Despite our digital world, many of us have physical possessions that mean a lot to us. Whether it’s family heirlooms, legal documents, or jewellery, you need a safe way to store the important things in your life. There’s no better way to do this than by investing in a safe or a vault.
Safes and vaults are highly recommended by locksmiths because there are models that fit just about any residential or commercial property, allowing you to confidently store items in your home or business. But which safe or vault is right for you, and how are you supposed to navigate the purchase of one?
Today’s guide will break down how exactly to approach safe buying for your home or business using expert advice from an expert at emergency Locksmith Bradford. First off, let’s explore what types of safes and vaults are available to purchase.
Standard Fireproof Safes: A decent safe should, at the very least, protect your valuables from fire damage. While not every safe is rated for fire, you can trust that fireproof safes can resist extreme temperatures. Fireproof safes come in all sorts of sizes and styles to match the type of possessions you’d like to safeguard.
Wall Safes: Wall safes are installed directly into a wall in a room. They are typically placed at standing height and concealed with a painting or bookshelf to prevent targeting by burglars. You can pick from a variety of wall safe styles, but the safe cannot be easily moved once placed.
Floor Safes: Similar to wall safes, floor safes can be installed into the floor. They provide discrete security because they can easily be covered by a rug or carpet. Keep in mind that these cannot be moved once installed, just like wall safes, so be sure to select the right spot to install a floor safe.
Biometric and other High-Security Safes: For an extra layer of protection, you can invest in biometric safes. These safes are highly-praised for their extreme level of protection. Requiring a biometric key, such as a fingerprint or retina scan, these safes are quite hard for thieves to bypass, unless they can get access to your biometric data, but this is unlikely in most cases.
Gun Safes: Gun safes are made specifically for holding guns and other weapons. They come in many sizes and have secure locks that can be opened with a combination or a key, keeping your weapons out of reach for those without permission to handle them.
Digital Safes: These safes are designed to hold digital assets, such as hard drives, laptops, and similar technology. Digital safes are temperature-controlled and are typically constructed to lock out moisture and humidity from the outside.
Document Safes: For legal documents, highy-sensitive personal items like passports, and other document-sized possessions, document safes might be the best option. Document safes are almost always fire and floodproof, and they tend to be compact.
Bank Vaults: For large amounts of money and valuable, a bank vault might be the way to go. These large vaults can be built directly into a door or room to provide a controlled area with an extremely high level of security.
There are many benefits to investing in a device to lock down valuable property. Here are some key reasons why people choose a strong security solution for their possessions:
● Theft and Loss: Perhaps the most obvious reason to invest in a safe or vault is to protect your items from potential criminals. Burglaries and thefts can be devastating, leaving people without cash, family possessions, or a feeling of safety, which is why safes and vaults are so effective.
● Insurance Purposes: Some insurance providers offer reduced premiums for homes or businesses with insurance-approved safes. You can be rewarded by these companies for taking proactive steps towards security and safety.
● Confidentiality: Your confidential or sensitive possessions can be valuable to burglars. By keeping passports, social security documents, and birth certificates locked up, you prevent your personal information from being stolen and disseminated online.
● Disaster Preparedness: fire and flood-proof safes can be extremely helpful in the event of a natural disaster. These safes are rated to hold up against intense heat, moisture, and pressure, making them perfect for you to store important items without fear.
● Preventable Misuse: This particularly applies to weapon safes, where misuse and unauthorised access can potentially be deadly. By responsibly locking up weapons, you can prevent harm from falling on a loved one.
● Protecting Digital or Business Media: By storing hard drives and business documents in protected safes or vaults, you avoid losing important business or personal data stored on digital devices.
The safe you purchase should match the contents you plan on putting inside it. Vaults generally work best for large quantities of items, and businesses tend to have more use for them than individuals. Obviously, you won’t need a gun or jewellery safe if you don’t own either of those things.
If you simply want to store cash in a safe or vault, do some research into specific devices to see what the insurance rating is. Some safes, for instance, have a cash rating of $10,000, meaning that amount of cash can be recovered in the event of a loss.
Think about the level of security in a safe that would be appropriate for your contents. Safes and vaults come with many entry methods, from combination locks to biometric scanners. Consider how you would prefer to lock and unlock the unit, and what would make the most sense in an emergency.
Just as locks can require maintenance over time, it’s critical to stay on top of safe and vault maintenance. Make sure to perform regular checks of the safe or vault’s locking mechanisms, searching for corrosion or warping. This is especially good advice when investing in an expensive or high-security safe with many components.
After selecting a suitable safe/vault, ensure proper maintenance and security is undertaken. Ensure that locking mechanisms are regularly inspected and well-lubricated for smooth operations. Keep changing the combinations and access methods now and then for enhanced safety. Ensure that potential intruders are not able to access the area by keeping it free of obstacles while still maintaining ease of emergency access. Finally, think about incorporating security features such as alarms and surveillance cameras for added protection of the safe or vault. Through continuous monitoring and safeguarding of your selected vaults for storage, you will ensure that your precious valuables remain safe.
While it might be difficult to find the perfect safe or vault to match your needs, you can be certain that there are models to assist in every situation. Consider what possessions you’d like to safely store, and where exactly to keep them on your property. There are many types of safes and vaults, and each can be accessed using different methods depending on your preferences.
If you have unique security needs or aren’t sure which safe is right for you, you can also reach out to a local locksmith to get a better idea of what makes sense for you. Locksmith agencies like Lock & Key can send a locksmith to your property to make a professional assessment, recommending a wall, floor, or standalone safe to match your need
