How to choose a domestic safe
We all have valuable items in our home – such as antique items, jewellery, watches, electronic gadgets, passports and cash – that we want to keep safe, especially in the event of a burglary, and an increasingly popular security option is to have a safe installed.
However, there are a wide variety of domestic safes on the market, with differing levels of security, so how do you decide which is right for your needs? Our guide can give you some pointers on the sorts of things you should think about when choosing a safe to install in your home.
What do you want to keep safe?
The first and arguably most important question is what items do you want to keep safe and what is the value of them? This will go a long way to determining what grade, size and weight of safe you require.
Safe grades
There are various differing security grades of safe, known as cash ratings or Euro gradings. Here, the higher the grade, the more secure the safe it. This is an important consideration from an insurance point of view and should be given careful thought when choosing which safe to buy.
Basically, the cash rating of a safe is how much money an insurance company will cover you to hold in your safe. Cash ratings start at £1,000 and go up to £150,000. The rating for jewellery and other valuables is ten times the cash rating – so a £3,000 cash rating will allow you to protect £30,000 in other valuables. The higher the cash rating, the more secure it is.
Euro gradings work on a similar basis. They go from grade 0, which protects up to £6,000 in cash/£60,000 in valuables, to grade 6, which protects up to £150,000 in cash or £1.5 million in valuables.
Another thing to look out for is if your safe has been approved by the Association of Insurance Surveyors (AIS), the UK’s safe accreditation body. Most insurance companies stipulate that your sae should be AIS improved. Most Euro graded safes are AIS approved.
Safe size
Another consideration is how big the items are that you intend to put in the safe in the long-term. If it is only going to be for relatively small items, such as cash or jewellery, then obviously you don’t need a massive safe.
Remember to consider width and depth – for instance if you are storing important documents that need to be kept flat, the save needs to comfortably accommodate them.
Of course, it also shouldn’t be forgotten that any safe will need to be able to be got into your house and installed in a place of your choosing, so keep an eye on the dimensions.
Safe weight
As well as size, the weight of the safe needs to be thought about. In general, the heavier the safe, the more secure it will be. But while heavier is more secure, you need to think about where it will be placed in your house. A heavy safe is best placed on the ground floor as it means that you don’t have the problem of getting it up a flight of stairs or worry about if the joists of the ceiling can take the weight.
Types of locking mechanism
There are several types of locking mechanisms that safes can have, usually combination, key or electronic. Each mechanism has its pros and cons and it usually comes down to individual preference.
Traditional keys mean there is no code to be lost or forgotten, or batteries that have to be charged. But keys can be lost or stolen and replacing them can be expensive, especially if you have to change the safe’s lock as well.
Meanwhile electronic locks are easy to use and you can regularly change the combination if you wish – although be careful to remember what it is! However, many are battery operated and if they run out, you can’t get into your safe.
Combination locks don’t have the problem of batteries running out, but, as with electronic locks, you do have to remember what the combination is.
Fingerprint locks are the latest type of locking mechanism on the market, and have the advantage that you don’t have keys or codes that can be lost or forgotten, and will only open to the right fingerprint – which is ideal if you don’t want anyone else to access the contents of the safe.
Fireproof and waterproof
Fire protection is another area that should be given some thought when buying a safe. If your safe is going to contain irreplaceable items, such as documents or unique pieces, then ensuring it is fireproof as well makes sense.
Likewise, if you live in an area prone to flooding, then ensuring it is waterproof is well worth doing in the event the worst happens.
Additional features
There are a myriad of extra features that you can specify for a safe, from jewellery drawers to specialist watch holders that will automatically wind it to internal lighting. However, things like this do cost extra, so think carefully if you really need (or want) them.
Get a professional to install it
Of course, when installing a safe, it is highly recommended to get a qualified safe locksmith in to do it. Installing a safe isn’t an easy job for an amateur – especially larger ones – and, in the event of a burglary and it is discovered that a safe wasn’t installed securely and correctly, then an insurance company would likely not pay out. In addition, locksmiths have the right tools for the job to ensure that once the safe is installed, it cannot be lifted out or forcefully removed by an intruder.
If you live in Leicester or the area surrounding it, give Inta-lock Locksmiths a call. We have a team of professionals trained in installing all types of safes on the domestic market. Call our team on … for a no obligation quote and to book an appointment for one of our professionals to come out you.