Posted: 12/16/2008 3:04:41 AM EDT
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The wife and I were walking through Sam's Club the other day, and I noticed a decent looking Liberty Centurion safe on one of their shelves. But it got me to wondering, how the hell is someone supposed to get that thing home and setup? Are there "safe delivery/setup" businesses in the Waukesha area?
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I would second that, hire a moving company or similar.
I just moved and my little #330-350lb safe was enough for the college dudes to move. A tall lanky dude with lots of leverage and strength on the dolly is essential. Also, steps can crack, etc if you go too large/heavy. Good luck. My safe moving days are behind me. That is work and people can get hurt quite easily. So hire someone reliable and hold the doors for them, clear a path, etc. Depending on your house, it can go smoothly. The more stairs you have the hairier it is. Good luck. |
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I bought my safe 8 or so years ago at GM. In the neighborhood of 550 pounds. Three of us put it in my basement, me and two guys I work with. I look back on that now and realize that it was just plain stupid.
Hire a moving company. It's what they do, plus they're bonded/insured in the event something goes wrong or somebody gets hurt. |
| i had a company called always moving they are in the phone book yellow pages they moved my 1100lbs. safe from the basement of the old house to the basement of the new house for $300 3 guys and a dolly they did exceptional work no scratches dents or damage to safe or house. would hire them again in a heartbeat |
When I bought my safe, I had the place I bought if from deliver and set it up. I forget what they charged, but I believe it was around $250-$300 and that was coming from Wautoma to Waukesha. I would never attempt to move it as it weighs 2100 lbs. empty . They brought 4 dudes with them and an electric stair climbing dolly, and they fought it the whole time they were bringing it in the house. It didn't slide on the carpet for shit it pretty much mushed the carpet and pad flat so the couple inches that it was slid ended up stretching the carpet. For the big top of the lines safes, I would leave moving them to professionals. The smaller lighter ones can be moved with a few guys and a dolly without much trouble.
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I'm in the safe repair business. I used to move them but don't anymore. But I can give some advice to anyone attempting moving a safe.
Whether on a dolly or not, moving a heavy enough safe across wall-to-wall carpeting usually leads to trouble. You will likely create a "wave" in the carpet ahead of the safe that will require a carpet guy to re-stretch the whole room. Lay 1/2" plywood sheets over the carpet to wheel over. One 4X8 sheet cut in half lenghtwise is all you need. You just pick up the piece behind you and set it in front. Never ever move a safe with the door locked. It may not open when you're done. There are "booby-trap" type devices called "re-lockers" that could be triggered if you are too rough in the move. Some relockers are made of glass. Shatter one with the door locked and it's "drill time" for someone like me. To be on the safe side (no pun intended) run a strip of duct tape down the door edge holding all the locking bolts fully retracted. Then you can "close" the door, and either tie or tape it shut. After moving the safe, test the lock & door bolt function about 10 times WITH THE DOOR OPEN. If it works 10 times in a row without malfunction, you're good. On some safes, if it has external hinges, it may be easier to remove the door... and move two pieces instead of one. The door will just lift right up off the hinge pins, but putting one back on can be tricky, and require just as many (if not more) helpers to put it back on as needed to move it. I made a special jack for this procedure because it was just too hard to do without it. But on a smaller safe (smaller than gun safe size) it's not too difficult, and removing the door (the heaviest of a safe's 6 sides) can make the job easier... especially if stairs are in your path. |
DAMN good advice! Thank you for your insight 
Quoted:
I'm in the safe repair business. I used to move them but don't anymore. But I can give some advice to anyone attempting moving a safe. Whether on a dolly or not, moving a heavy enough safe across wall-to-wall carpeting usually leads to trouble. You will likely create a "wave" in the carpet ahead of the safe that will require a carpet guy to re-stretch the whole room. Lay 1/2" plywood sheets over the carpet to wheel over. One 4X8 sheet cut in half lenghtwise is all you need. You just pick up the piece behind you and set it in front. Never ever move a safe with the door locked. It may not open when you're done. There are "booby-trap" type devices called "re-lockers" that could be triggered if you are too rough in the move. Some relockers are made of glass. Shatter one with the door locked and it's "drill time" for someone like me. To be on the safe side (no pun intended) run a strip of duct tape down the door edge holding all the locking bolts fully retracted. Then you can "close" the door, and either tie or tape it shut. After moving the safe, test the lock & door bolt function about 10 times WITH THE DOOR OPEN. If it works 10 times in a row without malfunction, you're good. On some safes, if it has external hinges, it may be easier to remove the door... and move two pieces instead of one. The door will just lift right up off the hinge pins, but putting one back on can be tricky, and require just as many (if not more) helpers to put it back on as needed to move it. I made a special jack for this procedure because it was just too hard to do without it. But on a smaller safe (smaller than gun safe size) it's not too difficult, and removing the door (the heaviest of a safe's 6 sides) can make the job easier... especially if stairs are in your path. |