different types of home safes

The 7 Essential Safes for Your Home

By Joe Cavanaugh | December 22, 2020

A safe is the last line of defense for keeping your private information and essential documents protected. It’s a simple way to improve the security of your home instantly. It would help if you had peace of mind knowing your most important information is secure in your safe.

There are dozens of different types of home safes. Choosing exactly which vault to put your trust in can seem a bit overwhelming. With all these home safes available, it’s best to simplify your choices to what is most important for your home.

We’re exploring essential home safes in this review and we’ll be taking a look at their most important features, their purpose, and what makes the best home safes so great.

Burglary Safes

Some types of home safes are explicitly designed to outlast potential thieves. The vault framework stands up to external tools, like hammers, screwdrivers, and crowbars. The safe itself may also come with added security features, like a two-step locking system.

If you’re looking to store expensive or valuable items in your home safes, invest in a burglary safe with a high-security rating.

Fire Safes

According to experts, more than 350,000 home fires happen in the U.S. each year. It typically causes more than $7 billion in property damage, on average.

Sometimes preparation is the best course of action against these accidents or natural disasters. Storing your valuable possessions in a safe designed to resist fire and smoke, and withstand extreme temperatures, is a proactive way to protect your items.

When buying your fireproof home safe, check to see if it has a UL certification mark. That mark means an independent lab tested the product for consumer and fire safety. The rating should explain the temperature the safe was tested at, and how long it could withstand that heat. Consider buying a fire and burglary combination safe for maximum security.

Gun Safes

If you own a weapon, it’s crucial to have a specific place to store it away from children or guests. A high-quality gun safe not only protects your family from accidents but also prolongs the life of your guns. It keeps them free from dust and they’re often temperature-controlled too.

Gun safes come in a variety of sizes and models. You can find small ones to conceal handheld weapons or large gun safes designed to store your entire rifle collection. Some gun safes even look like other furniture items to carefully hide your guns from the untrained eye.

With the range of different types of home safes to choose from, you will find a gun vault that fits the size, number of compartments, and security level that you need for your home.

Media Safes

Some people specifically look for home safes to store smaller but essential items. Laptops, external hard drives, passports, photos, and cash are popular items that could require extra security but don’t take up a significant amount of space.

A media safe is a small home safe that often protects against fire and water damage. They typically moderate the safe temperature and humidity levels, helping safeguard your documents and tech.

Floor, Wall, or Free-Standing Safes

Choosing between a floor, wall, or free-standing safe depends on what you’d like to store, how accessible you need the safe to be, and how much security you’d like against burglars.

If you need a portable safe or one that can move easily, definitely consider a small, free-standing safe. These can be transferred to different drawers, brought on trips, or moved between houses.

A wall safe is easily concealed and great for storing things like documents or cash. They’re mounted or built into the wall and often hidden by shelves or artwork. They don’t take up much space at all. However, the downside is that these types of home safes are not indestructible in a fire and cannot store large items.

A floor safe can be a large home safe, made to store your more immense possessions. Professionals cement them to the ground or build them into the floorboards. By bolting these safes to the floor, you immediately make it more difficult for burglars to steal your valuable items.

Floor or wall safes are great for homeowners who can modify their houses. For renters, a free-standing safe may be best. You can take the safe with you to your next rental while still ensuring it can protect your valuable items from fire, water, or theft.

Things to Consider

Now that you understand the different types of home safes you can buy, it’s necessary to consider what features work best for you.

Should It be Element-Proof?

Give thought to whether you need a waterproof or fireproof home safe. Do you live in a flood zone? Would it give you a sense of relief to have this added security feature?

While we recommend the fireproof feature because you never know when accidents can occur, you must determine the security elements you personally need to protect your items.

Concealment

Does your safe need concealment, or does it have to fit in a confined space? There are several types of safes that you can invest in that fit precisely into drawers, filing cabinets, or under your bed.

Certain safes blend into their surroundings— diversion safes can look like a chest at the end of your bed, books on a bookshelf, or like a rock in your flower bed.

Lock Type

How quickly do you need to get into your safe? Are you great at memorizing codes or lock combinations, or would you prefer to open your safe with a simple key? Or, would you like the added security feature of a two-step locking system? Safes can feature several kinds of locks, including:

  • Lock and key
  • Keypad
  • Combination dial
  • Biometric lock- like a fingerprint
  • Time locks

Locking systems could be mechanical or digital. You can find a secure, reliable safe that is as high-tech or low-tech as you are.

The Action Lock Doc offers several professional locksmith services. Our team expertly inspects safes, opens locked vaults, installs different types of home safes, and more. You can find our full list of safe and vault services here.

Posted in blog