The Best Security You Can Have for Your Valuables
It’s not just spies, movie villains, or the super-rich who own wall safes. Anyone who owns valuable items they don’t want in a bank’s safe-deposit vault is a prime candidate to own one. The best security you can have for your valuables is if a thief would never know they were there. Wall safes provide this security for you. They are highly secure and mounted between your wall’s studs. They can then be hidden behind furniture, mirrors, photos, or paintings.
How do You Install a Wall Safe in Your House?
Something to think about is the depth of the Houston security safe you want in your wall. A deep wall safe will require a deep wall to be able to fully secure them. This means large wall safes can’t be mounted on thin walls. You need to ensure they have clearance to not poke out the other side.
Wall safes can come in sizes as small as a hotel safe, to sizes large enough to fit a rifle or two, and function as a small gun safe in Houston. It’s very important to get an expert to check the measurements of where you would like to have a wall safe before buying it. If you’re able to find a place that can fit the size safe you want, there are a few other things to consider. Though these are a little more standard when thinking about buying a safe.
Types of Access For Wall Safes
Whether used as a home safe or a commercial safe in Houston, the way you open a wall safe is an important one to consider. The classic way of opening a wall safe is a mechanical combination dial. These hold up well to heat when they are made of solid steel. They also do not require batteries or other power to maintain. The owner just has to remember a combination to activate the locking mechanism.
However, electronic wall safes are becoming popular safes to protect valuables due to the fact that the faceplate is usually slimmer and easier to hide. These can either need a code to be entered on a number pad, or they can be biometric wall safes.
Biometric wall safes’ faceplates can be almost completely flat. As much or more so than a standard electronic lock. They work by relying on a fingerprint to open the safes’ electronic locking bolts.
How Long do Fireproof Wall Safes Last?
Wall safes are built into the superstructure of a home or business. So naturally, people usually search for safes that are fire resistant to avoid the threat of flames destroying their valuables inside the safe. Luckily, fireproof wall safes are a thing and are rated by the Underwriters’ Laboratories through the same tests as all other fire safes.
These tests are thorough and end in results of a measure of time by temperature. They are carried out in an industrial oven, and usually involve placing sheets of paper into a safe before the oven is ignited. A half-hour test equates to a test at 1,550 degrees Fahrenheit test for that measure of time. Most fire-resistant safes are tested at this initial tier.
A one-hour fire-rated test equals 1700 degrees Fahrenheit. This is where most safes are declared fireproof, instead of just resistant, if they pass. From that UL rating, the next tiers are two hours at 1850 degrees, three hours at 1920 degrees, and four hours at 2000 degrees.
Most house fires are over in about 20 minutes, and only burn up to 700 degrees. So, while UL testing may rate some fireproof safes into the UL3 and UL4 tiers of protection, this may be unnecessary for most owners unless they live in areas that are frequently prone to wildfires or firestorms, which can hit these temperatures.
Safe Company Near Me
If you’re looking to not only protect but also hide your valuables, a hidden wall safe is a strong choice. Consider Floor safes as well, for a different way of keeping things out of the hands of children or less than honest people.
Regardless of what choice you make, know that we here at Guardian Safe and Lock are the best in the industry, and are ready to help you make your decision at your convenience. We’re just a call or visit away, and ready to put our combined years of Houston locksmith experience to work for you to help select, deliver, and install your safe today.