When it comes to security, a safe for your home or office is essential. But with all the benefits of small and light safes there’s always to security issue of securing your safe down well enough. With an under floor safe you have the best secure fit out there and you also have a great space saving answer too.

Under Floor safes are very popular with businesses that have limited space as it gives them the simple drop safe option of capsules posted through a shoot into the safe. Deposit under floor safe are very common in fuel stations and restaurants but they’re also a popular home security safe too.

The one downside of an under floor safe is obviously the fitting. We can fit your floor safe for you, but what exactly is involved if you want to do it yourself and how hard is it?

Fitting an under floor safe – the All About Safes guide.

Where do you install an under floor safe?

The beauty of an under floor safe is that you don’t have to have a lot of space. In fact, floor safes are the perfect safe for you if you’re working or living in a limited space. Securing your valuables under the floor is both secure and discreet.

But where’s best?

The answer to that is really up to you but one of the most popular places is the garage of your home. When you start taking up carpets and floorboards in your home it can seem like a lot of work. Also, in your home or business you’ll have pipes and electrics running under the floor.

The garage, on the other hand, has a concrete floor and is not as cosmetically damaging when you install a safe in its floor. You must of course be very careful to check for under floor gas or water pipes or electric cables before carrying out any work!

Above all else, choose a position that is both accessible and secure. Don’t forget that you’re going to need get contents in and out of it.

Who can fit an under floor safe?

We’ll be honest; this isn’t a simple DIY job. To complete a professional installation you’ll need some experience in groundwork and be good with concrete. There are some simple DIY mix concretes out there though which is fine for the job.

You’re obviously going to have to be capable of operating a concrete jack hammer and then have the competence to work with a shovel, trowel and polythene membrane too.

This is probably a step above the average Sunday afternoon DIY job, but not out of reach for a competent person.

What tools do you need to fit an under floor safe?

Unlike a floor or wall safe, you won’t need a drill or screwdriver here. Fitting a safe into the floor is all about setting it in concrete so the tools are very different. You’ll need:

• Kango (concrete jack hammer)
• Wheel barrow to mix the concrete
• Shovel
• Trowel
• Polythene membrane
• Concrete mix
• Spirit level.

How long does it take to fit an under floor safe?

It can take between 5-6 hours to fit an under floor safe, not allowing for the concrete to set.

Fitting your under floor safe

1. To start with, remove anything that’s covering the floor and expose the concrete underneath.
2. Now, mark the area on the floor that you’re going to conceal your safe in with a marker. You’ll need to allow no less than 150mm of concrete around the sides of the safe.
3. Using your steel saw, cut through the concrete and then excavate to a depth of around 75mm more than the total depth of your safe with the Kango.
4. It’s best to angle the sides of your hole outwards by around 50mm so your concrete will dovetail into the safe’s edge.
5. Cover the base of your newly excavated hole with around 100mm of your concrete mix.
6. Now lift the safe by the top plate and place it in the centre of your hole and work it down into the wet concrete so the concrete comes up around the sides of your safe until the lid is level with the floor level.
7. Use your spirit level to check the safe is level.
8. Then add concrete in layers of 100mm (each layer worked well into the previous layer) with your trowel. Work methodically over the whole area until the concrete around the edges reaches floor level and make sure that you have a full compaction of concrete. (Take care not to disturb the safe, or dislodge the neck if it’s a deposit safe.)
9. Now make sure that your lid fits well as once the concrete sets you won’t have any room for adjustment. Level it all up and allow to dry and then put a final skim over the top to level and smooth it all off.

And you’re done!

It’s quite a messy job and you’ll need the right tools too. We recommend that you don’t use your safe for around 14 hours to allow the concrete to set.

All our under floor safes come with the option of installation by professionals if you can’t quite manage all this yourself. Under floor safes are highly secure and perfect for the home or office with limited space.

For more information or to see our full range of under floor safes.