Safes & Vaults
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What kind of Safe is right for you?
Here’s a guide to choosing the best safe for your needs:
1. Record Safe – A record safe is for just that – important records or documents that you want to keep protected. These (and other fire resistant safes) are rated by the amount of time they will protect the contents from the elements, high temperatures or actual fire. These are very useful, yet they are potentially more easily broken into than a higher security safe.
2. Burglary Safe – A burglary safe is another way to refer to a higher security safe. They are rated by their resistance to the type of tools that are used to attack (or break in attempt) and also the duration of the attack. It is not a given that a burglary safe will be fire resistant.
3. BF (Burglary-Fire) Safe – These safes offer the higher security of the burglary safe and the fire resistance of a record safe combined. Price is dependent on the length of time that the safe can withstand fire/heat/tampering.
4. Wall Safe – Due to the safe actually being installed into the wall, the location and depth of the wall dictates how big the safe can be. If there is space behind the wall for the safe to go deeper, you must support the back of the safe as well, since it is very heavy and could be unstable if not secured. (Picture a window air conditioning unit without the back being supported. Look out below!!) A big plus to a wall safe is that they offer a great deal of security. Since they can be hidden behind a picture or wall hanging, most likely no one will even know it is there. However, these are mostly not fire resistant since a wall cannot usually hold that amount of weight.
5 . Floor Safe – These safes are very secure. When installed into concrete, a floor safe is fire resistant. But these safes do have their drawbacks. They are usually more difficult to access if you have limited mobility or have trouble getting on the ground (not to mention getting back up!). Once you are on the ground and have opened it, the contents can be difficult to reach/get to. Floor safes have limited shelving and usually the contents need to be moved around to get to what you were looking for when you opened the safe.
6 . Gun Safe – These can be pretty large/tall depending on the contents. Gun safe interiors are mostly customizable. They are not usually fireproof but you can find some that are. You would probably need to have one or more guns in order to require a gun safe!
7. Jewelry Safe – Jewelry safes are burglary and fire-resistant safes made specifically to house jewelry and valuables. These high end safes are typically manufactured with interior jewelry chests of fine woods and fabric liners with a range of organizational configurations*. These safes are more similar to vaults as they are considered to be high security. They can stand alone or be installed or attached to a floor or wall. They vary in size and are very heavy.
8. Deposit Safe – A deposit safe is a burglary-resistant safe with a secure one way drawer. Also referred to as a night safe.
9. Vault – A secure space where money, valuables, records, and documents can be stored. It is intended to protect its contents from theft, unauthorized use, fire, natural disasters, and other threats, just like a safe. But unlike safes, vaults are an integral part of the building within which they are built, using armored walls and a tightly fashioned door closed with a complex lock*.
This is just a list of some of the more common choices one has when looking for a safe. There are also safe deposit boxes, cash boxes, diversion safes to name a few more, but it all comes down to what you need now and for the future. Safes can be expensive at first glance, yet you must look at what you are paying for over time. A quality safe can protect your valuables for over 100 years, if not more.
Brucar Locksmith is available to assist you in finding the safe that fits your security needs and your budget. Call 805-241-0777 to make an appointment with a safe specialist. As with all of our locksmith and safe services, we are always here to answer questions…free of charge. Toll free 866-717-1KEY (539).
*reference: Wikipedia
