DIY home safe installation tips from professional locksmiths

Posted on by Safeguard Safes
diy home safe installation tips from professional locksmiths
18 Mar

DIY home safe installation tips from professional locksmiths

Home safe installation information for the DIY handyman

So now that you have made a smart investment of buying a safe for your home, the next smart decision to make is where to install your new home safe. In this blog our experienced safe experts will suggest some practical advice to help the DIY handyman professionally install a fire resistant home safe to save money along with keeping the home safes installation location discreet and confidential. The most critical question you need to ask yourself before attempting the DIY safe installation is, do you definitely want to install your safe yourself and if this DIY option is not preferred, our professional safe installation technicians can help. Just give us a call with your preferred safe and mention you would like us to professionally deliver and install your home safe. We’ll process the order and take care of the rest. If you have chosen the DIY safe fitting option don’t stress about it, because do it yourself safe fitting can be quite simple with the correct equipment and instructions, so you can perform a professional installation.

The majority of good quality residential safes usually come with a fixing down installation kit along with an instruction manual, allowing your DIY safe installation to become an easy and quick project. What you may need before you get started is to get all the correct tools prepared, including a socket set, screw drivers, electric drill & assorted drill bits either masonry for concrete floor or standard drill bits for wooden type flooring, tape measure and of course have the instruction manual and fixing anchor bolt kit ready.

 Pay careful attention to the safe instruction manual as there are different installation methods for different types of safes. For example, home safes installation are different to fireproof residential safes installations. And non fire resisting office safe may have other anchoring down instructions than home and business safes. The tools needed may vary depending on the type of flooring or what the wall surface is as sometimes a cordless drill will not give you the power needed as what a heavy duty electric power drill will.

Top quality home safes and fireproof home safes along with security home safes should include pre-drilled bolt holes in the back or base and some high quality safes have them in both. These fixing holes are provided specifically so the safe can be locked down into a secure location. 

Before starting your DIY safe install, make sure the location you have decided on to install your new fireproof home safe is clean and free from any objects that will impinge on the safes fitting. For example, are there any electrical wires, pipes or other obstacles that will cause a problem with the installation as you want the safe, when bolted into place, gives it maximum protection. 

So let’s get started and in no time at all your home safe should be secured to the floor or wall if you follow the safes installation instructions guide properly.

Firstly, remove any shelves from the safe to allow you plenty of room to drill the holes easily and replace them once you have drilled all bolt holes required. If you’re installing your safe on a concrete surface or on a wooden floor, you will need different tools as we mentioned earlier. Place your fire rated home safe in the location you want and be mindful that there are no obstructions hitting the door, restricting it from opening properly. Also, if your safe is up against skirting boards, we would suggest this section of the skirting board be taken out. This can be done quickly and easily by simply pencilling around the safe, then remove the marked section and then secure the skirting board back in place. 

If your residential safe is placed on top of carpet, this area will need to be removed. This can be done by having the safe in position and cutting out the area around the safe with scissors or a Stanley knife as it is extremely important that the home safe is installed as close to the original floor service as possible. This will give the safe maximum protection and make it even more difficult for the safe to be removed by a thief. 

With your safe in its final location you will need to mark out the safes pre-drilled holes onto the floor, so you know exactly where to start drilling. For the purpose of this example, we will base the installation of the home safe on concrete floor, so after marking your bolt down holes, move the safe out of position, so you can clearly see the marked bolt down drill points. Once located, start drilling your holes with a smaller masonry bit as a pilot hole, then swap it with the correct larger masonry bit as instructed in the safes manual. 

When drilling the depth, this can be determined by using a tape measure or ruler to measure the length of the anchor bolt and mark this length on the drill bit, then you will know when to stop drilling when the mark reaches the required depth. Although the safe guide specifies the depth to drill along with the specified sizes of all drill bits to use, always remember to clean out the holes drilled of concrete residue left in the holes when drilling. This is very important, because if these holes are not cleaned out prior to anchoring bolts into final position, you will not get the best anchoring down contact. A vacuum cleaner approved to clean up concrete dust is perfect for the job. 

Once your bolt down holes are completed and you have placed the safe back into position, use your appropriate tools to start locking the home safe into place. At this stage, it would be worthwhile first placing the anchor bolts into the drilled holes to make sure the diameter and depth is correct. If all is good, you can start fixing it into place using the correct tools. To achieve the maximum strength when installing your home safe, make sure the anchor bolts are fixed strongly and securely. Replace shelves back in safe and it is ready to use. 

On some DIY safe installation projects, some of our customers have asked us what they can do if they have wires, pipes or underfloor heating and want to secure their safe down. Our advice most of the time is to choose another location that can be dedicated for the bolting down of your residential safe that is free from these obstacles. If you definitely have no option but to install the safe within this type of flooring, don’t panic. There is an alternative being the safe would need to be secured via a chemical adhesive preparation which involves fixing your fireproof home safe into position on the concrete or wooden flooring using an industrial strength adhesive. This involves securing the safe to the floor using a powerful high strength industrial adhesive as this type of fixing doesn’t require drilling. The only couple of things to note with this type of security safe installation that would be worth checking prior to deciding on this alternative option is you may want to let your insurance company know the type of bolt down method used. Also, if you decide on the chemical installation, and when you need to relocate your safe or move house, it is very unlikely you will be able to take your home safe with you, as it is nearly impossible to move the safe after having a chemical installation.

If you are installing your new fireproof home safe on a wooden floor surface, the DIY instruction manual still applies as it does for a concrete surface but the installation method would be different. Standard wooden floors are more often than not made with thin wooden boards and are usually not thick enough to get a strong and secure fixing, unless it can be placed into a position allowing the floor joists to be used to lock the bolts into. If you can drill into the floor joists, this will give your home safe a strong lockdown base. With your home or office safe, a fixing kit will be supplied, which consists of the anchoring bolts either for a concrete surface or wooden surface installation. However, if the bolts supplied are not adequate for your project, you will need to buy the correct dynabolts, etc. from a hardware store, as each flooring and fixing circumstances are different. The anchor kits supplied with most safes will do the job on the majority of fixing jobs.

If your home safe needs an in-wall safe installation the same principle applies, being find the best location for your in-wall home safe and as with the floor type installation make sure the location of your fireproof wall safe is free from pipes or wires that will cause complications when installing a wall safe. Try to place your personal home wall safe in an area of the wall, so it can be fixed in place using the wall studs, especially if the wall is made of plaster. If you have a brick wall, this will provide a strong solid fixing for your wall safe so when installing your the safe into a brick wall,make sure the fireproof home wall safes you purchase is either a 1. brick cavity in wall safe, 2. brick cavity in wall safe or 3. brick cavity in wall safe so depending on your brick wall type you need to get the correct  brick cavity safe version to suit your wall thickness as in wall safes are designed to fit into standard cavity brick walls and can be easily and quickly installed to give you a solid secure wall safe. Wall safes will have pre-drilled holes in the back or sides, allowing the home DIY handyperson an easy task of securing it to the wall themselves. When placing your wall safe into your desired position, make sure the safe door has a clear opening area and there is nothing obstructing it.

Now that your wall safe is in position, mark around the safe with a pencil and then remove it. Cut out the marked section from the wall and remove it, but make sure to be extra careful that the marked area is cut neatly and tidily and to the precise dimensions. We suggest that you cut the area out starting with a smaller section first and gradually increase the size of the sections cut, until you get to the appropriate measurements, so the wall safe can be inserted into the wall. Whilst the wall safe is situated into the allocated area within the wall, using a pencil, mark out either the pre-drilled hole at the back or side. Or if your wall safe has the provision for both, mark all holes out. Once this is done, remove the in-wall safe and drill the required marked holes using the correct drill bits as specified in the safe instructions manual. 

And as mentioned previously the most secure fixing for your home wall safe will be, if you drill into the wall studs to secure the safe in a standard wall. When the holes are drilled, place the safe back into position then fasten and fix into place with the appropriate anchoring screws. 

As this blog has indicated, by following some of our suggestions and using the correct tools as well as reading the safe installation guidelines throughout and following the information, most DIY handy people can achieve a professional safe installation. So it’s all about the research and preparation being done prior to starting. And remember, there are always videos out there on youtube and other platforms that will give you step by step instruction on the installation of most fireproof home safe, in-wall safe and in-floor safe.

Some mentionable home safes are:

Check our comprehensive website now at www.safeguardsafes.com.au. Alternatively, call us on 1300 764 971 and speak directly to a safe expert or email us on sales@safeguardgroup.com.au.

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