Gun safes in your house

[mebco09]

Depending on the jurisdiction, and if I remember correctly, I'm pretty sure most residential floor joists are sized to provide at least 40 pounds per square foot (psf) of live load (stuff that can move) or 10 psf for dead load (stationary stuff).  A 500 pound safe would need to cover 50 sq ft of floor, so I say stiffen it with a pad and some posts underneath.

Live load is what you put into the building.  Dead load is the weight of the products that make up the building system (wood, plywood, carpet, sheetrock etc.).  So your 40PSF is the number that controls the deflection in your floor.   Any amount over that may cause some deflection (although may not make the floor fail).

The second bit of advice is good though, stiffen the floor if you can with a couple of pier pads, maybe a small beam and some posts in the crawlspace.  Even if you are within the 40 PSF design load, stiffening will help alleviate any sagging, etc.

[marlin]

including guns i would guess my safe is around 650lbs, in a 2nd floor apt! And a toolbox full of tools right next to it prob weighs 300.. bookshelf full of books and movies next to that. I hope it never ends up in my downstairs neighbors apt. 

[Wacenturion]

I'm assuming you are going to put it next to the wall. I've never seen a gun safe in the middle of a room. So, you have nothing to worry about. The strength of the floor joist get higher the closer you get to an exterior wall, unless you have post and beam, then you probably have car-decking as well, and that is even better.

I have a 12 gun safe, that I believe, weighs around 800 lbs. empty. I put it in the corner, and there is no worries on my part.

Exactly.

[bow-n-head]

The only reason I don't have a gun safe is getting it into the basement. That is where I want it. 500lbs will be a little more than I can handle on my own down a flight of stairs. You guys have any tricks for moving a safe?

[actionshooter]

The only reason I don't have a gun safe is getting it into the basement. That is where I want it. 500lbs will be a little more than I can handle on my own down a flight of stairs. You guys have any tricks for moving a safe?

Ya, have the safe company move it for you. 
Cheaper than you would think

[400out]

I think you will be ok! The only question I have and I may be wrong in this question is, Are you sure it's lumber construction in the basement! Everyone I have been in and worked on were concrete! 

[ICEMAN]

washelkhunter, don't be scared of the crawl work, pretty easy actually.

Purchase two concrete pier blocks with brackets that adjust to height simply by turning a bolt with a crescent wrench. Buy enough 4inch by 4inch pressure treated fence post material needed to reach from the pier blocks to the flooring above. Tack a six foot long piece of the 4x4 post material across a few floor joist under your safe, this is your "helper beam". Slide your pier blocks under the helper beam, and cut two posts to reach from pier block to beam. Cut and install, then start turning your two bolts to tighen the whole thing in place. Cheap, easy, effective.

[purplecowboy]

Purchase two concrete pier blocks with brackets that adjust to height simply by turning a bolt with a crescent wrench. Buy enough 4inch by 4inch pressure treated fence post material needed to reach from the pier blocks to the flooring above. Tack a six foot long piece of the 4x4 post material across a few floor joist under your safe, this is your "helper beam". Slide your pier blocks under the helper beam, and cut two posts to reach from pier block to beam. Cut and install, then start turning your two bolts to tighen the whole thing in place. Cheap, easy, effective.

Do not put your pier blocks on the dirt. They will just be forced into the ground. You need to either put a concrete pad or put 4X4's on the ground. The 4X4's will eventually rot but this is better than just putting the pier blocks on the dirt.

[JimmyHoffa]

When putting my safe in the house vs garage, I used pieces of 1x12 to expand the base to distribute the force more uniformly on the floor.  Also put it near a corner.  Trying to haul it up a flight of stairs sucked.  Probably went overboard on the amount of expanded base though, thinking back about how much total area a 4-post bed transfers its weight to and remembered some of the girls my old roommate brought home---figure a gunsafe would be just fine.

[marlin]

thinking back about how much total area a 4-post bed transfers its weight to and remembered some of the girls my old roommate brought home---figure a gunsafe would be just fine.
chubby chasin roomate huh? thats funny

[ICEMAN]

Purchase two concrete pier blocks with brackets that adjust to height simply by turning a bolt with a crescent wrench. Buy enough 4inch by 4inch pressure treated fence post material needed to reach from the pier blocks to the flooring above. Tack a six foot long piece of the 4x4 post material across a few floor joist under your safe, this is your "helper beam". Slide your pier blocks under the helper beam, and cut two posts to reach from pier block to beam. Cut and install, then start turning your two bolts to tighen the whole thing in place. Cheap, easy, effective.

Do not put your pier blocks on the dirt. They will just be forced into the ground. You need to either put a concrete pad or put 4X4's on the ground. The 4X4's will eventually rot but this is better than just putting the pier blocks on the dirt.

Uhhhh, the pier blocks on dirt are more than sufficient to help the extra load on the floor under a safe. Most post and beam homes have this under their beam runs, nothing more.   This is not a load bearing portion of the home and will suffice.

Note; I am talking about a 12" by 12" concrete pierblock with bracket, the same pierblocks most exterior decks sit on... Very substantial.

[allen]

Something else to think about when deciding where to locate a safe is in the event of a fire.  Safes are fire resistant up to whatever temp it's rated for only for a certain period of time.  With that in mind remember inside areas of the home burn at a hotter temp & for a longer period of time than outside wall areas do.  Also the safe may be fire resistant but probably not waterproof so think about where the safe might end up as a result of a fire.  If possible you wouldn't want it to fall into a depression area where fire hose water would collect.

[purplecowboy]

Quote from: purplecowboy on Yesterday at 09:54:01 AM

    Quote

        Purchase two concrete pier blocks with brackets that adjust to height simply by turning a bolt with a crescent wrench. Buy enough 4inch by 4inch pressure treated fence post material needed to reach from the pier blocks to the flooring above. Tack a six foot long piece of the 4x4 post material across a few floor joist under your safe, this is your "helper beam". Slide your pier blocks under the helper beam, and cut two posts to reach from pier block to beam. Cut and install, then start turning your two bolts to tighen the whole thing in place. Cheap, easy, effective.

    Do not put your pier blocks on the dirt. They will just be forced into the ground. You need to either put a concrete pad or put 4X4's on the ground. The 4X4's will eventually rot but this is better than just putting the pier blocks on the dirt.

Uhhhh, the pier blocks on dirt are more than sufficient to help the extra load on the floor under a safe. Most post and beam homes have this under their beam runs, nothing more.   This is not a load bearing portion of the home and will suffice.

Note; I am talking about a 12" by 12" concrete pierblock with bracket, the same pierblocks most exterior decks sit on... Very substantial.

I don't know where you live but if you live anywhere there is the slightest quake threat DON'T put the pier blocks on the dirt. Our neighbors house was built with pier blocks supporting the porch and second floor overhang and when the quake hit several years ago the soil under the blocks liquified and they almost lost the house. It only costs a few dollars more to be extra safe. And it depends on your location it might also be building code. When I had my deck replaced the builder said that putting pads under the pier blocks that supported the deck was required by county building code. We live in Snohomish County.

[Alchase]

The only reason I don't have a gun safe is getting it into the basement. That is where I want it. 500lbs will be a little more than I can handle on my own down a flight of stairs. You guys have any tricks for moving a safe?

A really strong dolly, a couple of friends, let the dolly do the work. I found it easier when going down stairs after the first couple steps to lay the dolly on the back bars. They cover a couple stairs at a time and all you have to do is guide it down. Up stairs you need to keep it close to the balance point when you lean it back, then lift from both ends, lol. If you stairs a straight you can even tip the safe back onto the stairs and slide it up. We did this and did not hurt the carpet at all.

[JimmyHoffa]

For stairs I didn't have anyone to help carry down, so I hooked the safe to a come-along.  Then attached the come-along to an object that was too wide to get through the door.  Once that was set up, just lowered it bit by bit.