When it comes to owning a gun safe, there are a multitude of options for how you can secure it in your home. Since gun safes seem to be prone to theft in many circumstances, you can never be too safe as a homeowner.
How do you bolt down a gun safe on a wood floor? In order to bolt down a gun safe on a wood floor, you will need to first measure the area in which it will go. This will include cutting out a space of the wood for the safe, and finding the correct places for the anchors and bolts.
Once all the measurements are taken care of and lined up, the rest of the process will be a breeze. All you will need to do from there is simply attach the bolts from the inside of the safe, and your task will be completed. Along with the simple process of bolting a gun safe, there are only a few materials required, making for an easy installation.
If you are a gun owner, then you already know the importance of keeping your belongings safe and secure. Whether you have children in the house, or you want to protect your guns from intruders, owning a firearm comes with a lot of additional responsibilities.
Many gun safe owners choose to bolt down their safes in their homes, in order to increase the security and stability of the protective device. Choosing where to bolt down your gun safe is an important decision to make. If you are considering a location with wooden floors, keep reading to find out exactly how you can accomplish this task step by step, with some additional tips and information to follow.
How To Bolt Down a Gun Safe On a Wood Floor: Complete Guide
As a gun owner, there is no doubt that you want to keep your firearms secured in your home. It is helpful as well as necessary to have access to this type of storage.
For safety and quality reasons, you should never have your guns just laying around.
It always helps to have a sturdy gun safe that will keep all of your belongings secure and prevent them from getting into the wrong hands, while also shielding them from the normal wear and tear and corrosion that they might be subjected to when they are exposed to the air.
If you are a homeowner and you want to have a more permanent, and secure, solution for your gun storage, you might have considered bolting your gun safe down onto the ground. This is a very common practice among gun safe owners, and one that you will most likely find beneficial.
In this section, we will be going over exactly how you can bolt down a gun safe on wood floors, in particular. As with any kind of material, there are specific instructions for the most ideal way to install a gun safe on wood.
Before we get into the actual procedure that must be followed, take a look at the list down below to find out what materials you will need for this process.
Here is what you will need for bolting a gun safe on a wood floor:
- Saw
- Crow bar
- Pencil
- Hammer drill
- Compressed air can
- Level
- Anchor kit with bolts
- Socket wrench
There are a few essential items that you will need to guide you through this process, but all of them are easily accessible to acquire. You can find all of these at your local hardware or home improvement store, as well as purchase them online if needed.
In addition, you might be able to borrow some of these tools from someone that you know, or even rent them out for a day and return them when you are finished bolting your safe.
Regardless of how you acquire these materials, you will need a saw, crow bar, hammer drill, and socket wrench for the main tools for securing your safe.
In addition to the tools that you will be using to drill holes and secure your belongings, you will need a pencil, compressed air can, level, and an anchor kit with bolts.
Now that you have all of your materials together, and have gathered them all together in preparation for this task, let’s take a look at the step by step instructions. Continue reading for a detailed explanation of this process.
How To Bolt Down a Gun Safe On a Wood Floor – Step By Step:
- Plan where you will place it
- Measure the space where your safe will go
- Cut out the section where the safe will sit
- Outline the anchor hole in the same space
- Drill the anchor hole using a hammer drill
- Clean out the holes
- Check your work by placing the safe in position (make sure your anchor holes line up properly)
- Level the gun safe into position
- Place and secure the bolts through the gun safe and into the holes
The first thing that you will need to do before you can bolt down your gun safe onto a wood floor is to actually figure out and plan where you will be placing it. This is a very critical decision that is often overlooked among gun safe owners.
While it is true that it is very important to be able to protect your firearms, and even secure your gun safe itself onto the ground, it is possibly more important to choose the right location to place it.
There are a lot of areas in a home that are desirable gun safe locations, while others should be avoided at all costs. This is a topic that we will discuss in more detail throughout later sections, but for now, we we will continue talking about the actual process of bolting the safe down.
So, once you have considered all necessary factors in order to come up with the right place to put your gun safe, you will proceed to measuring the space where your safe will go. This is a very important step, and it will determine how your safe will sit on the wood.
To do this, place your gun safe down in the exact spot that you want it to go. This can consist of using a measuring tape or something similar to line it up properly. Make sure that this is accurate, because you will be cutting into the floor in preparation for the bolting of your safe.
Use your pencil to trace around the area where the safe is sitting. Then, you will proceed to use your saw in order to cut out the place where the safe will be attached. Move exactly along the lines that you drew, and remove the square or rectangle of flooring in the middle.
When this is done correctly, you will be looking at an empty pit of sorts in your wood flooring. This will be the perfect space for your gun safe to be dropped into.
After the flooring area has been removed, you will need to figure out where your anchor holes will go. Use your pencil to do this as well, and measure the space for increased accuracy.
Once these areas have been marked, drill into the anchor hole using a hammer drill. It is really important that you use a hammer drill for this purpose, instead of just a regular one. This is due to the fact that hard materials like concrete are usually present underneath wood flooring.
If you attempt to use a regular drill for this purpose, you will most likely not be able to cut through the material accurately and effectively. Furthermore, you can break your equipment and even injure yourself.
This is why it is important to gain access to a hammer drill for this purpose, as well as educate yourself on the proper safety procedures for using one.
There is one additional step that will be needed in order to complete the drilling process, which will involve a can of compressed air. These can be found almost anywhere, and are not very expensive to buy.
They look very similar to a can of disinfectant spray, and usually come with a long straw on the end to get into tight spaces. Use this to push out air directly into the holes.
This is a crucial step that should not be overlooked, because the holes must be clean before you can insert and secure anything into them. When you drill into concrete or any other solid flooring material, there will inevitably be dust and debris that is produced.
This dust and debris will settle both in and around the anchor holes that you have just created. If you leave these substances inside the holes, they will block the bolts from going inside effectively and securely.
To avoid any problems with uneven or un-secured bolts inside of your safe, you will need to thoroughly get all of the dust and debris out of each hole. In addition, you will need to get it away from the area where the gun safe will sit on the floor.
Before you do any kind of bolting or attaching, you will need to make sure that the area is clean and ready.
When this is done, you will be able to check your work by putting the safe down into the correct position. In order to make sure that you drilled and cut in the right areas, put the safe in position and open up the door. When you look through the holes on the bottom, they should be evenly lined up with no obstructions.
Additionally, the floor should be as even as possible with your gun safe inside of the shallow pit that you created by cutting into it. To help you out with understanding the position in which your gun safe is placed, you can use a level.
Place it on top of the safe once it is properly calibrated, and make sure that everything is evenly positioned. Once you have confirmed that everything is lined up and even, you can rest assured that the hard part is done.
When you are ready to proceed with the bolting process, it will be an increasingly easy process. The only thing that is left to do is securing the safe to the ground at this point.
In order to do this, place the bolts through the bottom of the safe from the inside, down into the anchor holes that you created and cleaned out prior to this step.
Use your socket wrench to turn and secure these bolts. It is vital that you do this correctly, meaning that the bolts will be secured directly into the holes in a straight line. You don’t want to have crooked bolts that can be bent and get stuck within your gun safe, if it is ever moved.
Similarly, you don’t want to leave the bolts loose at all. The idea of bolting down your gun safe is making it virtually indestructible and resistant to any kind of theft or movement. As a result, you should make sure that you are tightening them properly as well.
Do this by turning the wrench in a clockwise rotation to the right repeatedly. Continue until you can’t turn it anymore, and then turn it some more just to be safe.
After completing all of these steps thoroughly and correctly, you can close your gun safe and walk away, knowing that your belongings are more secured than ever before.
Bolting a Gun Safe: Pros and Cons
So, now that we have gone over the entire process of bolting a gun safe down onto a wood floor, from beginning to end, there are some more related topics to discuss. At this point, you might be wondering why you would even want to bolt your gun safe down onto the floor.
What are the benefits of doing this, and what are the disadvantages, in addition? Before you make this kind of decision in your home, which is somewhat permanent, there are a number of factors that you will need to consider.
Let’s start with the pros and cons of bolting down a gun safe, in order to give you a full layout of both sides, which should help you make a decision for yourself. Take a look at the lists down below, and keep reading for a deeper explanation.
The pros of bolting a gun safe:
- Increased security against theft
- Stability for the gun safe
The cons of bolting a gun safe:
- Making holes in the floor/walls
- Decreased mobility of the gun safe
The benefits of bolting a gun safe include increased security against theft, and added stability for your gun safe. If you want to talk about securing your belongings, bolting is definitely the way to go.
The negatives, however, include making holes in the floor and walls, and decreased mobility of the gun safe if you ever need to move it.
Is Bolting a Gun Safe Right For Me? Factors To Consider:
- Do you want a permanent solution for your gun safe?
- Do you own your home?
- Are you sure about one location for your gun safe, or will you want to change rooms in the future?
- Will you be moving any time soon?
When you do decide to bolt down your gun safe, it is critical that you consider all of the above mentioned factors. Ask yourself these questions in order to find out if this process is most ideal for you.
If you do decide to bolt down your gun safe, here are some tips to consider:
- Make a concrete decision on where you want your gun safe (long term)
- Make an informed purchase on the best long-term gun safe for your home (so you don’t have to replace it after it is bolted)
- Ensure that you have all of the proper materials for installation (for proper bolting that will hold up)
Alternative Ways To Install a Gun Safe
While it is true that the process of bolting down a gun safe is rather simple when you know how, and it can be beneficial in the right circumstances, there are some cases in which a gun safe owner might not be able to bolt their safe down, or might not be able to due to a variety of reasons.
Although many homeowners are willing and able to bolt their safes down into the ground, some are not so enthusiastic – namely those who are renting their homes, or are not living in a permanent residence.
If you want to secure your gun safe into one position, but you don’t want to go through the process of bolting it for whatever reason, there are multiple alternatives that you can choose instead.
All of these alternative methods will not be permanent, and will not permanently alter or damage your home like cutting our a square in your flooring will. Take a look at the list down below to discover some of these methods, and keep reading for a more in-depth look at each one.
Here are some alternative ways to install a gun safe:
- Weld your gun safe to another metal object (ie beam or pole)
- Bolt/mount your gun safe to the wall
- Attach your gun safe to something else with a metal chain
- Use a heavy object to weigh down your gun safe (from the inside – ie cement block or bricks)
The first alternative to installing your gun safe is to weld it to another object. This will work if you have some kind of metal beam or pole in the location where you will be attaching your safe. Although this will still include making alterations to your home, it is much less invasive.
Next, you can bolt or mount it to the wall. While this will also make holes in the wall, you can easily fill them up again if you need to move out.
Additionally, you can use alternative methods to anchor your guns safe, without making any kind of cuts or holes into this area of your home.
This can be done by attaching it with a metal chain, or using a heavy object to weigh it down from the inside, from cement blocks to bricks.
Although your safe won’t be permanently attached this way, it will be much more difficult for a thief to pick it up and steal it. If you ever need to move it, you have access to opening the door and removing it before you switch up the location.
The Best Floor Surfaces For Gun Safe Bolting
Now that you have a basic understanding of how you can bolt your gun safe onto the ground, if you so choose, you might also be wondering what other kinds of floor surfaces can be used to bolt down a gun safe in general.
Let’s take a look at some of the most ideal floor surfaces for gun safe bolting.
These are the best floor surfaces for gun safe bolting:
- Wood
- Cement
As you might have already guessed throughout the detailed discussion of bolting a gun safe to wooden floors, wood is one of the best floor surface materials for gun safe bolting. This is due to the fact that it is easy to work with, and will hold up for a long period of time.
If you don’t have wooden floors, you might consider bolting your gun safe to a cement flooring. This is usually what is under wood floors anyway, but you can get straight to it if need be.
In addition to wood and cement, there are more floor surfaces that you can make work for bolting down your gun safe. Take a look at the list down below to find out what some of these are.
These are alternative floor surfaces that can allow for gun safe bolting, with some improvisations:
- Carpet
- Laminate
You can also bolt your gun safe on carpet and laminate. While these might not be the first choices for gun safe bolting locations, it can still be done effectively.
To do this, you will follow a similar process to that of a wooden floor. It will involve cutting out a measured area on each surface in order to make room for bolting your gun safe.
Where Is The Best Place For a Bolted Gun Safe?
Along with understanding the correct flooring materials for bolting down a gun safe, you will also need to choose the right location. As mentioned earlier, the location of your bolted gun safe is everything.
While it is true that you can find the right floor surface and gather the correct materials and equipment for the task, it is critical that you place your gun safe in the right area. Along with finding the most ideal flooring, take a look at the list down below to find out what some for he best places in the house for a bolted gun safe are.
These are the best places in the house for a bolted gun safe:
- The basement
- A secured room on the first floor of the house
The absolute best places for a bolted gun safe include the basement and any secured room on the first floor of the house.
The basement tends to be the most desirable location, due to the fact that nothing is under it. Any first floor room will work as well, without fear of the heavy gun safe falling through.
In addition to finding the right location for your bolted gun safe, there are a few places in the house that you should absolutely avoid for this purpose.
There are plenty of reasons why gun safes should not be placed in certain areas, but first, let’s get into where these locations are. You will find this information in the list down below, with a brief explanation to follow.
These are the gun safe locations that you should avoid in your home:
- Garage
- Master bedroom
One of the worst places for a gun safe in general is the garage. This is due to the fact that it is technically an outdoor location, with fluctuating temperatures and moisture conditions.
Moisture is one of the worst things for guns in a gun safe, because it can cause corrosion and premature damage that doesn’t need to be there.
Similarly, you should not put your gun safe in the master bedroom if possible. In the event of a burglary, this will be the first place that the thief will check for valuables.
Instead, you should choose a secured and hidden location in another room ,preferably on the first floor, as previously explained.
As you can see, the process of bolting your gun safe to a wooden floor is a very detailed one, but it can be worth it if you are looking for added stability and security of the object that will be protecting your most prized belongings.