I m considering a gun safe and needing to decide whether to put it in the basement or on the main floor.
Floor joist gun safe.
If the floor is unable to support the weight of the safe it would be best to support the weight by placing braces in the form of additional joists underneath the floor.
Any thoughts on how.
The sub floor usually plywood is then nailed to the top of the floor framework.
You are currently reading an engineered solution to the problem of gun safe weight on floor joists entry 14104 on the captain s journal this article is filed under the category s featured firearms guns and was published september 28th 2015 by herschel smith.
When bolting a gun safe down into a wood framed floor it is best to bolt the safe down directly into the floor joists.
Assuming a common grade 2 hem fir 2x10 13 5 can handle 70 lbs per sqft load but your safe will be a point load.
There are a lot of variables here.
Floor joists are 2 x10 16 spacing with a span of 13 5 ft.
Product detailsprotex if 1212c in ground floor safethis floor safe is the smallest model in our line of floor safes it is designed to be installed in concrete floors flush with the finished floor which makes it completely concealed and enhances the burglary and fire resistance lagard group ii combination lock 1 2 a36 solid steel direct drive lift out door convenient lift handlefull length.
The size and spacing of the joists are determined by local building codes based on engineering requirements.
If you are unsure how to do this it is probably best to consult and professional joiner or building to do this for you.
The joists are typically 2 x 8s 2 x 10s or 2 x 12s and are capped on the ends by headers.
Unlike some safes in this category heracles research corporation floor and wall safes are virtually impossible to carry off as they are designed to be professionally mounted directly to your buildings core structure either floor joists or wall studs.
The safe weight wood species of your floor joist grade of your floor joists.
I would place the safe so that it sit across a couple of floor joists.
Bolting a gun safe to floor joists.
When you want to secure your gun safe or really any safe to a wooden floor there are a couple different approaches just like when opting to hand carry a gun.
The basement has the advantage of a concrete floor but the main floor would be much more convenient.
If you re interested in what else the the captain s journal has to say you might try thumbing through the archives and visiting.
Standard safe sizes are.
If you have a crawlspace you ll might consider just drilling through the floor and using large nuts and washers.
Or you might be able to fasten a safe to floor joists with lag screws.
Also all of the floor and wall safes have a 1 hour fire wall.
These bolts can be ripped out just by prying and or rocking the safe.