If you are a person who is recently purchased a gun safe or you are about to do so, figuring out where to install the safe in your home is important. This is a product that is going to be securing your firearms, but it also is a product that is holding a valuable piece in your arsenal to protect you and your family. Thus, finding the proper location for it in your home is essential.
You may already have the perfect location chosen. You have figured out exactly where you wanted the safe from the moment you purchased, but there are those out there who were unsure of exactly what would be the best placement. If this sounds like you, here are some factors to consider. Your safe is a valuable tool in protecting your firearms. Paying attention to these factors when choosing a location will help you to find the right spot to put your safe.
Size & Construction
This is probably the most important factor of all. The size of your safe is going to determine whether you can install it in the wall or floor, if you can located on an upper floor in your home, or if you need to secure it to your home at all. For example, its really hard to move a 500 pounds safe. So, its really doesn’t need to be secured to a wall. It is the size and construction of the safes that make them such. It’s already difficult enough to move, so you may not even need to take the additional precaution of fastening it to the floor. Size also has to do with how much space you may have available for the safe.
Accessibility
This is another important factor. If you are a person who wants to ensure that you can easily get to your safe to secure your firearms in an emergency, then the location is essential. You want to find a place that gives you the accessibility when you need it. If you are not concerned about people breaking into your home, and this is not as much of an issue. However, if the safety of you and your family might be in jeopardy, then you want a safe position in a spot that makes it easy to organize and access when needed.
Hidden or Not
If you have a smaller sized safe, you may find that it is easy for you to hide in your closet behind some sweaters or under your bed. There are products that are even made to slide under your bed, acting very much like a drawer. If you are purchasing a larger sized safe that allows you to store several firearms it once, you are going to find that hiding this particular kind of safe is a bit more challenging. Because of how large they are, the options to hide it in your home become limited. Not impossible, but a little more challenging.
Flooding and Fire
If you live in an area where flooding or fires are common, then this is another factor to consider. This is especially true when you are in an area where flooding is a frequent occurrence. If your home is on a flood plane, then putting your safe in the basement or even on the first floor of your home may not be the best option. The same could be true with fires. If you live in an area where fires are common, then you want to choose a location in your home where there is the least possibility of extensive fire damage occurring to the safe. You also want to choose a location where your safe would not be easily visible should a fire occur.
Keeping Your Kids Away
Unless you are using a biometric safe that requires a fingerprint for access, your kids may learn the combination, find the key, or figure out your keypad code. Disaster could loom. This is why you want to choose a location where they may have no idea that the safe is there. Make it difficult for them to reach, find, or gain access to.
7 Best Places to Put Your Gun Safe
Now that you have some idea of factors to consider in determining where to put your safe, the next logical place to turn is to examine places in your home that would make for the ideal location to place your safe. Here are a few to consider.
#1 In a Wall of Your Home
There are safes that are specifically designed to be wall units or to be installed in the floor. If you purchase a wall safe, then what you want to look for is a position in your home where it would be ideal to install your safe. Considering the details that have been provided to you, you wanted to be accessible, hidden and safe from flooding or fire.
Four wall safes, many like the idea of placing it in their bedroom in the closet or behind a picture, or in a home office, the living room, or other high traffic areas. These safes are made to be hidden “in plain sight” so to speak. This means you want them in places where you spend a lot of your time, so you can easily get to it in an emergency.
#2 In the Floor of Your Bed room
You may be concerned about trying to hide your safe. There are a number of people who don’t want to let anyone know that they even have a safe. This is why they purchase hidden floor safe. While the basement may be the perfect floor to position the safe, but doesn’t necessarily mean it’s accessible. You might find that if you have a smaller safe in terms of depth that you can actually position the safe between any floor. That still makes it your bedroom, the living room, or in your den.
While many safes are waterproof, it doesn’t mean they are waterproof forever. They are guaranteed to protect against water damage for a day or two at most, but that may not be enough time for you. During severe storms and flooding, your home may be underwater for quite some time, meaning you need to put your safe in a location where it is unlikely to be damaged by water.
#3 Under Your Bed
There are a number of great saves that slide easily under your bed. Some even come on wheels, acting very much like a drawer. Sliding and under your bed where you would have quick access to it in an emergency could make for a perfect location.
Most people realize that a person is most likely to break into their home during the time that they are sleeping. What that means is that your safe should be in a location that is close to where you will be sleeping. This could be your closet, under your bed, or attached to a cabinet or nightstand. It could even be in a wall or floor safe if you are able to position them in your bedroom.
#4 In Your Closet
Your closet is another great spot. No matter what size safe you have, your closet often has the greatest camouflage available to you – your clothes. If you have a long dresses, coats, pants that you hang, or other long garments, you can hide any type of safe inside your bedroom closet. Even large safes can easily be camouflaged behind blankets, jackets, and the like.
If you are looking to install the safe in your closet, providing a secure and hidden location, you are likely to find that some options are not workable for you. They are simply too large to fit inside your closet space, meaning you need to look at other options four safes or other locations in your home to position your safe.
#5 In a Cabinet
Most people purchase a gun safe because they want to ensure that their firearms are safe theft. However, this is not the only group of people you have to worry yourself with. Your children will get into things like guns if they know they are there. It’s their curiosity that leads them right to it. What that means is that you need to choose a location for your safe that takes it more challenging for them to get to, especially if they are smaller.
You can find gun safes that are actually part of a cabinet, and these are a good purchase if you want to use an object that is common in any home, making it a discrete spot for your gun safe. However, many gun safes are small enough to slide inside a cabinet like a china hutch, dresser, or other similar type of cabinet.
#6 Under a Table
If you want to be even more discrete with your handgun, there are several safes that attached to a nightstand that hold a single firearm. Just as easily as they attached to your nightstand, they can be placed under a coffee table or even under your kitchen table. You can have several of these firearms hidden in places around your home so that you can reach them in an instant no matter where you are in your house. No one will even know they’re there because of how small these little safes are.
#7 In Your Basement
If your home is gutted by a fire and your safe is installed in an upstairs bedroom and the wall, you may find that your safe is completely visible to everybody walking by. Because the wood is already brittle from the fire, taking your safe would be a snap. If you live in a location where fires are common, you may want to look at putting your safe in an enclosure where your valuables are protected by cement and the safe itself. This requires choosing places in your home where you can install a cement enclosure.
If you are purchasing a larger sized safe, one where you intend to place several long rifles, you may want to consider your basement or the other lowest level floor of your home. Choose a place where it is out of the way, but yet gives you the ability to get to it easily. Why it is a good idea to install this safe in your lowest floor goes beyond weight. You also want a spot where you can secure the safe to the floor, adding an additional deterrent from theft. Many of these safes come with an installation package that allows you to secure the safe to the floor or to a wall.
