When owning a safe where they can keep weapons, money, documents, and all other valuable belongings, people want to make sure all precautionary measures are being taken regarding the safety and protection of their most precious items.
That’s why most of them would like to bolt the safe down to the floor, so the thieves and other intruders won’t be able to take it out of their home and bring it with them.
But sometimes that’s simply not possible. For instance, if you don’t own the house but you are renting it, and your landlord won’t give you permission to do the drilling.
But don’t despair, there are still things you can do. In case you are wondering how to secure a safe without bolting it to the floor, we are here to provide you with all the information and several options you have.
And all of them will make sure your floor remains intact while the security and protection of your belongings aren’t compromised.
Option 1: Hide the Safe
There are several ways of securing a safe to the floor without having to bolt it, and the most popular one is based on hiding it under the floorboards.
If you have wooden floors, you can make some of the boards removable, so it can be convenient to hide the safe under them and approach it easily. The great advantage of this method, besides the fact no one will even know you have a safe at your place, lies in the fact you can save up a lot of space.
But bear in mind that safe under the floor is not that accessible and easy to approach, especially if you are in a hurry. That’s why most people who like keeping their weapons in safes aren’t fans of this method.
Of course, in homes with some other type of floors, this isn’t a possible solution.
Now, when it comes to installing a safe under the floor, it’s very important not to damage those exact boards you will remove to approach the safe. If that happens, intruders may get a clue that something is hidden under them. That’s why we don’t recommend doing this thing on your own but letting the professionals carefully prepare the surroundings and install the safe.
But if you do want to do everything by yourself, know that you will need a grinder and a lever tool to access the space under the boards where the safe will find its place, that you will have to assess if there’s enough space for your particular safe and if there are some pipes or mechanisms that can stand in its way, and in the end, you will have to make sure the wooden boards can be placed and removed from their place easily, without any obstacles.
Option 2: Glue the Safe
Another alternative to bolting safe to the floor is gluing it instead. According to people who did exactly that, with an intention to make it stable and unable to move by intruders, this technique is a very cheap and simple one – it won’t take too much of your money nor time.
And the best part is you can do it by yourself, you don’t need help from professionals for this. By using glue, you will avoid damaging your floor the way you would if you are about to bolt it.
Our recommendation is again to choose a place that’s a bit or completely hidden so that thieves aren’t even in a position to try stealing from you.
For this endeavour, you will need high strength polymer glue. It is crucial for it to have extremely good fixation and a high durability rate. You should use glue that can get along with metal, glass, wood, and ceramics. Make sure, when doing this, to be very generous with the glue.
You don’t want to economize on it if you prefer having a safe glued to the floor appropriately and firmly. If you need to spread the glue, you can use a scraper or something similar for that, but bear in mind that this method will leave some marks on the floor once you decide to move the safe. So if you are renting the place, choose another option.
Option 3: Add Weight
If you want to make sure robbers and intruders most definitely won’t be in a position to move your safe or bring it with themselves, you can apply a technique that’s based on adding extra weight to it.
That’s one of the most efficient solutions of making it super steady and hard to conquer, besides bolting it to the floor, which is not an option here. You probably don’t know this, but most thieves don’t try robbing the safe in the field because that per se takes some time, and they would take a great risk in exposing themselves.
Instead, they usually decide to take it with them and break it later, with an adequate tool and at a safe location. That’s why this is such a great solution, especially if you are not willing or in a position to bolt the safe.
When it comes to adding weight, we recommend using conventional weights you usually can find at the gym. If you don’t own them, you can buy them quite cheaply, but you can also use any other type of heavy object.
We believe around 50 additional pounds will be what you need. Bear in mind that it would be best to place all the extra weights inside the safe and not on the outside because, in this case, you would have to make sure they are all somehow fixated to it.
And if you choose the right ones, those that are heavier, the weights will do their work while taking very little space inside your safe.
Option 4: Use Steel Slab
The last method how to secure a safe without having to bolt it down the floor is by using a heavy steel slab. We are actually talking about a technique that’s quite similar to the previous one, with the difference of having a huge and bulky object attached to the safe beside the heavy one.
So the idea is, once again, to make sure thieves cannot get the safe out of your home – first because the extra weight will incapacitate them in that intent, and second because it will be quite impossible for them to do that with the huge and robust item on it.
It is important to choose a thick steel piece and a pretty wide one, so the intruder cannot get it through the door frame. Now, there will be some drilling here, not to the floor but to the safe only since you will have to attach that huge slab somehow.
Bear in mind that when you install this steel item, you as well won’t be able to move the safe to another location, so make sure to choose the spot for it very wisely. The truth is, this installation of yours won’t be pretty, but it sure will do the work in protecting your belongings just fine.
Useful Tips
The most important thing for you is to choose the right option regarding securing your safe sooner than later. Do not procrastinate, that’s never a good idea.
But after you do that, make sure to have all the advice and tips that will make sure you will do the job appropriately, without endangering the protection of the safe by any means. Here is what we believed is crucial to bear in mind:
1. Choose hidden places for your safe
The experience showed that picking the most obvious places to position your safe is not a good idea. You want to make thieves harder to find and break into your safe, so it would be better to install it at someplace they probably won’t look for it. So no, don’t place it in your closet, under the bed, behind the work desk, etc.
Make sure to think carefully about all unpredictable and hidden places in order to make sure they do not get your belongings. Because after all, all of these techniques are good, and they sure will make it harder for them to steal from you, but not impossible.
2. Use two steel sheets
If you are a fan of option number four, where you will take a huge and thick steel slab and bolt it to the safe in order to make it extremely difficult for the robbers to pass the safe through the door frame, you will love this suggestion.
If you want to make sure this attempt of theirs is certain to fail, you can use two steel plates and cross them over each other. Only the look at this construction will give them a clear clue that they most definitely won’t be in a position to take the safe out of that room, which will probably demotivate them and hopefully make them give up on the whole thing.
3. Avoid objects with moisture
In case you decide to add extra weight to your safe, in the form of gym weights, you need to make sure they are completely clean and dry before placing them inside the safe. That’s because any sort of objects that are wet and moisture can affect the guns, ammunition, documents, and many other objects people usually keep in these steel boxes.
That could damage them seriously, especially given the fact the weights will be inside the safe for a long period of time.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are ways you can make your safe and, therefore, your valuable belongings well protected without bolting it down the floor. The question of how to secure a safe without drilling has multiple answers, and it’s up to you to simply choose the right one for you.
We made sure to present all the adequate alternatives, as well as tips and suggestions on how to do it and with what tools. So good luck in this endeavor!