Posted: 6/4/2005 5:11:04 PM EDT
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ive heard good things about virginia safe and lock. does anyone recommend any other safe companies up here around here in NoVa. help a brotha out 
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Steve does it all. He installed mine by himself for $200. If I ever started an MG collection, I'd want nothing less than 3/16" steel and probably an internal liner as well to slow a theif way down. The Ft Knox executive series is the lowest unit that has that thickness. If I could get 1/4" or better I would but they don't offer it, just the additional internal liner. Do a serch on safe threads, someone named a company in NC that did custom safes and they were pretty hefty, but I don't know about delivery for those. And regardless of where it's installed in the house, bolt it down. |
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that thread didn't really help me much. I need a safe, not too big. but a good one for my class III toys coming up. I need a company to buy it from, then they haul it here, install it, etc. begining to end. where do i go? ________________________________________________________________________________ Steve's Safes is still the way to go. You will have problems installing a truely "safe" safe in an appt. |
First are you on the 1st floor with nothing under you or what? I'd be concerned with weight. The smallest gun safe they have is almost 500lbs. Otherwise, if you think you can get away with the carpet, it's your security deposit. 
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what about virginia safe and lock? they are near me and offer a Liberty Centurion for 630 (dunno bout install yet) and it's 400 lbs ........ liberty centurion |
technically we are on the second floor. there is a storage room underneath us but when i talked to the manager about how safe the floors are he said that there is a concrete floor between each floor. make sense?? well i told him i was asking because i was planning to put a safe in there and he mentioned that he has a gun safe in his apt. thats about 500lbs or so and he's never had a problem. although i dont know what floor he is on either. |
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Most Apt. buildings have sufficent slab thikness to support a safe. A typical book case (loaded) will weigh as much as a loaded safe. And your typical HDTV/Surround sound/stereo setup collectively weighs as much as a small safe (or close enough). People in townhomes, SFH, are pretty much restricted to putting gun safes in the basement on the concrete slab (also helps keep the safe from falling two/three stories if there is a fire). Baldinos is a good source. Federal Lock and Safe is another source and will sometimes have used safes for sale. I've seen Va. Lock and Safe at the Dulles GS. They do have good prices. Nevis |
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well i found a friend with a truck so im thinking of going down to Virginia Safe and Lock and picking up the Centurion. it will satisfy my needs for a while and when i get a home of my own i can upgrade at any time. should have it by the end of the week...cant wait. what you guys think? |
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I called them up today. I got a quote (estimate) of about 1200 for them to bring me and install a liberty colonial The only difference between this and centurion is two sides of bolts instead of one..... BUT I'm looking for 4 sides of bolts (as VA safes and lock told me - with 4 sides, their gonna need a whole weekend a some torches to get in, with one side or even two, its more of an afternoon.) and 10 guage walls. truth be told, I'll probably go for something a little better in teh end. probably either a ft knox defender or a liberty lincoln - I'm gonna be storing over 35K worth of guns in it, so I might as well put 1800 into a safe instead of 1200! hopefully steve will be my savior. IT seems that ft knox's defender is a good couple hundred bucks cheaper than the equivalent lincoln. and VA safes doesn't carry ft knox. |
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well we went to Virginia Safe and Lock this morning and looked around. the Liberty Centurion was looking pretty good but i noticed a Colonial that was a little bit more but and was 10% off since it was last years model. well i got that and will have it delivered. the price was about $1200...not too shabby. The Colonial has 10 bolts, 5 on both sides. weighs 620lbs and holds 25 guns. The Centurion has 4 bolts on one side. weighs 400lbs and holds 18 guns. i think we did good with this purchase and i have a feeling this will last us for quite a few years. |
They offered me a 2004 colonial for 1200, I told them I'd get back to them cause I'm more interested in 4 sides of bolts and 10 guage walls. But that was my strong #2 choice. Did they have a bunch of the 2004 models or just 
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they actually have 2 more in stock of the Colonial 30"x60.5"x22", 620 lbs, Bolt Coverage: 2 Sides, Bolt Count: 10, Guns: 25, Textured Semi Gloss $1069.00 that is from their website. id suggest going down there to look around so you can see the prices for yourself. i just called and reserved 1 of the Colonial safes. price was 1069, delivery and installation is 200. they have another that is 10% off but i dont remember what it was. i think it was like 1200 or so. |
Don't stress about the bolts. 3 side coverage is more than enough. By comparison, the safe door is probably the worst way to get in these days unless it's got external hinges and only one side worth of bolts. The heavier guage walls will do you better over 4 sided bolts. |
that's where I'm headed. Defender. It's better priced than the Liberty equivalent (lincoln) |
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I'm going to take the contrarian's position. . . . Do you really need the most expensive safe? My understanding is that one can easily rent a cutting tool that will cut through any of these commercial safes. It's not a question about getting into a safe, it's a question about how committed one is about getting into your safe. Unless they can pick the lock on the front, which takes skill, they're likely just going to cut their way through the side. Much less skill involved there, but a lot of time is needed. My approach to protecting my collection? I've got the bottom-of-the-line Centurion in the basement. My dogs sleep in the same room as the safe. The room is hooked up to the house alarm system (some alarm companies will wire the safe to the alarm system too). The house, in addition to having an alarm system, has motion sensitive lights all the way around it. I'm armed. And I have alarm company signs on the house. A determined thief could get into my house and steal my firearms, but it would take time. And the money I didn't spend on the safe paid for the additional layers of security that have the salutory effect of protecting more than just my guns. |
I completely agree with you. A safe is only one piece of a home security setup. Believe me, I stressed back and forth about what to get. Especially since I don't have that much at the moment. It came down to the reputation Ft. Knox has and the lengths they have gone through to replace safes (stories from Steve) even when it was the owner's direct fault of screwing up, their full coverage of the safe including lifetime on the lock, the slightly thicker steel (still not as thick as it needs to be for a true burglary rating) and the higher fire rating all for a competative price. Yeah, I spent 1k more than I wanted to, but I'm very pleased with what I have. But that's just me. I could have my head way up my ass too. (just don't tell me, I have a fragile world view.  )
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If I'm not mistaken, a good rental cutting torch will get through any of the commercial gun safes. My preference is to put the extra money on the alarm system and motion detecting lights and dogs, all of which protect more than just my firearms. YMMV. |
the safe will have to do for now. once i get back to Texas and get my house situation finished i will upgrade everything else. but if i start with a decent safe, something i can easily take with me when i move, i can get everything else once i get the money and the place to do it. the frown upon that at the apartments 
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