The Benefits (and Pitfalls) of Wall Safes

Wall-Safe-Naples-A-LocksmithA wall safe can offer convenient, hidden protection for your belongings, but they do have a few weaknesses you need to know about before you buy. Here’s a few questions you should ask yourself to decide if a wall safe is right for you.

Can You Keep a Secret?  If you are the type that can’t resist the urge to show off your cool new wall safe to friends, you probably should choose a different style of safe. Wall safes, when properly concealed, can offer excellent protection from burglars, mainly because the burglar does not know where the safe is. If you do install a wall safe, make sure your installer has been background checked, bonded, and has adequate insurance coverage for your protection. Never install a wall safe within view of a window where prying eyes could see where you safe is hidden, what’s inside, or even learn your combination. If a burglar has insider information about where your wall safe is located, they are fairly easy to remove from your home by cutting the wall around the safe or prying the safe out. To maximize the security of your safe, make sure you keep the location of your safe top secret.

Do You Need Fire Protection? If you have fire sprinklers, you don’t need to worry so much about finding a fire rated wall safe. If not, consider if fire protection is a must for the items you will be storing. Wall safes are installed by attaching the safe to drywall and wood studs, so you cannot have too much weight. The protective fire material and the thick steel that provides advanced protection from pry and drilling attacks in more traditional safes are very heavy so your wall safe won’t provide quite the level of protection that a traditional safe would. We do however, carry a great fire rated wall safe which is UL rated to keep the temperature below 350 degrees for 1 hour (paper chars at 450 degrees) and it comes in at just over 100 pounds, still light enough to safely install in a wall. What your average wall safe lacks in heft can be made up for by the fact that it is hidden from view.

How Important is Convenience? Having your valuables stored at eye-level can be much easier on your back than accessing a short safe bolted to the ground. Wall safes are suitable if you will be getting into your safe quite often and don’t want to have to bend or stoop down. The option of an electronic or a combination dial lock can offer even more convenience.

Is a Wall Safe Going to Be Big Enough? You will have to sacrifice on size if you want a wall safe. Wall safes are designed to be installed between studs, so you are limited by the width between your home’s studs (usually 16 inches). Walls are not very thick either, so if you don’t want your safe to poke out through the wall into another room you are typically limited to a safe that has just 3.5 inches of depth inside for storage. If you don’t mind the safe going through another wall, or if you are building a home and can make a thick wall for your wall safe, we carry wall safes that are up to 10.8 inches deep inside.

What Do You Have to Protect? Wall safes are best if you have to hide a few items from kids or visitors, such as prescription medication, a bit of emergency cash, or a small collection of fine jewelry. We do not recommend you use a wall safe to store very valuable items because if a burglar does discover your wall safe, you won’t be quite as protected compared to a more traditional safe.  If you have a nice collection, make sure you store your high end items such as gold, jewelry, and important photos and documents in a safe that is rated for both burglary and fire protection and that has been bolted to the ground.

“A” Locksmith has a dedicated team of safe experts that can help you choose the right safe. Once you decide which safe will work for you, we will discreetly deliver and professional install your safe. Stop by our Naples safe showroom across from Mercato to see our selection of wall safes today!

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