A safe offers security for important belongings and gives peace of mind. While the average safe available is not impenetrable, it is an efficient deterrent for all but the most determined burglars. Even a reasonable home safe surely stops opportunistic hands and prying eyes in their tracks.
Prior to buying a safe, you should first decide what you like to secure and protect. Home safes made for irreplaceable valuables have additional security features and will cost you more than just simple, fire-resistant document home safes.
Picking the Appropriate Size
The size of the home safe and the features will depend on the things you want to store. Some family heirloom jewels do not need much space; however, you may wish to the additional real estate if you add documents. Safe store recommends sizing up if you can since you will find many items to include in due course, and replacing your home safe in a couple of years is not convenient.
Your home safe exterior dimensions are not a precise measurement of the storage capacity as the walls and doors differ in thickness. Instead, you need to look at its interior size in cubic feet. Utilize the dimension of the exterior to decide where you will place the safe.
Keypad or Combination
Picking between a digital keypad and a dial combination depends on personal choice. A keypad may be the best choice if you find the digits on a dial hard to read.
Both designs have advantages and disadvantages. A combination lock is less costly and doesn’t need batteries; however, it takes time to change the combination, and it could be hard to use for those with poor eyesight and shaky hands. A digital lock is easy to open and, most of the time, has security features for wrong attempts, but they need batteries and cost a lot.
Importance Security Features of Home Safe
Lock style and size, there are other vital features you need to look out for when buying a home safe.
Product Certification
Underwriters Lab examines many products to assess their performance, including space heaters and safes, even if Safe and Vault says some home safe makers use the lab to save money. You might also find home safes with the ETL mark, and it only means that Intertek Laboratories examined them.
Home safes without ETL or UL labels are not essentially bad. On the other hand, these labels prove that the model conforms to industry standards. That reassurance is reflected in the price of the product.
Fireproof and Waterproof
Protecting important documents such as birth certificates, the last will of testaments, tax records, and many others is your main concern; perhaps you need a fire-resistant or waterproof home safe. An expert explains how safe fire rating functions.
Good fire home safes utilize single or more layers of the board in the door and body. Better fire home safe makes use of two or more layers of the board. The most excellent one sandwiches fire insulating material between steel plates. Best fire home safes tend to be tried by Intertek or Underwriters laboratories.
Any fire home safe must list the amount of time it can sustain the internal temperature when exposed to a fire. If the home safe has an ETL or UL label, you can read the specifics of what its rating signifies and how it was examined.
A water-resistant safe will keep your possessions safe and sound in case of flood and under the spray of a fire sprinkler. These home safes are rated for a specific amount of time and water. Once you bolt down the home safe, its waterproofing might be compromised.
Damage Resistance Specification
Water and fire certainly pose a danger to the contents of your safe. However, some safes are made to resist other forms of damages. These will thwart burglars with dedicated tools and survive higher falls.
Experts perform thief testing and classify home safes in accordance with its standards; however, you can find safes that are damage resistant without an official UL sticker. Yale, a renowned smart lock and safe maker, recommends looking for terms like anti-drill, anti-bump, anti-saw, and pry-resistant.
Tamper alarm is a vital feature to consider. For instance, the Yale Alarmed Value Safe offers many types of alarms, lockout from keying the wrong code, tampering, and low battery.
To Sum Up
A home safe is a very important investment. It will keep your belongings safe and sound. However, it is vital to find one equipped with the best features to make the best out of its benefits. And if at some point you need help opening the safe, you can always visit locksmithpeople.com for help. We are hoping that this article can help you find ones that meet your standards.
