Home safes?

[CathyA]

Wasn't sure where to put this.
I've been thinking of a fire-proof home safe. I'd like to keep a reasonable amount of cash in it, and some other documents, and maybe some pictures.
I want it big enough that it can't be easily carried out of the house.
I've read that the basement is a good place for it. ???
I'm just beginning to consider this and was looking for some info/experience with a fire-proof safe.
Thanks.

[iris lilies]

Wasn't sure where to put this.
I've been thinking of a fire-proof home safe. I'd like to keep a reasonable amount of cash in it, and some other documents, and maybe some pictures.
I want it big enough that it can't be easily carried out of the house.
I've read that the basement is a good place for it. ???
I'm just beginning to consider this and was looking for some info/experience with a fire-proof safe.
Thanks.
We have one at DH's insistence, but don't keep any money in it. We keep paperwork in it. I don't know the combination. I'm skeptical about how fireproof it is, anyway.

when we renovated this house we built a hidey hole big enough for the family silver and some folders. We are not using it, but I prefer it to the safe.

if I were running this show I would rent a bank box and keep copies of the papers there. By "papers" I mean passports, our financial summary that lists all accounts, duplicate marriage and birth certificates and the abstract for house.

But DH doesn't like that idea, so we live with a safe and half the time he doesn't even put papers in it because it's too much trouble.

[Ultralight]

My sis and BIL are planning to buy one -- a pretty big one too. I think they saw a couple of them at Costco.

[Alan]

We have a small fireproof box in the night stand drawer, next to the bed. It contains important papers, a small amount of money, a flash drive with electronic records & photographs, and a loaded 9mm. If we ever had to bug out due to fire, severe weather, etc., it's the first thing on our mental 'grab&go' list.

[Ultralight]

Alan:

That sounds like a good set-up right there and not too cumbersome either. Where in OH are you from?

[ApatheticNoMore]

Not for the cash on hand, but a safety deposit box at a bank could also work for all the other things, though maybe inconvenient if the bank is far.

[Alan]

Alan:

That sounds like a good set-up right there and not too cumbersome either. Where in OH are you from?
Along the Ohio river, just outside Cincinnati.

[Ultralight]

Ah, okay. I am up in C-bus.

[iris lilies]

Portable vs. non portable is an interesting concept to consider. Ours specifically is heavy so that a perp would be highly unlikely to carry it out. Don't ask me how DH got it up the spiral staircase, I wasn't home that day.

[Ultralight]

Yeah, the one at Costco my sis and BIL want is heavy and huge. A yeti could fit inside it!

[Zoe Girl]

i have a small one, some cash always and the papers. i also keep my old passwords and my small paper day planners. they don't take up much room and it helps me if i ever need to find an old contact. i should put the DVD's of photos in there as well or copies. i could carry mine if needed, which is helpful with as much as i have moved.

one odd thing i have kept in there is small bottles of alcohol. i don't drink more than a couple times a year but used to have something monthly. My daughter has had problems with that so the alcohol went in there, along with all the drugs i found as i was working out how to dispose of them. She got the key once, then when i loaned her the car key i detached all the other keys. ahhh fun times

[CathyA]

I'm thinking I want one that can't easily be carried out of the house. I've heard that most fire-safe safes are only good for 1 hour of a fire.

[bae]

I'm thinking I want one that can't easily be carried out of the house. I've heard that most fire-safe safes are only good for 1 hour of a fire.

It has to be pretty huge to not be carried. Criminals are pretty good about pushing things out windows or cutting open walls, if they really really want a safe (probably not your main threat though.). Best practice is to figure out how to securely mount the thing to the floor/wall/whatnot.

Fire-safe safes are indeed only *fire-resistant*, and they should say something on the label about duration and temperature. Mind you, the specification allows the internal temperature to read 350 degrees during the test.


U.L. Label/Class 350°F-one hour and Class 350°F-two hour. The safe will maintain an interior temperature less than 350°F when exposed to fire for a period of one hour at 1700°F or for a period of two hours at 1850°F. Safe must successfully undergo all other requirements for the Fire Endurance Test, Explosion Hazard Test and the Fire/Impact Test as stated below.

Further consider that if you have a serious house fire, the house may collapse on top of the safe, or the safe may fall through the floor, and continue cooking things for some time...

I use a bank safe deposit box for essentials, and keep a small fire resistant box by my desk to throw things into that are destined for the safe deposit box.

[Williamsmith]

Personal opinion...a safe for fire protection I agree with. For theft....I don't. Burglars and thieves are attracted to safes like magnets. They will spend all their time on a safe because they figure that's where the good stuff is. If you want to frustrate a burglar, put a safe in an obvious place and keep nothing of value in it. Instead put your valuables behind false walls or in containers with false bottoms. A mayonnaise jar in the fridge for instance. A burglar knows he's on the clock when inside a residence and will prioritize his time on drugs, money, and portable easily fenced merchandise like jewelry. If you keep your valuables in the safe, secure it with bolts and hope the mechanism isn't easily pried open. Don't go cheap. Let's put it this way....if you can get it in the house....someone motivated can get it out.