Home Safe Recomendations for docs, etc - not guns
 

Mrs and I are in the market for a home safe to store important docs (car titles, passports, etc) and some jewelry, etc (no guns.) We've been paying for a safe deposit box at our Credit Union and were thinking we could save some money in the long run.
It seems there is a doubling in price going from a 1 hour fire safe to a 2 hour. We've got a concrete wall basement with a small room directly under the front porch which has a metal structure ceiling (the porch slab base.) It is rather isolated from the rest of the basement - so there is less opportunity for that area to have much direct fire nearby.

Any recommendations would be appreciated. I figure we'd need about 2 cu foot of storage.

If you have an old school brick and mortar locksmith nearby, call or go by them.

We have one here that has an inventory of old safes. Old school made in USA and often fairly inexpensive. And by all means, have them move it in for you.

Do you want just for fire or do you want security and fire? Do you want "certified"? 1 hour or 2 hour for fire?

I did a fair amount of research several years ago (twice, actually). Amsec makes decent safes in a variety of budgets. They have several safes that are ~2cf. They have security safes, fire safes, fire and security safes, UL certified safes, UL & ETL safes (2hr fire).

I would expect you to budget anywhere from $400 - $2500 depending upon how serious you want to get.

I think the safe that we have now is probably around 1.5 cf. I think it weighs about 300#. Fortunately the door comes off. Having the door off makes it easier to move, but it's still a bear to move. I didn't go crazy with the security or fire cert because it's just meant to be a deterent. If/when we move to someplace more permanent, I'll probably get something a bit better/beefier.

Actually, not a bad idea, even if they have a selection of new safes, they still may have a decent deal on a decent safe and you're supporting someone local.

If you are in the boonies ... you might want extra fire protection. Otherwise, 30 mins is prolly fine imo. You want it secure ... bolted to floor, etc. because even my 400 lb safe is easy peasy to move with an appliance dolly... solo.

Extra fire protection (weight) is simply two layers instead of one. A pro will get what they want imo... you are preventing a grab & go or a typical house fire imo.

Agreed. Those are the good old safes to get. Built like a bomb shelter and they weigh as much.

I don't like the Sentry Safes. My ex brought one over and there was a rust hole in it. She wanted me to open it because the locksmith told her she only needed a hole saw. I was like, "WTF, bring it over." I cut the entire back off with my angle grinder in a few minutes. Then dug out the concrete fill and the plastic liner. Easy peasy.

I actually have a large gun safe to hold my valuables. I figured 1 hour fire and 7 days waterproof is fine for me.

You can just send your valuable stuff to me ... I'll keep it safe :D

Timely topic, I’ve been looking at safes lately too, for documents and guns….been looking at these, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. It’s a deep rabbit hole to go down and the really good ones are $$$.

https://www.brownsafe.com/

This is true of most all products. Cheap ones are cheap for a reason.

I do some lock picking for the hell of it, I suggest you watch lockpicking lawyer and some others on YouTube so you don’t waste your hard earned money.
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Spend $1K ... protect docs & irreplacables from fire and amateurs.

Insure and forget about the other stuff :D

Tornados, floods and pros don't care what it cost ;)

I'm familiar with the Lock Picking Lawyer. His videos are very entertaining.

I'm more concerned about protection of documents than I am about jewelry (and theft.) We've got a house alarm and security cameras as a first line of defense.

I'll do a search for local locksmiths and see if any have safes.

Considering that your goal is fire protection for documents, you may want to either stick with newer stuff that's certified as fire protection or if any of the stuff they have can be researched online to find out fire protection. I'm assuming that anything really old is unlikely to have been certified and the protection will be a guess.

agreed

My wife claimed the top shelf of my gun safe. :(

If I had known, I would have upsized. Mine is relatively small, but weighs huge. I had it made and delivered from Fresno. I’ll never move it again.

I’d order one. Sturdy safe company. Their handgun safes look like old bank vaults. Even weighs over 500lbs. Haha.

Make sure that area is dry ... fire protection is easy ... chances of my house needing more than a few minutes is slim & none tho'.

You want to secure it, or hide it well... or it will just disappear :(.

Leave another $200 safe with the "don't care" stuff out in the open, unbolted, and locked :D

A throwaway wallet full of $20 too ...

I'll need your address :)

My grandfather worked for the meat processing company Amour and Co from the day thy opened to the day they shut down. Near the end, he ran the company credit union. When they closed, he bought their safe. That is what I have now. It is one heavy safe, and unlikely anyone but a safe moving company could take it away.

I also have a full security system, 6 video cameras and it is monitored, and sends any video to the web for retrieval later or right away.

If you do a search, OJU will tell ya how to secure it to the Earth's mantle ...

I expect a bot will soon resurrrect that thread if you don't :D

I suspect most smash and grab type thieves aren't going to be prepared to make off with a 300#, 500#, 600#, or more safe. Most probably don't bring an appliance dolly. If your home gets robbed and they find the safe but don't take it, you may inspire them to create a plan and come back for it later (repeated robberies are not uncommon because the bad guy knows that most folks got an insurance settlement and likely has a bunch of new stuff).

But if a pro knows that you have a safe and really wants your stuff, they'll get it.

What you're saying is that you'll have great video of how the bad guys moved the safe so you know in the future the easiest way to do it? :D