The journey of having a safe is not over when you buy it, installation is the next hard part. Installation needs several things to be in order for the process to be smooth. The installation part sometimes might need you to call in a professional to help with the installation process. This is especially for the large safes. Also, consider gathering all the tools necessary to help with the installation of the gun safe. Check out the manufacturer guide on how to install the safe to get ideas on the tools needed for the whole process to be smooth.
If you are ready with the tools, it is time to start the installation by following the steps below:
Contents
1. Find a good spot
It is time to get yourself a nice spot for installing the safe. Finding a good spot depends on things like security, convenience, accessibility, space available among many other factors that make a great spot. The good spot will also vary with the room you choose for installing the safe. For a bedroom, you have the option of choosing to keep it under the bed or sometimes the favorite place for everyone, which is the closet. The living room will have some sweet spots to keep your safe like behind family photos, or other unsuspecting places around the room.
2. Move the safe into position
Having a great safe location is only good if you can actually get the safe there. This is when you have a large safe that has to be installed. Trying to move the safe on your own sometimes might lead to injuries and damage to the safe when dropped. This is when you have to hire professionals to help with the installation. As much it might cost you a few hundred dollars to get the job done, it sure saves you money in the end.
- To move the heavy safe into position will need muscle and tools to make it happen. The cheapest way to getting accessing tools is by renting rather than buying. Unless you are looking to start a safe installation business, it is when you will find it cheaper to buy.
- You need to clear the path the safe will have to pass through before it gets to its destination. This might mean moving furniture, pets, or any other thing in its path.
- The heavy safes are likely to cause damage to the ceramic or wood floor, so take measures to protect it. Lay some sheets of plywood that would cushion the floor from having to face the weight of the safe when moving it in.
- If the safe has to go up several stairs, then you really need professional help and more people to aid with moving the safe up the stairs.
3. Floor to support a gun safe
It is always important that you get to prepare support for your new safe. It does not matter whether it is a small safe or a large one, they all need support so that they can stay in place for long. Depending on the weight of the safe, it might determine where it will be installed. It is not recommended to install a safe over 1000lbs on an upper floor. It is the reason you get to see the heavy bank safes mostly in the basement.
- If you still have to install the heavy safe on an upper floor, consider having a structural engineer check out your floor strength first. Having a safe weighing over 1000lbs in one place for a long time puts a lot of stress on one point of the safe. If the engineer finds your floor strong enough to install the safe, then it should be easy to do so.
- The flooring part helps also to create a hard floor where you can bolt down your safe. The same cannot be said if you have wooden floor or carpets. They will not be able to hold the mounting bolts easily. The concrete floor also helps to prevent easy access to the safe by pry tools.
4. Anchor and install the gun safe
Now that you have prepared the place to install the gun safe, the rest should come together quite easily. Most safe manufacturers will have predrilled the safes to make it easy for mounting. It is common to see sometimes people drill the safe the wrong way and end up destroying the core. Simply use the already drilled holes to mount the safe. The manufacturer will always sell the safe with the mounting hardware such as bolts and nuts. Use the manufacturer bolts when installing the safe into position.
5. Electrical connections
The electrical connections are important to deliver power to the safe. Electrical power is important to help you install things like dehumidifiers and light around the safe. The light is needed because you might be hiding the same in a place where lighting will be poor. Having a light bulb inside or the outside should help with easily accessing the safe contents.
The dehumidifiers are needed to help in regulating the humidity inside the safe. This is especially when the safe is installed in places where there is no climate regulation such as the basements. Having too much humidity in the safe can cause damage to your guns eventually.
6. Install a CCTV or Alarm around the gun safe
As part of additional security, it would be great if you can install CCTV cameras or an alarm around the gun safe. The CCTV footage can be great if you have to monitor who might want to access your safe without authorization. You can choose to install IP cameras that mean you can watch over your safe even when miles away from your computer.
The alarm is supposed to alert you about having an intruder near the safe when you are not around. When the alarm goes off, you can always take the next measures that can lead to catching the burglar in the house.
Conclusion
Installing your gun safe is something that should be taken seriously because it will be in the same position for a long time. Sometimes it will make more sense to have a professional to help with the whole installation process. Professionals know what is needed to ensure that the process is done well and faster.
No problem if you decide to do the installation yourself. It might take the time to fully complete the installation for the first time, but it is also a great way to know more about the process. Some safes will be easy to install, so simply follow the procedures are given out by the manufacturer to install.
Leave a Reply