Where Can I Install My Gun Safe?

Factors to Consider When Deciding Where to Install Your Gun Safe

Purchasing a Liberty gun safe is a wise choice for protecting your family, home, firearms, and valuables. Now comes the second question: where will you put it? You don't want to wait until the delivery team is sitting in your driveway to figure this out. Some areas in your home may work better than others, but there's more to think about than just being able to get to your safe quickly in an emergency.

Your new gun safe will be very heavy. Depending on the model you choose, it could weigh 1,000 pounds or more. Make sure your chosen spot will be able to stand up to the weight it will be holding. If you're not sure your existing flooring can hold the weight of your safe, it's a good idea to have a building contractor evaluate your floor’s supporting infrastructure. This could prevent damage to your home if your floor isn't sturdy enough.

You also need to consider environmental factors. Putting your safe in your basement, workshop, or garage might seem like a good idea if you want to install it on top of a strong concrete base. However, these areas aren't always ideal because they're not usually climate controlled with heat or air conditioning.

Looking for advice on where to install your gun safe? Speak to your local Liberty gun safe dealer.

Do You Really Need to Anchor Your Gun Safe to the Floor?

Yes, you really need to anchor your gun safe to the floor. There are several reasons for this:

• If your safe is not anchored to the floor, a burglar can tip it over. Safes are much easier to pry open when they're on their back.
• A team of burglars could attempt to remove your safe from your home if it is not anchored.
• The safe could tip over on you or one of your family members when you open it, especially if it's packed heavier at its top.
• If an earthquake were to hit, your safe could topple over and injure or kill someone.
• Your safe could shift around and damage the flooring or carpeting beneath it.

Liberty’s gun safes come with pre-drilled holes that take the hassle out of having to drill through the bottom of your safe. We also sell anchoring kits to make it easy for you to get the proper type of hardware to secure your safe to the floor. There are two kits available: one for concrete floors and one for wood floors. Each kit comes with complete instructions that tell you what tools you need and how to anchor your safe.

Do not forget to order anchors when you order your Liberty gun safe!

What If You Can't Anchor Your Safe to the Floor?

Anchoring your gun safe to the floor is always best. However, there may be circumstances that prevent it, including:

• You absolutely cannot bring yourself to drill into your floors
• You're installing your safe on tile
• You are renting your home and aren't allowed to drill into your floors
• You move often and don't want to continually be repairing floors
• The area where you want to install your safe has a post-tensioned concrete floor or base

The next best thing you can do is anchor your gun safe to your wall. The catch? You have to make sure you're anchoring it to the studs in your wall and not just the sheetrock. Otherwise, it's too easy for the safe to pull away from the wall and topple over, or for a thief to pull or pry it away from the wall. Use a stud finder to make sure you know the location of your wall studs. You will also need a heavy-duty drill and bit to drill anchoring holes into the back of your safe.

Liberty’s expert customer service team is always ready to answer your questions about your safe.

What Is the Best Floor to Anchor Your Gun Safe To?

One of the best flooring types to anchor your gun safe to is cement. Cement is very strong and can hold a safe weighing 1,000 pounds or more without a problem. Depending on how your home is built, you'll most likely have concrete floors in your basement or in your garage. However, if your home is built on a slab foundation, you'll have concrete beneath all the floors.

You need to know what your sub-flooring is (the layer underneath the finished tile, carpet, etc. that you can see) so you can choose the right anchoring kit. You also need to know whether the concrete you will be anchoring to is post-tensioned. If it is, you cannot safely drill into it because you could cut one of the steel cables running through the concrete and create a potentially dangerous situation. Post-tensioned concrete usually has a stamp on it warning you not to drill, cut, or core.

We always recommend that you have a professional install your safe. Pros have experience AND the proper tools, including an impact drill and bits. If you choose to anchor your gun safe directly to a concrete surface, you will need to take steps to protect the bottom of your safe from corrosion, which may not be covered under your safe’s warranty. This is because in unconditioned spaces, like your basement or garage, the concrete can release moisture. You can prevent this from happening by sealing the concrete with an epoxy before installing the safe on it. If you don't want to deal with epoxy, place your safe on top of a rubber mat or piece of thin carpet before anchoring it to protect its bottom from both rust and scratches.

To learn more about what you can expect from a professional safe delivery, click here.

Accessories That Can Protect the Contents of Your Gun Safe

There are few considerations you must make if you install your gun safe in your basement or garage. While taking the steps to protect the bottom of your safe from corrosion is a good start, you need to remember that humidity can still seep into your safe from around its door. Our gun safes do have superior fire seals that activate with heat to keep out smoke and heat, but under normal circumstances, they do not prevent moisture from getting inside. This moisture can cause rust to form on your firearms or cause a musty smell inside your safe.

There are easy ways to combat moisture in your safe, including using a dehumidifier that heats and circulates the air or desiccant that absorbs moisture out of the air. If you do install your safe in your basement, make sure you regularly test your sump pump to help prevent damage to your safe and its contents in the event of minor flooding.

You Can Install Your Safe on a Wide Variety of Floor Types

Not everyone can install their safe directly to a concrete base. But don't worry, it is possible to install your new gun safe on top of a variety of floor types, including:

Hardwood

Hardwood flooring is a great surface to anchor a safe to. It provides more stability and security than a carpeted floor because you get more grab to the bolts than you would with carpet fibers and padding. If your floor is on top of a wood subfloor, you would use the anchoring kit for wood floors. If your floor is on a vapor barrier on top of a cement slab, you will need to use anchors for concrete to properly secure your safe.

Carpeting

It is possible to install your gun safe on top of a carpeted floor. There are several methods of doing it. The most important thing is to make sure your safe is level, so you may need to place it on a base to make sure its weight is evenly distributed. Another option is to place the safe on a rubber mat to help protect your carpeting.

Laminate

A laminate floor is designed to be durable. However, this type of floor is not as forgiving as hardwood when it comes to scratches or scuffs. You will want to make sure the area where you're going to anchor your safe is level so your floorboards don't shift or buckle.

Vinyl/Linoleum

High-quality vinyl or linoleum floors are very durable. However, lesser quality materials can rip or tear very easily or show indentations from heavy objects, like a gun safe. You may want to consider anchoring your safe on a base or a rubber mat to protect your flooring.

Tile

A tile floor can safely support the weight of a gun safe, depending on its rating from the Porcelain Enamel Institute (PEI). Tiles that are rated Group III, Group IV, and Group V can handle a heavy weight. However, ceramic tiles, like those you would use in your bathroom or wall tiles, are not strong enough to support a safe. Most safe installers advise you not to anchor a safe to tile, either. It's nearly impossible to tighten a safe down on tile without cracking it. If you're going to install your safe on tile, consider anchoring it to a wall, instead.

STONE

Natural stone flooring is very strong, and the anchoring process is very similar to what would be done with a concrete floor. While a stone floor can support a heavy safe, you need to make sure that the safe is sitting on a level area to avoid putting uneven stress on the tiles that could cause cracking. Placing the safe on a base or rubber mat before anchoring it down can help evenly distribute its weight. Your installer may have the same concerns with anchoring your safe to stone tiles as ceramic or porcelain tiles, however. Though generally stronger, stone tiles can still crack when you tighten the safe down, so a wall anchor may be the best option.

Remember, Liberty Safe always recommends that you have a professional install your safe for the best results and to avoid possible damage to your floor and your safe.

Take the guesswork out of installing your Liberty gun safe by having it professionally delivered and installed.