One of our basic needs is to protect our goods and valuables. How many times have we wondered: is it safe to keep my jewels or money at home? Will my kids be in danger of shooting themselves if I buy myself a gun? Will I get bankrupt if a fire starts by any chance in my office?
The need for safes appeared shortly after humankind discovered money, gold and other valuables. Until 1820 they helped only against theft, but starting in the 1840s they were designed, by using so called Wilder technology, to protect effectively against fire. The burglar resisting safe was first patented in 1835 by Chubb Safes (it is believed that they were already producing them for almost 20 years).
There is a whole highly developed industry behind safes: they are usually made of metal, are designed to be fire and environmentaly resistant and are using high tech electronics, laser-cut doors or memory recall capabilities. One of the world's largest home security providers is Sentry Safes. They offer high quality at competitive prices and in more than 70 years of being on the market they have remained faithful to the founder’s beliefs: quality, affordability and innovation.
The safes generally have two main destinations - for home or office use - and can be classified in three main types:
1) Burglary Safes – they offer protection against theft, but very little against fire. Usually they have solid metal walls and a heavy door resistant to a drilling, cutting or prying attack. Hardened resistant metals are often used to slow down attempts to break in to this safe.
2) Fire Safes – usually they are made of a thin metal double wall and have a fire-resistant insulating material between the walls. They have a minimum level of security, because they are designed to protect (especially papers) against fire. They have to maintain an internal temperature of below 200 degrees C (the point at which documents will be destroyed) .The safes provide the fire protection for either 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes. Similar to them, but a bit more effective, there are the “Data Safes” which maintain less than 52 degrees C (the point at which data media is destroyed) and also protect against high humidity, electro magnetic contamination, etc.
3) Fire / Burglary Safes - They are generally multi-purpose safes and offer good protection both against thefts and fire. They are designed like a burglary safe, but have a secondary wall inside, which contains insulation (the material that helps maintaining a low temperature).
Usually home safes are used to prevent stealing or destruction of our family's property: money, papers like receipts, contracts, personal and financial documents, jewels and sometimes other things which can be irreplaceable: photos, videos. For good protection of these valuables we need Fire/Burglary Safes. Usually, these safes are located in the floor or in the walls.
The wall safes demand a special framing and it is better to place them as low as possible because, in the event of a fire, the temperature is lower at ground level. They are very practical for those of us who value their possessions, but don't want to keep them in a bank. They are easy to install and access and they do not require special modifications of the interior or the design of the house.
When we don't have enough money to buy a professional safe it is always better to remember about diversion safes! They don't look like the typical steel safe and, although they have no protection against fire, they can discourage a potential burglar, who hasn't got the time to search the whole house.
We can use as diversion safe containers for soda pop, canned fruit, home cleaners, or even books. They have removable tops or bottoms so that we can put our goods in them, weight so that they appear normal when handled and most important, they are quite cheap compared to a normal safe.
We also don't have to forget that a gun safe is the most effective way of preventing a tragic accident at home! Usually they are made of steel and the size is according to the size of the gun you want to secure. The bigger the safe is, the more it costs. But although it will cost an extra amount of money, it's better to remember that we should diminish the risks by keeping the guns safe.
When buying a safe we have to think of its destination, how accessible it is, how many options we can get for the amount of money that we are willing to pay and how it is rated (what is its level of security against thefts, destruction). The best thing would be to hire a company that can monitor and protect your house/office and values. But when this is too expensive, safes are the next best option.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
How safe are your possessions?
Monday, June 22, 2009
Wall Safes: The Safest Walls On Earth
With the increasing crime rates these days, it is best that you find ways to protect your belongings whenever you are indoor or outdoors. But the most important thing you have to protect is your home, especially if you and your household members are not at home most of the time.
By equipping your home with security gadgets like wall safes, you can eliminate the worries that fill your mind knowing that your most valuable possessions are safely intact.
Nowadays, keeping valuables in a bank’s safety deposit box is no longer the only available way to safeguard your valuables. With the advent of technology and creative inventions, wall safes are now considered as the next best thing to safekeeping.
Generally, wall safes are mounted and permanently pierced into the walls of your house. Because of its nature, you may mount your wall safes while your house or your office is still under construction or you may opt to mount it a little later. If you prefer to do the latter, mounting wall safes will not be very difficult because most wall safes are equipped with “flange”, thus, you don’t have to re-cover your walls.
When buying wall safes, there are certain elements you need to check first:
1. The ratings.
A quality wall safe has an Underwriters Laboratories rating. This means that the capability and efficiency of your wall safes is manifested by its ratings.
Basically, a safe with a Class-A rating can endure an inferno with a maximum of 2,000-degree heat for long hours. Whereas, a Class B-rated wall safe means that it can only endure a fire with 1,850-degree heat and will last for only two hours. The last rating, class C means that the safe is capable of enduring 1,000-degree heat and last for about an hour.
Like any safes, wall safes are also operated through a series of number combinations, keys, or electronic lock. Its function varies depending on the type you have chosen. It is upon your discretion which type of wall safe would best serve you most.
2. The price.
As with all commodities and products, wall safes are not created equal, and so, their value in the market will also vary from one to the other. Their variations may be due to the quality of composition or the dealer that distributes the material.
In most cases, the average wall safe will cost $400. And so, you have to shop around in order to get the best bargain. You may look at the Internet for available wall safes that will suit your needs.
However, when buying safes online, it is best that you see the items personally so as to scrutinize and evaluate if what the manufacturers claim online is actually true. After all, it is your money that is at risk and also your other valuables, so it is best to obtain a wall safe that can offer you both the protection that you need and the quality that you are looking for.
Generally, wall safes are used for the safekeeping of your valuables like jewelry, money, and even pertinent papers like contracts, deed of sales, and receipts. With wall safes you can be assured that all of your most treasured possessions are kept safely against burglars and accidents like fire.
So, for people who value their possessions, it is best to get wall safes. Not only are they easy to install, easy to access, and easy to manipulate but they are also house-friendly because you can place them in any part of your house without having to destroy or modify your interior decorations.
And so, it is better to think of your family and your finances’ safety now. As they say, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Do not hesitate to invest a little amount of money on wall safes. You’ll never know what can happen next, so it is better to be safe than sorry.
