

Well, its going in my basement and for some reason the place doesnt have a sump pump, so any broken pipe is going to be a royal pain. Dad believes I should put it up on some pressure treated wood, giving a pathway for air to flow through so the bottom wont rust out. I'm not too sure of that plan, I was intending to just use a single sheet of plywood if anything at all.

Kharn

 

[a1abdj]

If you elevate it using pieces of wood, it's easier to get underneath it with a prybar. It might not matter in your case since there will be stairs overhead.

I put gunsafes up on 3/4 plywood all the time, and have never had a problem. If you're worried about the basement flooding, then you may want to silicone the bolts when you anchor the safe to the floor so that if the water level rises, it won't flow in through your bolt holes.

 

[Oldnamvet]

Put a dehumidifier down there and save yourself some trouble. There are also fairly cheap moisture alarms that have sensors that sit on the floor. First hint of liquid water and they go off.

 

[logical]

Coat the whole floor of the room and safe alcove with a good epoxy concrete sealer/coating and if they damage it when installing, just touch it up. A thin sheet of masonite in front of the alcove should prevent any visible damage...just slide it off the sheet into the alcove. The epoxy will keep the moisture back unless you have a real maoisture issue (if you do I'd rethink the whole plan). the sealer will also eliminate the constant dust problem that bare concrete presents, plus it looks great.

Ucoatit has a website, they are a local company that ships nationwide. Be sure to add the AF-gloss to get the moisture barrier.

 

[45crittergitter]

Looks like you need stainless steel anchor bolts.

 

[CB900F]

Kahrn;

I do this sorta stuff for a living. I sell, and therefore deliver, safes. The first question is: What does your unit weigh? And: What are its dimensions?

Kudos to Logical, the epoxy cement sealer is excellent. Anything to make the floor smoother will help. Then, visquin plastic sheet will also help, here's how.

Put a single thickness layer of plastic sheet just a little bit less wide than the container & about a foot deep at the rear of the area you want to place the safe into. Get three 1/4" diameter steel dowels that are shorter than your safe is wide. Here's the tricky part, pay attention. BEFORE you actually try to put the safe in its home, determine the tip point on the dowels. THEN when it tips, measure its height. This will keep you from binding it under the stairs. Leave a safety margin & then roll the container into the space, let it tip & lever it up enough (the safety margin) to remove the steel dowels with a good magnet. Slide it the rest of the way in. The visquin may bunch behind it, but it won't take up much room at all. It will make it easier to slide. If you do your calculations right, 90% of the visquin will be under the safe, not bunched behind it.

Good luck, 900F

 

[Kharn]

CB900F:

The first question is: What does your unit weigh? And: What are its dimensions?

Not sure yet, we need to research installation options before I pick one. It wont be more than 61" tall, probably no more than 32-34" wide, depth doesnt matter since I have the full depth of the stairs to use (as long as it will fit through the sliding glass door into the basement). It'll probably be a Liberty, since there's a dealer for them in town.

The width is variable, since the width of the safe affects how large the closet can be that will be going next to it, Dad and I have to sit down one day and figure out exactly the max size of safe I can fit.

If I can squeeze in the 36x60x27.5", 811lb Franklin 36 gun, I'll go with one of those, but that might require playing games with the stairs.

45crittergitter:
Why the stainles steel specification? The water possibilities?

Kharn

 

[Kharn]

Well, turns out our estimates for the size of the dead space to be just a tad over-sized. Due to the stud locations and the design of the stairs, I've got 27" to play with, so I cant even fit in a 24 gun safe.

I think I'm just going to get a Sentry 14 gun safe from Walmart to shove in the closet for the time being, and then integrate a much larger and higher-quality safe into the design of the gun room when I change it into my trophy room/home office. The Sentry can become my ammo/mags/expensive accesories safe at that point.

Kharn