How to choose a home safe

Hide who can!

First you need to get a clear idea of ​​what will be stored in the safe. With weapons, securities and classified information carriers, everything is more or less clear: choose a safe of the appropriate purpose and size. But as for everything else, then, probably, the best option is to collect the goods in a pile and evaluate with a critical eye its approximate cost and total volume. Again, think about what is more likely in your case – a fire or a burglary. Figure out where to put and whether the floorboards will break (after all, the safe can weigh half a ton). The main rule for choosing a safe is the following maxim: its price should not be less than 20% of the value of what will be stored in it.

We are not supporters of robbery

A real safe is a complex and high-tech construction. In any case, chests with padlocks or iron boxes welded like shell garages are not about them. The case of modern safes should be monolithic and three-layer. The outer and inner layers are made of steel, with high-strength concrete between them. The door is made of steel with a thickness of at least 10 mm, with a three-sided locking system. The resistance of the safe to burglary depends on the quality of these elements. There are 6 classes of burglary resistance (the highest VI is produced only to order). The lower the class, the less time it takes for a thief to open the safe (for the first class – 20-30 minutes).

Are the manuscripts not burning?

How they burn! And not only manuscripts, but also securities, banknotes, as well as tapes, floppy disks and other information carriers. Fireproof safes will save them from this trouble. The level of fire resistance is usually encoded in a set of letters and numbers on the inside of such “iron rescuers”. The numbers – most often 60 or 120 – indicate the time (in minutes) during which objects will not be damaged in a fire. And in the letters it is encrypted which objects will not be harmed: B – paper (flammability threshold 170 degrees); D – all kinds of films (light up at 70 degrees); DIS – magnetic media (die already at 50 degrees). An example for those who did not understand: code 120B says that within two hours the temperature in this safe during a fire will not rise above 170 degrees, even if it is in the very epicenter of the fire. Unfortunately, in terms of technology, it is difficult and expensive to combine high fire resistance and equally high burglary resistance in one safe. In practice, you usually have to make a choice in favor of one thing. Or seek a reasonable compromise. In any case, you will have to decide: what is more terrible and real for you – fire or robbery?

Sim sim, open up!

The burglar resistance class of the safe depends on the security class of the lock: from A to D. It is even better if there are several locking devices. Locks are key (unlocked with a key); mechanical coded (the code is typed by scrolling the wheels) and electronic coded. Class A locks must have at least 25 key combinations and 000 code combinations. Class B already has 80 combinations. Etc. There are also biometric locks: they are opened only after the owner’s fingerprint is taken. We’ll have to treat this part of the body with special trepidation, otherwise anything can happen: “fell, woke up, plaster cast.”

And everyone is so different

What people do not hide in safes, such as hard drives and servers with classified information. Inside such data safes there is a fan – so that the server can not only be stored, but also work at the same time. There are also weapon safes. Owners of pistols, rifles and other destructive force are required by law to have them, otherwise they risk falling under the article. Inside the safes-arsenals there are lodgings for barrels and compartments for cartridges. Safes-boxes built into wardrobes, bedside tables or secretaries are called furniture safes. Their sizes, as a rule, are small and they are intended for storing household valuables. In their back wall there is a hole for screwing to the wall. Otherwise, thieves will simply take the iron box with them to open it in a more comfortable environment. Free-standing armored cabinets in accordance with GOST are also supposed to be screwed to the floor. Their appearance is not particularly painted in the residential interior, therefore custom-made safes decorated with wood, inlays, mosaics, leather or precious stones have become popular lately – whoever likes what.

Walled up, demons

Cache safes from the outside look like a nondescript door in the floor or in the wall. The rest is, of course, walled up. To completely cover up the tracks, the safe-cache is camouflaged with the help of a mirror, a picture, a carpet. There are safes, similar to ventilation grilles, sockets and electrical panels (not the most reliable shelter, because the first thing burglars turn off the alarm is).

Come on, find it!

The cache does not have to be a safe. Little things that for some reason I would like to keep secret (a stash, a love letter, a compromising gift), you just need to be able to hide it correctly. For these purposes, there are double bottom chests of drawers, secret compartments in cupboards, legs and backs of chairs. Of course, hacking and sawing such devices will not be difficult, but the safety of things here is based on the principle “if they do not find it, they will not steal it.” Quite effective, by the way.

Read on: we make spectacular curls with a curling iron