What is a safe?
A safe is a highly secure, reinforced cuboid (box) structure usually made of toughened steel.
It is hollow to allow for storage of items and has one opening that is controlled by one or more security features (such as key, combination lock, fingerprint).
Its primary design focus is to protect the items inside the safe from unauthorised access, although additional protection layers may be present such as for fireproofing and protection against water damage.
A safe will have one of many different ways to secure and then reopen it, such as a simple key, combination lock, digital code entry, or fingerprints.
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What Is A Safe Made From?
What is a safe made from?
The construction of the safe is usually made from steel.
This steel is often several centimetres thick, and is either plated or made out of a solid piece of steel giving the safe a toughened exterior.
Of course, the exact quality and processes that go into making a safe depends on the quality of safe you are buying and your budget.
Cheaper safes are made from thinner sheet metal, while the higher priced safes are made from hefty solid steel.
What Can I Store In A Safe?
Typically, traditional safes are bought to store the following items in:
- Cash
- Passports or ID documents
- Deeds for property
- Jewellery
- Laptops/Tablets
- Data held on memory sticks and drives
- Valuable Collections (like old coins or stamps)
Anything of value, that would be hard to replace if stolen is an ideal candidate for storing in a safe.
Other types of safes are also available for specialist areas and equipment, like garage safes, firearms safes and document safes.
How Big Is A Safe?
The smallest safe will house a few pieces of small jewellery.
Bigger safes that are used for commercial purposes such as in banks, will hold multiple items.
After that, we are then stray away from safes and into vault territory.
Safes that are bought for use in the home, for typical use (some documents, some jewellery, some cash) are usually between the sizes of a small toaster and a microwave.
Who Is A Safe For?
A safe is for anyone who wants to add an additional layer of protection for their valuables or hard to replace items.
For businesses who accept cash and store cash on their premises, it is an almost essential purchase.
It is important to remember that a safe is only one level of protection.
A safe is essentially, the very last layer of protection for your valuables, after all other security measures have been defeated. It’s therefore imperative that other security layers are looked at and introduced, including security elements that eable you to deter and detect.
Where Should I Install A Safe?
A safe should ideally be installed somewhere that is hidden away.
Usually, safes in residential properties are installed within cupboards, in wardrobes and in kitchen units.
However, there are different types of safe that can also be placed under floorboards, or even into brick walls themselves.
At a very minimum, a safe should be attached to a permanenet fixture in your home, and not simply just placed on a surface, no matter how heavy it is.
How Much Does A Safe Cost?
In the UK, a cheap safe can be bought for under £50, and can go all the way up to thousands of pounds for high end, insurer approved safe.
Our list of the best home safes will give you an idea of budget and what you get for the money when buying a safe.
How much you spend on a safe depends on a variety of factors such as your budget, the type of items you want to store in your safe, if you need it to be fireproof and/or waterproof.
Should I Buy A Safe?
Yes you should.
Every home should have a safe. You can buy a safe from as little as £20, so cost should not be an excuse.
While a £20 safe is not going to be high quality, what it does do is make it harder for your valuables to be stolen in the event of a burglary.
The average time in which a burglary takes place is 8-12 minutes (estimated by various sources).
A safe should be part of your general household security plan, and is included in our 75 ways to improve home security article that helps you target harden your home.
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Questions? Comments?
If you have any questions or comments about safes or home security in general, please leave them below.
Stay Safe. Stay Secure.
(UPDATED: OCTOBER 2022)
