Residential safes are a wonderfully effective weapon in the fight against crime, and can help homeowners protect their valuables against theft and even fire damage. If you’ve decided to invest in a safe for the first time, here are some important factors to bear in mind when making your choice:
- The fire rating
One of the biggest threats to the safety of your belongings may actually be a home fire, and not theft, so making sure your safe has a minimum fire rating of one hour, will help protect your valuable items for longer. Fire ratings indicate the amount of time the contents of a safe can be protected for before flames begin to damage them, and your local safe stockist and installer will be able to give you more details about the different fire ratings available for home safes.
Naturally, the higher the rating, the higher level of protection the safe will offer.
- Burglary rating
While fires might be the biggest threat to your home possessions, theft isn’t far behind it on the list, and it’s essential that along with a fire rating, your home safe also has the highest burglar rating you can afford. Again, your local safe specialist can talk you through the ratings and help you choose the highest one you can afford.
- The size of the safe
While a bigger safe will enable you to store more items in it, it will also take up more space in your home, so it’s important to weigh up the pros and cons before choosing which size safe you want to invest in. One of the best ways of deciding what size safe to buy, is to think carefully about what you want to store in it now, and what you might want to store in it in the future.
- Portability of the safe
Do you want a safe that you can move from one position to another, or do you want a safe that is secured in a permanent position on (or under) the floor or in a wall? While a portable safe might be more convenient for you to pick up and move from a to b, it will also be more convenient for a burglar to pick up and carry off.
- Your budget
Safes are an investment, but a valuable one, so while your budget might only stretch so far, it’s important not to automatically opt for the cheapest model, since the level of protection it will offer you, will be less. The more you spend, the higher the level of security the safe will offer, but your local safe specialist will have a range of home safes for sale, at a range of prices to suit every budget.
Now that you’re armed with a little more information about home safes, you can go ahead and purchase one with confidence, and begin giving your precious possessions, the protection they deserve.