Ok it is not exactly gunsmithing but I was not sure where to post this question.

I have two safes one is fireproof and the other is not. I am planning on redoing the interior of the non fireproofed safe to make it more user friendly and was thinking about adding fireproofing to it at the same time.

My fireproof safe appears to have regular Gypsum Board, Drywall as the fireproofing. Is it as simple as adding a layer of Drywall to the interior to add some fire protection?

Ant help would be greatly appreciated

while drywall is recognized as a fire barrier there are much better ones available. cheapest would be mineral wool, which protects to 800 deg. f. cerrafoam or firechek are better yet protecting to over 2000, but they are pricey (figure about $7-10/sq/ft/. mineral wool is less than $1

I FP'd mine by putting the safe in a freestanding closet and applying two layers pf 5/8's sheetrock to the interior of the closet&door- in a barn, not the house.

I fireproofed mine by using 6 inches of concrete in the walls, finished over with gypsum board, with 8 inches of Type X gypsum in the ceiling, and a 4 hour rated door. Then again, mine is 16 feet by 12 feet, not your usual 8 or 12 gun box.

dave

If you want to protect your house and your gun safe from fire, I'd suggest storing your model 70's in a location away from the house and safe. Seems they have a nasty habit of showing up after the smoke has cleared.

quote:

Originally posted by Westpac:
If you want to protect your house and your gun safe from fire, I'd suggest storing your model 70's in a location away from the house and safe. Seems they have a nasty habit of showing up after the smoke has cleared.

I remember that one.

Want to protect your rifles.... Get good insurance and take pictures and video. Store the pics and video in a safe deposit box at the bank.

Most safes will not keep the internal temp low enough to prevent wood damage. thats what media safes are for but they suck at keeping thieves out. All but the most expensive safes are good at both fire and theft protection.

File a claim after the fact and get new guns it's that easy

Check out this safe companies web site and look at their fireproofing.

If you did not want to loose interior space you could always buile a fireproof box around the outside of your safe.

Also in possible have your safe against an outside wall.

www.sturdysafe.com

Thanks for all the replies.

My safes are in a detached garage on outside walls. They are positioned in a corner away from all forms of fuel and there are no polyester filled couches in my garage. So they are positioned in the best possible place given the circumstances.

The main reason that I bought the safes was to keep a barrier between my firearms and my children and both safes do a great job at that.

The problem that I am having is that both safes are overflowing and I have a hard time getting guns out because of it. So I am planning on redoing the interior of the non fireproofed safe to make it more user friendly. While I am in there I would like to do whatever I can to add some fire protection.

Since the safes are small enough as it is, as mentioned already I would think about putting the fire protection on the outside of the safe. In particular, consider building a closet with a fire rated steel door and put the safes inside there. Then you can use the extra room as extra storage for items that are not as critical as guns but would be good to keep somewhat secured and protected.

I think your best bet is to build a room around the two safes. You will want to use steel studs and not wood, then cover it with 5/8 type X drywall. It would be best to use two layers on the outside and one on the inside,
Then you will need a fire rated door system. Most fire rated doors only have a 20 minute frame. I would want a 1 hour frame. You can a 1 hour rating with a steel frame.
If somehow you could get a fireproof door seal you would be set. the fireproof seals actually swell up when they get hot.
That is how we build fire proof rooms in houses. It will work if done right.

When I built my house, I extended the basement out under the front porch. The basement walls are 12" poured concrete. The space under the porch is divided into two areas, one 10'X12' and the other 30'X12', with a concealed steel door giving access to the smaller room. The larger room serves as a storm shelter, and it is accessed by two steel doors, opening inward, one to the basement and the other outdoors. Most of my guns are in my gun room, in a building away from the house, but the overflow is stored on steel shelves in cases or boxes in the smaller room, which has concrete ceiling and floor and a floor drain for the dehumidifier.

The gun room is 20'X20', with 14' ceiling and a fire rated vault door. The walls are 12" block with 1/2" rebar and poured concrete in the voids and the roof is made of pre-stressed concrete slabs grouted together to form a single slab. The whole thing is enclosed in a 40'X60' metal building, which also houses my shop and loading room. An intruder will have to get through two steel doors and a burglar alarm just to reach the vault door.

I have no trouble sleeping nights.

Some people should be so lucky

xausa, WOW... I can only dream to have a place like yours someday. Maybe... just maybe...

Brad,

When I started getting more and more work in from customers I started getting concerned about my safe both for fire protection and theft. I put the word out that I needed a better safe and asked all of my friends to keep an eye out. One friend of mine has 10-12 safes that are all OLD. Post offices, banks, jewelers, etc. Some are better than others and depending on the safe, is how he organised his guns. Most he bought for under $200, some he got for free for simply moving out. He has become somewhat a "source" for safe knowledge.

My safe was found in a big factory in the offices. A friend went up to look at some tooling and saw the safe sitting there. He inquired about it and was offered it for sale. All told with the cost of the safe, diesel to haul the safe, gas and trailer rental to haul the towmotor, and dinner for the "help" I probably have $500 into the safe.

The exterior is 1/2" steel, 6" of poured concrete, 3/8" interior steel. The combination lock is a 4 number 5 turn which is set up to prevent drilling and tampering.

Course, you have to be able to rig, transport, and set a ~ 6000lb safe. But finding an old good safe like that is my recommendation.

quote:

Originally posted by xausa:
When I built my house, I extended the basement out under the front porch. The basement walls are 12" poured concrete. The space under the porch is divided into two areas, one 10'X12' and the other 30'X12', with a concealed steel door giving access to the smaller room. The larger room serves as a storm shelter, and it is accessed by two steel doors, opening inward, one to the basement and the other outdoors. Most of my guns are in my gun room, in a building away from the house, but the overflow is stored on steel shelves in cases or boxes in the smaller room, which has concrete ceiling and floor and a floor drain for the dehumidifier.

The gun room is 20'X20', with 14' ceiling and a fire rated vault door. The walls are 12" block with 1/2" rebar and poured concrete in the voids and the roof is made of pre-stressed concrete slabs grouted together to form a single slab. The whole thing is enclosed in a 40'X60' metal building, which also houses my shop and loading room. An intruder will have to get through two steel doors and a burglar alarm just to reach the vault door.

I have no trouble sleeping nights.

Nonsense, that's obviously the Gun Library at your local Cabelas