Why You Should Have a Safe in Your Home

For centuries, people have used safes to keep their valuables protected.

How long have they been around? Well, one of the oldest safes to have been found was in the tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses II – circa 13^th century BC.

It was a wooden safe with a locking mechanism quite like the one used today for pin tumbler locks. Considering that this was an invention dating back to 3000+ years, it was a pretty marvellous feat.

Of course, as time evolved, so did security safes. It is believed that the first modern-style safe was designed by British engineer William Marr.

During the middle of the 19^th century, the United Kingdom pulled ahead in the production of safes and came up with many interesting features.

The security safes that we have today are state-of-the-art, protecting all of your valuables. Over the years, they’ve become more common with almost every home having one.

For those who still haven’t invested in one, read on to find out why you should keep a safe at home, what types of home safes there are, and all there is to know about them!

WHY SHOULD YOU HAVE A SAFE IN YOUR HOME?

With crimes such as burglaries ever-increasing, it is only viable to keep your property and its assets protected, starting with putting all your valuables in a secure place, preferably a home safe.

It can be very unnerving to think that all your valuables are sitting out in the open, vulnerable to being burgled. This is especially true for when you are away at work or go for a longer period such as on a vacation.

Having all your important and valued items stowed away in a home safe is a great way to ensure that if trespassers enter your home, your valuables will be protected in a secure safe.

Here are all the reasons why investing in a home safe is a great idea:

• Security

Theft protection and security are the top reasons for having a professionally installed home safe.

In domestic burglaries, burglars usually hit the most common places looking for valuables such as the bedroom drawers, closet, and under the mattress. Therefore, the best idea is to steer clear of these hiding spots and use the safe at home instead.

The great thing about these safes is that they’re very easy to conceal and look like regular storage units to not attract unwanted attention. They can also be fixed to the floor, under the floor, to a wall, or inside a cupboard or wardrobe.

Fixed safes are almost impossible to move and trying to pry them open requires a lot of time, something that burglars don’t have since they’re in a hurry.

• Versatility

There is a safe for everyone and everything.

With so many types and varieties to choose from, home safes can be used to store anything ranging from money, jewellery, important documents, valuable items, as well as dangerous items such as guns and medicines that should be kept away from children.

They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with some being disaster-resistant as well. You may choose the one most suited to your home.

Also, there are various locking mechanisms available such as the traditional key-and-lock, mechanical combination locks, electronic combination locks, biometric locks, time locks, and time delay combination locks.

• Fire protection

Fire is a real hazard that has caused substantial damage to residential and commercial properties over the years, therefore, it is always good to be prepared for such threats.

According to statistics, the Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) attended 182,825 fire-related incidents in the previous year.

When a fire erupts, nothing is safe from its wrath. The good news is that there are fire-resistant home safes, ensuring all your valuables survive and remain protected and unburnt.

Every safe has a fire rating attached to it, and the higher the rating, the higher the level of protection it provides.

• Flood protection

In addition to being fire-resistant, some home safes also protect from water to some extent.

If your home is prone to flooding, this is something you must consider. Water entering the safes can ruin the valuables inside, especially important paper documents and things susceptible to rust.

Extra care must be taken, however, since they aren’t waterproof and only provide some level of resistance to withstand water.

• Lower insurance premiums

It pays off to be responsible.

As is with all safety and security measures such as burglar alarms, fire alarms, and CCTV monitoring, having a home safe results in some insurance companies offering lower premiums.

Owning a home safe not only protects your valuables but also helps you save a few quid.

However, just owning a home safe doesn’t make you eligible for lower premiums, it must carry an appropriate rating and must be properly installed so that it cannot be easily removed.

• Peace of mind

Knowing that your valuables are safe and protected offers peace of mind like no other.

This is probably the number one benefit of owning a home safe, making the investment well worth it.

With a professionally installed home safe, you don’t have to stress yourself about where to keep your valuables so that they’re safe from theft, fire, and floods. It’s a one-stop solution providing you with versatile secure storage options for all your prized possessions.

TYPES OF HOME SAFES

Home safes come in a variety of types, shapes, and sizes, and knowing which one is best for your home is crucial before you make a purchase.

Here are the different types of home safes that you may consider for protecting your valuables:

• Wall safes

Wall safes are installed into the walls of the home and are usually small to easily fit in the limited space. They are connected to the studs in the wall, fixing them in position and making them difficult to move.

They can be fully concealed behind a wall painting, bookshelf, or sliding panel, which makes them a great choice for hiding your valuables. If the burglars can’t find the safe, they can’t try to steal it.

They are typically used to store cash, important documents, and other small valuables.

• Floor safes

Floor safes, as the name suggests, are embedded into the floor of the house’s concrete basement, making them extremely sturdy and difficult to remove by burglars.

They work great for hiding valuables and keep them protected against burglaries and fires. Like wall safes, floor safes can also be fully concealed, like under a carpet or a piece of furniture.

The drawbacks are that the positioning of the safe might be inconvenient to use and if your home is susceptible to flooding, floor safes often fill up with water. Since they’re usually installed in the foundation of the house, the resistance against floods is very low.

• Free-standing safes

These are the most common type and relatively cheaper than wall and floor safes, ranging from very small ones to bulkier ones weighing up to 2 tons.

Most free-standing safes offer protection from fire and the heavier ones prove to be quite an effective deterrent for burglars because of their weight. To ensure that they can’t be moved at all, they come with fixings so that they can be bolted to the floor.

They’re not that easy to conceal, though, with some clever thought, they can be.

• Fire-resistant safes

Fire-resistant safes are built for the intent of keeping the valuables in them safe from fires. They can withstand the high heat and flames, along with being an effective deterrent for burglars.

All safes come with a fire rating, and the higher the rating is, the greater the level of protection, which is typically judged by the degrees of heat and the number of hours the safe can withstand. If your budget allows it, you must go for the longest protection.

Some of the most common contents of fire-resistant safes are important documents that are difficult to replace and valuables such as jewellery.

• Gun safes

These are a unique type of home safe made specifically for storing licenced guns and other weapons.

They come in different shapes and sizes and can easily accommodate all kinds of guns including long ones such as rifles.

Gun safes are primarily used to prevent gun access to children, unauthorized persons, and burglars, and may include additional features such as fire and flood protection, and biometric locking mechanism.

• Diversion safes

We’ve all seen these too many times in movies. A character proceeds to get a random book from their bookshelf, opens it, and voila, it’s a box with valuables in it. That’s what a diversion safe is.

Diversion safes are disguised as ordinary household objects and are usually purposefully small to not attract the attention of burglars raiding your home.

They are suitable for any kind of stuff that fits in it. It can be money, important keys, jewellery, or even a small gun.

THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE BUYING A HOME SAFE

Now that you know all about the different types of home safes, here are a few things to consider before buying one:

• Safe size

Before you make a decision, you need to ask yourself what you need the safe for, where you want it to be, and what do you plan on keeping in it. This will help you determine the size of the safe suited to your requirements.

Listing down all the items you want to keep in a safe is a great place to start. Will it contain only cash or jewellery, or bigger items such as guns?

It’ll be much easier to decide on the perfect size for your home safe once you have a clear list of the contents in front of you.

Pro tip: Think ahead. Buy a safe slightly bigger than your initial requirement. You are bound to find additional items to store in there over time.

• Safe rating

Safes are rated for things such as cash, fire, and water resistance. The higher the rating, the more the protection. This is a crucial deciding factor for when you choose a safe for your home.

A cash rating tells you how much cash or valuables you can keep in the safe that the insurance company will cover you for.

For example, a £2,000 cash-rated safe will allow you to store up to £2,000 in cash or up to £20,000 in valuables. The level of cover for valuables is ten times that of cash.

A fire and water rating refers to the heat and flood intensity the safe can withstand, and for how long. A minimum rating for at least one hour is recommended to keep the contents of your safe protected.

Pro tip: For extra protection from water damage, it is a good idea to keep your valuables in a waterproof bag before storing them in the safe.

• Locking mechanism

Home safes come with a range of locking mechanisms such as traditional key locks, digital locks, combination locks, and biometric ones.

Which one you choose depends entirely on your preference. Some people like the traditional key-and-lock system, while others prefer using pin codes or biometrics to gain access.

One thing to consider here is that if you lose your safe keys, replacing them can be quite costly and sometimes might even require to have the locks on the safe changed, which can be a bit expensive.

You won’t have to worry about losing your keys with a digital lock. Plus, all of us are already accustomed to using ATM’s and remembering our pin codes. The safe combination shouldn’t be such a hassle either. Digital locks also make changing the access code very easy.

Pro tip: If you are prone to losing your keys, steer clear of the traditional key-and-lock, and go instead with the digital locks for your home safe.

• Cost

The cost is something you need to carefully consider. After all, your safe needs to fit in your budget too.

There are a lot of options available for all kinds of budgets. Quite obviously, the more you pay, the more you get. A lower price means the absence of some great and necessary features.

Just make sure you consider this as an investment rather than a cost. After all, it’s just one initial payment and you’re good to go for a long time, except for a few routine maintenance checks. Also, you can’t put a price on the benefits and peace of mind that safes provide to homeowners.

Pro tip: You pay for what you get. Don’t sacrifice too much because of the cost. Look at it as a long-term one-time investment.

WHAT CAN YOU STORE IN A HOME SAFE?

Here’s a list of the top things you should consider keeping in a home safe:

• Cash

It is never a good idea to keep a lot of cash on hand. It must either be deposited safely in the bank or kept in a safe if you wish to use it regularly.

• Jewellery

Precious jewels must always be kept locked away since they’re one of the most common items most burglars are after. This includes all valuables such as jewellery, gold coins, watches, and other expensive items you own.

• Guns

Burglars love to steal guns and use them for carrying out crimes. Locking them away is a great idea, also because of children in the house. You wouldn’t want a kid to get their hands on a gun thinking it’s a toy. Be responsible.

• Medicines

Addiction to painkillers and tranquilisers is becoming a big issue and burglars are increasingly targeting homes for prescription medication. These medicines must be kept locked away from such thieves and also out of reach of children.

• Important documents

Burglars can be after your data! It is said that data is now the most valuable commodity in the world and is used to target you for marketing or fraud, to steal your identity, and to hack into your accounts and images.

Documents such as passports, birth certificates, bank statements, and credit card statements must all be locked away in a secure safe for theft protection and to keep them safe from disasters such as fires and floods.

• Items with sentimental value

Valuables aren’t just expensive items. They can also be anything with sentimental value. They can be something as trivial as concert tickets. Keeping such items in a secure home safe is a good idea to always have them with you, ensuring they’re never lost or ruined.

WHERE CAN YOU GET A HOME SAFE?

At Calder Security, we have qualified and experienced safe engineers who can install, repair, remove and relocate, and open a range of home safes.

We are members of the Master Locksmith Association (MLA) and are familiar with a wide variety of safes, cash boxes, and strong boxes.

We can assist you in assessing your requirements and recommend the best type of home safe for your needs. Contact us right away!