Home Security SafesHome security safe can be defined as a residential secure lockable container. Safes are used to protect items of value from damage or theft. A good safe is generally constructed from highly resistant materials such as steel. They are commonly designed as hollow cubes but can vary in size from walk-in vault safes to hidden safes concealable by a power-outlet panel or inside a "book." Should you be considering a home security safe, you have a wide array of options to select from. Before you install a security safe in your home however, it is important to ensure you have chosen a safe that is right for your specific needs. Your first consideration should be in relation to the nature of the items you wish to safeguard. Most safes are specifically made to house a certain type of object, for example: money, valuables such as jewelry or family heirlooms, documents and firearms. It follows that the quality of the safe should be relative to the value of the items you wish to secure. There is little sense in investing a large sum in a safe which you'll only use to store items of lesser value or, contrarily selecting a cheaper, less reliable safe in which to keep your priceless antique jewelry.
Some other points to bear in mind before you install a security safe are where best to position it. You have your choice of a general standalone safe, a wall safe and a floor safe. Naturally all these safes come in different sizes to reflect various storage needs. A general safe is useful for securing miscellaneous items of value but do bear in mind that unless it is firmly anchored it will not prove as effective a deterrent to theft as a wall or floor safe. Losing your safe along with its contents is an even more regrettable prospect than the loss of the contents alone and therefore it is advisable to incorporate smaller, relatively light safes as permanent fixtures. Wall and floor safes offer a simple means of doing this as well as the advantage of concealment. Noter that Wall safes may easily be obscured from unwelcome attention by such as paintings and bookshelves and in-floor safes by rugs or furniture. Another thinking point is the type of lock which you feel will best serve you. Safes are available with key locks, combination locks, electronic locks and also time locks, although these last are not really best suited for home security safes. An electronic lock offers perhaps the most security as it may be reprogrammed to accept a different code on a regular basis. It is also possible to find a combination of these lock types for extra security fail-safes. Finally, you will need to consider whether you need your safe to be proof against fire, water and impact.
Rob Hargreaves - An American locksmith How safe are your possessions?
One of our basic needs is to protect our goods and valuables. How
many times have we wondered: is it safe to keep my jewels or money at
home? Will my kids be in danger of shooting themselves if I buy myself
a gun? Will I get bankrupt if a fire starts by any chance in my office?
The need for safes appeared shortly after humankind discovered money,
gold and other valuables. Until 1820 they helped only against theft,
but starting in the 1840s they were designed, by using so called Wilder
technology, to protect effectively against fire. The burglar resisting
safe was first patented in 1835 by Chubb Safes (it is believed that
they were already producing them for almost 20 years).
There is a whole highly developed industry behind safes: they are
usually made of metal, are designed to be fire and environmentaly
resistant and are using high tech electronics, laser-cut doors or
memory recall capabilities. One of the world's largest home security
providers is Sentry Safes. They offer high quality at competitive
prices and in more than 70 years of being on the market they have
remained faithful to the founder's beliefs: quality, affordability and
innovation.
The safes generally have two main destinations - for home or office use - and can be classified in three main types:
1) Burglary Safes - they offer protection against theft, but very
little against fire. Usually they have solid metal walls and a heavy
door resistant to a drilling, cutting or prying attack. Hardened
resistant metals are often used to slow down attempts to break in to
this safe.
2) Fire Safes - usually they are made of a thin metal double wall and
have a fire-resistant insulating material between the walls. They have
a minimum level of security, because they are designed to protect
(especially papers) against fire. They have to maintain an internal
temperature of below 200 degrees C (the point at which documents will
be destroyed) .The safes provide the fire protection for either 30, 60,
90 or 120 minutes. Similar to them, but a bit more effective, there are
the "Data Safes" which maintain less than 52 degrees C (the point at
which data media is destroyed) and also protect against high humidity,
electro magnetic contamination, etc.
3) Fire / Burglary Safes - They are generally multi-purpose safes and
offer good protection both against thefts and fire. They are designed
like a burglary safe, but have a secondary wall inside, which contains
insulation (the material that helps maintaining a low temperature).
Usually home safes are used to prevent stealing or destruction of our
family's property: money, papers like receipts, contracts, personal and
financial documents, jewels and sometimes other things which can be
irreplaceable: photos, videos. For good protection of these valuables
we need Fire/Burglary Safes. Usually, these safes are located in the
floor or in the walls.
The wall safes demand a special framing and it is better to place them
as low as possible because, in the event of a fire, the temperature is
lower at ground level. They are very practical for those of us who
value their possessions, but don't want to keep them in a bank. They
are easy to install and access and they do not require special
modifications of the interior or the design of the house.
When we don't have enough money to buy a professional safe it is always
better to remember about diversion safes! They don't look like the
typical steel safe and, although they have no protection against fire,
they can discourage a potential burglar, who hasn't got the time to
search the whole house. We can use as diversion safe containers for
soda pop, canned fruit, home cleaners, or even books. They have
removable tops or bottoms so that we can put our goods in them, weight
so that they appear normal when handled and most important, they are
quite cheap compared to a normal safe.
We also don't have to forget that a gun safe is the most effective way
of preventing a tragic accident at home! Usually they are made of steel
and the size is according to the size of the gun you want to secure.
The bigger the safe is, the more it costs. But although it will cost an
extra amount of money, it's better to remember that we should diminish
the risks by keeping the guns safe.
When buying a safe we have to think of its destination, how accessible
it is, how many options we can get for the amount of money that we are
willing to pay and how it is rated (what is its level of security
against thefts, destruction). The best thing would be to hire a company
that can monitor and protect your house/office and values. But when
this is too expensive, safes are the next best option. by Jeff King
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