DYI fire lining an old safe.
I have an old Liberty Franklyn 16 safe I want to use as overflow, however it did not come with a fire liner. I emailed and called Liberty and they do not make a drop in liner kit for it and it is out of production. As it stands it has no fire protection other than what the painted steel shell can provide if any. My idea was to line the inside with a fire board type product from Home Depot / Lowes. If I do this, how thick (layers) should I make it? I know I will have to trim down the existing shelves and / or make new ones. Not a big deal since I was going to recarpet the inside and make custom shelving. Any help or suggestions would be great.
I would try to find something inline with
this stuff
Many gun safe manufacturers are just using fire rated gypsum board. You can buy it at the hardware store, and it's fairly inexpensive.
I think I will be using the fire rated concrete board and the fire resistant adhesive caulk to keep it in place. I'll further cover it inside with a fire resistant carpet, trim and install the factory shelves. I was thinking about the exterior as well. I could cover it in fire board as well but I don't know if layering it on the outside would work.
If you have the space, build a fire resistant closet around it.
Use drywall for the walls and ceiling. Fire rating details can be found on the Gypsum Association website. The tests are listed by UL. It's simple - generally use a sheet of Type X on each side for a 1-hour rating.
Use a fire rated door and frame.
Something like this can also provide good concealment.
