Gun/Safe room

[Sierra1Gunworks]

I just got my Callahan steel building finished. I decided a lil late that i would like to put a gun/safe room in it. They pour a 18" deep footing around all four sides and a 4" thick slab with 3500 psi fiber mesh concrete. Will this support a 5x8 cinderblock room that is filled with concrete/rebar? This is probably a dumb question, but I don't know. Thanks for any and all help.

 

[RobSmith]

I'm no builder but I think you might have to put a couple of piers down through the floor to a solid base. This could be overkill but the 5x8 solid wall room will weigh a lot. In a corner the edge foundation will work but out in the middle might need reinforcement.

 

[brownbagg]

yes, no problem, just a typical school house foundation

 

[jhelrey]

I landscaped for a high end company who worked on homes $1,000,000 plus. You should have seen some of these houses. The safe rooms were awesome. You could find them if you looked hard enough but if you were trying to get in and out of the house, you would never see it. Plus, I got to see the house built.

Anyways, I'd love to have one!

 

[WVBrady]

I suspect that you will find that, like garages, it will soon not be big enough!

 

[StaggeringGoat]

I've been thinking about doing something similar...what type of door would you use for something like that? obviously that's the most vulnerable part. Do they sell special vault type doors that don't cost millions?

 

[Nick DL]

There are companies that sell vault doors. I don't know what they cost as I've never looked into them.

 

[BigWil]

I'd use a steel door in a steel frame, and build it right into the wall. If you are really worried, weld some rebar to it, then weld another piece to it so you have a sideways T, that would be anchored into the block wall. Then use 3 different keyed locks on it, and alarm it. It would be up to military spec for a weapons vault.

 

[darkk]

18" footings..4" floor..rebar..3500 psi reinforced mesh, concrete block 5'x8' safe room.......if your existing floors can't take that much weight, you need a better contractor.

 

[mdbeck1]

Take a look at the FEMA safe rooms. One of the guys down the street has one and uses it for a gun room. IIRC it has 8" thick concrete walls + the roof and floor. I think it also has a steel door. ...and for a while FEMA paid like 50% (that's why he put it in). I don't think that they offer that in my region now. I think FEMA provided the plan and told him exactly what the materials should be and had directions on how the walls should be built.

Most of the places that sell safes also sell safe room doors. That makes the weakest part of your safe the walls.

 

[Deltarat]

I thought about a gun safe room in my shop, but all the things a thief would need to break into it would be right there.-cutting torch,grinder with cutoff wheel,sledge hammer,ect...

 

[Provincial]

Keep the torch and things IN the safe room!

 

[BigWil]

That's why if I was into reloading and/or had a collection of guns, I'd build a room the full length of the back of the garage, with a steel door. Then I'd conceal the door. In a smash and grab theft, the thieves would never even know that they missed out.

 

[Sierra1Gunworks]

Www.patriotsafe.com has vault doors for 1999.00

 

[nso123]

I helped a friend with one of these, and would like to make a simple suggestion to you that he came up with. He is very security conscious, and when he had the walls poured for his vault area he had the rebar placed at different spcaing to make it nearly impossible for someone to guess on a space large enough to make an opening in the wall. I know it sounds like overkill, but if you are out of town on vacation, someone could have a little time to access your vault.
He also used a vault door with a steel frame for the entrance.

 

[slush]

This is another great company to do business with:

http://www.sturdysafe.com/vaultdoor.htm

 

[ptschram]

I thought about a gun safe room in my shop, but all the things a thief would need to break into it would be right there.-cutting torch,grinder with cutoff wheel,sledge hammer,ect...

MY wife and I decided that in our case, the safe is only to allow us to know that someone can-openered the safe.

with a cutting torch, plasma cutter, hammer drill, etc, etc, etc, anyone who wanted anything I have could eventually gain access to it.

I used to know a guy who was a door install carpenter. He described several doors he'd put in for folks that were more than entry resistant. Think plywood and chain-link fencing and heavy lumber throughout the door frame and a coupla feet outward from the door.

Nothing will stop a dedicated thief, but there sure are ways to slow them down to give you a chance to stop them, or for someone else to hear them.

 

[mdbeck1]

MY wife and I decided that in our case, the safe is only to allow us to know that someone can-openered the safe.

with a cutting torch, plasma cutter, hammer drill, etc, etc, etc, anyone who wanted anything I have could eventually gain access to it.

I used to know a guy who was a door install carpenter. He described several doors he'd put in for folks that were more than entry resistant. Think plywood and chain-link fencing and heavy lumber throughout the door frame and a coupla feet outward from the door.

Nothing will stop a dedicated thief, but there sure are ways to slow them down to give you a chance to stop them, or for someone else to hear them.

AGREED

A DETERMINED thief can always go get a sawzall and cut the door jamb out but that's noisy and takes time. Hopefully my neighbors (and alarm systems) and the dog would decide it's time to call someone.

However as a home owner it's my job to make them work to get into my stuff. Deadbolt locks, double thickness studs on each side of the exterior doors, 4" screws through the hinges and latch areas, rebar pins through the sides of the door jambs, there's even a power line REAL close to the entry door nails. I seriously considered an alligator pit but SWMBFAO said NO.... She also said I couldn't put the claymore mines in.

 

[rkevins]

if you are only wanting to store guns I would look into a gun safe
If you are wanting a safe room for storms as mentioned above check the FEMA web site and be sure you build one that is going to really safe, I have seen a few and a steel one at Lowes. I live in Arkansas and we have lots of tornados, don't have a safe room (just a basement) but if I ever build another one it will have one.