In-Floor Safes

I get lots of enquiries on in-floor or below ground safes, and lots of questions too. Guardall has a good range of in-floor safe, from the basic domestic unit through to extra deep ones with spring assist lid lifting.

Are they as good as the above ground ones?  Technically no because, say if you had a really big hammer and tried to bust it open, it is easier to swing at something that is at ground level than trying to swing at something that you would have to swing a big hammer sideways at! Having said that  a burglar would have to find it first, that is the big advantage of below ground safes, they are hard to find. Some people will actually have an in-floor safe as well as a “sacrificial” cheap above ground safe to try and trick anyone who breaks in that they only have a cheap, easy to break open safe, good psychology!! and the old burglar goes away happy with whatever they get.

Are they fire resistant? Well yes and no, they cannot be fire tested because you would need to put the ground/slab and safe into a furnace to test it and have it certified, but because it is below the ground and everyone knows heat rises it will always afford some fire resistance, they also usually have a cover over the door for concealment which will normally leave a 40-50mm gap between the door and the actual floor level, this air gap will also help with insulation.

What bout rising damp or water, this will always depend where you live, here in Perth the ground water can be very close to the surface, so that when you install them that you could use some sort of damp proofing to the concrete when installing this is just extra insurance that your safe will last a long time. Don’t forget though, if you had a flood or burst pie that your floor safe would fill up with water, so choose carefully where to install.

Finally the only thing i dislike about the below ground Guardall Safes is the you need to get down on the floor to open them and then you have to just about lay down on the floor to get anything out, so if you are tall or getting older, go for above ground safes, invest in a top quality Guardall Safe and you’ll have the best of security protection. Don’t forget the old trick of the “sacrificial” cheapy safe and hide the other in the wardrobe under some clothes, burglars will go for the first and easiest target, and they will feel like they have won, when it’s you that has won!!