Safes
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING A SAFE
Buying a safe for your home or office doesn’t happen every day. We understand that it can be a jungle of information out there and that the prospect of choosing a new safe can be daunting. But help is at hand! All About
Safes are the UK’s number 1 safe experts and our helpful advice is why people buy from us. So we thought we’d give
a little of that advice on our blog.
What size safe do you need?
This sounds obvious but it is one of the first questions that people ask us. When you are buying a safe the location should be on your consideration list to determine your ideal size.
A few things you should look at are:
What are you keeping in the safe? Cash/Valuables?
If you’re storing paper that needs to lie flat, consider the depth and width.
Where is the safe going to be located?
How much room will the door need to open? Right-hand hinged doors are the standard.
How wide are your doors and hallways? How many steps do you have? Will the safe get into your property?
All our safes have the external and internal sizes listed, so check that your items will fit inside as well as if the safe
will fit into its resting place. A fire safe will have a thicker wall so the interior sizes will be less than a safe of the
same size in the non-fireproof ranges.
Make sure your choice of safe will house your valuables with ease and that you can open the door fully so as not to
obstruct the opening and stop you putting your goods in the safe. Safe doors are thick and will have a recess that
unless you open the door fully will obstruct the opening.
What cash rating do you need for insurance?
Probably the top reason that people buy a safe is for insurance purposes. Our most popular cash rating is
the £4,000 cash rated safe which can offer up to £40,000 cover for your valuables. If you’re buying a safe to protect
your valuables and cash then make sure that your cash rating is high enough. In the event of a break-in your
insurance company will only cover the cost of your cash or contents up to the cash rating of the safe.
Check for the AIS approved safes:
The AIS (The Association of Insurance Surveyors) are the UK’s safe accreditation body. Many insurance companies
will insist on your safe being AIS approved. If you’re looking for high security or if your insurance company are
insisting on AiS approved safes, then look for the purple tick.
Safes approved by the AiS can often carry a higher price mark but are often your only choice if your insurance
company require it. These safes are high quality and are a really solid quality indicator when you’re looking around
for a new safe.
Fire rating or fireproof safes:
You can be forgiven for not thinking about anything other than theft when buying a safe. But the fire protection is
also an important area to consider. Safes with fire protection are the perfect choice for storage of irreplaceable
items like documents, photos or digital media. Often the value in your valuables can’t be replaced with money. You
can also buy safes with waterproof protection which are a good idea if you’re on a flood plain.
Is your safe too heavy (or too light?):
The weight of your safe is also a key factor when deciding what to choose… but not just because of it being too
heavy!
If you’re choosing a safe to go upstairs then choose a safe that isn’t too heavy for your floor and bear in mind that
your delivery cost will be more expensive once you go over the 60-70Kg threshold. A heavy safe will require more
work and more equipment to get it in place. We offer free delivery to your door and some of our safes have a free
position delivery but deliveries upstairs are an extra cost.
Don’t buy a safe that’s too light without bolting it down! Your safe will be filled with all your high end valuables and
cash. By leaving it all in one place you’re giving a would-be burglar the perfect carrying case to take out all you
goodies! Bolt down your small home of office safe with the kit that comes with it. You won’t be insured if you don’t.
Choose your locking type:
This is generally down to personal choice. Choosing a key lock, an electronic or a combination lock won’t affect your
security as the options for a safe will carry the locks that suit the security. Most locks are the certified VDS class
locks and all key, electronic and combination versions will offer the same security.
The choice you need to make is really about how you will use the access and whether you like to carry a large key
around with you.
Key locking: These offer traditional locking with no code to remember or batteries to change. Yes, keys are
easy to lose – but spare keys aren’t too expensive (easier to order at the time of purchase).
Electronic locking: You give the code to authorised users and you can change it easily with the safe’s
locking instructions. They’re simple to change but simple to forget too. Electronic locks are operated by a
battery that will need replacing unless it has an external power supply.
Installation or professional bolt-down?
Most safes come with a fixing kit and we highly recommend using it. A safe that’s not correctly installed is often not
insured either. Small safes are easy to install with basic DIY skills, but the larger safes are more of a job to install.
The installation of a safe is often a hidden cost (although some of our safes have the bolt-down included in the price)
so make sure you know all the facts when searching for the best price.
-Safes over 60K will usually need a quote to have delivered upstairs
-Safes under 60K can be carried upstairs and involve a simple DIY install
-We personally deliver safes up to 2.5 tonnes
-Look for safes with delivery and installation included
We offer full installation on all products (including the small safes) so just ask if you need it.
Whatever your choice of safe, make sure it suits you, your lifestyle and your environment. When you have to use a
safe every day to keep your valuables in you need to think about the usability and the security requirements
combined.
We’re always happy to talk about your safe and can guide you to the best decision. We’re a family business and
have been around for a long time, so we know our safes. Give an expert a call now and we’ll make the safe choice.
