Floor safe

[Jupiter01]

I am after a safe that can be fitted between the roof joists and can’t fibd any that offer fire protection. Does anyone know if one?

Alternatively, can I externally line one of these with Kingspan insulation (or something else?) to give me some level of fire protection?

https://www.esafes.co.uk/yale-floor-safe

 

[JohnD]

No.

No, use plasterboard.

 

[Jupiter01]

Thanks. I’ve also discovered that fireproof and waterproof pouches are available. I suppose I can use these in conjunction with a non-fireproof safe to achieve fire resistance over my contents. Am I missing something in my simplistic understanding of the situation?

 

[AdrianUK]

Something to think about......

A friend had a floor safe fitted into the concrete floor of his under-the-stairs-downstairs-toilet. All went well until the toilet sprung a leak ... and the "liquid" found a most convenient sump hole....

 

[Jupiter01]

I’m planning to install mine in between ceiling joists. Not in concrete or the ground floor

 

[secureiam]

A safe between ceiling joists depends on its weight to be safe.

normally joists for a floor that's to be walked on is much stronger than one used just to carry a ceiling.

 

[HERTS P&D]

By the time the contents of the safe are affected, your house would of burnt down. Normally the Fire Brigade are called quite quickly.

Andy

 

[Jupiter01]

Thanks guys. I was told by the truss manufacturer that the calculations assume “normal levels” of short term loading as they expect people to board out the attic and walk around occasionally as well as stick items up there.

Using this as an indication, the floor safe should be okay given that it only weighs 15-20kg? The contents will have a negligible weight.

The fire reaching the top at the end was another factor to site the safe in the loft.

 

[secureiam]

distribution of the weight becomes the biggest issue, a board will spread the weight over several joists.

I am not a builder/ structural engineer and don't know how to equate a temporary load and moving load and how they work that out.

I know when I go into loft spaces and its not boarded out I put a board down if possible to spread the weight out but I am much heavier that the safe.

Just be careful, get it wrong and it could be nasty.

 

[Jupiter01]

I’ve just checked and the weight of the floor safe is 8.25kg. That’s inconsequential I suppose?

 

[JohnD]

valuables hidden in the loft derive their security mostly from being out of sight. If somebody finds them, it would take a short while to break open the safe, or lever it off the joists with a spade or other implement. The lock means that if one of your household, or a plumber, finds it, they know that forcing it open it will be detectable.

Maybe you should concentrate on fire protection. You can get DIY "fire safes" quite cheaply, they are more or less a biscuit tin with a lining of gypsum plaster or other fire resisting material. The metal skin you could open with a sharp chisel, or a breadknife.

There's a view that a large, strong safe is wasted in a house, because if some 14-year old smackhead breaks in to steal your Iphone, he won't be able to open it, but he'll pass the news to someone who will come round with a sharp knife and encourage you to unlock it. A really well-concealed safe may avoid that problem.

 

[secureiam]

that's a good point regarding the knife and your Brexit signature.

 

[Jupiter01]

Thanks @JohnD. Very helpful.
In addition to the loft safe (will use fire pouch inside this safe to keep jewellery safe), I intend to have a fire proof safe which will be inside the house in a more accessible location. This will hold documents, etc. and some fake jewellery.

I thought it may distract any burglars and avoid them digging further! It could also come in handy when in a hold-up situation. What do you think?

 

[JohnD]

might help.

In some cases, families that are known to wear expensive jewellery to weddings or festivals are raided the day before or after the event date. If they find no jewels they will know you have hidden them.

BTW, I think I might encase a fitted safe in fire foam or plasterboard.

Even an ordinary steel filing cabinet will offer short-term protection to documents in a small fire. often the damage is just smoke and water, but paper ignites easily if exposed.

 

[Jupiter01]

I intend to encase my loft safe in plasterboard.

Am I okay to use regular plasterboard? Also, how do I treat the plasterboard joints? I am thinking about the join between the horizontal and vertical sections of plasterboard.