Selecting the Best Safe for Fire or Theft/Burglar Protection

Seasoned burglars can really ruin your day. Especially if they locate your well hidden wall or floor safe. Forget about placing a wall safe behind a picture on a wall. I mean, really......how many times have you seen that in spy or mystery movies! You are going to have to be much more inventive than that.

Don't even try to solve this problem on your own. Ask for and obtain information from security professionals. I would talk with people in your town who sell safes. I would then talk with the crime prevention officer of your local police AND county sheriff's office. There is nothing wrong with comparing notes from 3 or more sources when it comes to home safes and the storage of important papers and valuables.

Fire and Burglars

One of my favorite sayings is "Never under estimate the strength of your opponent." I feel this is very fitting in a discussion about fire and burglar safes. If you have ever been near a full-blown house fire you know the enormous power and fury of this beast. Fire is quick to kill and devours valuable papers, jewelry, etc. with astonishing speed. And if the fire doesn't destroy your valuable items the fire's smoke or the superheated steam created by firefighting efforts will.

The heat created in the first five minutes of a growing fire is impressive. Papers and documents will be consumed so fast it will make your head spin. Don't think for a minute that papers in a metal fire cabinet are safe. They simply are incinerated inside the cabinet as the fire turns the file cabinet into a giant toaster.

Television and movie depictions of burglars are not too far from the truth. All you have to do is talk with your local police chief or top crime prevention officer. They will have countless stories about slick, professional burglars who can work with speed and efficiency.

If you think that a simple locked box or combination lock will stop them, you better wake up from your dream before it turns into a nightmare. This is especially true, if you happen to store lots of valuables in and around your home. Remember, that professional burglars will possibly case you and your home for weeks or months. They will attempt to uncover your living patterns and take advantage of them.

The point is simple. If you decide to take on fire and burglars on your own terms, you better have the absolute best protection you can afford. Before you buy, take the product brochure to your local fire and/or police officials and ask them if your selection will offer the level of protection you are seeking. Remember, these individuals see the failures in the field. They know what and what does not work.

Testing

When you start to make up your mind about what safe or storage box you will buy, you may be presented with some strange looking test numbers and letters. There are all kinds of tests that fire and burglar safes can be subjected to. Ask the company you are buying from to clearly explain the test and how difficult it is. Always ask if there are more stringent or tougher tests. If you are buying a safe that withstands the toughest attacks and/or exposure then you should be fairly comfortable.

The Juicy Information

Do you know where some of the greatest information is found about products? It is in trade publications. These are the invisible or hidden magazines that you don't find at news stands. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of these magazines. Your local library will possibly have access to them. If not, they most certainly will have an index that lists all of the titles.

Well guess what? There just happens to be one for safes! It is called Safe and Vault Technology. This particular magazine happens to be the official publication of the Safe and Vault Technicians Association. These are the people who work on safes and vaults.

These magazines often contain some fairly dry articles, but they often contain comparison studies and some great inside information. Safe and Vault Technology may be a tough trade publication to find. Its distribution may be restricted due to the sensitive subject matter.

If you have trouble locating this magazine, you might contact them at the following address. If that doesn't work, see if you can't locate past issues through your local safe sales company..

• Safe and Vault Technology
  3003 Live Oak Street
  Dallas, Texas 75204-6189

Related Articles: Fire and Burglar Safes, Document Storage Tips, Fire & Burglar Resistant Safes, Safe Purchasing Guidelines

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Guidelines For Purchasing Fire & Burglar Resistant Safes

Determine Your Needs

What kind of protection do you need? Full security or just fire protection? This question must be answered before you go any further.

Testing Agency Labels

Some safes that do not carry labels can still offer excellent protection. Independent testing by well known labs can be extremely expensive to initiate and maintain. These labels and the tests performed also mean different things. Make sure you have a clear understanding of the test passed and the prominence of the testing lab.

Beware of Used Safes

Older record safes like you see in the movies or on TV Westerns are called record safes. These can have very primitive locks that a seasoned burglar can defeat in minutes. Also, many of these old record safes offer little, if any, fire protection.

Steel Differences

All steel is not the same. Some safes come with thick steel. Thicker is not necessarily better. Some steels are much harder than others and can only be cut with carbide tools or torches. Read the literature from all manufactures about hardened steel.

Concealed Hinges

Perhaps the easiest way in any door is to pop the hinges. You can do this to get into a locked bathroom or into a safe. Top of the line safes offer concealed hinges. The best safes give no hint from the outside which way the door even swings. This can frustrate a burglar.

Locking Mechanisms

Pay attention to the manner in which the safe door locks. Are there multiple lock points? The more the better. Some safes offer locking points at the four corners of the door. This makes it tough to "peel" the door corners for easy entry.

Non-Metal Fire Safes?

Yes, you can get protection from fire without having to use standard steel. Don't pass by a fire storage safe that appears flimsy or made from a combustible material. Many new materials are actually safe in fires.

Warranty

Pay attention to warranties. Some of them are excellent life-time warranties in the event the safe is damaged by fire or burglary attempts.

Electronic Media Storage

Not all fire safes offer protection for magnetic disks and tapes. You have to purchase special safes for this purpose.

Wall and Floor Safes

I have installed these but in very strange places. These safes can offer you great protection, but only if you think you can outsmart a seasoned burglar.

Related Articles: Fire and Burglar Safes, Document Storage Tips, Fire & Burglar Resistant Safes, Selecting a Safe

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Fire and Burglar Resistant Safes

This is a fascinating category of products. Why? Because there are so many different models, types, and price points. There is a product for everyone, that is for sure. However, the average homeowner will have much better luck purchasing a fire safe than one that will foil a burglar. The reason for this is the cost of the real burglar resistant safes. The large, top of the line models that will really keep your items safe can cost in excess of $15,000! My guess is that you will pay an additional $1,000 just to get the darn thing into your house! These are for the wealthy or those who just hit the $30 million lottery...... The rest of us should depend on bank vault safe deposit boxes for our most valuable and treasured objects.

You may be able to find a small burglar safe that you can somehow hide in your house, but remember, professional burglars will very likely be able to find the location. They often know where to look. Also, if you choose to store valuables, keep in mind that burglars don't have to break into the safes at your home. If they can be lifted and carried away, the safe that is, the burglar will take the safe to his house and open it there. Small home safes need to be encapsulated in masonry or made very heavy so the burglar must work and make noise at your home to gain entry.

Fire resistant safes are another story. Many of these products are quite affordable and come with test certifications that should give you a great sense of security. The trick in my opinion is to store these things low in your house. Fires tend to produce heat and heat rises. I would not put my fire safe in an attic. I would also not store it on the basement floor or near the floor. Flooding or 4 feet of fire hose water in a basement can ruin a fire storage box that is not water tight or the water seal has been damaged by the heat of the fire. I would build a 4 foot high pedestal from concrete block and set the fire safe on top. I would then surround the fire safe with 4 inches of solid masonry to act as a heat sink. This sounds like overkill, I know, but I have seen fire ravaged houses. I have also seen flooded basements. If this is too much work, then I guess you better get a large safe deposit box...that is if one is available......

Call the listed manufacturers and ask for product literature. I would also ask for any and all other literature about testing procedures and comparisons to similar products. You will be amazed at the color literature you receive!

Last Word On Burglar Resistant Safes

The price range for burglar resistant safes ranges from $300 to more than $15,000. The low cost models are undoubtedly well made. But I want you to use common sense. If a burglar can lift, roll, transport your safe from your house, do you think he will succeed in opening it?

If you want REAL security in your own home, you are going to have to pay for it. This means a well made, heavy safe that can't be easily moved!

Related Articles: Fire and Burglar Safes, Document Storage Tips, Safe Purchasing Guidelines, Selecting a Safe

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Document Storage Tips

Valuable papers and documents often can't be replaced. If they can, it can be a hassle. No single option offers total protection. There are flaws in each system. Bank vaults and their safety deposit boxes are fine. But when the owner of the box dies, the box is sealed the NEXT morning by the bank officials! You can't get in! A federal tax lawsuit can also seal these boxes.

I suggest you make photo copies of all important papers and documents. Then develop 2 or 3 storage places at different locations. If you store at home, you must use a fire safe storage box for paper. Anything else will not withstand the heat and intensity of a typical house fire. Talk to police and fire officials in your community. Ask them for advice. They know the best places to hide things. The fire chief will tell you the absolute best place to locate your fire safe.

Related Articles: Fire and Burglar Safes, Fire & Burglar Resistant Safes, Safe Purchasing Guidelines, Selecting a Safe

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Clutter causes lots of wasted time and confusion. There have been studies made of the enormous amount of time people spend looking for things that are scattered about their offices and homes. All too often the problem can be traced to a lack of too little horizontal space.

Look at your desk at your office or in your home. Is it a mess? Do you have stacks of papers, folders, etc.? Simple wall shelves can alleviate this in many instances. At least the desk will be clear for awhile.

Closets are no different. For years all builders ever did (me included!) is install a simple pole and a plank in a closet. What a waste of space! How many boxes, sweaters, or balled up articles of clothing fall off those simple, singular shelves in a year? Item after item gets buried either on the floor or on that single shelf. Multi-tiered wire or wood shelving can quadruple the amount of usable horizontal storage space in less than one or two hours.

The wire shelving craze seems to have started about 15 years ago. It started small like many new, innovative products. However, this one grew steadily and quickly. It is a major industry now that had significant sales last year - say $585 million dollars! That is a chunk of change.

An Installation Primer

Installing wire shelving is not too hard. All you need to do is follow instructions and have access to several simple tools. A hand drill, screwdriver, hacksaw, tape measure and a level will usually allow you to complete all jobs.

The professional installers possess a very cool tool that could make your life simple. It is a large hole template that has holes punched in it at certain heights. They lay this template against the wall to give them the hole locations for different shelving arrangements. I have seen installers mark a closet out in less than three minutes. Oh well, don't bother making one unless you plan to do lots of shelving.

Wire shelving kits usually contain only a few different parts: the back clips, side wall brackets, support braces and poles, wall anchors and the shelving itself.

The wall anchors for most wire shelving are the expandable type. They are supposed to go in hollow wall cavities, not wall studs. The only hard part of the entire job is actually cutting the shelving to length. Since the wire is quite thin, it is easily accomplished with a regular hacksaw.

Each shelving kit or type has its own specific set of instructions. However, they all install basically the same. You drill holes at suggested heights for the back wall clips. These little clips allow you to connect the back edge of the wire shelf to the wall. The clips contain their own screws and are ideal if your house contains 1/2 or 5/8 inch drywall.

The side wall brackets are used to support the corners that are adjacent to the wall. Support braces are used to help hold up long lengths of shelving. For regular loads in closets you should count on installing one every three feet six inches. Shelves with heavy loads need one every two feet on center.

Often a storage system will have a shelf stop short of a wall. To support this end of the shelf hanging in mid-air, you need a support pole. All of these have pre-drilled holes or channels that allow you to easily attach special clips that support the shelf.

You begin the installation by drawing a level line at the height you want your shelves. Once you have located the positions for the back clips you drill the correct sized hole. Often a 1/4 inch hole is used. You insert the clips, tighten the screws and pop the shelf in place.

The shelf will swing down like a hinge. Using a level you can level the shelf easily while holding a side wall bracket in place with the turned down edge of the shelf. Quickly mark the two holes and drill. Before installing the bracket you must lift the shelf up and rotate it beyond its level position. If you install the bracket while the shelf is down, you will not be able to rotate the shelf into position.

This is basically all you have to do. It often takes far longer to get the tools out, mark the holes, clean up and put the tools away, than actually install the shelves. They really go together quickly.

Wood Systems

If you decide to go with the fiberboard melamine covered shelving systems, you had better possess some extra money and skills. These systems are pricey, heavy and require lots of talent to install correctly. Don't underestimate the difficulty of this task.

In reality, these systems resemble cabinet work. To get a fine fit and finish, you may have to do lots of shimming, adjusting, etc. The weight of the units empty is impressive. You must follow directions and use the correct screws to ensure a good job.

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Closet Organizers - Manufacturers

I just opened my phone book Yellow Pages and was pleasantly surprised. There, I quickly found 10 local companies that will come out and give a free estimate for maximizing the storage space in my closets! They were listed under "Closets - Designing, Organizing & Accessories". There is no doubt that all of the companies use the products produced by the manufacturers listed below.

Many of the closet storage organization systems are just coated wire shelving. I have several such systems in my own home. My closet and Kathy's closet both contain wire shelving. Some of the systems are the more expensive melamine covered fiberboard systems. Several of the manufacturers below make both the wire shelving and the fiberboard systems. I urge you to check out the product literature of all of these companies. The literature contains some dramatic and helpful color photographs that will help you visualize the storage possibilities in your own home.

One of the major producers of closet storage systems happens to be based in Cincinnati. It is the Schulte Corporation. Over the years they installed many storage systems in the new homes I built. They offer both of the systems described above. I am quite certain that one of the companies below will quickly solve your clutter problems!

You can often purchase some prepackaged wire shelving systems at the local home centers. I did that years ago for certain remodeling jobs I completed. It is not hard to install wire shelving. It takes minimal tools. If you have a large area or are "tool handicapped", you may want to call in a local company to install your shelving.

• California Closet Co.
  
• Closet Maid
  
• Knape & Vogt Mfg.
  
• Rubbermaid Closet
  
• Lundia Shelving & Storage
  
• Rev-a-Shelf
  
• Schulte Corporation
  
• Space-Metrics
  
• Vanguard Plastics
  
• White Home Products
  

Closet Storage Illustrations

The following illustrations should help you visualize the possibilities within your own home. You can mix and match shelving types, styles and orientations. The photos are courtesy of the Schulte Corporation. They have been in the storage solution business for 20+ years.

 

 

 

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Special Underground Tornado - Storm Shelters

While doing my radio show back in May or June of 1999, I was made aware that a septic tank manufacturer in Kansas City, Missouri, also makes an underground concrete tornado shelter! It is basically a modified design of a standard septic tank, although it comes with stairs or a ladder to allow you easy access.

Evidently, it can be installed in one day with minimal disturbance to your property. There are also fiberglass models available from other manufacturers in the Midwest. If you want to learn more about tornadoes and some of these special shelters, visit a very cool website called Tornado Project.

For information and a plan for constructing an interior, above ground hurricane / tornado shelter, visit and read this column.

Companion Articles:   Metal Connectors Minimize Wind / Storm Damage, Interior Hurricane - Tornado Shelter, Fight Hurricane & Tornado Storms with Metal Connectors, Tornado & High Wind Damage

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Dust Collection Equipment - Air Filtration and Filters

Building, remodeling, woodworking, cleaning, etc. create lots of dust. The collection and management of that dust can be made easier if you have the right tools and filters to capture the offensive material.

Wet dry vacuum filters have really improved in the past 5 years. They collect smaller particles of dust - I mean small - such as 5 microns or so. The air filtration devices do a similar great job.

Filter Types

Almost all of the wet dry vacuums allow you to use two different filters. The standard filter is often a pleated paper single stage filter. These work just fine for everyday cleaning chores.

If you want to pick up fine drywall dust, or fine sawdust, you should switch over to a two stage fine dust filter. These are inter-changeable on most units.

Most of the filters are re-usable. If you follow instructions and clean them regularly, you can use them over and over again.

Secondary / Portable Air Filtration

I have a very cool portable air filtration device that I can take from room to room while I work. It is a new product that just became available 6 months ago. The tool resembles a torpedo heater on steroids. It draws air in one end and passes it over two filters before allowing it to gently flow from the other end.

The device only weighs 10 pounds and filters 200 cubic feet of air per minute. This allows it to completely filter the air in a 12 x 12 room every 6 minutes.

You can use it as a stationary filter as well. It is equipped to hang from a ceiling should you wish to permanently mount it in a workshop, basement or a garage. The filter device is made by the Ridgid Tool Company.

Shop Dust Collection

The Ridgid Tool company has also decided to help you control dust that is generated by workshop tools. You can get clear 2 inch diameter PVC tubing, angle fitting gate valves, couplings, etc. that allow you to connect multiple tools to the piping system. The end of the system connects directly to a shop-vac. When you operate a tool, you simply turn on the shop vac, open the gate valve at the tool and get to work. The dust created is quickly sucked through the tubing into the vacuum. The clear piping allows you to identify potential clogs before they happen.

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Long Life & Filters

You can extend the life of a high quality wet dry vacuum almost indefinitely if you keep the filter clean and in place when you are picking up dry materials. Dust that gets into the motor or the air impeller is like high speed sandpaper. It simply destroys the motor. Since the motor is the only real moving part, you can see why it is important to protect it.

The best way to protect your vacuum is to always have a new, spare filter on hand. You should also clean the filter after each use. This may not be an extensive cleaning, but one where you get rid of lots of large paper particles or caked on dust. If you own an air compressor, remember to blow air backwards through the filter to clean it. If you blow air through the dirty side, you simply drive fine dust particles deeper into the filter media.

Warranties

I attended an editor's conference hosted by Emerson Tool Company. They presented to the group a new line of Ridgid wet dry vacuums and some air filtration devices.

The tools and products were first class, but what got my attention was the Ridgid lifetime warranty. A warranty is only as good as the company that stands behind it. Well, I have bought and used Ridgid plumbing tools for years, and know that Ridgid is part of a huge, financially sound international corporation.

Wet dry vacuums can take some abuse and it makes sense to purchase one with as strong a warranty as possible. This is purely a common sense issue. Look at features, accessories, the long power cords, and attachments when you buy, but also take a look at who will help you five years from now when you start to smell the ozone from the burning electric motor armature.

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Construction creates lots of dust. In fact, I was always amazed at how much dust is created by building and remodeling. Scientists for years have blamed the greenhouse global warming on the use of fossil fuels. Personally, I think all of us builders and remodelers are partially responsible.

Very Handy

Wet dry vacuums are really handy. They are much more rugged than a traditional vacuum cleaner and can go more places. I consider them the 4x4 vehicles of the vacuum product line. The newest models put to shame the first generation models. Today you can get ones that pump water they collect, do double duty using a detachable blower motor head, inflate any conceivable item with nifty attachments, and much, much more.

Perhaps the best innovation is the sound reduction you will find with most vacuums. They still create noise, but not as much as before. Certain models offer optional mufflers.

Click here to watch a video on two types of wet dry shop vacuums.

You will also like the tough, new plastic canisters or tanks. The days of rust are gone forever. The plastic bodies also make some of the units lighter. The particular model I own is so light weight that when I adjust the blower output muffler a certain direction, the vacuum moves itself across the room!

The Horsepower Issue

When the column ran in all of the papers, I got several e-mails and calls to my radio show about the bogus horsepower ratings of the vacuum motors. There is a simple way to calculate horsepower when you know the amount of watts a motor consumes - or so I am told. If you divide the watts by 746 it gives you the horsepower. A typical 15 amp circuit in a house allows 1,800 watts to travel through it before tripping. This means that a motor operating at 1,800 watts can produce 2.41 horsepower. A 20 amp circuit allows 2,400 watts to pass by. This equates to 3.21 horsepower. The callers and e-mailers wanted to know how the manufacturers could claim, 4, 5 and 6 + horsepower ratings.

Well, they use a term peak horsepower. Evidently peak horsepower is calculated at 2.5 to 3.0 times the actual horsepower figure. It is a theoretical horsepower limit of what a motor is capable of doing with no restrictions in an ideal working environment.

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