So, you’re renting an apartment and you have a hunch that your landlord won’t be too keen on you drilling holes into his hardwood floor, in order to bolt your safe down. You want to ensure that your safe is secure in your apartment, so what do you do? If you’ve spoken with our safe experts or done your own research, you know that if you don’t want a burglar running away with your safe, you should bolt it down. However, when that is not an option, like in this case, there are other ways to help secure your safe. Keep in mind, there is no perfect solution (that we know of), but there are a couple of ways we recommend to our customers that should do the trick!
Method #1 – Bolt to the Walls
If your landlord doesn’t want you bolting to the floor, he may not want you bolting to the walls either, but if the walls are fair game, then this method could be an option. *Warning – this method is less easily DIY than the following method*. First, you will need to choose your safe location, preferably a corner, so you can bolt to two walls instead of just one; the corner of a closet is a popular choice. Then you need to locate the studs in the walls where your safe will be bolted. Once you do that, the next step is the tricky part, because you’ll need to mark exactly where to drill the holes in your safe walls so that they line up perfectly with the center of the studs that you’re bolting into. Hiring professionals for this is recommended since it can be messed up easily and will may be a frustrating and time consuming experience, but that’s not to say it can’t be done. If you want a method you can more easily implement yourself, proceed to Method
Method #2 – Bolt to a Steel Slab
This method is what we frequently recommend to customers in situations like these. It’s fairly simple, less time consuming, and effective. What you need is a heavy-duty piece of steel, about a ¼” thick, and larger than the width of your doorframe, so that it needs to be turned on its side in order to fit through your door. The idea is that once your safe is mounted to this large, heavy object, there’s no way a burglar is going to be able to get your safe out of the room, let alone your apartment. Place the steel slab where you want your safe to be and mount your safe on top of the steel. Bolt your safe to the steel using the bolt down hole(s) on the bottom of your safe. Now, the only way a burglar could possibly steal your safe would be if he cut through the steel slab, but with steel that thick, that’s no easy task. Bottom line, a large piece of steel adds weight, strength, and size, making any safe theft nearly impossible under these circumstances.
Not Highly Recommended
- Bolting your safe to a wood pallet – If your wood pallet is larger than your doorframe, it will prevent the burglar from simply taking your safe, as is, out through your door. However, wood, unlike steel, is easy enough to cut through. The burglar could cut the pallet off your safe in not much time and haul the safe away.
- Hiding your safe – Sure, hiding your safe say, in a kitchen cabinet or under the sink sounds like a neat idea and yes, it could delay a burglar for a bit, but not by much. Most burglars know the popular hiding places and check the “unthinkable” locations such as kitchens, bathrooms, etc. so don’t count on this method being enough to secure your safe.
Need recommendations on how to best secure your safe? See our article on To Bolt Down or Not to Bolt Down…That is the Question or give us a call! We’re always happy to discuss your unique situation and what safe securing method may work best for you.