Safes And Vaults For Your House

For precious possessions and vitally important documents, the optimal safeguard against burglary and fire is a safe-deposit box at your local bank. But most of these safe-deposit boxes are too small for bulky objects, and too inconvenient for frequently used items like financial records and computer disks. The best way to protect such articles is to store them in a safe in your residence that is burglar and/or fire resistant.

Before choosing a safe, decide whether you are concerned more about burglary or fire, since few safes protect against both. Burglary safes have thick steel bodies, combination locks, and hardened steel bolts, but papers inside may char in a fire. A fire safe has a double shell of thin sheet metal filled with insulation. Some have reinforced doors and combination locks, but thieves can crack them by peeling away the sheet metal.

Fire Safes: The insulation in fire safes actually contain up to 30 quarts of water, which is released as steam in a fire to absorb heat. The vapor filters through vents inside and outside the safe and may crumple and discolor papers, but they will remain legible and flexible enough to handle. Look for the Underwriters Laboratory (UL, or ULC in Canada) label on any fire safe before buying. It will indicate how long the unit can withstand a fire and how high the interior temperature may go.

Burglary Safes: The most secure burglary safes are UL or ULC rated models, which weigh 800 pounds or more; they are primarily designed for business use. Safes designed for the home tend to be lighter and less expensive, but they are also more vulnerable, able to withstand sledgehammers, drills and pry bars for only a few minutes. When purchasing a safe for the home, be sure the unit has a concealed hardened-steel plate to protect the lock and bolts, and bolts or steel hooks that secure the hinge side of the door.

You may want your dealer to install mounting brackets on the unit, to enable you to bolt the safe to the floor to prevent burglars from carting it away. Try to choose an inconspicuous or concealed location for the safe – beneath a stairway or behind a false electrical panel, for example. If you have a security system installed, try to protect this area with a photoelectric, infrared, or microwave motion sensor.

M Adley has over 10 years experience in the security industry and is webmaster at http://www.alarmsystemreviews.com, an unbiased resource for reviews and information about home security and security systems for the average consumer.

The Value of Home Security Safes

A basic locking cabinet can secure valuable papers or personal items but it will not protect them from theft or fire damage. Only safes can provide a superior level of protection for documents, jewelry, guns and personal items.Computer data that would be difficult or impossible to duplicate if lost. Home and business security systems require the addition of security safes to eliminate the possibility of data and document loss due to fire and climate disruptions.

The proliferation of home robberies are classified as "snatch and grab." The intruder invests approximately 3-5 minutes within the home. The very presence of a home security safe is a deterrent to such robberies. Any additional time invested within the home increases the odds of apprehension. Theft prevention and climate control management have rendered security safes a requirement for any home, office or business. The needed security afforded by home and business safes completes any existing security control system. Home security safes offer protection of personal documents, jewelry and irreplaceable items. Home safes are a major deterrent from robbery and provide needed security from fire and climate changes. Advance Safes offer a large inventory of wall safes, floor safes, fire safes, gun safes, and electronic digital safes. Home safes are a perfect compliment to any home security system.

Fire could destroy your business! In fact, eight businesses burn almost every hour in the U.S. resulting in over 2.3 billion dollars in annual losses.* Unfortunately, seven out of ten businesses have not adequately protected their vital records. When that information is destroyed a business often fails. Don't become a company that incurs fire damage resulting in critical loss of data (customer, personnel, accounting files, etc.) by not utilizing quality fire and data media safes. Survival is possible but preparation is necessary.

Security safes are an essential protection against fire, theft and climate changes. Theft prevention, fire protection, data security and storage are a requirement for any business or home office. Advance Safes offer a complete inventory of fire safes, data media safes, depository safes, floor safes, treasury safes (TL-15 and TL-30), vaults and hotel safes. A quality safe is an essential requirement for any business security system. A safe investment is a long-term security dividend. Please consider our inventory of security safes as a welcome addition to any home or office environ. Contact us at: advancesafes@hotmail.com.

*Source: National Fire Protection Association article Fire Loss in the U.S. During 2004 Abridged Report.

Lawrence Hilliard is the Founder and Dir. Of Op. of Advance Safes. http://www.centurionsafes.com

The Benefits of Fireproof Home Safes

A home fire can destroy your house and all your belongings. You probably have smoke detectors on every floor, have a family escape plan, and know to call 911 in a home fire emergency. But have you protected your valuable possessions?

A fireproof home safe is an easy way to protect your most important documents and belongings in case of a home fire. A safe deposit box at your bank, however, is the safest way to store your important papers. But if you need more space or would just like to keep your important belongings at home, you need a fireproof home safe.

Most safes are fire-resistant, not fireproof. The fire-resistant safes are rated by the Underwriters Laboratories. They rate safes based on how long they can protect paper in a fire at different temperatures. Class-C fire-resistant safes will protect paper from a 1,700-degree fire for one hour, a class-B safe for two hours at 1,850-degrees, and a class-A for four hours at 2,000-degrees. You will need a specialized safe to protect computer documents like disks from fire.

Small fireproof safes start at around $50. These hold only a few hundred cubic inches and weigh less than 20 pounds. If you need more space, then you will need to spend more money. Larger fireproof home safes start at around $200, but can cost thousands. Fireproof safes that expensive are usually for guns or commercial use.

Many Internet retailers sell fireproof home safes, many at low wholesale prices, but you may have to pay for shipping. Try to see the safe in person before you buy it, since returning the safe will be expensive. Check out your local home security stores. Remember, you are putting your most important documents in the safe. Make sure it is the one you want.

Safes Info provides detailed information about various types of wall, diversion, gun, and fireproof home safes, and more. Safes Info is affiliated with Original Content Web.

Floor Safes - Proven Protection

With an alarming increase on crime rates these days, more and more people are getting cynical about their belongings and how they can protect them against intrusion and the elements. Thus, manufacturers and entrepreneurs came up with an idea on how to safeguard man’s valuable things and properties through a device that can endure the test of time. And so, floor safes came into the limelight. Basically, a safe has three main classifications or configurations. They are the wall or wall-mounted safes, the freestanding safes, and the in-floor or simply floor safes. Without going into the details of the other two, let us discuss the compositions of floor safes.

1. The Nature Of Floor Safes

Basically, floor safes, like its two counterparts, are specially designed to provide protection and security to valuables and other pertinent documents. As it name suggests, floor safes are exclusively made to be mounted into the concrete slab of the floor. Because of its position, manufacturers of floor safes strongly suggest that the position of the safe must be carefully analysed and considered so as to maximize its potential. If mounted properly end extensively, floor safes can be the best protection against burglary and even tragedies like fire.

2. Installation

Floor safe installations are actually more complicated and more expensive compared to wall safes. When installing floor safes, you have to cut a slab out of the floor first. Then, you have to dig a hole. After which the safe is placed into the hole and more concrete is poured to cover the area. This will firmly ground the safe and prevent it from being physically removed during a burglary.

3. About Floor Safes

Floor safes are under the category of composites safes. That means that they have a combination of two functions, to combat fire and burglary. In its entirety, the floor safe has been tested against all forms of burglary. The ratings that floor safes obtain will also determine the price of the item.

One drawback that consumers find on floor safes is that it has a tick wall covering, which, by practicality, floor safes render smaller space as compared to the typical metal vaults or the ordinary filing cabinets. But people must understand that the main reason why floor safes are designed this way is because of its purpose, and that is to protect the valuables and not just be a mere storage item.

The other feature of floor safes is its electronic lock. It provides convenience to the user because they no longer have to rotate on a counting basis so as to open the safe. Plus, because it is electronic, the floor safe’s combination can be changed as often as you like.

The ironic drawback of floor safes is that, during a burglary, the burglar will have no option to try and take the safe with him, which may instigate him to be more hostile and violent with nearby hostages in hopes of obtaining the combination. Thus, the floor safe should be considered the absolute ideal safe for coverage at night and when no one is present.

For more great floor safe related articles and resources check out http://www.safe-stop.com