Posted: 12/11/2015 4:58:47 PM EDT
So I need to buy a new safe, but every time I get ready to buy one I end up spending the money on another gun. I just moved to the country and have 3 neighbors who are all freedom loving gun owners. We all look out for each others homes, and I have yet to see anyone around here who didnt belong. So my wife has given me a closet for my stuff. Its about 4ft x 5 ft. I'm thinking of putting an outside door on the closet and changing the door to opening out. Remove the door knob and just put a deadbolt. Inside having something like this http://www.gallowtech.com/ . I have looked at the safe room vrs safe pic threads for years Was just wondering what the collective thought I should do?
I couldn't figure out how to do a poll |
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It would take an amateur thief 5 mins to enter your home and pry a closet door with a deadbolt as your only defense.
either 1) buy a safe door for the closet or 2) buy a safe and put it in your closet. if you elect to get a safe door for the closet, panel the inside of the closet with SS wire / Mesh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrAgypzaVDU |
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Measure twice.
Measure the door going into the closet (actual clear opening width) and then measure all dimensions of the safe. Many house closets will have only a 24" wide door (23" actual clear opening) while few safes, worth having, are smaller than 24" deep, when you take into account the lock/handle mechanism. Almost every safe I have ever seen has the door hinged on the right hand side. Also take this into consideration when picking a location. |
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what the collective thought I should do? http://www.sturdysafe.com/products/vault-door 
in all seriousness, if you buy a pre-hung commercial steel door, and mount it properly, and support the jamb at the lockset, it will be a bitch to get behind. inside the closet, i would put a layer of 1/2 cement board (shower stall backer) over the drywall, this will increase fire resistance and make it harder to cut into the closet. for more security, tile and grout the inside of the closet with cheap ceramic or porcelain tiles. no sawzall blade lasts 3 seconds pressed against ceramic tile. ar-jedi |
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Quoted: It would take an amateur thief 5 mins to enter your home and pry a closet door with a deadbolt as your only defense. either 1) buy a safe door for the closet or 2) buy a safe and put it in your closet. if you elect to get a safe door for the closet, panel the inside of the closet with SS wire / Mesh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrAgypzaVDU |
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Walls are made of dry wall and studs 16 inches on center. Kick in the drywall and walk into the closet would take very little time and require absolutely not tools.
A regular deadlock in a regular wall can be kicked in, requiring no tools. If you mount the door to swing out, the hinges are on the outside. Then the pin can be taken off the hinges and the door opened. At least a safe takes some tools and some time to open, with the right tools it takes little time for the regular Residential Security Cabinet we call gun safes, but at least it takes tools. A closet can be opened in very little time with no tools. Put a safe in the closet. |
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As a thief, seeing a closet door with a deadbolt might as well be a lit up, flashing neon sign.
Take it you're mostly concerned with theft as opposed to fire protection? I'm kicking myself when I built the house for not using the basement area underneath my front porch as a walk-in vault. Would have been the perfect totally enclosed concrete box measuring 8'x12'. |
Given the info you provided, I would recommend that you upgrade the door jamb (with a product like strikemaster) install a solid wood / steel door with dead bolt and then put a nice safe in the closet 
Installing an alarm on the door would be a very wise move. Reinforcement of the closet should add a few minutes of protection against most smash and grab thieves. I wouldn't count on it for anything else. Real physical security takes time, money and significant effort to install. To stop a determined burglar from entering a room you will need walls constructed out of reinforced concrete, steel plate or layers of plywood and steel mesh over tightly spaced studs. At the minimum you will also need a commercial multi point locking steel door with the frame to support it. Most commercial doors simply aren't up to the task. With that in mind, I would view any reinforcement of the closet as an extra layer of protection over the safe. You have to develop a threat model, budget and proceed from there. Are you trying to prevent a child from accessing a pistol or are you attempting to keep out burglars with abrasive saws? Pry bars are very common burglary tools. Do you keep an axe on the property? Most doors and many safes don't hold up to axe attack. How about an oxy acetylene torch? |
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Walls are made of dry wall and studs 16 inches on center. Kick in the drywall and walk into the closet would take very little time and require absolutely not tools. All walls aren't necessarily built the same A regular deadlock in a regular wall can be kicked in, requiring no tools. Just adding 3" screws to the strike can make a big difference. In a steel door with a steel frame 2 evenly spaced dead bolts can be pretty tough. You are definitely advertising that there is something special in there though If you mount the door to swing out, the hinges are on the outside. Then the pin can be taken off the hinges and the door opened. Not all hinges have removable pins At least a safe takes some tools and some time to open, with the right tools it takes little time for the regular Residential Security Cabinet we call gun safes, but at least it takes tools. A closet can be opened in very little time with no tools. Put a safe in the closet. |
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As a thief, seeing a closet door with a deadbolt might as well be a lit up, flashing neon sign. Take it you're mostly concerned with theft as opposed to fire protection? I'm kicking myself when I built the house for not using the basement area underneath my front porch as a walk-in vault. Would have been the perfect totally enclosed concrete box measuring 8'x12'. Does the basement actually extend under the porch? If so have you considered closing the area off with a reinfourced / core filled concrete block wall? Dry stacking block, adding rebar, filling with concrete mix and soaking the outside with a garden hose is pretty easy. |
| My wifes grandfather modified a spare bedroom into a gun safe. After a break in he replaced the door and jam with an a all steel set that had three dead bolts. Top middle and bottom of the door. The interior of the room was lined with 16 gauge steel sheets then with two more layers of drywall. Makes the room fairly burglar and fire resistant. |
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My wifes grandfather modified a spare bedroom into a gun safe. After a break in he replaced the door and jam with an a all steel set that had three dead bolts. Top middle and bottom of the door. The interior of the room was lined with 16 gauge steel sheets then with two more layers of drywall. Makes the room fairly burglar and fire resistant. Pretty easy to just kick through the drywall though. |
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I know it sucks but buy the safe. You neighbor gun buddies will have other buddies who will spread the word even if they don't mean too. People talk. They are good investment anyway, just for the fire protection. I keep more than guns in mine, other stuff I don't want to lose if there is a fire goes in there also. |
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Yes, a closet is a fine place for a safe. My safe is inside the closet in my spare bedroom turned office. Only downside is the closet door opens left and the safe opens right so it's a bit of a squeeze. But there's room on either side to stack 420 round (30 cal) ammo cans. |
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Measure twice. cut once Measure the door going into the closet (actual clear opening width) and then measure all dimensions of the safe. Many house closets will have only a 24" wide door (23" actual clear opening) while few safes, worth having, are smaller than 24" deep, when you take into account the lock/handle mechanism. Almost every safe I have ever seen has the door hinged on the right hand side. Also take this into consideration when picking a location. |
| To be honest I'm not to worried about theft. Just want to keep the kids out. I have outside lights, alarm system, and 6 camera's around the house. I do still need to get them set up to wifi so I can see them on my phone. Me and my wife work opposite of each other so one of is always here. I'm really just trying to organize my collection after moving. I out grew my old safe about 5 or 6 years ago. |
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Sure, you can harden a room as opposed to buying a safe. Make sure they can't just punch through the drywall or kick the door down or take it out with a crowbar or sledgehammer. A safe would be cheaper. But a gun room gives you more space. Ive heard of people taking the drywall down and installing heavy gauge chicken fencing between studs and then re-drywalling... |
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Quoted: Pretty easy to just kick through the drywall though. Quoted: Quoted: My wifes grandfather modified a spare bedroom into a gun safe. After a break in he replaced the door and jam with an a all steel set that had three dead bolts. Top middle and bottom of the door. The interior of the room was lined with 16 gauge steel sheets then with two more layers of drywall. Makes the room fairly burglar and fire resistant. Pretty easy to just kick through the drywall though. The steel, not so much. |
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Quoted: Ive heard of people taking the drywall down and installing heavy gauge chicken fencing between studs and then re-drywalling... Quoted: Quoted: Sure, you can harden a room as opposed to buying a safe. Make sure they can't just punch through the drywall or kick the door down or take it out with a crowbar or sledgehammer. A safe would be cheaper. But a gun room gives you more space. Ive heard of people taking the drywall down and installing heavy gauge chicken fencing between studs and then re-drywalling... I think I'd just put something up on the existing drywall and then hang another layer of drywall. |
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Quoted: To be honest I'm not to worried about theft. Just want to keep the kids out. I have outside lights, alarm system, and 6 camera's around the house. I do still need to get them set up to wifi so I can see them on my phone. Me and my wife work opposite of each other so one of is always here. I'm really just trying to organize my collection after moving. I out grew my old safe about 5 or 6 years ago. If you're on a tight budget, are okay with just letting insurance pay for theft, and just want to keep kids out, then I'd think a dead-bolted closet door should work fine, as long as they can't take the hinge pins out. Just for a little added something, I would go ahead and make sure the door strike is beefy and well-secured, and get a metal door. That wouldn't cost that much, and it would be a heck of a lot more secure than a regular closet door. You might could get a used one from a Habitat for Humanity store or similar and paint it. |
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It would take an amateur thief 5 mins to enter your home and pry a closet door with a deadbolt as your only defense. either 1) buy a safe door for the closet or 2) buy a safe and put it in your closet. if you elect to get a safe door for the closet, panel the inside of the closet with SS wire / Mesh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrAgypzaVDU or kick a hole through the dry wall. J- |
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If you're on a tight budget, are okay with just letting insurance pay for theft, and just want to keep kids out, then I'd think a dead-bolted closet door should work fine, as long as they can't take the hinge pins out. Just for a little added something, I would go ahead and make sure the door strike is beefy and well-secured, and get a metal door. That wouldn't cost that much, and it would be a heck of a lot more secure than a regular closet door. You might could get a used one from a Habitat for Humanity store or similar and paint it. Quoted:
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To be honest I'm not to worried about theft. Just want to keep the kids out. I have outside lights, alarm system, and 6 camera's around the house. I do still need to get them set up to wifi so I can see them on my phone. Me and my wife work opposite of each other so one of is always here. I'm really just trying to organize my collection after moving. I out grew my old safe about 5 or 6 years ago. If you're on a tight budget, are okay with just letting insurance pay for theft, and just want to keep kids out, then I'd think a dead-bolted closet door should work fine, as long as they can't take the hinge pins out. Just for a little added something, I would go ahead and make sure the door strike is beefy and well-secured, and get a metal door. That wouldn't cost that much, and it would be a heck of a lot more secure than a regular closet door. You might could get a used one from a Habitat for Humanity store or similar and paint it. Many exterior doors and most commercial doors (the common options in steel) will be wider than his closet door. Interior and exterior doors are often different thicknesses anyway. It's okay, all of that is an excuse to remove the existing door / door frame and replace it with a propper commercial steel door / door frame. And then purchase a safe
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And I do know logically everyone is right about the safe, but I sooooo love that tremors basement, or the scene in The Big Hit where he keeps his guns in his garage. I will have to just get another safe before long, but just like the idea of a room. Get both
The safe goes in the secure room. |
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I build homes and take closets and line them with 3/4 plywood before we drywall them and put solid core exterior doors that swing out like your talking about, Makes a really solid safe room for folks for a really inexpensive price. Couple hundred dollar upgrade. Wont have a fire rating but will definitely protect against the normal smash amd grab burglar. |