8 tips for choosing a safe for home and apartment

Even if the house or apartment is equipped with the strongest entrance door and reliable locks, it is not worthwhile to keep documents, securities or money in a prominent place. To do this, there are safes that provide excellent protection for all contents. To make the right choice when buying a safe, it should, first of all, decide what will be stored there. This is important because the content determines the type of safe. So, for example, a fireproof safe is suitable for storing personal documents and a family photo album, and it is better to entrust money and jewelry with a burglar-proof one.

Choosing a safe for home use is worth take into account a lot of nuances. So, it must be not only reliable, but also Do not spoil the interior of the room, and it’s better if the safe is generally as invisible as possible. When choosing, you need to take into account the features of the room where the safe will be located, as well as the dimensions of the safe itself, decide on type of placement and number of things, which must be placed in it. It is also important to decide in advance what threatens the property more - hacking or fire, and depending on this, choose a safe with a certain class of burglary or fire resistance. Attention should also be paid to the type of lock, the name of the manufacturer, certificates and warranties.

No. 1. Burglar resistance class

Burglar-proof safes are divided into 12 classes: the higher the class, the more difficult it will be to open the safe. In addition, on some models there is a marking “0” or “H0”, which means that such a safe practically does not resist hacking, but can be used, for example, to save valuables from the harmful effects of fire.

In the manufacture of safes with a high level of protection against burglary, durable steel sheets with a thickness of about 3 mm are used, the design may include several such sheets, the space between which is filled concrete. The strength of the safe is also affected by type of lock used: code, electronic, level, key. For maximum protection, the safe should use at least two different types of locks.

As for the required burglar resistance class, then for home use of a fully adequate safe 3 class. If you need to store important documents and considerable amounts of money, then it is better to pay attention to class 4, and for storing jewelry you need to choose a class 5 safe, which is just for this. If the contents of the safe have a very high cost, then the 6th class of burglary resistance will be optimal.

No. 2. Fire rating

According to the degree of fire resistance, safes are also divided into 12 classes. To make the product as resistant to fire as possible, manufacturers use steel walls along with a heat insulator and gaskets. In addition, new solutions are constantly emerging that allow you to create maximum protection for the contents of the safe.

Fire rating determined during testing and depends on how many minutes the safe can last in a fire. As a rule, the indicator ranges from from 60 to 120 minutes. You need to choose a model that will best meet your requirements.

No. 3. Safe size

Choosing a safe of the right size is very important, because it depends on how invisible it will be and whether its contents will be safe. So if it comes to safe for apartment, it’s better to choose a compact option, and huge attention should be paid reliability of its installation. The safe must be well attached to the wall, floor or niche so that it cannot be simply removed from the apartment. On the side and back walls of the safe there are always special holes for fasteners, and when using anchor bolts, the safe can be installed in a selected place. Perfectly suitable for the apartment are safes with low weight - up to 80 kg.

If necessary safe in a private house, then the possibilities of choice are expanding. With a competent approach, at the planning and repair stage, several secluded places for safes can be provided, and then they will not be evident at all. In this case, you can set several safes and store documents, money, jewelry or weapons separately, creating a new level of security. Even if the attackers open one of the safes, you will be able to save the rest of the valuables.

In a private house, you can use larger-sized safes than in an apartment. When choosing it is worth considering the number and size of stored items, the need for shelves, cash registers, etc. All this is necessary for the maximum rational use of the safe space.

Number 4. Installation method

The next step on the way to choosing the best safe for your home is choosing the installation method, which will depend on the size of the room, its features, as well as on the contents of the safe. Today, for home safes, they mainly use the following installation methods:

• built-in;
• furniture;
• standing separately.

The ideal option for the home is a wall-mounted safe. Firstly, this installation option does not take up too much space. Secondly, the safe will be hidden from prying eyes. Well, it’s almost impossible to tear out a properly installed safe from the wall - from the point of view of burglary resistance, this installation provides best protection. You can hide the installation location with a picture or other decorative elements: in this way, the safe will be in maximum safety, and access to it will be simple. However, in addition to the obvious advantages, there are some difficulties.

Firstly, this is a limitation on the wall thickness. According to the installation technology, its thickness should be at least 10 cm greater than the depth of the safe, i.e. a safe with a depth of not more than 15 cm can be installed in a capital wall 25 cm thick. Secondly, the installation process itself is not simple and involves noisy and dirty work. Therefore, doing this is best still under repairuntil completion finishing work.

Furniture safe - Another good option for the home, which is great if you will use the cache often enough. In this case, the safe is integrated into an existing or new item. of furniture, and at the same time it looks like an ordinary cabinet.

Separate safes, more striking, but, at the same time, can accommodate more things. They are much less commonly used in apartments and houses, as they take up a lot of space and can violate the harmony of the interior.

No. 5. Type of safe

It’s very important to decide in advance what will you keep in the safeto choose the right model. So, today the following basic options are popular:

• safe for documentswhich is equipped with several shelves for convenient storage of papers;
• safe for valuablesjewelry;
• gun safe. It is useful for those who are fond of hunting, have at their disposal cold steel and firearms. There are different models designed to store different amounts of weapons of different sizes;
• combination safe - A great option for an apartment, because it has enough functionality to store all kinds of valuable things;
• safe for magnetic media Designed for storing flash drives, disks, films.This is a small design that fits in any apartment and protects all important materials from breaking and fire;
• mini safe - A wonderful invention for the smallest apartments, the owners of which need to reliably save money and jewelry. These are very compact, lightweight, but at the same time, reliable designs that provide high security things.

No. 6. Lock type

An important element of any safe is the lock. To date, the main types of locks in safes are considered to be:

• key lock. In this case, a lever lock is used: it is very reliable, has a low price, and it is unnecessary to constantly keep a digital combination in your head, as is the case with a code lock. If the safe will be used often enough, the key lock will greatly simplify the task, because using the key takes much less time than typing the code. But there are drawbacks: the key to such a lock will need to be carried with you constantly, or stored in a safe place, but this also needs to be found, and the risk of losing the key remains at a high level;
• mechanical combination lock it’s simpler that you will never lose the key, as it simply does not exist. It is also unpretentious to environmental conditions, but there is a chance to forget the set of code digits, and it takes more time to unlock such a safe, because the lock handle will have to be turned many times, and there is no certainty that at this time someone will not be able to peep and remember the correct combination. If the lock is not programmable, i.e. the code set by the manufacturer cannot be changed, then if it is forgotten, you will have to request it from the manufacturer, and this is a long and expensive one. Such a lock is suitable for owners of good memory and if things are stored in the safe that do not require regular access;
• coded electronic lock also removes the problem of the need to store keys, but at the same time, if the password is forgotten, it is possible to open the safe with a special master key. Such locks can be reprogrammed, they are much faster to open, they have several levels of protection. Among the disadvantages are the price and dependence on batteries, as well as sensitivity to environmental conditions;
• biometric lock can be opened by user identification by fingerprint. There is no need to remember the password or save the key, and the procedure for opening the safe is very quick. At the same time, such locks are very expensive, dependent on batteries and environmental conditions.

It is better if the safe combines at least two types of the lock described above.

Number 7. Which manufacturer should I prefer?

The price of a safe depends not only on its technical parameters, but also on behalf of the manufacturer. Today, several companies are represented on the market whose products have already proven themselves to be of high quality, and they should be trusted, even if the price is 5-10% higher than that of competitors with a little-known name. It is generally accepted that the price of a safe should be about 1/5 of the value of those things that are stored in it.

Among the verified manufacturers are the following:

• Format - A German company that has long been known in the market of metal furniture and safes. It offers several series of safes that are excellent for home use, differ in size, installation type and indices of burglary and fire resistance;
• Technomax - An Italian manufacturer that has been on the market for over 25 years. It offers built-in, floor, and furniture safes designed for storing weapons, jewelry, documents and money. There are very compact options weighing from 9 kg, which are perfect for use at home;
• Valberg - A company whose production is located in Russia and Bulgaria. The range is amazing and includes all types of safes: from the most reliable and secure to compact home.Additional advantages of the company are considered reasonable price and a wide network of service centers;
• Ripost - A company from St. Petersburg, whose products are popular not only among domestic buyers, but also in Europe. Safes are manufactured using innovative technologies, equipped with Italian locks. The company offers a huge selection of safes for home use.

Number 8. What else to look for when buying?

When you have already decided what type and size a safe is needed, already at its purchase it is necessary to take into account some more important nuances:

• safe must not have visible damage and must fully comply with the parameters declared in the certificates;
• safe must have certificate, which is issued according to the results of laboratory tests and confirms the protective characteristics declared by the manufacturer. If there is no certificate, this means that the safe tests were not conducted, or were not successful. In this case, you need to think twice whether it is worth the risk;
• you need to consider conditions warranty and post-warranty service, because no one is safe from the fact that the key can be lost and the password forgotten. In these cases, company specialists come to the rescue.

A high-quality and reliable safe is worth a lot, but peace and security are not cheap. If you have no desire to "share" your money, jewelry or memorabilia, it makes sense to pay for their reliable protection.

Finally

A home safe is an excellent protection for all precious and important things. If decent amounts of money, jewelry, weapons, valuable information and documentation are stored at home, then such a cache is simply necessary, because it is able to protect all contents not only from intruders, but also from the destructive effects of fire. With a competent approach and analysis of your own requirements for a safe and features of the room, you can find the perfect option for the home.