Moving a 960 pound safe from one house to another... how?

[shooter@5(4)life]

You mean the friend that comes over at 12:00 A.M. and rings the doorbell to borrow a tool he never intends to return! You end up going after it yourself! Never!

 

[4sarge]

Another thing to think about might be your liability if one of your helpers get hurt. Its easy to say a friend wouldn't do that, but a friend that can't work or worse may have too.

I'll be hiring someone insured when I get one.

You have friends that actually work Mine just drink my beer and shoot my ammo

 

[shooter@5(4)life]

The same friend wanted to choose a handgun for his wife! I told him it wasn't a problem. After 8 handguns and about 500 rounds of ammo he still couldn't decide?

 

[Soundslikejosh]

Remember to let physics work to your advantage. The only time's I've had problem lifting something heavy is when my help wanted to dead lift it into the truck after we used other means to get it out of the house. Use a ramp, a hand winch, whatever you need to, but don't try to pick it up.

Also, 4 guys on a thousand pound safe is NOT equal to 250 lbs each. There is always at least one guy who will have more of the load because of the way everyone moves together. It can be done safely but use a strong dolly with solid tires and ramps to get it into the truck.

If you absolutely have to lift the safe up off the ground get a lifting strap (or two) so that the weight is carried by your legs. Most folks can squat a lot more weight than they can reach over and pick up. This is how refrigerator delivery guys do it.


Lastly, the issue of floor support. Consider the weight and the bottom surface area of your safe, and divide to get pounds per square inch. Next, consider the area of your feet and your weight. You will find that most safes have less pressure than you expected. Simulate this by having a bunch of, er, rotund, people stand in one small area. The house doesn't cave in, does it?

 

[csaws]

Remember to let physics work to your advantage. The only time's I've had problem lifting something heavy is when my help wanted to dead lift it into the truck after we used other means to get it out of the house. Use a ramp, a hand winch, whatever you need to, but don't try to pick it up.

Also, 4 guys on a thousand pound safe is NOT equal to 250 lbs each. There is always at least one guy who will have more of the load because of the way everyone moves together. It can be done safely but use a strong dolly with solid tires and ramps to get it into the truck.

If you absolutely have to lift the safe up off the ground get a lifting strap (or two) so that the weight is carried by your legs. Most folks can squat a lot more weight than they can reach over and pick up. This is how refrigerator delivery guys do it.


Lastly, the issue of floor support. Consider the weight and the bottom surface area of your safe, and divide to get pounds per square inch. Next, consider the area of your feet and your weight. You will find that most safes have less pressure than you expected. Simulate this by having a bunch of, er, rotund, people stand in one small area. The house doesn't cave in, does it?

Apples and oranges as people are not a dead load they are a live load with the ability to move and never "sit" in one place for years. Also most rotund people can move out of a house on fire and are not likely to stay long enough for the floor joists to burn out from under them (if they do, they are dead) thus causing the floor (which is now the only thing supporting them) to collapse thus sending them on to my head.

 

[Soundslikejosh]

Apples and oranges as people are not a dead load they are a live load with the ability to move and never "sit" in one place for years. Also most rotund people can move out of a house on fire and are not likely to stay long enough for the floor joists to burn out from under them (if they do, they are dead) thus causing the floor (which is now the only thing supporting them) to collapse thus sending them on to my head.

Csaws,

I wasn't trying to argue the concern of a burning house. I completely understand your reasoning there, and am sympathetic to your safety. It was more aimed at people who are convinced they have to reinforce their floor in order to have a safe.

Further, because people are a dynamic load, they increase the stress on floor joists. So if the people are the same weight as the safe, they are actually worse than the safe. The safe doesn't move and won't have nearly the effect of equal weight worth of people. In that sense, they add a safety factor to the experiment: If equal weight of people can't break the floor, the safe certainly wont.

 

[Chefcook]

You have friends that actually work Mine just drink my beer and shoot my ammo

 

[jclark]

if your floor joists are tji design at least 2 by 10 or 2 by 12 wood,& not spanning a long distance you should be fine.
the easiest place will be main level. lots easier to brace in crawl.
best place is basement,but not all homes have one. golfballs work great on hard surfaces. just keep them under the safe! we use a 5 gal bucket full.

 

[hotfarmboy1]

Mine weighed around 950. It was loaded into our truck with a forklift. Then my dad, my friend, and me unloaded it to my higher porch ourselves. Then set a 4x4 block and some 2x4's and stepped it up to the doorsil, then used my 2 wheel dolly to move it inside. After dad left, me and Andrew moved it from there to where it is now just the two of us. I'm glad my house is a single story at a time like this, lol

 

[OneBadV8]

Two of my friends hired a professional safe mover, said he wasn't too expensive. Depends on how many stairs, distance, etc.
For what it's worth, Call SAFE-JIM 260-417-1345
Shouldn't cost to ask for a quote, then decide.
The said he picked up their new safwe at the store, delivered to their house and put it in place for something like $135. Sounds safer than hospital bills or a damaged safe.

Jim moved mine from Ft. Wayne to Indy. If I remember right, he's in Ft. Wayne Fri - Sun and in Indy Mon - Thur. He knows what he's doing and if you tell him you'll help him you can save a little since he won't have to hire a helper. I'd recommend him.

Although, we did just use Furniture Movers for mine.

 

[Prometheus]

FYI A 55gallon fish tank weighs approx 550 pounds full, give or take 50 pounds due to stand/tank construction and gravel/sand depth.

Most homes are designed to take that. That said I'm on a slab so no worries right now. As to the next house? No idea yet.

 

[rhino]

"Lift with the legs, Hercules . . . the legs!"
-- SNL skit, circa 1980 or 90-something

 

[HK Guy]

Pay a safe mover....

You will be soooooo much happier.

When I moved I was tasked with moving my 1800 pound safe and I simply called the guy who I bought it from and made the appropriate arrangements. He showed up with an unmarked box truck with a lift gate, pallet, pallet jack, railroad jacks, plywood for the floor, aluminum plate to put on top of the plywood, various pry bars, steel pipe to roll the safe on and the necessary knowledge to safely move the heavy beast. The $250 I paid to have it moved by a pro was some of the best money money I've ever spent.

On a side note, the safe guy related a number horror stories of guys trying to save a buck where they smashed themselves, their friends, their house and/or their safe.

 

[curraheeguns]

I hired Jeff Johnson of Johnson Safes to move a 980# one down into a basement at my last house.

 

[gunguy]

You are in NW Indiana. You have one of the best safe movers in Plymouth. Dan Bukowski has DB Safes. He sells, services and moves safes. He has all the right equipment, the truck with a lift gate and the knowledge to do the job right.