What to Consider Before Buying a Wall Safe

Wall safes are designed specifically to be installed between walls or hidden spaces and are a good option if you have limited space in the house.

Used for storing valuables like jewelry or other precious items that you may have, wall safes are often small in size and can be easily concealed.

Wall safes often come with adjustable depth to allow the owner to maximize its usable space. To assist enhanced concealment of these safes they are often hidden behind paintings or picture frames.

Its concealment from common sight also makes it safer during burglary or theft in the house.

However, since they cannot be bolted to the ground, it is easier to cut it out from the wall and carry it once it has been discovered.

They can easily be installed between the wall spaces without making the house look cramped while still providing the necessary security.

Things to Consider Before Buying a Wall Safe

Here are some of the most important things you need to consider before finalizing a wall safe model –

1. Steel Door Thickness

In the absence of the protection of steel door and steel walls, it becomes very easy for anyone to break open a safe.

To make sure that the wall safe will provide the protection you need, always check for steel doors and the thickness of the steel door and walls.

The thickness of the steel door should be at least ½ mm and the thickness of the body of the safe should ideally be at least ¼ mm.

If the safe does not have a steel door or thick walls, you should not go for it.

2. UL Ratings

UL rating is a standard for safety certification majorly of electrical appliances but is also used to ascertain the safety of other objects including safes.

Checking the UL rating of the wall safe is a good approach, as it ensures that the safe will provide the protection and security it advertises to provide.

There are many different UL wall safe ratings.

Some of the common ones include- RSC (the lock can withstand standard lock-cracking tools for 5 minutes), TL-15 (this rating signifies one-inch thick steel while also safes with this rating can withstand standard lock-cracking tools for 15 minutes), TL-30 (the lock can withstand cracking tools for 30 minutes), etc.

There are many other such ratings that you can look for depending upon your specific needs and requirements from the wall safe.

3. Locks

There are many different types of lock installed within a wall safe.

Some of them include bio-metric lock, key lock, dial lock, and other types of digital locks.

All these lock types have their advantages and disadvantages.

For instance, though it may seem like a biometric lock will be difficult to crack, with the present technology it might be easier to break into a safe with a biometric lock.

Alternatively, a dial lock can be fairly difficult to open.

You should choose a wall safe with a lock mechanism that would suit the level of security you are aiming for with this safe.

4. Weight

The weight of a wall safe can speak volumes about the kind of security it would provide.

Because wall safes are relatively small, it is also relatively easier to cut it out and carry it off once it has been discovered.

Wall safes made of thick steel will increase the weight of the safe, making it more difficult to lift or carry.

The heavyweight of the safe therefore acts as a deterrent for thieves. Try to look for safes whose steel wall and door range in thickness between ¼ to ½ mm.

5. Interior space

Wall safes are relatively small in size which makes the space that they offer less than other big sized safes.

Before buying a wall safe, make sure you check out the interior space that the wall safe provides.

Often you will not be able to store bigger objects in a wall safe. They are however a really good option if you want to store smaller objects like jewelry or papers.

If you want more interior space in your wall safe you can expand the depth of the wall where you want to install it.

Doing this will make the safe go deeper into the wall and giving you more space to store relatively bigger items or several items.

6. Material

Material is an important feature to look out for while planning to buy a wall safe.

To make sure that you safe is secure against any forced breaking, you would need a safe which is made of strong and durable material.

The best material for all safes is steel. Steel is almost impenetrable and also adds weight to the safe which makes it difficult to carry and transport in case of a theft.

Usually, more durable material will drive up the price, but you will be able to find a steel safe even in a decent price range.

While sorting through the safe material you might also want to ensure that the material is fire-resistant.

That way, your belongings will be safe against damage caused by fire or other elements.

7. Size

Wall safes come in a multitude of different sizes, though most of them are relatively small.

They need to be installed between walls or in fairly hidden space, therefore are mostly small.

However, depending on what you intend to store in your wall safe, you need to select the size that will allow you enough space.

Besides, you also need to factor in the space of the wall where you are planning to install it.

Therefore, the size of the wall safe is a feature that you must look into keeping in mind all these factors.

8. Re-lockers

Re-lockers are hardened pins that are triggered when the safe is being forced open. The trigger works in multiple ways.

Ones the re-lockers are triggered, it cannot be retracted without hours of drilling.

This feature is meant to ensure additional security of your safe in case of theft of robbery. It is an excellent feature to have if you think there is an increased risk of theft.

However, one of the things to note is that re-locker pins can only be installed in safes that have thick steel or thick walls.

Most wall safe these days already come with at least 2-3 re-locker pins installed in them.

Watch how a re-locker helps against any kind of attack by following this quick video:

9. Drawers and compartments

Wall safes come in various sizes and designs these days.

While some of them may have only one compartment, others can have more than one compartment or may be equipped with a drawer within the safe.

These drawers or additional compartments often have an internal locking system as well.

They can be beneficial if you want to ensure the extra safety of some of your belongings or want to place something separately.

Additional features: Wall safes may come with a lot of additional features like extra locks or double locks, LED lights inside the locker for when it is opened, extended warranty, among other things.

If the safety lock works on battery then additional exterior battery boxes can also be an added benefit.

Additional features like these might come at a higher price, but if it is within your budget they might add that extra layer of security to your wall safe.

Summary

Wall safes can easily be concealed from the common eye, and for this reason, is the perfect place for keeping your valuable belongings.

They add an extra layer of security and are easy to install as well.

Additionally, they are also installed in higher places of hidden space in the wall and prevent your house from looking cluttered.

It is a good option if you are looking to store something small and valuable like jewelry or confidential documents.