where to buy a safe?

[jevidon]

for those who have one, did you buy it online or in a store? any particular brand?

[rhys]

What kind of safe are you talking about? A fire safe or a safe to keep people from stealing your stuff?

[jevidon]

ideally both, though I am at the moment more concerned about theft than fire.

[Sledhed]

We bought ours at Home Depot.

[peacock]

Gun cabinets make great safes , very strong , bolt to the wall and a variety of sizes.

[Discordia]

I use a small handgun safe to keep all my things in, you can pick one up for under 200USD.

[jevidon]

thanks guys - appreciate the input.

[Tom W]

A gun safe is a good bet. I use one. They come in a variety of sizes and weights, but they are generally well built.

Here's liberty Safe Company:

http://www.libertysafe.com/safegallery.lasso

Note that these are very heavy. UPS won't be able to toss this on the front porch!

[BoeingBonkers]

http://images.saleshound.com/broadreach/dyn_li/200.0.75.0/Retailers/pepboys/brinks_58cu_ft_safe02.jpg

These are the most common safes in england, you can pick them up for around $56.00. I have 2 one in my office and one in my wardrobe they can be bolted down are compact and very tough.

[Jaime]

Costco has them, and so does B.J.'s Less than two hundred. However, I suggest picking them up in person because they are heavy and shipping will kill you.

[Tom W]

However, I suggest picking them up in person because they are heavy and shipping will kill you.

Absolutely, regardless of the size you eventually decide to get.

Mine is a gun safe (Remington brand) that I got for a good price. It's not a top-of-the-line, but it still weighs over 500 pounds. No way would I want UPS to haul that to the house (if they even would).

If the gun safe idea fits, check out sporting goods stores or gun shops & dealers. I got mine at a small shop in my old home town. It was something of a general store, but the owner bought old stock and "seconds" of all kinds of things. The safe was one of them.

[rhys]

The problem with cheap safes is they're not that safe.

My dad was working for one of the local government authorities in Britain. There was a burglary and he was called by the police to come to identify the safe when they eventually found it. They actually found it a few days after the burglary in some woodland. He told me how surprised he was about how poorly constructed it was. It was sheet steel filled with concrete then another layer of sheet steel. Basically the villains had chiselled through the outer leaf and smashed through the concrete with sledge hammers then chiselled through the inner leaf. It must have taken a good few hours and it was just the petty cash safe which contained about five pounds ($8.oo) at the time!

You need to invest in a high quality safe or it'll be worse than useless in a burglary.

[Tom W]

You're right, Rhys. Safes are often rated as to their capability to withstand forced entry. With the right tools, any safe can be opened or defeated. It's merely a matter of the amount of time needed, and what tools are available.

Here's a web site that discusses safe ratings a bit:

http://www.adesco.com/ratings.htm