10 Things to Consider While Buying a Home Safe

A home safe is safe that is meant to keep valuable items at home securely. they come in various types like floor safe, wall safe, or bedside safes, and can be used to store jewelry, cash, important paper documents, among other things.

These days most people keep their valuable items like jewelry and important documents in a bank locker.

However, if you have some items that need to be kept at home and yet need to be protected from theft or other such instances, home safe is a good option for you.

Homes safes are used mainly for two reasons.

One to protect the valuable items from the threat of theft, and two, to protect them from fire or other similar possible incidents of damage.

If you are looking to keep something very valuable in these safes, you must be careful about the features that these safes offer.

Home safes come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and designs, and to make an informed choice, you should go with one that suits your specific needs.

Things to consider before buying a home safe

The key things to consider before buying a home safe are size, weight, safe types, lock types, water-resistant properties, fire-resistant properties, security rating, safe cash rating, and features for the prevention of moisture accumulation.

1. Size

Size is one of the most important features to look at and consider before buying a home safe. Homes safes can be big, medium-sized, or small.

Depending on what you want to store in the safe, you should consider the size that is most suitable for you.

Additionally, you would also have to consider the space that you can allocate to the safe in your house.

Small safes do not take up much space and can also easily be installed inside the closet. If you want to store small items or papers, a small safe will be an ideal choice.

If the items you want to store are bigger, you should go for the safe that can accommodate those items. Big wall safes can also be mounted on the wall.

2. Locking mechanism

There are many kinds of locking systems available for safes these days.

They may offer different degrees of safety and protection. Biometric locks use fingerprints to open the safe, though some advanced locks may also work through retina scans.

Other kinds of locks include electronic keypads that require a pin or a combination lock that requires fingerprints and security code.

You can also choose safes with key and lock system if you want to go more traditional.

However, ensure that whichever safe you buy does have a backup unlocking option in case the batteries are dead or you forgot your passcode.

3. Type of safe

Even within the category of home safes, there is a vast sub-category of safes. These most commonly include wall safe, floor safe, and bedside safes.

If you are pressed for space in your house, wall safes can be a good option. They can easily be installed between walls or hidden behind paintings.

They are relatively smaller and easily concealed. If the items you are looking to store are jewelry or paper documents, this might be a good option.

Floor safes are a good option if you do not want to drill space in your wall.

They can easily be bolted down into the floor and are a good option for the installation of the safe in the basement as well.

Bedside safes are a good option if you are looking to store guns.

Learn about the different types of home safe with this video:

4. Fire-resistant or not

Fire in houses has become a common instance these days.

No matter what the reason for the fire is, you would want your valuable items to be protected under all circumstances.

While considering buying a home safe look for safes that are fire-resistant or fireproof.

Most safes will have a fireproof rating describing how long they can endure fire before the internal contents face damage.

You will find options for safes that can endure anywhere between 20 minutes to 4 hours of the fire.

The price range will vary depending upon the length of time for which the safe will provide protection. If it falls within your budget, you should go with one that can endure fore for the longest time.

5. Theft protection

Protection from theft is the most cited reason for keeping a home safe.

Whether it is your jewelry, important documents, or firearms, you would not want it in the hand of an unauthorized person.

Many safes provide advanced protection from theft with their locking systems.

They may be installed with re-locker pins, security alarm that buzzes on being forced open, or even thicker steel doors that are more difficult to break into.

These features signal at the theft protection quality of the safe, so keep a lookout for these.

6. Safe cash rating

If you are planning to keep cash in your safe, which a lot of people do, then you need to be aware of the safe cash rating of the safe.

A safe cash rating refers to the amount of money for which your insurance company will provide you cover.

These ratings usually start from $1000 cash and go up to $150000 cash.

If you are planning to keep jewelry in the safe you can multiply the value of safe cash rating by 10.

For instance, if you have a safe cash rating of $1000, you will be able to store jewelry or other valuable items for up to $10000.

It is also important to note that most of these insurance companies only provide insurance for your safety when it has been professionally fitted and installed.

Learn what is safe cash rating by following this quick link:

7. Water-resistant ratings

If you live in an area that is prone to flooding or even generally if you feel that there is a possibility of water damage to your valuable items, you might want to go for water-resistant safes.

Water-resistant safes will have an ETL / UL water-resistant rating. Different safes will have different resistant times for water.

For example, a safe may be secure against water damage for 72 hours up to 30 cm of water.

Depending on the degree of resistance you desire, you can go for safes with different duration of resistance. These safes also protect your items against humidity.

8. Security rating

A home safe can provide different levels of security.

The kind of security you need depends on the items you intend to store in the safe. Any store for buying safe should be able to acquaint you with the different security ratings on the safes.

The different ratings include RSC, B-rated, C-rates, TL-15, and TL-30, among others.

These ratings refer to different features like the thickness of the door, the security of the locks, the kind of fire and water protection they offer, and the amount of time it can withstand water or fire.

9. Moisture buildup prevention

Moisture buildup is a common phenomenon when it comes to safes. Safes are always closed, and any small cramped space is obvious to accumulate moisture.

However, moisture can damage your paper, jewelry, and even your firearms.

These are safes that come equipped to prevent moisture buildup. This is an important feature you should look out for, especially if you live in a humid environment.

If your safe does not have a moisture prevention feature you can use moisture-absorbing desiccant material in your safe.

10. Weight considerations

Considering the weight of the safe is an important step.

Most thick steel safes will naturally be heavy.

But whether you want to go for a heavy or light safe is your choice completely. Both these types have their advantages.

If you think you might require to move you safe around, or carry it to some other place, you might want a light safe.

However, remember that if it is easy for you to lift it, it will also be easy for the thieves to lift it carry it away.

It is difficult to break into safes at the spot, but once the thieves have carried it away, they will find a way to break into it.

It is for this reason that most people recommend a heavy safe. A heavy safe is more difficult to lift and carry, which provides added security in case of theft.

Summary

There are many advantages to keeping a home safe.

Apart from the obvious protection and security of your valuable items and documents, they also keep things organized so you know where your important documents and items are.

Additionally, when you take extra measures to ensure the safety of your house or valuable items, it is easier to negotiate better rates on home insurance.

Considering the increasing percentage of theft, robbery, as well as fires and floods, home security becomes an extremely important consideration and home safes are a step towards ensuring security.