Posted: 10/21/2006 4:03:10 PM EDT
|
I plan to purchase a gun safe next week and I'm looking for tips, tricks, etc. from those who have done it before. This is a small safe to go in the bedroom closet, but it still weighs 600 lbs. Any help would be greatly appreciated. |
Exactly.I used 3/4 pvc pipe,3 foot long, to move a 1100# safe around 5 corners into my master bedroom closet.I used 7 or 8 sections of pvc pipe and just kept feeding them under the safe as we rolled it along.It only took 2 people,very easy. |
|
I have moved mine either by myself or with only one other person, so *I* have learned some things the hard way: 1) Don't lift the SOB, just tilt it & move it. 2) Use a heavy steel ramp to get it from the back of the truck to inside the home. A ramp allows one to avoid steps, which are not safe-friendly!  3) Need I remind you to watch your toes & fingers??????  4) A cheap 2 dozen golf balls will allow you to roll it anywhere you want on carpet if you can't get a two-wheeler heavy enough for a safe. Good luck!!!!!!!!! |
|
I moved a 900 lb safe with a larger hand truck with big tires and one helper. I also moved a 3000lb safe with a pallet jack and 2x4s and some thin paneling on the carpet. There are two standard widths of pallet jack, if you have a narrow doorway. A 600lb safe can easily be moved on a piano dolly by a couple women. 
|
|
Think it through. The hardest part is stairs but if you COORDINATE YOUR EFFORTS, just like a tug-of-war, you can move a safe that size with a total of 3 decent sized guys. I've moved mine (~500lbs) by myself with a dolly across the floor, and by tipping slightly, by myself a few feet away. If put mine in my basement - which was a bear - but when I moved I had safe movers do it for me. The $300 or so I spent was worth every penny to my back. |
| The guys who did mine (1700 lb) used different diameters of PVC pipe to negotiate steps (only 2 - 5" steps about 3 feet apart, not stairs) and they were professionals. All they do is move safes for several different retailers. One older guy (sho gives directions and moves the PVC pipes) and 2 younger line-backer sized fellas who did the grunt work. Then they used sheets of 1/2" thick nylon "cutting board" material to slide the safe sideways into place before they bolted it to the slab with Hilti anchors. |
| My safe was 750 pounds. I moved it from my driveway up 4 concrete stairs and then down 7/8 stairs to the basement using a rental hand-truck (big one) and a total of 4 guys including myself. Three guys pushed from the bottom using their weight as I slowly walked it down. Be careful!!!!! Going up is easier than going down. |
| I put my safe (600#) in the basement by my self. It was very easy. Clear your path ahead of time and call your local rental outfits. I rented a motorized stair climbing dolly. You can move up to a 1200 # safe up or down stairs with it. On level ground, golf balls are the best.It is easier to go through doorways & around corners with the safe upright.Have a helper with a broom keep the balls "swept" underneath the safe. |
|
along with pipes for rolling etc - I personally use black gas pipe - 36" for big equipment all the time. Use a nice 36" pry bar for lifting onto pipes/corners etc. BUT for final setting into place - detial stuff - IF you are on a wood floor or a carpeted floor - GO OUT AND BUY A SET OF thsoe little jobbers called "MOVING MEN". you have senn them on infomercials or as seen on TV etc. They have this slick hard plastic bottom and a cushioned top. They are for moving furniture etc. I can easily move my 800# safe around the room all by muyself with the "movong men" and a prybar to get it on the pads. Good luck. |
|
I moved my 750 lbs. Safe into my basement using a refrigerator dolly and four guys. Lets just say that the pucker factor was high when we were easing it down the stairs. If I ever sell my house, one of the selling points is going to be a gun safe in the basement, because that sucker is never coming out! |