Putting safe in a corner in an interior room. Bolt to walls, floor, or both?
I'm going to try to get my RSC moved into the house over the next couple of days (currently in garage, where it's been since delivery on Wednesday). It weighs about 1100 lbs, and is one of the 72" tall units. We'll be putting it in a corner of the bedroom, where the safe will also be nestled into a corner on the foundation (each wall against the safe is sitting on top of the concrete foundation).
I've read about bolting a safe to the floor, trying to drill through carpet, etc. Seeing as though a 72" tall lever arm can give a lot of prying force anyway, and I'm concerned about pulling bolts through the floor (unless I crawl under the house, use some loooong bolts, and maybe bolt to a 4x4 running under the joists), I'm thinking about just attaching the safe to the two walls instead. Our trim is about 3/4" deep, so I'm thinking of attaching 3/4" plywood to the walls, in sizes slightly smaller than the safe. I'll attach these to the studs with a bunch of screws (bunch of deck screws?). Then I'll drill holes in the safe walls, and attach the safe to these 3/4" ply sheets with...I don't know. Lags, or maybe some kind of expanding bolt or something.
Does this seem like a decent plan? If so, do I even need the ply sheets to be the full size of the save, or would I it work just as well to have the ply cut to fit the upper 1/2 of each face of the safe, and then attach per above? My thought is that low level attachment won't do much to secure the save, but attaching at the top will go a long way towards making it a bitch to tip over.
I'll have the safe sitting on a 3/8" ply sheet that's roughly the size of the safe footprint, on a carpeted / padded floor.
I'm just looking for ideas, here. I'f I'm going to do the "bolt it to plywood which is secured to the walls" thing, I'll have some pre-work to do before I start moving the safe. If I'm served just as well by bolting it to the floor, then I'll just put the plywood "plate" on the floor, and start rolling the safe in.
Input?
My safe is smaller and lighter than yours. I used the 4 bolt holes in the floor, with anchors on the other side of the floor boards, then drilled holes in the back lined up with the studs, and put bolts in the studs. Mine is not in a corner. Since yours will be, go ahead and put bolts in studs of both walls.
Mine's in a corner, poured concrete walls and floor, and I just drilled some holes in the floor and used concrete anchors.
Nothing on the wall.
Originally Posted By Thug_Hunter12:
My safe is smaller and lighter than yours. I used the 4 bolt holes in the floor, with anchors on the other side of the floor boards, then drilled holes in the back lined up with the studs, and put bolts in the studs. Mine is not in a corner. Since yours will be, go ahead and put bolts in studs of both walls.
I've got to admit...I'm not terribly confident in my ability to drill through the safe wall and hit a stud. And I'd be PO'd if I had to drill several holes through the safe in order to get a bolt into the stud. That's one of the nice aspects of putting the 3/4 ply on the wall; it'll be easier to actually hit studs with it, and if I miss one it won't be that big a deal to run another screw.
I used a stud finder on the wall, marked both edges of the stud on the drywall above the safe. You can eyeball it pretty easily. I measured the outside of the safe, then the inside, then computed what I need to hit the stud.
Example: 36 in wide safe exterior- 34 safe interior = 1 in thick safe walls. To hit a stud 14 in from the exterior edge on center, measure 13 in from the interior of the safe. Drill there.
I like your idea about putting plywood between the safe and the wall. I think that putting plywood behind it will make it harder to pry from the wall, and also keep stuff from falling behind it.
Originally Posted By Thug_Hunter12:
I like your idea about putting plywood between the safe and the wall. I think that putting plywood behind it will make it harder to pry from the wall, and also keep stuff from falling behind it.
I was hoping for both, as well as a large "plate area" to secure the safe. I didn't make my ply full-size / length, though. Mostly because I was using plywood that I had on hand, I wanted to get the thing in, and I'm mainly wanting to use the ply for additional anti-tilt / anti theft. I think the ply plates at the top, as well as the floor bolts at the bottom, will make prying a bitch, regardless. I'm thinking of cutting some copper pipe insulation foam in 1/2, and stuffing that between the safe and the wall (where there's no ply) to keep "crap" from falling back there. I painted the edges if the plywood black, and they completely disappear between the (black) safe and the wall, which is what I wanted.
What size / type of bolts do you use to secure the safe to the wall? I'm thinking I'll just use some all-thread through the floor, and box some angle iron under the floor joists (safe is mounted perpendicular to joists) for the floor mount.
I would use 1/4" or larger lag screws into studs behind the safe, or several deck screws into your plywood that is bolted / screwed very securely into the studs
Originally Posted By Red2000SS:
I would use 1/4" or larger lag screws into studs behind the safe, or several deck screws into your plywood that is bolted / screwed very securely into the studs
I ended up putting (8) 5/16" (or maybe they were 3/8"?) lags through the rear of the safe, through the 3/4" ply, and into the studs behind the safe. I put (6) 3/8 bolts through the floor of the safe, and the floor of the room. They're backed into 2x4s under the floor, secured perpendicular to the sub floor planking. I have enough bolt length to secure the bolts to angle / channel iron ran underneath (and pulled against) the floor joists as well.
I did not put any bolts through the side of the safe. I think it's secured pretty solidly as-is, and I wanted to avoid adding holes to the side of the safe if possible, as I plan on taking this safe with us to our next residence.
