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The main reason people opt for residential and commercial safes is for safety and security. A safe is a secure box that enables you to keep your items in a protected location away from all kinds of threats.
Some of the most common items to keep in safes include cash, confidential documents, business contracts, sensitive computer data, and personal items.
The items you choose to keep in the safe depend on the type of the safe, such as a home or business safe, along with the level of security you desire.
Once you decide on the type of safe and the items you wish to include in it, you need to decide on the most suitable location for the safe.
Read on to find out more about home and office safes, why they are so important, where you should install them, and much more:
BENEFITS OF RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL SAFES
Security safes come in several different sizes and types and are there to make your life easier. Here are all the reasons why you must invest in one:
Protection against theft
Protection against theft is one of the first reasons that people can think of when they consider installing a safe. Regardless of how secure your area of residence or business is, there’s always the chance of getting burgled.
Your property could be targeted for a number of reasons and a safe may be what stands between burglars and your valuables.
Having a safe in your home can keep your money, valuable items, and important documents such as passports and bank statements protected. A business safe can protect your company’s valuable documents and items most important to your business.
Protection from fire and floods
Another benefit of installing safes is that you can keep your valuables protected from fire and water damage.
Fires can happen for a number of reasons. It could be faulty electrical wiring, food left on the stove, and other improper fire safety practices.
If a fire starts in your home or office, it can spread and tear through your property almost instantly. Similarly, heavy rainfall, hurricanes, or pipe bursts can cause your property to flood.
In these moments, sometimes you only have enough time to save yourself and other humans (or animal) lives. Thoughts about material things like valuables and documents are not usually your priority, which is why they are most likely to get damaged during such incidents and result in huge losses.
With a safe, you don’t have to worry about them because fire and water-resistant safes are made to withstand fire and water and keep the contents safe to a certain degree.
Lock away guns
Having guns in your possession is a huge responsibility and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Guns and weapons must never be lying around your house or business if it handles guns, and it is your responsibility to keep them securely locked away.
Gun safes, also referred to as gun cabinets, are special storage devices used to keep firearms and ammunition safe and protected from unauthorised use and access.
Under the UK Firearms Rules, all firearms and shotguns must be kept safe and secure. It is considered an offence to not comply with these conditions and is punishable by a fine and up to 6 months in prison.
Putting your guns locked away in a safe not only protects your guns but also protects you since you can make sure that they don’t end up in the wrong hands.
Peace of mind
Last but not least, residential and commercial safes offer you peace of mind as you can rest easy knowing that your valuables and important documents are safely stored away.
Even if a burglar breaks into your home or a disaster such as a fire or flood hits, your items can remain safe, secure, and undamaged.
This applies to both homeowners as well as businesses and the sense of security is probably the biggest reason you should invest in a safe.
WHERE SHOULD YOU INSTALL YOUR SAFE?
In order to maximise the safety and security benefits of having a safe on your property, it is very important that you choose a strategic location for it and have it installed properly.
For a home safe, it is advised to not place it in obvious places such as the master bedroom, living room, or bathroom as these are usually the first places that burglars look during a robbery.
For a business premises, there may not be many hidden places, but you can install them in such a way that they don’t become too apparent.
The point is to place the safes in an unexpected place where thieves would never think of looking and to install them in such a way that they are difficult to move and pry open.
The best location for your safe will depend mainly on the type of safe you have and the layout of your property.
To make a safe as secure as it can be, you may bolt it to the wall or floor with fasteners so that it is unable to move. You may also opt for a built-in safe and ensure complete invisibility by hiding it behind a piece of furniture or under the carpet.
Be careful before undertaking this work though and check if the wall is load-bearing and if there are no electrical cables, water drains, or gas pipes in the way.
Before we move forward, it is important to note that there is no perfect location to install your safe and that each location has its pros and cons. Let’s look at some of the best options:
Inside a wall
If you have a wall safe, you can easily embed it in a wall provided that the wall is thick enough. Wall safes are secret security compartments that are installed inside a wall to offer convenient protection for your belongings.
They are mostly small and can accommodate a few items such as papers, a bit of emergency cash, boxed jewellery, or loose jewels.
There are several advantages of installing a safe inside a wall, including concealment and accessibility. If hidden smartly behind a panting, picture frame, mirror, or piece of furniture, a wall safe is one of the best options.
The only drawback with wall safes is that you are limited to the space between your walls and your safe must be able to accommodate it. This results in limited storage space that may be maximised by sacrificing fireproofing and door thickness.
When building or renovating your home, you can keep this in mind and give your walls the required thickness.
Also, make sure to conceal them tactfully and not make them too obvious by hiding them behind picture frames that are askew, a single piece of art on a wall, or a mirror placed in a strange location.
Under the floor
Safes built under the floor, aka. underfloor safes, offer most of the same benefits as wall safes but can be much deeper and bigger with sturdier construction.
They are much easier to conceal using rugs, mats, and carpeting and are much more secure. One of the best places to install a safe, underground safes are difficult to cut out of the ground and therefore, provide a higher level of security compared to other locations.
They require professional installation but guarantee maximum security in return. You need to keep in mind though that they cannot be installed in all types of properties and run the risk of damaging the structural integrity of the building if done incorrectly.
They are not as accessible since they require you to bend down or lie on the floor to access the contents and they are not the perfect choice for areas prone to flooding since the safe will fill up with water. Unless an underfloor safe is manufactured as waterproof, there is no reliable recommended way to waterproof it.
Anchored to the wall or floor
If fitting a safe inside a wall or under the floor is not an option for you, you can anchor it instead. A safe bolted to a concrete wall will prevent it from being moved and will provide a lot more in terms of security compared to an easily moveable safe.
You can place it on a shelf so that it can provide easy access since you won’t have to bend down to use it. Alternatively, you can put it inside a piece of furniture against a wall so that not only will it provide the required height for easy access but will also be hidden when the door of the furniture is closed.
If your safe is big and your wall is not a main concrete wall, you can anchor your safe to the floor instead. It will be properly secured and easily accessible, although you will have to lean down to open the door.
Hiding it can be a bit tricky and you can use it as a shelf and put something on top of it to conceal it as much as you can.
CHOOSING THE BEST LOCATION FOR YOUR SAFE
When choosing the best location for your safe, you need to keep in mind that there is no foolproof location for every property. Every home and business premises is very different, and what might work for one may not work for the other.
There are several factors to keep in mind such as the structure of the property, the level and type of risk, the contents you need to safeguard, the type of safe, and much more.
There are certain things you can keep in mind for figuring out safe places to install your safe to protect valuables from burglary, fire, and floods:
Protection from burglary
When theft and burglary protection is the top priority, you need to look for a place that is in a low-traffic area of the property or one that is difficult to find by a burglar. It should be out of plain view and anchored to the structure of the property so that it is impossible to move.
In the case of a residential property, the master bedroom is usually the first place that burglars look, which is why it shouldn’t be an option for safe installation.
Consider putting it in a coat closet, guest bedroom closet, or children’s room, and place it in a way that it blends in with the rest of the furniture.
Protection from fire
If fire protection is your biggest concern, the best place to install a safe would be at the corner where two outside walls meet. Not only does it provide a good level of protection but also the required support for a heavy safe.
Invest in a fire safe, also called a fire cabinet, which is designed to protect digital and magnetic media, paper, and other valuable items from smoke and heat damage caused by fire.
The insides of fire safes are designed in a way to keep them below the temperature at which these items will combust. They are usually constructed with an insulated-walled body with a special fire-resistant composite that releases steam when heated.
Make sure you install a fire detection system in your home and office and place the safe close to a fire suppressant system such as a sprinkler.
Protection from flooding
In order to protect your valuables from being damaged by water, you need to ensure that the safe is installed above ground level. Keeping that in mind, underfloor safes are not recommended for flood protection.
If your property floods frequently or is at risk of flooding, you may construct a concrete or steel base to support the safe, which can be anchored to the ground and keep the safe at least 2 feet off the floor.
Fire safes usually come with a certain level of water resistance, but if you want to be extra careful, we suggest taking precautionary measures and storing your valuables in a waterproof container or casing.
TIPS FOR INSTALLING A SAFE
Here are a few important things to keep in mind when installing a safe in your home or office:
- Avoid installing electronic safes in a humid room as it may cause the lock to eventually rust and cause you a lot of inconvenience.
- Install a fire-resistant safe on the first floor as there may be comparatively less heat there in the event of a fire.
- Don’t make it obvious when you bring your safe home or to your office and make sure to safely dispose of any cardboard or packaging as it may attract burglars.
- Choose the best locking mechanism for your safe as it is what stands between your valuables and burglars.
- Have your safe professionally installed so that you can rest assured that the best location has been chosen and the installation has been carried out with skill and finesse.
CONTACT CALDER SECURITY
We are members of the Master Locksmith Association (MLA) and are familiar with a wide range of safes, cash boxes, and strong boxes. Our SSAIB contractors can help you assess your security needs and recommend a suitable safe perfect for your requirements.
We offer professional safe installation services to not only prevent theft and fire damage but also ensure that the safe is secured in place properly, cannot be removed, and is not in danger of falling or damaging anything.
We also offer safe opening services since misplacing the keys, forgetting the code, or failure of the safe itself can all lead to the contents of the safe being inaccessible.
By design, of course, safes are very difficult to access in these circumstances and you need a professional safe engineer to do it for you. Our Calder specialists can open most safes and can restore them to full working order afterwards.
When you need to relocate or remove your safe entirely, you can count on us to carry out the job with ease. In addition to that, our professional safe repair and maintenance services ensure that your safes are always in optimal health providing you with the best security.
Contact us here or call us on 0800 612 9799 to talk to our security professionals right away for the best safes for your property along with recommendations on where to install them!
Photo by Moja Msanii on Unsplash