Did you recently acquire expensive jewelry or have some rare (but precious) item you want to keep safe? When buying your home safe, it’s important to know that home safes are not always the best option for high-value items like these. An ideal place for your precious jewelry or other valuables is a bank. They offer more protection than home safes will.
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. Buying your home safe can be an affordable way to secure important belongings. 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.
What to Look Out For
Choosing a home safe can be quite tricky, but if you know what to look out for when buying your home safe, the process becomes easier.
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. When buying your home safe, try adding more height to the dimensions because, as time progresses, chances are, you will get more valuable documents for yourself and your family. 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 when buying your home safe.
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, buying your home safe with water resistance in mind can be your best option. This ensures your important documents are protected in the event of water damage.
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. When buying your home safe, make sure to consider these temperature thresholds to protect your valuable items effectively.
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.’ So, when buying your home safe, consider these ratings to ensure maximum protection for your valuables.
3. The Lock Style
When buying your home safe, it’s important to 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.
4. How Portable It Is
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. When buying your home safe, consider the security level and how it fits into your home’s security setup to ensure maximum protection.
5. Let it be Within 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. When buying your home safe, make the investment in something that will offer long-term security.
When buying your home safe, consider factors such as size, protection (fire, water, and burglary resistance), lock style, portability, and budget. Make sure the safe fits both your current and future storage needs and offers adequate protection for your valuables.
How do I determine the right size for buying my home safe?
To determine the right size, stack your important items neatly and measure their height and width. It’s also a good idea to add extra space for future documents and valuables.
Should I buy a home safe with fire and water protection?
Yes, if you want to ensure your important documents, electronic media, and valuables are protected from potential disasters, consider buying your home safe with both fire and water resistance. These features will help safeguard your belongings in the event of a fire or flood.
How important is the lock style when buying your home safe?
The lock style is crucial for ensuring maximum security. It’s recommended to choose a safe with two locking mechanisms, as these provide enhanced protection against theft.
Is it better to buy a portable or unmovable home safe?
For increased security, it’s generally better to choose a non-portable safe. Portable safes are easier to steal, so opting for a heavier, stationary safe provides better protection for your valuables.
