Gun Safe Question / Advice

[Chief_Eddie]

Ok, So have a question in regards to Gun Safe. I have a neighbor who is giving away, a Homeland Gun Safe. It is huge, about 1000# big safe. I would love to put in my home, BUT... I am concerned about the weight on the floor and since we live in a Piling house, actually getting it into the house. With that said My thought was to possibly put it downstairs. Our lower part of the elevated home is all enclosed and partially finished, but NOT temp controlled. I am concerned about the humid / hot summers and what it will do to my guns.
Anyone ever do this, put it down stairs in this type of area? What's a good product to help with the humidity?
My other thought is that I have a temp controlled storage unit I was thinking of placing it in.. I think that is he better option. Looking for your thoughts and ideas. I would like to have a safe in the house, but something smaller.
And finally does anyone know anything about this brand of safe?

Thanks in advance
Chief Eddie

 

[stage20]

I would guess you're looking at a starting price of 5 or 600 to move it.
Gilmore moving and storage would be my first call. @TeeBabin recently had a large safe moved, but no stairs.

As far as the load, you'd need to have the plans or have a competent contractor or an engineer to approve to be 100%.

 

[TeeBabin]

Ok, So have a question in regards to Gun Safe. I have a neighbor who is giving away, a Homeland Gun Safe. It is huge, about 1000# big safe. I would love to put in my home, BUT... I am concerned about the weight on the floor and since we live in a Piling house, actually getting it into the house. With that said My thought was to possibly put it downstairs. Our lower part of the elevated home is all enclosed and partially finished, but NOT temp controlled. I am concerned about the humid / hot summers and what it will do to my guns.
Anyone ever do this, put it down stairs in this type of area? What's a good product to help with the humidity?
My other thought is that I have a temp controlled storage unit I was thinking of placing it in.. I think that is he better option. Looking for your thoughts and ideas. I would like to have a safe in the house, but something smaller.
And finally does anyone know anything about this brand of safe?

Thanks in advance
Chief Eddie

Goldenrods for the humidity. I am putting two in the 1000lbs safe I just had moved from a neighbors house to my garage.

 

[Chief_Eddie]

I would guess you're looking at a starting price of 5 or 600 to move it.
Gilmore moving and storage would be my first call. @TeeBabin recently had a large safe moved, but no stairs.

As far as the load, you'd need to have the plans or have a competent contractor or an engineer to approve to be 100%.

I have pretty much made the decision to not move it into the house, just to much weight and then the stair factor.

 

[Jhunter]

Don’t try it without A/C. When it rains 3” everyday in July you want be able to keep the humidity out. It will be full of mold. The temp controlled storage would work.

 

[stage20]

@wvatboy may be able to comment.
I would think a dehumidifier and you'd be fine. I have never had my safes in a garage, but in my previous career, I have seen plenty of safes in garages. Never asked about rust, but always thought about it.

Only advice I could give is have it elevated. I would not set the safe directly on the concrete. Not only will it promote condensate on the inside, it will rust the bottom of the safe over time.

 

[Welldoya]

Put it on a heavy duty pallet.
I moved my own safe but it weighs 850 lbs, not 1,000.
I used an appliance dolly and backed it up to a utility trailer with the tailgate off.
I had quilts on the floor (and edges) of the trailer. I laid it down on its back.
I had two friends help me but could have gotten by with one.
On some safes the door is removable which would lighten the load by a couple hundred lbs.
In lieu of a dolly, I have heard of people rolling the safe on PVC pipe or golf balls.
Use a bowl or 2 of Damp Rid inside the safe and a properly sized dehumidifier in the room.
Dehumidifiers are terrible about going out. The last 3 I bought went out 13 months after I bought them. The warranty is 12 months. Correction, one of them went out after 11 months and the company replaced it.
The latest 2 I bought, I got at Sam’s Club and bought the $20 3 year extended warranty.
You didn’t say if the neighbors have stairs. Stairs are the problem.
Also, if you live in a piling house I assume that you are on the water. If the safe is downstairs, have a plan in case of storms.

 

[RHINOWSO]

In lieu of a dolly, I have heard of people rolling the safe on PVC pipe or golf balls.

Wooden dowel rods work, get about 5-6 and you just have someone moving them back to the front as they come out the back. That way you always have 3-4 under the safe as you roll it. You can even DITY if moving over very level / hard ground, just at a slower pace.

I'll just say have a plan and have a couple of people to help. Think it through beforehand and go slow. Know when you might have to bail on a heavy safe and let it fall instead of crushing someone's foot / hand / etc.

 

[FLT]

Most houses are built for 600 pounds on a 3 foot by 3 foot area. So it’s likely to heavy and would cause the floor to sag over time. As stage 20 said don’t put it on bare concrete, I used a horse stall mat from tractor supply. It’s 3/4 of an inch thick and very well made I drilled through it into the concrete and used anchors that were three inches into the concrete and sealed up the cutouts in the safe with sealant after I tightened the bolts. I use a golden rod , the 18 inch size .I and haven’t had any problems in the 6 years or so it’s been since I put it in.

 

[woodsy85]

I was safe shopping in the fall. Looked at a nice Paul Revere by Liberty from tractor supply, on sale a few hundred bucks off normal price. Weight about 800 pounds. They don’t deliver and had no suggestions. Called 4 moving companies in Tampa area to quote delivery 2.5 miles from store to home, up concrete ramp into first floor, no stairs, easy move. 3 wouldn’t touch it, said single item weight limit 300-400 pounds. The only company that would do it quoted $600 I think.

Ended up buying a gently used safe at half retail and $200 delivery (30+ miles) from a locksmith in Lakeland. They were in and out and well less than an hour including bolting down.

Suggest calling locksmith for safe moving instead of moving company.

Have had safes in barns and garages for years. Golden rod and wipe the exterior down with gun lube a couple times a year, no problem. Like someone says above, put it on a pallet or up on blocks or something. If a pallet get one of those solid black plastic ones, not regular cheap wood pallet.


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[stage20]

Most houses are built for 600 pounds on a 3 foot by 3 foot area. So it’s likely to heavy and would cause the floor to sag over time. As stage 20 said don’t put it on bare concrete, I used a horse stall mat from tractor supply. It’s 3/4 of an inch thick and very well made I drilled through it into the concrete and used anchors that were three inches into the concrete and sealed up the cutouts in the safe with sealant after I tightened the bolts. I use a golden rod , the 18 inch size .I and haven’t had any problems in the 6 years or so it’s been since I put it in.

Horse mat is perfect. Great idea.....you're giving me ideas for other projects.

 

[Jhunter]

I know I have mentioned this in other theads but I will share it again. You can rent a micro skid steer with pallet forks for 4 hours for around $250. Something like the Toro Dingo TX1000. These are rated for 1000lbs.

 

[Snake-Eyes]

@Jester896

He should have some insights for you about the logistics and possible hazards.


Depending on your stairs, they may not be strong enough to handle the weight of the safe in-transit.

Storing it in Florida humidity is like planning to go out on the lake in a boat with a leak large enough to require a constantly-running pump to bail the water out: sure, it might be good enough, but it’s a risk.

If you store it in a temp-controlled storage unit, you should have the humidity problem squared away, but you should take a real hard look at what is insured by that storage company. Firearms might not be covered. Heck, they may even have restricitions on ammunition storage, etc. If something happened and you made a claim, you might be surprised at the response.

Also, if you put a 1000lb safe in a publicly-viewable storage unit, that’s asking for thieving visitors later, since no one lives there to be the deterrent that most “residential containers” need to keep them secure. Move it during low traffic times, and hide it so that when the storage unit door is open, people walking by can’t see it. Probably need to reconsider go to/from all the time with rifle cases, etc, for all of the same reasons…

 

[woodsy85]

@Jester896
Firearms might not be covered. Heck, they may even have restricitions on ammunition storage, etc. If something happened and you made a claim, you might be surprised at the response.

^this exactly. With the possible exception of mom & pop operations, every major storage company I am aware of expressly prohibits firearms & ammunition from being stored. It’s in the fine print of the contract.

It’s also an issue when they’re found in abandoned/foreclosed units when cleaned out. The storage company can sell them through an FFL after being cleared by LE. I learned this after an acquaintance from church whom I did not know well, with no family, was tragically killed in an accident. We had talked about guns before and he mentioned a local storage facility where he had quite a collection. After he died the pastor and I agreed for me to try to purchase the unit at auction when the time came as we knew there was no family to pay the bill. The deal was I get to keep a few for my troubles, the rest we sell or raffle for the church. I kept tabs on it and several months later saw the auction notice. It was done via an online auction and the first thing in big bold letters at the top was “if you’re here for the guns, they’re gone, stop calling us!” and gave the number to a gun shop where they could be found apparently that guy had ran his mouth to a quite a few people about what was in there.


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[kendive]

I would guess you're looking at a starting price of 5 or 600 to move it.
Gilmore moving and storage would be my first call. @TeeBabin recently had a large safe moved, but no stairs.

As far as the load, you'd need to have the plans or have a competent contractor or an engineer to approve to

 

[Welldoya]

^this exactly. With the possible exception of mom & pop operations, every major storage company I am aware of expressly prohibits firearms & ammunition from being stored. It’s in the fine print of the contract.

It’s also an issue when they’re found in abandoned/foreclosed units when cleaned out. The storage company can sell them through an FFL after being cleared by LE. I learned this after an acquaintance from church whom I did not know well, with no family, was tragically killed in an accident. We had talked about guns before and he mentioned a local storage facility where he had quite a collection. After he died the pastor and I agreed for me to try to purchase the unit at auction when the time came as we knew there was no family to pay the bill. The deal was I get to keep a few for my troubles, the rest we sell or raffle for the church. I kept tabs on it and several months later saw the auction notice. It was done via an online auction and the first thing in big bold letters at the top was “if you’re here for the guns, they’re gone, stop calling us!” and gave the number to a gun shop where they could be found apparently that guy had ran his mouth to a quite a few people about what was in there.


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I’m not following this. Why would the church be involved? Were they putting up the money to try to win the auction?
I thought the business wasn’t supposed to go thru it before auctioning it off?
That leads me to believe there’s no sense in attending a storage auction since the good stuff has already been taken by the owner.
Probably 25 years ago I answered a classified ad advertising guns for sale. They were at a storage unit. This guy had a LOT of NIB guns which he had inherited from his father who had a home-based FFL.
He had some very desirable guns but that was the weirdest dude I’ve ever encountered. You couldn’t get a straight answer out of him. He talked in circles.
It was like he was afraid he was gonna leave a dollar on the table. I finally got frustrated and left without buying anything.

 

[woodsy85]

I’m not following this. Why would the church be involved? Were they putting up the money to try to win the auction?
I thought the business wasn’t supposed to go thru it before auctioning it off?
That leads me to believe there’s no sense in attending a storage auction since the good stuff has already been taken by the owner.
Probably 25 years ago I answered a classified ad advertising guns for sale. They were at a storage unit. This guy had a LOT of NIB guns which he had inherited from his father who had a home-based FFL.
He had some very desirable guns but that was the weirdest dude I’ve ever encountered. You couldn’t get a straight answer out of him. He talked in circles.
It was like he was afraid he was gonna leave a dollar on the table. I finally got frustrated and left without buying anything.

I’m going to make the assumption that the storage company received calls from people that knew the deceased asking about guns. Being a violation of their policy they probably called police? I would also assume this happened after the foreclosure process was completed, which I believe they then have right to enter, or at least permit LE to enter? Don’t know specifics, so just guessing.

As for church. It was pastors idea, and he knew the details of where the unit was. Just a casual
conversation about the poor guy and what would become of his stuff, that lead to another thing. The guy had some nice stuff that was basically pillaged by neighbors in the place he was renting to my understanding.

It sounds like you made the right call walking away from that deal. If it feels off, it usually is. I know people that have bought fake collectible stuff and got screwed like that.


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[5lima30ret]

I had to keep my gun safe in a unheated no A/C metal garage on a slab for about 14 months in the mountains of NC before I moved. I custom built a pallet to set it on and had a goldenrod inside. I also had a small fan blowing on the under/outside of the safe. I had zero rust problems. The mountains are pretty humid and damp most of the year. Good luck!

*edit: I did wipe down all my guns with my home brew 50/50 mix of Marvel Mystery Oil and 10w-30w Mobil One synthetic oil.

 

[tros6t]

Before I put a golden rod in, had safe inside a humidity controlled newer home, sitting on carpet! Everything on the bottom of the safe rusted! The felt on the bottom was soaked! In case you didn’t know!

 

[Jester896]

Looking at their site they appear to be quality product. I do see some issues with electronic lock in garages from time to time but not many. Sometimes the circuit boards don't like moisture. You may find one of those battery power weather stations that shows inside/outside temp and humidity. Put one part inside and you can monitor the other part from outside...some even have magnetic backs...just a quick glance and you can see if there is an issue. Once you get the inside cu in you can get the correct size rod/rods or the plug in rechargeable type dehumidifier....and they are sized.

I use 1/4" steel rods for most of my concrete if needed or that thick walled pvc....just remember the larger the diameter of the rod the faster it rolls...things go sideways fast . You can even lay them so that once you set the safe close on the rods you can push it straight back to the wall...or walk it back to the wall with a pry bar...then pry the corner up and remove the rods...move to the other corner and do the same.

Most gloss finish safes are finished with an automotive urethane finish...probably no need to wipe it with oil. The bottoms are not generally finished and like mentioned will rust on contact with concrete from wicking water. I wouldn't recommend setting it on a pallet unless you were transporting it somewhere. You can put a piece of Tyvek down under a piece of 3/4 plywood and drill through it all to anchor...that will give you the most stable mounting. It will take a lot of work to get under it to attempt to pry the anchors. I have used carpet cut to the right size and turned it carpet down/ backing up, stall mats, and older truck bed mats before. Sometimes they may still rock a little with the later though.

Another option it to climate control your garage with one of those 115V mini split heat pumps you can buy pre-charged at Lowe's or Home Depot. You'll have that paid for in no time instead of paying rent off site and you will still be cover by your homeowners policy.