I bought a 1150 pound Heritage and am now getting set to bring it home. I have plenty of help and am able to back right up to my front porch where I can slide it right into the living room where it will stay. I plan to make a big ass ramp, supported by concrete foundation blocks to slide it in on. I am also going to reinforce the floor down in the basement under it with foundation jacks. I need to be able to slide it around to clean and dust behind it and stuff, it's going to sit on Pergo flooring. I was thinking some of those Magic Glides (round furniture glides) that claim to be rated for 2500 pounds would work so I could move it around on the floor to clean under it and behind it. Does any of this sound like a bad idea? I have been around long enough to see the best laid plans go to shit so if anybody has any pearls of wisdom, please help me out!!

Quoted: I need to be able to slide it around to clean and dust behind it and stuff....so I could move it around on the floor to clean under it and behind it.

What?

Seriously, it sounds like you have thought this through (moving it and supporting the floor structure from below).  Being able to move it around would not be my first choice.  May or may not want to bolt it down.

+1 on bolting it to either the floor or wall, best yet, do both

another +1 to putting a peice of plywood under it,

the bottom of most safes are not painted/coated as pretty as they other 5 sides,
putting a piece of plywood, or something similar, will help protect the floor or carpet under it, from any grit, paint, or whatever may have adhered to the underside during packaging and shipping,

as far as moving, I unloaded my liberty 35 (880lbs) from my truck myself, simply tipping and sliding it to the ground, go slow and use leverage,
and used a heavy dolly and a friend  to move it in the house,
did the same when i moved to a new house, 2 of us and a dolly walked the empty safe right out,  

they look big heavy and intimidating on purpose,
but a lever (or in this case a dolly,) will move the world,

You guys bring up alot of good points, just like I knew you would. The store sells alot of safes and will deliver it into the house for $150. I think that would be $150 well spent so I will have them do it. I'm also going to use 2 structural foundation jacks cribbed with 4x4's running perpendicular to the floor joists which should provide a great deal of support. I will somehow lag bolt it to the wall as well, I have a 2 year old daughter who tears the shit out of everything and if anybody could tip it over, it would be her and then I'd have no reason for even living, let alone collecting any more iron. Thanks everybody!!!!

I had my safe (also a 1150 lb Heritage) moved three times.  First, it was delivered by two guys that move gun safes all the time.  They used a combination of steel plates with 3/8"steel rods used as rollers - moved from the back to the front as they rolled it along.  The were slow & careful & did a great job.

Then I had it moved to a new house by a moving company. They showed up with 3 muscle bound ox's & they almost killed themselves trying to load it onto the truck.  They moved furniture like it was styrofoam, but lacked the technique for moving the safe.

Finally I had it moved from the garage to a finished basement.  I was happy to bring back the first guy & even paid him more than he asked to do the job.

My advise is to use someone who has experience moving heavy stuff.   I think you could do it, but be real careful.  If you move it yourself, let us know how it turns out.  Hopefully it will be a boring story.

Pay the $150...you could spend that much on BenGay if you don't. The silicone glides will work but if there is the tiniest piece of grit on the floor you will scratch the crap out of the Pergo. Pick up some carpet remnants and use them upside down for a pad. If you do not bolt to the floor (I would) you can lag to the wall, but definatly secure it. When you see how easy it is for someone who knows what they are doing to get it in, it's just as easy for someone else to get it out. Don't worry about the holes...if you move, they will be someone else's problem anyway. Also, wash the wheels of the safe dolly they use before you let it in the house.

The safes typically come strapped to a pallet, but I'm guessing you don't have access to a forklift or farm tractor with forks.

I helped a friend move one with nothing more than an old wooden rod and a digging bar.  It is amazing how easily it will move on a smooth surface with a rod of some sort.  That experience will convience you to bolt it down.  The safe will also be less stable with the door open, making bolting it an even better idea.


As you brace the floor consider what would happen in a fire.  I'm sure the safe is not rated to take the fall through the floor in a fire.

This is why two medium safes are better than one huge one.


Medium size safes can be dispersed around your house (harder for a burglar to find)
They fit in tighter and more discrete places (harder for a burglar to find)
Are still big enough they can't be carried away (bolting in down from the inside negates this anyway)
Are small enough they can be taken to your basement, basement = less attention to where your safe is when you have company over to your house
Don't require reinforced floors
Allow you to keep some guns in one safe and some in the other, not all you eggs are in one basket
And acutally have more volume/storage space total than one large safe = lets you have more guns

WTF are you worried about dust behind a safe anyway

Quoted: WTF are you worried about dust behind a safe anyway

Married to a

Quoted: Quoted: WTF are you worried about dust behind a safe anyway Married to a

Tell her to move it if she wants to dust behind it.  

There's a guy on here, www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=212681,  that used the pipe rolling method.

I agree with the statement above about metal rods to roll it on.  When I bought my safe, it came from the manufacturer, and the owner of the company handed me three steel rods to move it with.  Mine was probably around 1000 lbs, and my wife and I moved it (with some difficulty) off a truck, up the concrete walkway, and up two stairs using the rods, a come-along, and some 2x6s.  If you are going to move it yourself, buy a sheet of OSB and rip it in half.  Lay half down on your floor, and roll with the rods until you get near the edge, then leapfrog on the sheets until you get where you want.  Don't tip it and let it fall to the side or off the porch or you will be bummed.

I'd suggest steel pipe, rather than rods, when you roll it.  The pipe will take the load just fine and the larger diameter of pipe will roll over any small debris much easier than rod.  Plus it is lighter.  Anything scedule 40 and 1-2" in diameter will be fine.

I've got three steel pipes in my basement that have moved two milling machines with no problem at all.  If a 1500lb milling machine is no problem, a safe will be a cake walk.  At any given time the item is sitting on two pipes and when the third pipe comes out the back you move it to the front.  The biggest challenge is getting them out once you get the item where you want it.