There are important things to know before buying a home safe. Probably the number one concern for most buyers is fire. The thickness of the door and walls is a crucial consideration, as is the burglary protection rating. Getting your measurements before you shop can help you determine where you can place the safe. You should also know how much the safe can hold in its interior. Safe walls can get thick, so you’ll want to measure the interior capacity as well.
Factors to consider before buying a home safe
When you’re shopping for a home safe, you should start by determining your budget. While home safes come in all shapes and sizes, they are often heavy and difficult to move, so you should be sure to choose one that will fit in the room you want it to occupy and will protect your valuables. Exterior measurements, such as height and width, can be easy to take, but make sure to take into account door frames and stairwells, as well.
Once you’ve established the budget, you should start thinking about the important and irreplaceable items that you’d like to keep safe. These items might be documents that are hard to replace, such as birth records. They might also include important legal papers such as a home insurance policy. If you’re thinking about buying a home safe for the first time, consider all of these things before purchasing one.
Fire is the #1 concern of most buyers
A safe’s ability to withstand fire is a major consideration. The UL 72 fire-proofing test requires the safe to sit for up to 68 hours in a high-temperature oven. Even with this stringent test, fire can still enter a safe and damage its contents. Despite its fireproofing measures, a safe can still be a fire hazard if it is not recovered quickly enough. Fortunately, many manufacturers have come up with solutions to this problem.
When purchasing a safe, the first thing to consider is its fire rating. Generally, a gun safe should have a fire rate of at least one hour. Safes with lower fire-resistance ratings do not survive home or business fires. In addition, they may cost more than a thousand dollars. Therefore, your budget may not allow you to purchase a safe with a one-hour fire rating. You may need to purchase a safe that meets your needs without sacrificing your budget.
The thickness of the door and walls
When purchasing a safe, you should pay attention to the thickness of the doors and walls. Most safes have minimum tensile and security resistance standards determined by the Underwriters Laboratory (UL), but some manufacturers don’t disclose the exact specifications. They don’t want to give away the exact thickness of their doors and walls to compete with them. In addition, manufacturers typically develop a special combination of materials that pass the UL’s inspection.
The thickness of the doors and walls of a safe is measured in a gauge, which is a number indicating how thick the steel is. Typically, thicker steel means a more sturdy safe. A single-panel steel safety is typically ten gauges or less. Some safes have ceramic insulation or concrete to reinforce lower gauge steel. The doors are a weak point in a safe, so look for one with steel plating on them.
Burglary protection rating
You should check the burglary protection rating before buying a safe. UL (Underwriters Laboratories) ratings indicate whether a safe is durable enough to withstand a sustained attack from a safecracker. This is because a safe with a TL-15 rating can resist attack for fifteen minutes. These safes feature a solid steel core and a fire-resistant outer shell to protect the contents inside from intruders.
Look for the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) mark. UL is an independent testing organization that evaluates products for quality and safety. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, materials, and systems every year and issues over 20 billion UL Marks. They have facilities in more than 68 countries and serve customers in more than one hundred countries. To find out if a safe is UL-rated, look for the UL logo.
Price
The cost of a safe can range from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars, depending on its features and operation. It is best to buy a larger safe that is burglar-proof. The exterior dimensions of a safe will have a significant impact on its cost, and many customers end up regretting purchasing too small a unit. In addition, a larger safe is more secure and can be equivalent to the size of a full-sized refrigerator.
The cost of a gun safe depends on a number of factors, including the size of the safe, its resistance to burglary and fire, its finish grade, and the type of lock. A small, entry-level safe will cost around $150, while a large safe will run over $1500. Keep in mind that a high-quality safe will be more durable and fireproof. However, the price does not mean that the quality is compromised.