Why no gun safes in the basement??

Savagenut

New member
I just read on another thread here about gun safes that you should never put one in the basement of your house.

My question is : WHY???

I realize that in the event of a fire, the basement may be hotter than an upper floor, as the house falls in around it.

But, if the house is that much of a loss, whatever is on the upper floors is gonna BE in the basement. The fall from the upper floor is gonna do some major damage, too, I would think.

I live in a rural area, with a volunteer Fire Department. The firefighters do a great job, but with response time and travel time, it may be a few minutes before they arrive.

If a fire starts in the kitchen, for example, it may not have time to consume that floor and get to the basement.

Anyhow, just my thoughts. I was wondering how others feel about this question, and why.
 
Umm, heat moves up so the basement wouldn't be nearly as hot as upper floors, but things will fall in on the basement I guess.

There are no basements in southern NM, but I hear they are prone to being wet, and they would flood out before even your first floor. We don't usually have very much moisture here either, but my dad is a building contractor and grew up in Michigan is where I get my info.
 
I am guessing its a moisture issue also.Basements being cooler have more condensation/moisture problems.They do sell some items for just this sort of thing to dry the air inside the safe.Using a dehumidifier in the basement would be a good idea too,just for extra measure.I cant see where having it up in the house would help in the event of a fire,and it will crash down into the basement probably anyway.
 
If you go back and read that post, it said the delivery people would not put a gun safe in the basement if it had wood steps. I would assume because of the weight. If you have ever put a gun safe in a basement I wouldn't volunteer to do it for someone else either. In the case of a major fire it would end up in the basement anyway.
 
alot of basments are [beeep]
and also due to flood reasons
i looked into gun insurance an told them the safe and stuff would b bolted to basement floor they said it is not covered in the basement because of floods
thats what my insurance told me anyways
 
To many variables, first define basement, Then climate. elevation, flood plain or not, heated finished or not, type of access and so on.
Then determine the safe size/ weight build.
Most insurance have no say where your safe is put. They do have a say what the rates will be for how many guns and what coverage you would receive in the event of loss. Read the fine print carefully.
For instance my safe has been in the basement for many years and my insurance agent is a friend. I have a daylight basement that is finished and heated. I live in a semi arid climate most of the year and we are well above the flood plain.
Also there are gun safes available that are built in seperate panels so you can move and assemble them in tight areas.
Just some thoughts that come to mind.
 
I have a basement, with a heavy duty stairway entrance from
my garage, with double door access to the basement. My gun
safe is not down there. It is in my garage, where if there is
a fire, it will be exposed to less heat. It was a challenge
to anchor it, because I have PEX tubing in my concrete
floor(radiant heat). But it is anchored. As for moisture,
I have a electrically re-charged moisture absorber in my
safe, and have no moisture issues. That would be there
regardless of where the safe was located. As for why not
in the basement, think about putting a potato in the coals
of a camp fire. That will be your gun safe when the
burning house settles in to the basement.

Squeeze
 
Originally Posted By: SShooterZMine is in the basement. With a golden rod inside, I don't worry too much about moisture.

Same here.
The safe came on 4X4 skids I left those in place in case a water pipe broke . The house sits on top of a hill, if we "flood" I hope someone built a really big boat.
As far as the potato in fire thing, In my case I'd be more concerned about the 40 pounds of powder, thousands of primers and 100's of rounds of loaded ammo in the ammo locker.


Mike
 
Originally Posted By: SShooterZMine is in the basement. With a golden rod inside, I don't worry too much about moisture.

Same here. Been there about 14 years now. No issues. I don't even know if the rod is working......
 
If you are seriously worried about flooding you can install a sump pump for a reasonable amount. my grandmothers had flooded a couple times being in a low spot. I installed a sump pump so when the water comes in it goes right back out. Been good for more than 10 years now.
 
When I got my safe the paper work that came with it recomended that you put the safe in the basement. It said that in the case of a fire the fall from an upper floor may break the fire seal and compromise the safe. However mine is not in the basement because I don't dare try to get it down my stairs, (there is a turn at the bottom). If I did get it down I know it would never come back up.
 
WATER , FIRE , ZOMBIES , Why do they call em safes if their not SAFE.... DUHHHHH and whats with the Insurance companys if they cant insure fix the problem put safe up-stairs and Insure to the higest amount possable.....
 
Originally Posted By: mark shubertI just pumped 7 feet of water out of a well house because of a broken pipe. All a basement is - is a larger version of my well house.
Mark

My basement opens to the drive under garage (which is why the safe is there) so the deepest it could get would be maybe an inch.

Mike
 
My new safe IS part of the basement, not too concerned with fire(12 inch poured walls and 8 inch poured lid). With the layout of ground and dirt work, flooding will not be an issue. I am still looking for a good dehumidifier that will support the size. Any suggestions ? thanks
 
In Kentucky you need probably 2 large (12 quart or so) dehumidifiers that drain into a floor drain so you don't have to empty them twice a day. Also a heat type dehumidifier in the safe.

Jack
 
Old coworker went on vacation, basement flooded and classic collection of old Brownings (in top end Browning safes)soaked up the water like there was no tomorrow, the buttstocks split on almost all.
 
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