When you get out and about, and look for a "safe" vendor, I would take a few of these points into consideration...
First...
Pick a place in your home where you want to put it...Because when it gets there, thats pretty much where its going to stay...Its not a piece of furniture you're going to move, just because...Unless you move to another home...
Steve's recomendation on this...(FWIW)
I placed my gunsafe against an outer wall to my home...Mainly because if the home did catch fire...More than likely the house would burn less intensely against the outer wall than an interior position in a structure...As a firefighter, I have seen many a home burn to the slab...And those I have seen with a gunsafe in them, those safes tended to endure the conflagration a bit better against an outer wall than other posessions within the interior, obviously...
Second:
Fire Ratings: The UL sticker on some safes that have a fire "rating" are a good gauge to go buy, obviously the higher temperature and longer time posted on that sticker will give you a general idea on how well it will perform...And picking a good spot inside the home will help somewhat...
(Shoot, I've almost forgotten what mines rated at, I recall it being somewhere around a 1400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes...I believe that is sufficient for most homes, but if you can get a higher rated, and its in your price range, I'd get one better just to give you peace of mind...)
Third:
Delivery and installation...
If the vendor has a delivery service, I would let them deliver and bring it to you and inside...Check to make sure they are bonded or insured...When the day comes to get it in there, I'd help them out by moving furniture and other objects that could impede their travel and turning capability inside the home...Get the pets and kids out of the way during this process, I know its a neat thing to watch, but it is a bit dangerous to be around them while they are moving it inside...Some vendors have a neat dolly that is powered to move things upstairs/downstairs and makes it easy to do this as some safes can weigh a whole heck of a lot...Mine was about 550# empty...So there was really no way a conventional dolly would have done this...
I would honestly say that the price for delivery and setup was worth it...I had two factors in my setup...
My home is in a flood zone, and was built by a sub-contractor to the main contractor back in '67...It'll burn real good...But it keeps the rain off our heads...So I placed my safe up on a stand of 3/8" plywood sheets that sandwich 4 8" CMU (cinderblocks) which I put a decorative "duster" fringe around 2 sides that are visible here in the "office", at the insistance of "Wife Unit"...She's happy, and thats what is important...Plus this stand keeps the "carpet crush" (I hope) to a minimum...Like I said, its not going anywhere else soon...
Forth:
I would never tell someone what model to buy, because I believe they all do well for their intended purpose...
I considered a great many makes and models, and the price range for me was getting the most safe for about $750-$800 at that particular time...I didn't, and don't see a need to upgrade (for us) for a while...
I also went with a standard "tumbler/dial" type combination lock...The electronic "mylar/bubble" keypads to me seem to scream "wear on the bubble keys" and seemed more failure prone to me...I know some may dissagree, and I respect that disagreement...
In summation:
- Pick a spot in the home (everyone can agree on)...
- Get the best UL fire rating on it, if thats a factor...
- I'd pay for the delivery and setup, you'll thank me later...
- and stay "old school" on the combination (locking) system...
- also look into a dehumidifier bar (the vendor will know and recommend one if you need it, they will certainly sell you one
, prices vary, but they don't break the bank)
Houston has a couple of vendors I know that make the gunshow rounds...They are straight with everyone I have ever talk to about this issue, and respect those folks coming in that consider making this choice and investment...And some will deliver quite a ways away from here as well...
Good luck in your search, and hope this long diatribe helps give you some ideas...