Your Guide to Buying an Office Safe

Home or office safes are rarely even thought about – until we need them.  Even when it’s determined we have valuables, whether those valuables are expensive jewelry pieces, important legal papers like our passports or even Grandma’s rare silver pieces, we’re often at a loss as to which safe is going to best serve our purposes.  Generally, a home safe is synonymous with an office safe; that said, there are many considerations when you’re shopping for the right one.

The Types of Safes

Fire safes offer insulation panels to protect contents from extreme heat and fire for a specific amount of time.  These are perfect for those who are more concerned about possible damage due to fire than the theft of a safe’s items.

Floor safes are imbedded into (usually) a cement floor and lie flush with the floor’s surface.  These are considered the best safes when fire, heat and theft issues loom.  One consideration that must be taken into account for those wishing to install a floor safe: Ensure the items are in watertight containers.  Although they’re perfect protection against fire and theft, should the location burn, the water from the fire hoses could very well fill the safe, ruining the very things it’s protecting.

Gun safes are freestanding and allow the safe storage and protection of weapons.  They’re built to house even the longest barrels and blades. <a href=’http://www.mylot.com/mark81m/12482′>myLot User Profile</a>

Jewelry safes are usually smaller in size and are easy to maintain in a bedroom or closet.  They often come with configurable layouts such as what one might find in a jewelry box, providing added storage safety.

Executive safes are generally larger in size and offer solid steel doors, multiple locking bolts, hinges that conceal to prevent manipulation and steel plate pockets on all sides.  Most offer adjustable shelves and some have a floor compartment similar to a floor safe.  These are ideal for home or office use and are capable of safely storing a large number of items, both small and large.

The Mechanisms

Safes offer several locking mechanisms.  The classic turn key entry, the combination lock that requires a specific sequence of numbers, dial locks with hand turned wheels and more recently, electronic keyboards that require a code to gain entry are just a few.  Many safes offer the added safety of two different methods, such as the need for a key and an electronic code.

Although you have many options from which to select a safe, choosing the right one is easy once you determine your needs.