Vault door suggestions

[Psode27]

I was interested in buying another safe about a year ago. Since then, we have moved into a new-er house that has basically a safe room, that is, 6 sides of concrete. This space is BEGGING for a vault door! Doing some pricing, people are insane asking what they do for a big freaking door. While I'm willing to drop a bit of money on this, I really don't "Need" it, as everything I own is secure.
Does anyone have experience with a vault door of good quality that didn't cost an arm and a leg? I'm really just in the planning phase of things currently, but would love to have some solid plans for a winter project. Any help on this is appreciated. I forget the dimensions of the doorway, but it currently has a steel door mounted to it, so think about normal "door size", nothing gigantic.

 

[Taylor22]

Even if you don’t have a “legit” vault door. I would say if you could hide the doorway and make the room appear to not exist you would do better than to have a true vault door anyway. Then you only have to worry about the folks you allow to know it exists.

 

[Psode27]

I debated doing a sort of Murphy door, but kinda settled on a full on vault. While I have reasonable security currently, I'd like to make a full on gun room/safe room and wouldn't feel good about them being not locked up, even if they were really hidden.

 

[Mgderf]

I installed one of these for a customer.
He was more than pleased with his purchased, and I was impressed with the quality.

Security Door


Warning, the door alone weighs 500 lbs.
You WILL need help.

One of the beauties of this door is the fact that it does NOT look like a vault door.
It appears, for all intents and purposes, to be a bedroom/bathroom/closet door.
It has a lever handle that is electronically actuated.

The lever is dead, until you punch a code into a keypad.
In my customers case, we hid the keypad behind a small picture on the wall, about 12 feet away from the door.
Until the proper code is entered, the lever just moves loosely. When the code is entered you'll hear a click in the door, giving you about 15 seconds to activate the handle before it re-activates the lock.

The inside handle is a safety handle, active all the time to let you out.
Browning did this right.

 

[Butch627]

If you are patient used ones come up on craigslist from time to time.

 

[abeguzmanmarine]

I installed one of these for a customer.
He was more than pleased with his purchased, and I was impressed with the quality.

Security Door


Warning, the door alone weighs 500 lbs.
You WILL need help.

One of the beauties of this door is the fact that it does NOT look like a vault door.
It appears, for all intents and purposes, to be a bedroom/bathroom/closet door.
It has a lever handle that is electronically actuated.

The lever is dead, until you punch a code into a keypad.
In my customers case, we hid the keypad behind a small picture on the wall, about 12 feet away from the door.
Until the proper code is entered, the lever just moves loosely. When the code is entered you'll hear a click in the door, giving you about 15 seconds to activate the handle before it re-activates the lock.

The inside handle is a safety handle, active all the time to let you out.
Browning did this right.

Great info, gonna have to get this.

 

[Psode27]

That door would be perfect, I was hoping to find something for about half the price though unfortunately. I've found an option for about 1500, but info or experiences with it is a little sparse. Don't have it in front of me, but I think it was made by Snapsafe?

 

[Vigilant]

That door would be perfect, I was hoping to find something for about half the price though unfortunately. I've found an option for about 1500, but info or experiences with it is a little sparse. Don't have it in front of me, but I think it was made by Snapsafe?

Lego "safe" probably isn't?

 

[Vigilant]

Liberty Safe makes just doors.

 

[Psode27]

Lego "safe" probably isn't?

Haha that was my feeling! Unfortunately 4k for a door isn't in the budget either...

 

[Psode27]

It kinda frustrates me that I could buy 4 big safes for the price of a door... Seems like there is something wrong with that. I'll make some calls I guess.

 

[Butch627]

https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/for/d/vault-door/6261729654.html

 

[Mgderf]

https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/for/d/vault-door/6261729654.html

If I did that (bought a used vault door) I would do 2 things.
1) Hide my identity/location from the seller.
2) Change the combination or even the entire lock.

 

[gmcttr]

Don't know if this provides the level of security you are looking for and it gives itself away as being a "safe" ... https://www.snapsafe.com/specialty-safes/vault-room-door

edit: didn't read your post that you had already found this one before posting.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Even if you don’t have a “legit” vault door. I would say if you could hide the doorway and make the room appear to not exist you would do better than to have a true vault door anyway. Then you only have to worry about the folks you allow to know it exists.

Another vote for this. Steel entry door with its location hidden. You can do SOOOO much more if you can hide it, so you wont have to put as much into its actual strength.

We do this in IT all. the. time. (I'd say you are negligent if you DONT do this) First step is to make it disappear. If the bad guys dont know it exists/cant see it, they dont know they need to attack it. That is why the first step of a network firewall is to make it not respond to pings. (Hey! Device! Are you on? Will you respond to me!?!?" If the device wont respond, many hackers will move on to a device that DOES respond. (why attack something that could very well not exist or be turned off?) Same thing with the door. If they cant find it, they wont know they need to attack it. "Security Through Obscurity" while not good in and of itself, does have its place in the onion security model.

If I ever won the lottery I would buy a split level house and have a "safe room/storm cellar" complex dug out under the back yard outside the profile of the foundation. Then after they left I would DIY the entry point as a hidden entry. (behind a bookcase, etc. I dont play the lottery actually, so this will never happen so I dont worry about putting this on the web. Feel free to steal this idea)

It kinda frustrates me that I could buy 4 big safes for the price of a door... Seems like there is something wrong with that. I'll make some calls I guess.

Because the generalization is that if you need a vault door to secure a room sized treasure, money is no object and you can afford to pay for what they are asking. Poor people dont have that much expensive stuff to protect.

 

[chef1231]

4 stacks is a lot of money for a door. I thought about doing this a few years ago in the basement. Cost got in the way but right before it did my intention was to hide the room and then just get a good heavy door. Inside the room most of the items would still be in my current safe so...

 

[bobjones223]

Another vote for this. Steel entry door with its location hidden. You can do SOOOO much more if you can hide it, so you wont have to put as much into its actual strength.

We do this in IT all. the. time. (I'd say you are negligent if you DONT do this) First step is to make it disappear. If the bad guys dont know it exists/cant see it, they dont know they need to attack it. That is why the first step of a network firewall is to make it not respond to pings. (Hey! Device! Are you on? Will you respond to me!?!?" If the device wont respond, many hackers will move on to a device that DOES respond. (why attack something that could very well not exist or be turned off?) Same thing with the door. If they cant find it, they wont know they need to attack it. "Security Through Obscurity" while not good in and of itself, does have its place in the onion security model.

If I ever won the lottery I would buy a split level house and have a "safe room/storm cellar" complex dug out under the back yard outside the profile of the foundation. Then after they left I would DIY the entry point as a hidden entry. (behind a bookcase, etc. I dont play the lottery actually, so this will never happen so I dont worry about putting this on the web. Feel free to steal this idea)



Because the generalization is that if you need a vault door to secure a room sized treasure, money is no object and you can afford to pay for what they are asking. Poor people dont have that much expensive stuff to protect.

+1

We are currently building a new home and this has been rolling through my head for a long time. I have come up with the verdict of just using a steel door and hiding it's location. It will still be a concrete "vault" built into the basement but I couldn't justify spending $4K-$5K on a door to protect $3K worth of firearms.

You need to look at what you are trying to protect. I keep my inventory pretty low. Aside from some firearms with sentimental value if it is not shot it has to go.

If you were a massive collector to where a true "Vault" made sense I could see spending the money on the vault door but in my situation it didn't make financial sense.

 

[Psode27]

Thanks for the comments, lots of good advice! The Snapsafe door actually gets pretty good reviews, and would fit the bill pretty well. I most definitely am NOT a big baller guy with tons of highly valuable things to keep locked up, I just happen to have a concrete room in my basement! Haha.an attempt at hiding the door/ room will be made as well, However I just feel better with a big door too. I like the IT analogy Cameramonkey, makes a lot of sense and is likely the cheapest option. The fact is, if someone is persistent enough, they'll get in. Plasma cutters and jackhammers are pretty portable. In the event Oceans 11 break in I'll admit defeat I'm more concerned with the dumb kids trying to make a buck.
Thanks again!

 

[JettaKnight]

If I did that (bought a used vault door) I would do 2 things.
1) Hide my identity/location from the seller.
2) Change the combination or even the entire lock.

I'll be your purchasing proxy - I need an excuse to go to WI for more beer.


The nice thing about a vault is they can't take it a tear it open on their own time (see other INGO thread). But I can't image trying to get a door like that down some stairs.

 

[BStarkey 46947]

My in-laws purchased a used vault door from Johnson Safe several years ago that came out of a bank (Diebold). It took 5-6 people to carry it in the basement and a mason to install. Might be worth a checking with some local lock and safe firms. It is not concealed but the only way to break in would be to demo the concrete/block/re-bar wall around it. Inside space is 14' x 14'.