How To Secure a Safe by Bolting It to the Floor
Owning a safe is an excellent way to protect your most valuable items. People have been using safes to thwart potential thieves for centuries. Considering how many burglaries are committed every minute, investing in a safe might be a good idea.
Safes aren't just an excellent deterrent from crime; they can also be an effective shield against the elements. A fire takes only seconds to spread and engulf your entire house. Employing the help of a safe could help you limit the damage by fireproofing your most valuable items.
No matter your reason for buying a safe, properly securing it is fundamental. Safes are by no means a light, easily removable item. Portable and smaller safes, while not without their benefits, are easier to transport than larger and heavier ones. Instead of thieves needing to crack your safe while trespassing, they could simply steal the safe and crack it at their leisure.
6 Steps To Secure a Safe
Securing a safe isn't a challenging endeavor. But it is going to take some planning and foresight. The very first thing is for you to determine what type of safe will meet your specific needs. You need to figure out the safe's purpose, location, size, security, organization, and style before you think about securing it.
Once you have selected the perfect safe, here are 6 steps you should follow to secure it properly:
- Find the Right Spot
- Measure and Test the Area
- Move the Safe Into Position
- Mark the Hole Locations
- Get Your Power Drill
- Insert and Secure the Bolts
Find the Right Spot
Location is the first and arguably most crucial step in the whole process. Securing your safe isn't the same as moving the nightstand in your bedroom. You'll be doing a lot of drilling that's not as simple to undo.
There are a few things that you'll need to consider when trying to find the right spot for your safe:
- The first thing to do is try to find an area where it's unlikely that a thief would think to look. Choosing a place that's a little more hidden might be best because thieves tend to target the master bedroom above all other rooms.
- The next thing to remember is that it needs to be a place where you can still have easy access to the safe. Not many thieves would think to check the bathroom sink in your basement, but it would be a considerable inconvenience to store your valuables there.
- The last thing to remember is that the environment of your safe matters. If you live in a warm climate, securing your safe in the attic would mean scorching temperatures in the summer. On the other hand, if you live in an area prone to flooding and secure your safe in the basement, you need to be careful about water damage to your safe.
Measure and Test the Area
Finding the right spot is probably going to take you a little bit of time. Unfortunately, you might not be done with your search just yet. You're going to need to perform a few measurements before you get started with securing your safe.
The most crucial step will be to measure the dimensions of your chosen location and determine if the spot is large enough. Most safes are very heavy, and it's not an easy task to move them around. You must be sure that your safe's length, width, and height will fit into your spot.
Another crucial factor is that the spot needs to be able to support the weight of the safe. You wouldn't hang a television on drywall and shouldn't secure a safe on thin flooring. For example, the floors in second stories and attics are often made of wood and might not be able to support a safe that weighs several hundred pounds. The best option for securing your safe is to find a spot with concrete flooring.
Move the Safe Into Position
Now it's time to place your safe in the spot that you've selected. Before you do anything, give it a test run and see if the door has enough room to open and fits appropriately. If your chosen spot doesn't work for whatever reason, you'll just have to move the safe and start over.
You'll also need to remove any flooring that could get in the way. For example, if you're securing your safe to a carpeted area, you'll need to remove the carpet first. It's best to remove the entire carpet from the place underneath the safe so that the safe can sit flush with the floor. If you have tile or laminate flooring, you don't need to worry about removing anything.
Mark the Hole Locations
Open up the door of the safe whenever it's in the proper location. There should be tiny mounting holes inside the safe. The exact number and place can vary depending on your chosen size. You might have to remove the plastic covering these holes to find them.
The Mycube safe, for example, has eight holes for bolting down (four holes in the back and four located on the bottom). The Firecube, on the other hand, has one anchor hole and bolt for securing the safe and a fireproof cover. The Wall safe has four holes in the back, while the Biocube In-drawer model possesses four holes along the bottom.
Some safes are big enough inside that you can comfortably fit a drill. The next few steps will be much easier if you have a big safe. If not, you'll need to insert a paint marker, pen, or pencil into the holes to mark their location on the floor. In this scenario, you would need to remove the safe from the area before continuing to the next step.
Get Your Power Drill
You'll need a power drill and a bit strong enough to create a hole in the floor. Wood and laminate floors are relatively easy to drill into, and a regular drill bit usually works fine. For concrete or tiled floors, you need to seek out a masonry drill bit as they're much more durable.
Be sure to use the most significant diameter drill bit that will fit through the mounting holes on the safe. Depending on where you buy your safe, it might come with a kit to help you bolt down the safe. If not, you need to make sure you buy the proper bolts. Remember that the bolts need to be the same size as the bit you use to create the mounting holes.
Another thing to remember is how deep of a hole you're drilling. The deeper the hole and long the bolt you use, the more secure your safe will be. Just remember that there is a maximum depth that you can drill on elevated floors. You don't want to drill a hole in your ceiling if you're securing a safe on the second floor.
Insert and Secure the Bolts
Make sure to clean up any dust or debris that might have accumulated when drilling your holes. It's a good idea to use a can of compressed air to blow into the holes and remove anything that might jeopardize the bolt. A quick once over with a vacuum should be enough to clear up everything. If you could not fit your drill inside the safe before, then now is the time to move the safe into its final position.
Insert your bolts through the holes in your safe and into the holes in the floor. You might encounter resistance, but a swift knock with a hammer should be enough to fit the bolt in snugly. Make sure to add a washer and nut on the top of each bolt. Use a wrench or pair of pliers to firmly turn the nut clockwise until it's tight and you can't turn it anymore.
Try to move the safe and test that the bolts were installed successfully. If you've appropriately secured it, the safe shouldn't move. Any movement means one or more of your bolts aren't sufficiently secured. Wiggle each bolt to determine which one is faulty and try to connect it properly once again.
Conclusion
Properly securing your safe isn't complicated, but it is invaluable. The extra peace of mind knowing that your safe is as secure as possible is well worth the time and effort it will take. The most challenging part of the process is finding the right location for your safe. After that, it's the same difficulty as hanging a picture on the wall.
It can be a little hassle to buy all the bolts, washers, and nuts on your own. Fortunately, every safe available at Mycube comes with a free bolt-down kit. You won't have to worry about the diameter, length, or type of the bolts. You'll need a drill and a wrench to secure your new safe properly.
Sources:
How to Remove Carpet in 5 Easy Steps | This Old House
The First Room Burglars Check for Valuables | Reader's Digest
