Better off keeping it at the bank. Having a safe at home keeps stuff safe from floods and sometimes fire, but it won't necessarily stop a robbery attempt.
Sounds like a smart idea to me! I am about to attempt a smaller version of your project. I am building a Theater room in my basement and was planning to build a heavy duty lock box of sorts. Something large to keep my bulk coins in such as boxes of copper/UNC pennies, stuff still in mint boxes etc. What size safe are you talking about? Gun safe size or walk-in size? Certainly someone here knows someone who has done it and hopefully they will chime in. What specifically are you looking for?
I've built everything from Safe/Refuge Rooms to vaults in banks. It can always be done, and it can vary greatly in expense. Just a matter of how far you want to go with it. Couple of points though. If just building a built-in safe for items, and it's in the basement or on the ground floor - keep it well off the floor to protect from flooding. And do your fireproofing around the safe, outside the safe, instead of using a fireproof safe itself. This way you can greatly improve the fire rating to withstand almost any house fire. The thing you really have to pay attention to is the burglary rating of the safe. You want it as high as you can get, and afford.
It can be done of course, but I would simply bring up two points: 1. If you have it in the basement humidity will be a concern. 2. Have you assessed the risk of home invasions? The reason I would be hesitant would be what if they break in and simply hold you hostage until you open the safe? A SDB is much harder for them to do this. Other than that the points Doug brought up I would agree with. Chris
You may want to adjust your thought process and take into consideration other ways besides a safe or use it in conjunction with a safe. Since you are building a custom house, the secret storage units shown in the link below probably can be easily incorporated in your building plans. When I saw what these people can do it completely blew me away. http://www.hiddenpassageway.com/
Harder yes. But are you going to refuse to go the bank and get your coins and/or cash if somebody is holding a gun to your kid's head ? There's no way to make anything work 100%. All you can do is the best you can do.
As Doug mentioned, a lot of people are incorporating a "Safe Room" into the design of the house. They're designing them much like the vault in a bank, so it is also the place to go in the event of a home invasion. Some people are even adding dedicated electric and phone lines (underground) so that emergency services can be contacted. Chris
At least that gives you a chance to get help. Closed off in your own home is a different story. The main reason I would suggest the bank is because if some nefarious character finds out you have a safe at home that can tempt them, while knowing the coins are at the bank will significantly reduce that chance.
Not that I've done anything like this, but from what I understand, newly built items, including poured concrete, carpeting, panelling, etc, all put of fumes and other stuff for a while after installation. I believe I read somewhere that if you are putting in a safe in concrete, you should wait a period of time, (forget how much) for the concrete not to put out moisture or something that can harm coins. Don't know if this is true or not.
Yup, it's true. Concrete never really stops curing, or drying out. But most of it is over after 30 days. No matter what you do, the rules of proper storage always apply.
Are you building it YOURSELF? Don't tell a soul (just your spouse), and if you are working with a builder, don't tell him. Do the work yourself. Also, the safe, don't let anyone see it being delivered. No neighbors etc.. it is very difficult to maintain this type of privacy, but it is imperative. Loose lips sink ships. There is a thread from way back, more than a year ago, discussing this, and in it are some other thoughtful ideas. Search for that thread. Lucy
Appreciate all the feedback. A few things: 1. My hours are crazy, so a safe deposit box isn't really an option - if I ever want to see my coins. 2. I live in Houston, so humidity is ALWAYS an issue. Crime generally is also pretty bad, although the neighborhood in question is pretty good. Many of my coworkers (in other parts of town) have had breakins. I have a good idea of the type of security system I need to prevent / stop breakins. 3. My thought was to build some sort of hidden closet to hold a safe. Not quite on the "hiddenpassages" level, but along those lines. 4. I'm also a little reluctant to build something in. i figure the best defense is making sure no one, particularly construction workers, even knows that I have a safe. So whatever I get I think I should have it put in after the fact. 5. I almost feel like the experts are unstoppable, and that I'm better off installing a solution to get the run of the mill scumbag that might break in, and save some cash. I've been looking at one of these: http://www.brownsafe.com/features_Fire_&_Burglary_Safes/F&B_sizes_SingleDoor.html A few questions: 1. How big do you guys think I should go? I have most of my collection now in a 3 cu ft. staples safe, and certainly need more space. but I'm wondering if I need to go all the way to 30 cu ft. I will eventually inherit my dad's very large collection, so I definitely need room for growth. Cost for a larger size seems relatively small, and am inclined to max out. 2. Is external fire proofing more economic than the above?
Anything can be done. A couple of houses ago the owner wanted bullet proof windows. Underground sensors. and a lot more other things. It's all about how much you want to spend
I solved my "safe" problem back in 1998 ! I bought an abandoned closed Wells Fargo Bank building. Five safes, & a huge walk-in Vault. The Vault has 2 foot poured concrete & rebar walls. A 3 thousand pound vault door and a time lock combination, electronic alarm system. Maybe a little over-kill, but I basically got it all for the price of the commercial real estate lots. I was at the right place at the right time
Blazer, how do you insure the abandoned building. I had problems insuring 'empty' buildings (no tenants) and got someone to 'rent' from me so that I could solve that issue. No one wants to insure and uninhabited building, regardless of what's in it. Just asking.. Lucy
We converted half of the building to a small Mom & Pop retail store. So we are actually occupying both halfs.
