any idea how to bolt down a safe?

[Stupid]

I have a small safe that i want to bolt down to a house floor (first floor). Any suggestion how can I go about doing it?

[Frost]

Oh I dont know(link).

[jimlongley]

Not a bad way to do it, except for the wood floor part. If you use an expanding concrete anchor in a wood floor, IT WILL BREAK THE WOOD! There may be a reason why Value Safes' hold down kits come with concrete anchors in them.

Unless it's unavoidable, I would not anchor a safe to a wood floor, wood is just too easy to defeat.

If you simply must anchor to a wood floor, drill several extra holes in the bottom of the safe and anchor it down with hex head lag screws, BIG ones. The more you use, the less likely that a thief will be able to use the height of the safe as a lever and simply pull it out of the floor. (I have seen that happen to a gun safe on a concrete floor.)

[LaserTex]

Oh I dont know(link).

Absolutely ingenious! Gotta figure out how that works so I can send it out to the wife and mother in law. Awesome.

(lmgtfy.com = let me Google that for you?)

[USA1]

Oh I dont know(link).

Absolutely ingenious! Gotta figure out how that works so I can send it out to the wife and mother in law. Awesome.

(lmgtfy.com = let me Google that for you?)

i thought that was pretty darn cool .
i need to find a teenager to teach me that trick....they know everything

i just learned how to copy and paste

[Frost]

Absolutely ingenious! Gotta figure out how that works so I can send it out to the wife and mother in law. Awesome.

(lmgtfy.com = let me Google that for you?)

Yep, just go to lmgtfy.com and type in the search and click the button you want, google or feeling lucky. Then it gives you the link.

[Cosmo 9]

Frost is my new hero

[ELB]

If the safe is a fire resistant safe, as opposed to burglar resistant, drilling holes and putting in bolts will reduce the fire resistance. Enough to matter? dunno. But the bolts, and the gap, however small, between the bolts and the holes, will provide channels for heat to enter the safe.

Just depends on what you are trying to keep your stuff safe from...

elb

p.s. the lmgtfy.com is pretty neat -- had not seen that before... a bit like the AskJeeves.com (now just Ask.com, I think.)

[Stupid]

Absolutely ingenious! Gotta figure out how that works so I can send it out to the wife and mother in law. Awesome.

(lmgtfy.com = let me Google that for you?)

Yep, just go to lmgtfy.com and type in the search and click the button you want, google or feeling lucky. Then it gives you the link.

I did that before I asked the question. I really should rephrase my question to "how to drill a hole through concrete?" I know the basic procedure on how to bolt down a safe, but I have never tried to drill a hole through concrete floor. I know it's not rocket science but I don't want the wife yell at me if i make a mess. I just wonder if you guys all did that by yourselves or you hired someone.

[pbwalker]

I haven't tried it, but when I get my safe, I was just going to use a ramset to basically nail it to the concrete. A few of those along with bolts into the studs of the wall would suffice (I think)...

Don't hold me to it, and I'd await input from others, but that may be an option.

[XDgal]

Drilling concrete is no different than drilling anything else, you just need the right tool for the job. You will need a carbide tipped masonary bit the same size as the bolts( ie: 1/4" bolt- 1/4" bit, 3/8" bolt- 3/8" bit, you get the idea). You can use any drill motor( corded or cordless) with a new bit, but, a hammer drill is the best ( again, corded or cordless). A hammer drill will cut your drilling time considerably. Make sure the bit is an inch or so longer than the bolt so that the hole is deeper than the bolt. In fact, It would be a good idea to drill all the way through the slab, that way if you decide to move the safe , you can just drive the bolt down with a hammer avoiding having to cut them off. Most slabs are 4' to 6' thick, unless you are on top of a beam, then an inch deeper will work. Vaccum the hole to get as much powdered concrete out you can, if you don't drill all the way through. I would not use powder driven nails (no matter how much fun that is), because you stand a good chance of spalling the concrete, preventing the ancoring of the safe. And, if sucsesful, would make moving the safe later a nightmare. If you are worried about mantaining the integrity of the fire rating, you can use a special fire chaulk around the bolts. It's exspensive, and, IMHO, not nessesery. The floor will stay relatively cool being the lowest point in the room. I've ancored many safes for commercial applications and this is SOP. Hope this helps.

[jimlongley]

XDgal has it ALL right.

[XDgal]

Thanks, Jim!

[mossytxn]

Purely for curiosity, how long are the average bolts? And how does this affect where/how to do drill if you're dealing with a post tension slab?