8 Reasons to Install a Home Safe

Nothing is more important than safety and security in your home. Homeowners have numerous options for protective measures. Digital door cameras, secure building materials, and the proper lockdown of entry points are just a few ways for people to do so. When it comes time to ensure that the most valuable items stored in the home must be secured, a home safe is the way to go.

Safes are essential for protecting important documents, emergency supplies, and personal firearms. They are the best way to prevent these items from damage during a natural disaster or theft during a burglary. There are many reasons to install a home safe. Here are some of the most important ones.

1. Valuable Possessions are Impossible to Replace

Most, if not all, of your items, are probably stored in your home. Many people have valuable property such as jewelry, items of sentimental value, rare antiques, or even cold hard cash. Installing a home safe means you will have a proper place to store these items, keeping them hidden and locked away where you know they will be sitting when the time comes to use them.

2. Protect Treasured Property from Theft

Perhaps the most obvious reason to install a safe is to protect certain items from being taken from your house in the case of a burglary or even a breach of trust from a friend or loved one. No one wants to feel the violation of privacy that comes with stolen possessions that a safe can help prevent.

3. Protect Important Documents from Water or Fire Damage

Most home safes on the market are water and fireproof, and every homeowner must ensure this when purchasing one. Essential documents like property deeds, birth certificates, and wills can cause significant stress and legal issues if lost in an accident. Keeping them in a safe will eliminate that risk.

4. Ensure the Safety of your Family

Families with children know that kids have the potential to explore and get into things they aren’t supposed to. With a home safe, parents can help mitigate the risk of the children causing harm to themselves by keeping dangerous and toxic items locked away and inaccessible to small hands. Firearms and medications are two of the most common things that should always be locked away from kids. A pistol vault is highly recommended for families with kids who have firearms in the house.

5. Gain Peace of Mind when Away from Home

When going away on a trip, your home safe will provide an extra layer of protection for your home. Knowing that extra precautions have been taken to hide the most important items will allow you to spend less time worrying and more time relaxing and enjoying your vacation.

6. Have a Ready-Made Emergency Kit

Suppose someone in the home is injured or there is a power outage due to an emergency. In that case, it is essential to access emergency items quickly and efficiently. Keeping a first aid kit and an emergency kit locked up in your home safe will help you know precisely where to go when springing into action during an unexpected situation.

7. Save Money on Insurance

Some home insurance vendors will charge less on a policy if a safe is installed in a home. After all, they want to save money as much as anyone, and homes with extra protection are less likely to claim losses on the property. It’s an added perk to a safe’s list of benefits.

8. The Right Size and Shape are Available for any Space

Some people may think that a safe will not fit within their home or that there is no convenient place to install a safe in their house. This is not true. Many shapes, sizes, and styles of home safes are made for all kinds of specific purposes. There’s bound to be one that can fit the unique needs of any home.

OPTIONS FOR WHERE TO INSTALL YOUR SAFE:

A. Inside of a Wall

A wall safe may be a good option if space is available behind a specific wall in the home. Hiding a safe within the walls is convenient and can stay out of the way until the homeowner needs access. The only downside is that a wall safe cannot be moved easily, so a safe of this type may require extra construction.

B. Down in the Basement 

Keeping your safe beneath your house may be the best choice for people who have this space available. It’s out of the way, typically not visible through windows, and will be secure in the event of a bad storm that may damage the upper parts of the house. You may even choose to bolt your safe to the basement floor as a permanent placement.

C. On Floors that are Above the First Floor

For houses in flood zones, the house’s upper floors may be better places to keep safes. While most safes are indeed waterproof, the residents of the home will want to be able to access the safe easily if the lower floors have taken on water. Putting it upstairs helps to mitigate this issue.

D. Hidden in an Inconspicuous Place

Some people choose to keep safes out of sight completely. They can do this by hiding their safe in a closet, underneath a stairwell, or even as part of another piece of furniture, such as a couch or a bed. There are many clever ways to hide a safe within a home. Being creative with it could increase the safety of your valuable possessions.

TIPS TO MOVE A GUN SAFE BY YOURSELF

Suppose you have a safe specifically for firearms. In that case, there may come a time when you must move the safe to a new location in your home or perhaps even move to a new house altogether. The question of whether or not you can move a gun safe by yourself may be more complicated than you think.

Most basic gun safes weigh between 250 and 600 pounds. Higher-end products can creep to over 1,000! That’s an extreme amount of weight for a typical person to move, especially working alone. Moving your gun safe may be a job better left to professionals, but if you must do the moving yourself, read on for the best tips to get the job done correctly and safely.

Tip 1: Procure the Proper Equipment for Moving a Safe

Moving a safe isn’t just a matter of lifting it into a truck. Having all of the proper equipment can prevent injury and property damage. Accessing a sturdy hand truck with wheels capable of taking lots of weight, moving blankets, shoes with closed-toes, gloves, and a standard toolbox for unscrewing parts and pieces is necessary. Additional equipment may be needed depending on the space and the specific job.

Tip 2: Get Enough Help

Depending on the weight of your gun safe, determine how many others you will need as a backup. It may be necessary to get the help of four or more strong friends to help do the job. Don’t try to move a very heavy safe with just one or two people because that could lead to injury.

Tip 3: Know the Plan

Take a look at all the surroundings before acting. You’ll have to know the dimensions of the gun safe being moved, any furniture or other possessions that might be in the way, the doorways or stairwells the safe will be moved through, and the route it will move through the house. Knowing this in advance will allow you to prepare the space properly, possibly moving doors off hinges and shifting furniture around.

Tip 4: Prepare the Safe for Moving

Before a safe can be moved, it should be emptied, the shelving should be removed, and the door should be shut and locked. This is to prevent damage to any property and the safe itself. No one wants to encounter surprise damage situations with the door or shelves while in transit.

Tip 5: Take Every Last Precaution for Safety

Be sure to use the moving blankets to protect floors, furniture, and people from the hard edges of the safe. Communicate with your partners before making any moves. Use the straps that typically come on a hand cart to secure the safe as tightly as possible.

If the safe is moving up or down a stairwell, be sure that the people using the hand cart are on top and others are on the bottom doing the spotting work. Don’t take shortcuts; remember that it’s ok to take it slow as long as everyone stays safe.

Conclusion:

A home safe can be one of the most rewarding things anyone can do to protect their home and family from financial loss and the most critical items in the house. It is the easiest way to safely store dangerous possessions, protect vulnerable documents from damage, and hide valuables from intruders.

When installing safes in the home, all homeowners should research which type of safe is suitable for their home. They will also need to know how to take steps to utilize it in the most beneficial ways. Ultimately, installing a home safe can have many benefits to the homeowner.