Gun safe or vault for new house construction?

[Herknav]

In the 9/24/14, Michael lists the ways in which he loves his fireproof safe. It made me wonder why he made the decision to keep a safe vice having a walk-in vault installed in the NEW secret hidden bunker. As someone who hopes to build someday, I was curious what folks chose and why.

[TAB]

cost
if you think that $5000 safe is expensive, you could drop $20000 on building a small vault very easily.  I mean no options.  just a walk in closet sized vault.  As a long time general contractor, having built several over the years.... I would not build one for myself.  this is coming from some one that has 3 huge safes

[billt]

If I were going to build, (and we've considered this), I would take one room and make it a safe room. Make the walls and ceiling out of concrete, and install a good safe door. The builder might have to pour the slab a bit thicker, but it wouldn't be a big deal.

I would also set the safe door deeper allowing for a regular interior door to block the view. So from the outside it would appear to be a normal bedroom to anyone who would visit. Vault doors attract unwanted attention. I think it's a better solution than moving and placing a bunch of safes that are NEVER big enough, and shout out, "I've got a lot of GUNS!", to everyone who walks through your home.

Just like in politics, perception is everything. Remember, people actually thought Obama was smart.

[tombogan03884]

Bill, remember ventilation, a room isn't safe if the O2 runs out ! 

[billt]

It wouldn't be that costly to add a couple of vents and electrical outlets. They would just have to be rough cored out before pouring the concrete. Especially if they were added to the roof.

[Sponsor]

[TAB]

It wouldn't be that costly to add a couple of vents and electrical outlets. They would just have to be rough cored out before pouring the concrete. Especially if they were added to the roof.

its  lot more work then you think.  Materials alone are 10k++++    Its not as simple as a thicker slab.  Believe it or not most bank vualts . Come in panels and are glued toegther. (No joke)  there are also a whole slew of firecodes for them, none of which are cheap.

[ExurbanKevin]

If I were going to build, (and we've considered this), I would take one room and make it a safe room. Make the walls and ceiling out of concrete, and install a good safe door. The builder might have to pour the slab a bit thicker, but it wouldn't be a big dea

Or even a good fire door, and then put the safe in there.

A vault might make the house harder to re-sell, but a good safe room would increase the resale value, especially if your home is anywhere near Tornado Alley.

[DanPatWork]

Frank is a regular over on sigforum.com on their forums, and he does excellent work. I would refer you to someone like him regarding this topic. I'm sure he answers these question often.     Here is is business http://www.zykansafe.com/

[kmitch200]

Safes can be moved, a 'gun room' can be changed around or even changed to a different room.
A vault room can't.
None of my safes are visble to anyone that just comes into my house w/o me letting them past a locked bedroom door. Otherwise, it's just another closed interior door.

[MikeBjerum]

its  lot more work then you think.  Materials alone are 10k++++    Its not as simple as a thicker slab.  Believe it or not most bank vualts . Come in panels and are glued toegther. (No joke)  there are also a whole slew of firecodes for them, none of which are cheap.

Really???

In our area the vaults are poured in place.  Nothing more than a thick slab, walls, and roof, all with extra re-bar.  Billt is on the right track.  If you have an existing structure you can retrofit through a combination of pouring floors, cement blocks and grout, and a concrete cap.