Prep for installation of safe


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Old 10-11-16, 11:25 AM
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Prep for installation of safe

I'm having a safe installed in my basement in the near future (installed meaning bolted to the slab). The safe will sit on the slab and against the outside concrete block wall. What I am wondering is whether I should be putting rigid foam and drywall against the wall first and whether the safe should sit on a couple pieces of PT or a poly vapor barrier or some other option I have not yet thought of.
 
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Old 10-11-16, 12:03 PM
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Is your basement good and dry? Are you in an area prone to flooding? I know several people that just had to empty their safes because they put them in their basement and the hurricane flooded them out.

Will you be leaving the safe in the open or will you be enclosing around it after it's installed? At the minimum I would space it off the wall an inch or so and elevate it on blocks like you mentioned to allow some air flow. For an extra bit of protection you could create a vapor barrier with plastic sheeting or rigid foam and then have an air gap to the safe as further protection against rusting.
 
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Old 10-11-16, 12:47 PM
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No water issues of which I am aware - the ground is sloped pretty well away from the house, the gutters all have downspouts diverting water away and there appears to be some sort of black waterproofing coat on the foundation outside. That said, I've never done the plastic test to see what kind of vapor might be coming through the slab. I've owned the house less than a year but there have been no floods to my knowledge.

It will be relatively enclosed around the safe, it's basically going into a big closet in the first place and then I intend to put other items around it to hide it from plain sight.
 
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Old 10-11-16, 02:38 PM
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If it's not a tall safe, like a gun safe, I suggest you build a sturdy platform to raise it up a few feet off the ground. I have a safe a little bigger than a mini fridge and started with it on the ground. What a pain to have to kneel down to access it. I moved it up on a sturdy platform and it's much more pleasant to use now. If it's a floor model....never mind!
 
 

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