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1400 lb gun safe??

treadlok97
I am looking at getting a new safe. Heritage 56" wide 72" tall and weights around 1400lbs. It is going on the main floor of my house. I am going to brace the floor under the house. Just asking to see if anybody else done this. Other than moving it in do you think there will be a problem with the floor supporting the weight.
Also I think I am going to put down 7/16 osb on the floor and use small pipes to roll it to where it goes.
Do you have any better ideas or think this is not safe????
Thanks for your help.
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Comments

8 comments

Date Votes
  • gotstolefrom
    The standard 'engineers' answer.....it depends. Chances are you will be O.K., but you can take extra precautions. Here are some suggestions, do as you like.

    As far as the floor joist supporting the load, if you were REALLY overloading the stucture you would find out when you tried to bring it in. When it is on the dolly, the total weight is distributed over an area less than one square foot. Many codes design for 120 to 150 pounds per square foot dead loadings, with live loads and factors of safety over that. Your concern will be after you leave the safe at the final spot, will things be OK. You probably have about a 120 pound per square foot load under the safe (if it is about 30 to 35 inches deep). So, by pecking your calculator, things should be OK...but that may not be good enough for you to be comfortable about it.

    Most folks place a safe near a load bearing wall. If that is the case, you should have no problem...but it doesn't hurt to check.
    If you do have good access under the floor, measure the distance from the basement floor to the bottom of the floor joist under the safe, move the safe in and check it again (and later too). If you get a 1/4 inch of 'sag', you probably want to do some bracing.

    You say you are going to brace the floor under the house. If you double the joist for the area around the safe you should be well in the clear (if there are 2x8 joist, just nail another 2x8 to them). Do this before you bring the safe in. You also could add a post to support the safe, but that would mess up the floor plan of the space on the lower floor.

    Again, the chances are things will be fine just as they are. However, there are horror stories of shortcuts taken in building homes everyday.

    Good luck.... and by the way, your safe is too small. Everyone's is....it just takes a year or so to find that out.
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  • MIKE WISKEY
    .... and by the way, you safe is too small. Everyones is....it just takes a year or so to find that out.
    HELL; I FOUND THAT OUT BEFORE MY CLOSET WAS EMPTY!
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  • asop
    Mike-
    I had this same problem. To solve it I built walls around it 2' wider on each side, built shelves, put a door on the front and thru a small dehumidifier in below the lowest shelf. Not only did it hide the safe, but gave me much needed storage and really hepled the humidity problems. Stay Safe .....................................
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  • Blckhrn
    As for moving the safe on rollers, I can say that I moved a drill press that weighed at least half your safe's weight that way, up a 16'long 1' elevation ramp I built as I went. I had a block and tackle all set up to bring it in but found I could push it up the ramp.

    Be sure you have it guyed well if falling to the side is a factor. I used ratchet tie downs and moved a couple cars to use as anchors. Harbor Freight has some high tensile 25' tie downs at a good price, I used 1,500 lb ones about 15' long.

    As stated above and depending on how many rollers you use, this will generate a high psi load on your floor.

    "You can build a man a fire and keep him warm for a couple hours or douse him with fuel oil and keep him warm the rest of his life"
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  • tajjn
    When I had my safe delivered (1200lbs) the delivery guys used golf balls to roll the safe around, they just kept moving the balls from back to front. It was like having the save mounted on ball bearings and made turning it a snap.

    Not now, I'm busy reloading!!!!
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  • Rembrandt
    Mine was 1500 pounds(900lbs for the box, 600lbs for the door)....best to take the door off and move it in two pieces. Use a floor jack to remove and reinstall the door. Get yourself 6 husky friends, a couple of pizza's and a twelve pack of beer....don't forget the golf balls.
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  • nralifers
    Unless you are beefed up on the floor--wouldn't recommend it on the upper floors. I built a platform in my game room for a 1,800 lb safe. I put 2 x 4's and 3/4" ply--just my opinion. One word of caution----don't EVER try to move safe, with or without rollers, with guns inside---ask me how I know!!! Also, they are all right, buy the biggest one you can afford, then buy two.
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  • Ray Boone
    About 15 years ago I got a Fort Knox of about the same size and weight. I figured one way or the other it would endup in the basement, so I put it there before I put anything in it.
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