If you are looking for a safe that can be hidden easily, consider a floor safe. The safe you choose should also be resilient – it should have a thick door, a UL-approved lock, dust cover and at least 1 re-locker. We’ll discuss these characteristics in this article. These safes are so secure that they sometimes end up hidden for decades. When it's time to remodel a house you just bought, you never know what you'll find when you pull up old carpeting and other floor coverings. You could find anything from thousands of dollars in cash or even an unopened bottle of very rare bourbon.
The Best Floor Safe
When shopping for in-floor safes for the home, you'll have many choices; however you should be looking for certain features in the safe you choose.- The floor safe should have a thick steel door - at least ½” thick (B-rated). If the safe's door is not thick enough, it could easily be cut into or pried open. Check out Hayman’s Polyethylene body floor safes that can be updated to a 1” thick door for double the security(C-rated).
- UL-approved lock. You don't want to have an issue getting into your own safe. A UL-approved lock is a high-quality lock that, should it become necessary, is something a locksmith could help you get into should you forget the code. The Hayman FS4000B Polyethylene In-Floor Safe is rustproof and leak-resistant, and features a UL Listed Group II Dial Combination Lock.
- Dust cover. The dust cover simply covers the locking mechanism so that you can cover it with carpet or other floor covering. No one would even know that the safe is in the floor, since the floor covering will lay flat over the safe. This also protects from dust getting into the lock.
- Re-lockers. Choose a safe that has at least one re-locker. In this case, more is better. The re-lockers are triggered in certain ways during a burglary. Once they are fired, they cannot be retracted easily. It could take hours of drilling by a professional locksmith. The AMSEC B1816 Square Door Floor Safe features a large carburized hardplate to protect the lock and re-lockers.
Pros and Cons of Floor Safes
While a floor safe is one of the best safes you can use for your valuables, they do have their pros and cons. The Pros- The safe is hard to find.
- A good floor safe is too difficult to break into and would take hours, if it is at all possible. This, of course, depends on the quality of the floor safe you purchase.
- It's a great place to keep valuable items, and floor safes come in many different sizes.
- Floor safes can be difficult to access, depending on where you put them. This means that you may not want to keep items that you use every day or every week in the safe. You may want to install a wall safe for these items, though a wall safe is not quite as protective as a floor safe.
- You will need to bend down or kneel down to run the combination as the safe is close to the floor.
- Floor safes are not fireproof. The 5 sides of the safe are protected by the concrete and will protect the heat from getting into the safe. The issue is that the door is made of steel only, and has no fire material whatsoever. The steel will heat up in a fire, which will heat up the interior of the safe and burn or damageyour contents. We suggest that if you want a safe with a burger and a fire rating that you purchase a freestanding safe that is rated for both purposes and can be anchored to the floor.
- Floor Safes are not waterproof. There are some floor safes that have seals that will prevent a small amount of water from entering the safe. If there was a large flood, water will most likely get inside. We suggest that if you want to keep your items waterproof that you put them in Ziplock bags or Tupperware containers.
- Floor safes are messy to install, unless you are installing them in new construction. You'll have to cut a hole in existing concrete to install it. The AMSEC C3 STAR Round Lift Out Door Floor Safe is perfect if you want to hide the floor safe in the garage.
