Do you have something extremely valuable at home? Don’t worry, you don’t have to answer us. Let it be your secret. But then you understand what it means to keep your belongings safe.
If you haven’t already, you’d be thinking of getting a home safe. To be honest, home safes are not the best options for certain items. An ideal place for items such as your precious jewelry or other valuables is a bank.
They offer more protection than home safes will. However, there are important factors to consider when getting a home safe, such as size, fire resistance, and locking mechanisms, which will ensure that your items are properly protected in the comfort of your home.
But if you want to keep items such as tape, hard drives, DVDs, documents, certificates, and records that are near impossible to replace, home safes offer the type of protection you’re looking for. However, there are important factors to consider when getting a home safe, such as size, security features, and fire resistance, to ensure your valuables are properly safeguarded.
While inexpensive compared to banks, they offer adequate protection for birth and death certificates, passports, important documents, electronic storage media, or even ammunition you’ve acquired to defend your home.
Important Things to Consider When Getting a Home Safe
Choosing a home safe can be tricky, but if you know what to look out for, the process becomes easier. There are several important factors to consider when getting a home safe, such as the size, security features, and fire resistance. By understanding these key elements, you can make an informed decision that best suits your needs.
1. The size
For starters, you need to know the size of your safe. Stacking the items you’ll put in the safe in a neat pile and measuring the size of the pile, both height and width, is an easy way to determine the size of the safe. Try adding more height to the dimension because as time progresses, chances are, you will get more valuable documents for yourself and your family.
When thinking about important factors to consider when getting a home safe, ensuring enough space for future items is crucial. You don’t want to leave the safety of future documents to chance.
2. Protection
It’s most likely your main concern for choosing a safe is fire. Good thing most safes protect from fire and theft, and some also throw in water protection into the mix. However, there are other important factors to consider when getting a home safe, such as size, locking mechanisms, and ease of access, to ensure it meets all your needs.
Safety from Water
Choosing an appropriate safe for your documents can depend a lot on where you live. For instance, if where you live is prone to flooding, your best option for a safe that is also water resistant. Additionally, there are important factors to consider when getting a home safe, such as the size, fireproof capabilities, and security features that will best suit your needs.
Safety from Fire
In case of fire outbreaks, paper documents have to be protected from temperatures above 350 degrees. Go for a safe whose internal temperature will not exceed this temperature during a fire accident. However, tapes, hard drives, and other electronic storage media don’t survive temperatures above 150 degrees. If tapes are among the items that will go in the safe, look for safes that won’t rise above this temperature. This is easy to look for—the information is provided in the safe. One of the important factors to consider when getting a home safe is the fire protection rating, as it ensures the safe can withstand the required temperatures to protect your valuables.
Safety from Burglars
Most house safes are built to withstand burglars. Here’s what Consumer Reports says about safes: “Independent ratings for burglary resistance are less common for home safes than for ones made for commercial users, such as jewelry stores. To determine their burglary-resistance ratings, UL testers go at safes with tools, torches, and even explosives, Drengenberg says.
A TL-15 rated safe, for example, can withstand an attack of at least 15 minutes using common tools.” When selecting a home safe, it’s crucial to understand the important factors to consider when getting a home safe, such as the level of burglary resistance, fire protection, and the specific security features that best meet your needs.
3. The lock style
Keep an eye on the kind of locks or the locking mechanism your preferred safe comes with. It’s generally good to go for safes that come with two locks. These types of safes provide the best level of protection for thieves. When evaluating options, one of the important factors to consider when getting a home safe is the reliability and security of the locking system, as this greatly impacts the safety of your valuables.
4. Portability
Home safes are basically of two types: the Portable and the Unmovable types. While there are portable options available, it’s better to go for safes that aren’t portable to lower the chances of theft – portable safes face a higher risk of being stolen since they are easily movable.
One of the important factors to consider when getting a home safe is the level of security it offers, especially in terms of how easily it can be accessed or removed by burglars. Unmovable safes provide more security, making them a safer choice for homeowners looking to protect their valuables.
5. Your budget
Protecting your valuables is an investment you are making, not just for the present but for the future. For this reason, you need to pick the best safe that falls within your budget. Opting for a low-grade safe when you could have afforded better is a bad idea. You might say, “With luck, nothing is going to happen.”
But are you willing to depend on luck for the safety of your documents or storage media? Of course not. Murphy’s Law states that if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. And a lot of things can go wrong. Understanding the important factors to consider when getting a home safe is crucial to ensure your valuables are well protected. Make the investment.
6. What do others say about the dealers
Go online and make an effort to search for reviews on the dealers and manufacturers. More often than not, the opinions of others who have used the safe you are interested in will give honest reviews about the product.
That way you will know what you’re getting into. Aside from the sales talks, features, and benefits of the sale on sale, make sure to consider the important factors to consider when getting a home safe, such as durability, security features, and ease of use. Find out how it really performs in service.
If you need more information about making a choice on what safe to buy or need professional help with safe installation, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most important factors to consider when getting a home safe?
When getting a home safe, the most important factors to consider include the size of the safe, the level of protection it offers (fire, water, and burglary resistance), the type of locking mechanism, and the portability of the safe. It’s essential to choose a safe that suits your needs and provides adequate protection for your valuables.
How do I choose the right size for a home safe?
The size of the home safe is one of the important factors to consider when getting a home safe. Start by measuring the items you intend to store, including documents, electronics, and valuables. It’s also wise to account for future items, as you may need extra space down the line.
Why is fire resistance important when getting a home safe?
Fire resistance is one of the important factors to consider when getting a home safe because it ensures that your documents, tapes, hard drives, and other valuables remain safe even during a fire. Choose a safe with a high fire protection rating to ensure that it can withstand intense heat and keep your items intact.
How do I know if my home safe offers adequate burglary protection?
Burglary resistance is another key factor to consider. When evaluating safes, look for UL-rated safes that indicate their ability to withstand break-in attempts. The important factors to consider when getting a home safe in terms of burglary protection include the safe’s construction, lock mechanism, and the materials used to resist tampering.
Should I choose a portable or immovable safe?
When selecting a safe, the important factors to consider when getting a home safe include whether you prefer a portable or immovable option. While portable safes offer convenience, immovable safes provide greater security, making them more difficult for thieves to steal.