Like with anything else, you will generally get what you pay for when you buy a home safe. Not all safes are all that secure, despite what they claim. It is tempting to believe the promises of security and fire protection that manufacturers of mass-produced safes give. And they can be really inexpensive, too. But are you willing to risk the security of your valuables or guns just to save a little money?
Don’t Be Fooled by Cheaply-Made Safes
The problem with mass-produced safes is that they are usually made with low-grade materials. Plastic or thin-metal can easily be drilled into or pried apart. But you may not realize it because some are designed to look like the real deal. That 100-pound safe could look mighty, but it probably will not stand up to a pry bar or a drill. A secure safe will have thick metal walls made from, at a minimum, 12-gauge steel.
Components Used to Lock the Safe
It's not just the construction to consider, but also the locking mechanisms, locking bolts, and the actual lock used to secure the home safe. You might be fooled into believing the safe’s lock is secure, but crooks know better. In fact, they share their secrets with each other on how to break into the recognized brands that you will usually find in big box home or office supply stores.
Fire Protection vs. Burglary Protection
Another issue that can be a little confusing is whether a safe is built to provide both fire protection and protection from burglars. There are few commercially made safes available that provide both.
A fire-rated home safe is designed to protect your important documents or valuables if you were to have a fire in your home. Depending on the quality of the safe, the amount of fire-resistance built into its walls will vary. Most fire-rated safes that you can buy from a store provide about 30 minutes of fire resistance, but they do not usually provide much in the way of security for break-ins. The locks generally used are easy to get past.
A burglary-rated safe is designed more with security in mind than fire protection. It is built more to resist break-in attempts from being pried, drilled or smashed open. The lock will usually be more sophisticated than those used in a fire-rated safe.
Liberty Home Safes, the Best of Both Worlds
Liberty Safe believes that you should not have to settle when it comes to protecting your valuables, guns, or important documents. Each high-quality home safe Liberty sells offers combined fire protection and burglary protection. Our Premium line of home safes offer 90 minutes of fire-resistance at 1200 degrees and thick 11-gauge steel walls to ward off attacks with drills or prybars.
Come and see the difference that a Liberty home safe offers for yourself.