Viewing posts categorised under: Safes

What to Consider When Purchasing a Safe

Posted by admin in Safes | 0 comments

31.08.20

Security Safes Vs Fire-Resistant Safes

Generally, there are two different types of safes, security safes and fire-resistant safes. A fire resistant safe is entirely dedicated to protect papers in the event of a fire. The insulation releases moisture when exposed to heat keeping the temperature low and stopping the paper from catching a light. The other is theft resistant safes also known as security safes. These safes are designed to protect against theft, but it is also vital to know these safes are intruder proof. There are also safes that specialise in having both security and also having a certain amount of fire rating time.

What to Consider When Purchasing a Safe.

When purchasing a safe it is important to consider what you are wanting to store and protect. Items like jewellery, cameras and personal documents like a passport should be kept in a decent security safe. Where as records and wills should be kept in a fire resistant safe.

Often enough when researching a safe or talking with a locksmith they will mention a cash rating. A cash rating is the level of cover that an underwriter, insurance company, will give to the contents of the safe, a cash rating is therefore also a very good indication of the security level of the safe, the higher the rating, the more security is offered. Your insurance company can also advise you on what cash rating they require to provide you with coverage.

Affordable Safes

The price of a safe can often scare people away from purchasing a good quality safe, while there are cheaper safes, they can also be nasty and not reliable. It is important to remember a safe is an investment not a purchase and if you purchase a good quality safe can last years and be passed down through the generations. You will also need to think about the size of the safe, depending on what you are wanting to store in the safe will help you decide. But please keep in mind if you buy small and down the track find more things you would like to protect you may have run of out space. It is better to buy a slightly larger safe in the beginning to allow room for of growth of your personal items.

Fire Resistant Safes

Location of a safe is also a major factor that goes into purchasing a safe. How much space do you have in your desired location? Can your floor support the weight of the safe? Can your safe be bolted to the floor? Toowoomba Locksmiths also recommend to bolt down your safe, this ensures that a home intruder can not just pick up your safe and run in a hurry.  A safe bolted to the floor will deter an intruder as it takes time to open the safe and unbolt it from the ground.

If you are unsure where the best place to install a safe is, it is always best to ask a professional. They will be able to tell you if your floor is concrete or timber and how the installation of the safe would proceed.  Toowoomba Locksmiths do offer the installation of safes and can install a safe without hassle.

Locksmiths in Toowoomba

Come in, visit the team at Toowoomba Locksmiths, they have a wide range of safes in their showroom and more that can be ordered from their suppliers.

Fire Resistant Safes Toowoomba

Posted by admin in Safes | 3 comments

11.03.16

There are 3 types of Fire Resistant Safes in the Guardall Safe range and here we will go through them so you can better identify which may meet your current and future needs for better security.

The BFG range is all rounder Fire resistant safe, it is also Grinder proof, the initials stand for Burglar, Fire, Grinder Proof, it is a robust beast and will serve to protect valuables as well as data from fire.  The cash rating it offers is a reflection of how well built this safe is, from the thickness of the walls and door, the grade of security it offers and when anchored and supported with an alarm or CCTV system you can inquire with your insurance company how that may increase the cash rating of the safe.

Fire Resistant Safes

offer a fire rating starting from 30 minutes up to 2 hours.

Toowoomba Locksmiths Guardall Safes

The next range of Fire Resistant Safes are the Data Safes, these are ideal for office/business situations where there is sensitive and valuable data that needs to be secured from theft and fire.  They offer a 1hour electronic lock fire rating, which is huge, and a 2hour data and paper fire rating for this range.

        The Guardall GD series of data safes are specially designed with a second layer of fire protection to safeguard valuable data storage devices from hazards such as moisture, humidity, heat and magnetic fields.
 

Toowoomba Locksmiths Guardall Safes2

Guardall Safes FP range Data safes are your small fire safe range, great for the home and personal documents such as passports and sensitive paperwork to be kept secure.

A house fire is over within a very short amount of time, the FP range offers a 30minute rating for fire.

guardall fire resistant safes

For Guardall Safes to be able to get the fire ratings for their safes, in the initial design phase that Guardall and any safe manufacturer has to go through is similar to this demonstration of a test.

Buying a safe is like buying a home in a way, it is something that you are not going to want to look to replace anytime soon.   So make sure you identify the core needs you are looking to satisfy with your safe and whether the one you are looking for meets your needs now and in 10-15 years time.  That is usually the lifecycle of buying a good quality safe the first time.

Speak to one of our Security Specialists to help you identify the best security solutions for your home/business.

What Does Cash Rating Mean?

Posted by admin in Safes | 0 comments

15.01.16

When you are looking at buying a safe, most specs will involve the cash rating of a safe; $2000 (cheap and nasty safes usually), $5000, $10,000 up to $25,000.  A cash rating is the level of cover that an underwriter, insurance company, will give to the contents of the safe, a cash rating is therefore also a very good indication of the security level of the safe, the higher the rating, the more security is offered.

In the UK they are called safe grades, same thing, they go up to Grade 13 and insure for a value of three and a half million pounds.  Yes there are safes, strong rooms, that can offer this value of cash rating in Australia.

safe-grades

Image source; Burton Safes

But what most people do not realise, especially if you go to Bunnings or Masters to look at their safes with staff that have a general knowledge about what is in their section, is that this can be improved by installing a supportive system.   A supportive system is usually what insurance and safe manufacturers mean to be a CCTV and/or Alarm system.

KS2 cash rating

This Guardall KS2 (business deposit safe)

"Recommended insurable cash rating in an unsupported situation $50000.00"

You will have to speak to your insurance company on what specifications are needed to be met when they say this; self installed system or a system installed by a professional, or even a monitored system which is monitored 24/7 with 3 contacts on the list if the alarm system goes off as well as direct contact with Police services.

There are many levels to security and every home and situation is different.

We have had way too many sad outcomes of people being under covered due to a cash rating of their safe that is below the value of the items stored within them.  When this is the case, the insurance company will see that the items were not secured adequately, plus other measures; broken locks, open windows, spare/lost keys used in break in.

To find out how these extra measures can add to your cash rating speak to your insurance agency and others to get an idea within the marketplace of how insurance companies are able to not only provide higher cash ratings but also over premium discounts because you have lowered your security risk.

Remember security is not just one action, it is a building upon small measures which leads to making your home and the valuables; family and high priced pieces, more secure.

Good Quality Gun Safes

Posted by admin in Safes | 3 comments

There are a lot of safes out there, Bunnings sell them, Masters sell them, gun shops sell them, but there are safes and there are safes.  Some may offer a great comfort to you just because you have one, but is it secure, does it have a secondary locking system if they manage to damage and open the lock?  How much time will it take for someone to break into your safe?  This last question is the key, no safe can guarantee 100% security, with time and the right tools every safe is crackable.  But a good safe is what buys you the maximum amount of time.

Does it have secondary locking bolts that will not release when it detects the first locking system; the combination lock or key lock has been tampered with?

How thick is the door and sides, does it have cement component in the lining of the sides; this makes grinders useless on them or does it offer a 10mm of higher thickness = more time to cut through?

Is your safe positioned in a space where a crowbar can not be used to leverage the door open?

Is there no swinging room for a sledgehammer?  Yes they do, if you are asking whether they would.

There are two types of criminals, the opportunist who does little to no research on your property before attempting a breakin and the professional.  If you are targeted by an opportunist and you have a Masters or Bunnings safe for your rifles, guns or ammunition, then you may have a 50/50 chance of keeping your possessions, if they don't find your safe, if they are disturbed or they are the really stupid kind of opportunist criminals.  But....  if you get an opportunist who can scratch two sticks together, forget it, they are gone, in most cases these safes can be broken into in under 5 mins - 10 at a push.  There are many videos of kids cracking cheap safes.

Now among the best of the good quality gun safes, we recommend Guardall gun safes.

Guardall Safe range all come with internal carpet to protect your firearms and has a separate ammunition storage compartment in all of the gun safe range.  They also sell a small range of ammunition/hand gun safes.

kgbG2open

This is the Guardall G2 and it can store up to 7 rifles

kgbG3Eopen2

the G3 sells for approximately

and G3E for around

gs30eopen-194981436

The ammunition safes range; variation in sizes to this model

kgbG4Eopen2

Guardall G4E it holds 8-16 rifles and weighs 224kgs.

Please talk to us, Nathan is the man to ask for, about the gun safe range.

How To Choose The Right Home Safe to Buy.

Posted by admin in Safes | 0 comments

[rev_slider bgfsafes]

Each home and reason to buy a home safe and where to put it, how to secure and then of course how to choose the right safe to buy once you have figured all this out.  When it comes to choosing the right safe, first you need to understand the current and future value of the goods that you are putting in the safe.  This will determine the 'cash rating'; what the safe is insured to protect, of the safe.  Then you will consider other factors like, whether your home is brick or timber, this influences whether you will need a fire rating safe for your home.  Please note here; there is only fire resistant, not fire proof safes, most safes are between 30mins to 1 hour at extreme heat, any safe under extended times will not survive.

Coming back to how to choose the right home safe to buy, another consideration is the size you can purchase based on the place and space within your home that you wish to put the safe.  Then comes the final consideration, will you install and secure the safe; under a certain weight; 150kgs, the safe must be secured to the floor or wall, if the safe is physically stolen then it will not be considered an adequate enough deterrant by some insurance policies (loophole).  A phone call to your insurer will put to bed any of these doubts, although these policies are prone to change over time, it is good to aim for the highest security measures from your particular insurer.  We sell floor safes, jeweller grade and collectables safes, grinder proof safes, large, medium and small safes.  We can advise you on the best safe for any situation whether it be for your home or business, we also offer installation tips if you wish to install it yourself or we can install it for you to give you extra peace of mind.

Once you are armed with this knowledge, then we at Toowoomba Locksmiths can recommend the right safe for your home.

If you have valuables and collectables to secure then we recommend the BFG range from Guardall safes as they have just released drawer inserts that are such a great extension of this already superior safe.  Most of the range has a cash rating of $25, 000.  Or for a budget range of safes we have the Chubb safe range which has something for every price rang.

Key Hiders and Key Safes

Posted by admin in Locksmith, Safes | 0 comments

23.05.15

[rev_slider key]

The simplicity of Key hiders and Key safes allow you to have a place to store the spare key for staff, family or the kids with peace of mind that no one will be able to find and use the key if they happen upon it.  These key safes are not based on technology but simple robust back ups for when you need a place to store the spare keys.

It can have a 2, 4 or 6 digit passcode and is easy to set and change.  It takes a drill and screwdriver to fix it to the wall anywhere outside the house and it even if it is knocked off the wall it is made of robust materials to make it a delayed entry to access the keys. The key to keeping your house secure is to make it as unappealing as possible for want to be criminals to try and break into your home.  This is the best measure for home security, deterrence, rather than solely a good insurance policy. Making it challenging and disruptive for criminals immediately makes your home less appealing for opportunistic break ins.

Smart Investors, Buy a Good Safe

Posted by admin in CCTV, Home Security, Safes | 0 comments

[rev_slider bgfsafes]

With the announcement of a deposit tax by the Abbott government in recent weeks this will see an influx in demand of home safes.  Not because we are all going to keep our money in the safe but because the time to look beyond the bank for investment purposes has just become more prevalent.  It will not only be inspired from this tax but in protecting our investments in the future as savvy investors will be keeping their eye on the horizon for any other changes to taxes and super contributions.  To be on top of this, smart investors will not only be looking at what to invest in but in determining what factors meet the criteria for keeping those investments safe, hence we are advising you in this post on how to buy a good safe.

The opportunity to look beyond cash, to invest in good stock items that will accrue value without you having to watch the stock market are a good way to diversify your investments and with that you need to look at a good sturdy safe.  Now, any safe that can be picked up and taken with the would be criminals offers you not much extra security either.  What is recommended when you choose a safe that fits your items, cash rating requirements and fit for your home, is to make sure it is fitted by one of our licensed technicians who will fix it to the wall or floor to ensure optimal security.  We do sell angle grinder proof safes, Guardall BFG range, that have been tried and tested to deter any semi or professional criminals, you will be confident that you have given your home security the best options.

We also advise that you look at home insurance policies and excesses and premiums, as this is also a good idea to look at the idea of also installing a CCTV or alarm system in your home.  There are some great DIY alarm installations on the market like the Yale DIY Alarm system, ask us about this system for your home.  When a safe is installed with a supported security system, CCTV or Alarms or both, then your insurance premiums will reduce, please check with your insurance company to compare the price points.

Call us to talk about what you may need for security for your valuables and investments.

07 4362 60 60

Read the article here about Abbott's Deposit Tax; don't forget to go through the comments as this will clarify the impact that this tax will have on Australians.

Call Now