Floor Safes

A floor safe is a smart investment, and one that can not only safeguard your personal items from theft, but also from fire and water damage in case of flood, burst pipes or other water damage. A well-hidden safe offers the best possible protection for your valuables, because the majority of burglaries and thefts are done in hurried circumstances, and a thief does not have the time to search outside of the most common hiding places, let alone try to break into a high security safe.

In order for a safe to be effective, it needs to be both secure and well-disguised. There are three different types of safes; freestanding, wall safes or wall-mounted safes, and floor safes. Free standing safes are easily removed, and provide the least protection for your things. Wall safes hidden behind paintings and in closets are often adequate, but the safe that offers the best chance or remaining undiscovered is a floor safe. Floor safes are most commonly hidden under carpeting and furniture, and they can be placed in a wooden floor, they are most commonly, and most effectively bolted to a concrete floor, making it nearly impossible to remove, and offering only one possibility, its thickest most secure door, as a point of entry.

Installing a floor safe is most easily done at the time that a house is being built, as the concrete forms can be poured to the safe’s specifications. When this prefabricated nest for the safe is not a possibility, it is least expensive to purchase a round floor safe rather than a square one, as it is easier to excavate a round well than a square one. Another advantage to a floor safe is that the concrete that surrounds it is generally three inches thick, adding to the fire resistance of the safe itself and making it an excellent place to keep important personal papers and irreplaceable documents.

Many of these safes are also waterproof, but it is a good idea to line the concrete nest of the safe with tar paper and a plastic bag for additional security, and keep important things that could be water damaged in a watertight container within the safe. Floor safes come in a wide range of sizes and security ratings, with prices for home and office models varying from a few hundred dollars to well over a thousand dollars.

As the economy continues to suffer and more people are becoming desperate for money, the number of home invasions and burglaries is expected to increase. Because of this, it is a good idea to invest in an extra layer of protection for your home, whether a security and alarm system, a wall safe, or a floor safe. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

Most burglaries take place when a home’s residents are away and a burglar or thief feels most secure in entering undetected. Because of this, the most effective deterrent is often a well-marked security system; after all, why would a thief break into a home that has broadcast that it has a security system when he can easily go on to the house next door that does not utilize one. The other things that burglars look for is houses with easy points of entry.

In order to create a more daunting entrance to your home, use higher quality locks with a dead latch that resists entry using a credit card, and change the strike plate of your door latch from the one that it comes with to a high-security version. These are made to resist the most common method of breaking a door down, which is kicking it in; burglars rely upon the weakness of the switch plate to allow them to simply pop the door open with a single swift movement. If the door does not release after one or two kicks, they will probably move on. Similarly, create extra security by placing a simple wooden dowel in the track to prevent unwanted movement in the door, and do the same for windows, particularly those on the ground floor.  Interior and exterior lighting also act as deterrents.

Finally, should an intruder gain entry to your home, they are generally looking for a theft that entails a quick grab and run. The average burglar will rifle through drawers and on counters, but will not take the time to search for well-hidden security devices.  A floor safe or built-in shelf safe should be secured to the floor or into the wall so that it cannot be simply removed for later opening.  It should generally be located in an area outside of the master bedroom or bedroom closet, as that is the first area where thieves look for jewelry.  These safes are usually fire safe, and are therefore an excellent place to store important papers as well.