Converting a closet to a safe

[quiggly]

What I am doing for a safe is to convert one of the closets in my house. I am in the process of adding things to it. My main goal to begin with was to have a safe place to keep firearms, jewelry and other stuff from easy accessibility.

I didn't like a lot of the other safes because of Cost, weight and size so I thought I could use current square footage.

I put a digital/key lock on the door just like one that you would use on an outside entrance door on your home on a solid core door.

My next addition is going to be to add security to keep someone from breaking thru the drywall to get to it. I was thinking about lining it with steel sheets screwed to the studs or even thought possibly chainlink fence screwed to the studs from the inside.

After that I need to secure the door with a better lock. I thought about one of those magnetic locks like they use on computer rooms battery backed up of course.

After securing that I want to possibly replace the actual door with a Hidden door like a bookshelf. It would be an odd place to have one but may hide it well enough to keep someone from spending too much time in the heat of a breakin.

I am going to run power in it so I can have lighting and a dehumidifier stick. Also possibly a place to keep emergency equipment charged and ready for use.

Even thought about a fire extinguishing system that is self contained. This may save stuff in case the rest of the house burns down.

Looking for thoughts that others may have about a project like this.

Don't mean to hijack the thread but this seems like a good place to continue the home storage/safe options.

 

[bwframe]

What I am doing for a safe is to convert one of the closets in my house. I am in the process of adding things to it. My main goal to begin with was to have a safe place to keep firearms, jewelry and other stuff from easy accessibility.

This is a great idea. Never could get with the idea of having a safe and leaving it exposed, so that anyone who seen it would know you have something valuable enough to put in it.

Did I not hear correctly that some safe manufacturers actually use multiple layers of drywall for their fire protection?

 

[Rookie]

I would suggest hardibacker for the walls. 1/2 inch thick is some pretty tuff stuff, it's water and fire proof, and it would be cheaper and easier to work with than steel. You could then sheet rock over it and no one would know the difference...

 

[4sarge]

There is a 1 hour fireproof (1700*) drywall readily available and it is fairly inexpensive. Maybe doubling it would offer further fire protection. The most important thing is to keep your secret stash - secret

 

[Scutter01]

I copied a few posts from this thread

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...discussion/9993-gun_safe_recommendations.html

To this one to continue this discussion.

The more I think about this the more I'd like to do this with one of my own closets. I figure I can get a much bigger enclosed area for much less money this way. It won't have the security of a true safe, but maybe I can make it safe "enough".

A couple of problems that I can see:

Security:

- Is a solid-core door enough? Perhaps a sheet of steel lining the inside for added strength (same goes for walls).
- Exterior hinges. My closet doors are all hinged on the outside of the door. What can be done about that? Are there hinges that can be installed that require the door to be open in order to remove? Can they be installed without performing major remodeling to the door frame and surrounding drywall?

Fire prevention:

- Is this a concern? If my house goes down, my gun storage is the least of my worries, but I'd still prefer some modicum of fire prevention. Is the previously-noted fireproof drywall sufficient? Floors and ceilings, too?

Climate control:

I'd like to have a dehumidifier inside, but is a dehumidifier stick sufficient? Where would the moisture be removed to with a larger system?


The closet I have in mind is on the second floor, and two of its walls are exterior, so for security I really only need to worry about one wall and the door area.

 

[mrw]

I've been wanting to do this to my closet too. Mine is fairly large, a couple hundred square feet, has a small window, power and AC/Heat. It already has a solid core exterior door on it. The problem is the same as Scutters. It opens 'out' instead of 'in' so the hinges are on the outside of the room. I'm curious if there is a way to secure the hinges or should I just put a dead bolt on all four corners of the door?

 

[Scutter01]

Good Lord! I don't think our first house was a couple hundred square feet!

Seriously, though, my closet (while not quote that big) is slightly walk-in sized, but not big enough to reverse the door so that it swings in. I'm also concerned that even if I reinforce the door and the surrounding wall that the jamb remains highly vulnerable to two minutes with a crow bar. I'm not expecting to have a completely secure room, but I want better than a few minutes' time to break in.

 

[Crystalship1]

I've been wanting to do this to my closet too. Mine is fairly large, a couple hundred square feet, has a small window, power and AC/Heat. It already has a solid core exterior door on it. The problem is the same as Scutters. It opens 'out' instead of 'in' so the hinges are on the outside of the room. I'm curious if there is a way to secure the hinges or should I just put a dead bolt on all four corners of the door?

There are several styles of "Security Hinges" that would work in this situation:

http://www.statefarm.com/learning/be_safe/home/burglary/learning_besafe_athm_burg_hing.asp

 

[DRob]

Think about your weaknesses.

The door itself is going to be a real weak point regardless of how many or what type of lock you put on it. A steel door is definitely in order. How about 2 steel doors mounted back-to-back. The outer door swinging out, the inner door swinging in, multiple deadbolts on each, hung on opposite sides of the door jamb. Using a closet with a window creates a handy point of entry for an intruder and adding bars to just that one window advertises your intent. While additional thicknesses of drywall may increase fire protection it will do little to deter a determined burglar.

I really like the idea of a walk-in vault and there are companies who make vault doors for just such uses but I think it would also require significant structural modifications to mount one. My understanding is they are intended to be mounted in poured concrete or, at least, concrete block walls.......... like a basement safe-room.

Let is know what you come up with.

 

[Scutter01]

DRob: Everything you said is true, but it would become cost prohibitive to make the modifications you suggest. Might just as well buy a safe at that point. The reality is that even a safe bolted to the floor is not going to stop a determined thief, which is why I did not say "safe" but rather "safe enough". Asking "How secure is it?" is the same as asking "How high is the sky?" The answer is that it's as high as it is. The question should be "Is it high enough?"

 

[4sarge]

Good Lord! I don't think our first house was a couple hundred square feet!

Seriously, though, my closet (while not quote that big) is slightly walk-in sized, but not big enough to reverse the door so that it swings in. I'm also concerned that even if I reinforce the door and the surrounding wall that the jamb remains highly vulnerable to two minutes with a crow bar. I'm not expecting to have a completely secure room, but I want better than a few minutes' time to break in.

Scutter, what are the approximate dimensions of your walk in, width of door, how many exterior walls (outside) and interior walls does it have. Any chance of extending closet opening into present room to alter the door opening?

 

[Scutter01]

Scutter, what are the approximate dimensions of your walk in, width of door, how many exterior walls (outside) and interior walls does it have. Any chance of extending closet opening into present room to alter the door opening?

Not really. The one interior wall is the back side of an adjacent (and much larger) closet and I've been informed in no uncertain terms that it stays.

The closet is situated at the corner of the house and the only other interior wall is the one in which the door is placed. It's a 4'x6' closet with a 2' wide door centered on one 6' wall (one of the 4' sides adjoins another closet on the other side). A door that would swing in (rather than out) would lose me perhaps two thirds of the usable floor space. I could probably widen the entryway, but I would prefer to not make any structural changes.

What I'd prefer to do is to reinforce the two interior walls and replace the door (and hinges) with something more secure, and then line the closet with fire resistant drywall, and then cover with felt or very thin carpet.

To access the either of the two exterior walls would require either a ladder or a bucket truck, both of which would be highly visible. I expect neighbors to comment: "Hey, we saw some some guy on a ladder sledgehammering your house while you were at dinner. He said you said it was OK. Did you know him?"


This is all speculation and planning at this point. If I can't make it acceptably secure and/or affordable, then I'm going to scrap the idea.

 

[4sarge]

What I'd prefer to do is to reinforce the two interior walls and replace the door (and hinges) with something more secure, and then line the closet with fire resistant drywall, and then cover with felt or very thin carpet.

To access the either of the two exterior walls would require either a ladder or a bucket truck, both of which would be highly visible

Sounds like a plan. If your staying for awhile and it is a professional job it may in fact add some additional value. It's going to be tough to complete without some remodeling. With remodeling a pocket door could be added or maybe an ingenious way to conceal the current entrance so it appears that it is a solid wall.

 

[DRob]

Yessir, this is true

I was just thinking about the best-case scenario short of building a new house around a gun vault. Hello Powerball!

DRob: ..................... Might just as well buy a safe at that point..............................................?"

Agreed 100%. Every safe I've seen has holes in the bottom and the bolts are easy to install. Drilling into a slab is no sweat but it is hard on the carpet.

 

[Scutter01]

I'm excited now. I'm already working up a bill of materials in my head.

 

[4sarge]

I'm excited now. I'm already working up a bill of materials in my head.

Good Luck and if you need anything else drop me a PM. Just completed a walk-in tornado/safe room for storing and safety but I have a poured basement that made it convenient to a remodel

 

[spasmo]

Good Luck and if you need anything else drop me a PM. Just completed a walk-in tornado/safe room for storing and safety but I have a poured basement that made it convenient to a remodel

I would like to have a tornado/safe room. I liked it when we had a basement. Now I feel vulnerable. We definitely need a bigger safe though.

 

[Scutter01]

I would like to have a tornado/safe room. I liked it when we had a basement.

I don't think this closet will qualify as tornado-proof (much less big enough for us all to huddle in). Gimme a break, woman! You let me have the other closet instead and we'll talk.

 

[obijohn]

there is a guy in my neighborhood that built a room in his house with 8" on center stud walls, double half inch fire drywall, on a slab. door to room is an exterior steel door bolted to triple frame. seems pretty secure.

 

[quiggly]

The basis of this is what types of break ins do you want to prevent?

An intruder with no one home. May notice the locked closet and think something was up. Probably would grab a pry bar or possibly an axe and go to town.

My original thought was steel lining the walls and the door. The cost of this will be fairly high though. It would stop an axe or someone from pentration however. I also thought of a low budget way would be to line the inside with some welded wire or even chainlink fence. Not pretty but very functional. you could hang things easily without having to add shelfs.

The door lock is another. This is where I thought a standard handle but one of those magnetic locks like they use in a computer room would be applied well. Intruder would not be able to pry open the door at all and hopefully wouldn't be able to figure it out. Eventually they could probably get in but the time factor would be working against them.

Hinges can be done with security hinges which are hardened and have the hinge pins permanently in. However I thought about a hidden hinge. This would consist of pins in about 1/4 to 1/8 of the width of the door. This would take some opening space away but that would be okay with my application.

The other type of intruder would be hostage based. If someone is in my house and an intruder wants that person to be able to open the door for them. Only 2 people have access that is me and my wife so if the kids are there they could be vulnerable. My solution to help this would be to actually have a bookshelf for the door. It would be a little out of place but if built properly with a steel backing would be just as secure plus may cause intruders to skip right over the fact there is a closet there.

Here is an idea on the hinge plans.
Hidden-Pivot Bookcase Door

The whole idea is to plan your threats and then do what you can to minimize them. You will never be able to eliminate them. Also understand that.

Another Site with a door.
Free Hidden Door Plans - How to Build A Hidden Door For a Safe Room