Working on my hiding space

[Ironhorse522]

Okay I'll make a long story short, my dad has been collecting guns since he was a kid, I of course followed in his footsteps . Since I came home we have more guns than we can successfully hide from prying eyes. We have been stashing them 10 to a closet but ran out of closets lol!
Anyway this is what I was thinking, gut one closet stripping it of shelves and clothes, and etc. Building long racks along the walls and settin them all up. Hang pistols from the walls above the rifle racks Then buying a steel reinforced door with a doorknob and a deadbolt. I bought a huge cabinet or armoire for 50 bucks, thinking about putting some casters on the bottom then attaching it to the door. what do you guys think?? This should be way safer, I also just bought a cheap alarm to stick on the door. any other ideas??

 

[M-Cameron]

.....why not just buy an actual safe?

it will be much more secure than a retrofitted closet.

 

[Ironhorse522]

I thought about it but a cheap 54 gun gunsafe is a thousand bucks and we would still have twenty guns left out. I probably will do both but right now I can't afford it

 

[essayons21]

I did that when I lived in a condo on the 2nd floor of a 100 year old building. I wasn't comfortable with the weight of the gun safe and I wasn't going to bolt through 100 year old yellow pine floors. The closet was built in during a more recent renovation so I didn't mind mucking that up. Basically built racks around the inside of the closet, and left the higher up shelves in with dividers for pistols. A solid oak door with a properly installed deadbolt, and the door was tied into the house alarm. Certainly no gun safe, but it would stop a smash and grab burglar, and hopefully anyone more determined would make so much noise the neighbors would be on the phone with the cops.

Now that I am in a more permanent residence, I have a safe, and I'm saving for a 2nd one.

 

[Red Cent]

I think I would worry about those walls of drywall that surround the closet. I agree with the safe. The fire rating drives the cost. A strong, thin walled, metal safe would be better than the closet.

 

[Ironhorse522]

See that's where I'm coming from, my house isn't in amazing shape. It was built in the 1890's then burned down, my grandpa bought it in 54 and rebuilt it. But bolting down a thousand pounds of safe then adding 54 guns at a average of 7-8 lbs per rifle with ammo your looking at 1400 pounds. My house has no slab either.
The house has strong walls though all the studs are two by fours, sheeted in plywood with 1 inch thick drywall. I know because it's almost impossible to run wires down from the attic. Basically this is see no guns steal no guns

 

[berettaprofessor]

You have to solve the problem of somebody going through the drywall....why try to get through the steel door when the drywall takes a couple of smacks with a good hammer and you're through?

 

[Ironhorse522]

I'd like to see somebody come threw these walls with a hammer, when we replaced the floor the walls didn't sag at all. I mean we put jacks underneath them but still no sag

 

[tacxted]

any other ideas??

get your FFL, lease a building, get a good alarm system and insurance and open a gun shop!

 

[X-Rap]

I would get a couple $600 +- 30 gun safes and gut the racks out of one and stack it full then put the ones you frequently use in the racks in the other.
IDK what your guns are worth but $1200-$1500 is cheap and won't cover a new bolt action with decent glass.

 

[fatcat4620]

Sounds good to me. I would reinforce the door framing and line the walls with plywood. Dehumidifier would be a plus. A big dog that does not like other people is a double plus.

 

[Magoo]

I guess I'll be in the extreme minority to agree with your "see no guns, steal no guns" philosophy. I imagine that quick, "smash and grab" types of theives aren't going to spend a lot of time and effort looking for hidden goodies. And heck, once theives have the run of my place they are going to have plenty of access to (my) prybars, hammers, and assorted power tools that "everyone" here admits allow pretty rapid access to standard RSCs. I certainly cannot afford enough RSCs to secure all of my tools.

My "gun safe" is a space where someone would have to take their time, use a tape measure, and determine "hey, there's some empty/missing space around here." I'm not trying to, or claiming I have, defeat smart, determined criminals. But none of my friends, including architects and engineers, have figured out how to access the space even after they figured out where it "had to be". None of these folks started less than ten feet from it and it's only a 1000 square foot house (and most knew approximately how much stuff I'd have in it (how big it HAD to be)).

So I say go for it. The armoire is a good thought. A built in shelving unit that is the door could also work well. There are lots of clever ways to keep a door shut that are much less obvious than a huge dead bolt and massive hinges that scream "goodies behind." How frequently you need to access your safe should steer the ease of access vs. concealed nature of your setup.

I can email you some pics if you'd like- PM an address. I doubt my exact arrangement would work for you, but will at least give you some encouragement if not ideas.

 

[Ironhorse522]

I just thought this was more sneaky, when I save the money I will replace the racks with safes. I can build the racks with old lumber from the barn, all I have to buy us the door and that should be cheap enough.
I love my guns, they are all I have from my ancestors. My LC Smith 12 gauge has been in my family for 60 years!! To think someone would break in and molest them!! That's why they have to be hidden better

 

[berettaprofessor]

I'd like to see somebody come threw these walls with a hammer, when we replaced the floor the walls didn't sag at all

Huh? Somebody can't slip through the wall between the studs? Stability does not prevent penetration.

 

[Ironhorse522]

The plywood is a good idea too

 

[fatcat4620]

I just thought this was more sneaky, when I save the money I will replace the racks with safes. I can build the racks with old lumber from the barn, all I have to buy us the door and that should be cheap enough.
I love my guns, they are all I have from my ancestors. My LC Smith 12 gauge has been in my family for 60 years!! To think someone would break in and molest them!! That's why they have to be hidden better

I do love your scooby-doo approach!

 

[Ironhorse522]

Scooby doo approach?

 

[fatcat4620]

Secret armoire attached to your steel door. I would guess that access to the knob and dead bolt would be hidden. If I encountered an armoire that would not move I would think out was attached to the wall, not a secret door to your vault. Thats what I envisioned when I read the OP.

 

[Ironhorse522]

Oh I see lol! That's what I thought too

 

[Saakee]

take up the floors and build your hiding space under the floorboards then just keep your HD guns closer at hand.

 

[igousigloo]

if you put it in with wood, a sawzall can take it out in seconds.

 

[MechAg94]

Now you just need to figure how to make so turning a light fixture or candle holder will open the door.

 

[Cesiumsponge]

if you put it in with wood, a sawzall can take it out in seconds.

A sawzall will peel open a 12ga sheet metal RSC as quick as wood if someone attacks your security measures with power tools. If budget is an issue, a reinforced room can stretch your storage space and give you a reasonably concealed, hardened storage space vs the same money spent on an entry level gun safe. A cheap gun safe gives an incredibly false sense of security.

There are free plans out there on reinforcing windowless rooms inside a home into storm shelters. Generally plywood walls with a sheet metal layer, doubling studs and headers, and a triple deadbolt steel door.

 

[Magoo]

Now you just need to figure how to make so turning a light fixture or candle holder will open the door.

Or better yet, figure out how to make the "doorknob" something no thief would bother with.

I've sent the OP some pics of my setup. It's the first time I've shared the design outside of close friends. I am quite interested in his thoughts.

 

[Ironhorse522]

Very cool, I like that a lot. I have nearly the samething in my kitchen except it's a hid away ironing board built in that we keep a old Winchester 1300 marine pump pistol grip in.
Just wondering is that pump a 12 gauge JC Higgins? I so I have the same shotgun