Custom "SAFE" Room?

[Light]

So INGO, In the house I live in currently I'm starting to outgrow the gun locker I have which is just a tiny STACK-ON.
I'm wanting to get something larger and more secure, but I don't have all that much cash to do it.
Yesterday my SO asked me why I didn't just fortify the closet I keep my gun locker in instead of purchasing a safe.

The floor is foundation, and all four walls are concrete with a single door.
Measures: 21in deep, 41in wide, 8ft tall. The door is currently just an interior wooden door.

If I could fortify the room, I could install shelving and make it basically a large concrete gun safe.

So, is there a good way to fortify this closet and would it be more cost effective than a decent gun safe?

 

[Amishman44]

Can u mount (secure) a regular exterior steel door into it...that and a few 'dead-bolts' (top & bottom) would make for a pretty secure area?

 

[bauerr3]

The only drawback with this idea is fire. A good safe will give fire protection, while a safe room will simply keep the guns locked up. It depends on your intention quite honestly.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Economy option: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OPpBmD9v78

Armored closet option: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF49wftfN_k

Now, we are talking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJFQfNpRx2A

 

[OutdoorDad]

A couple of thoughts/points/questions:

Unless your door is concrete, you mean 3 walls (not four) are concrete.

Is the door (non concrete) the weak point?
By concrete, do you mean cinder block? or something else?
Can someone gain access to the opposite side of any of those three walls (cause I can come through a cinderblock wall in less than 2 minutes without much effort)
Hinge pins on your door are accessible from the exterior of your safe room? If so, could I break in with a screwdriver and a hammer?
Floor and ceiling are made of what?

Are you trying to protect your weapons from theft? Or are you trying to protect them from random damage?

 

[Light]

Can u mount (secure) a regular exterior steel door into it...that and a few 'dead-bolts' (top & bottom) would make for a pretty secure area?

I could replace the door but I probably need more feedback first.

The only drawback with this idea is fire. A good safe will give fire protection, while a safe room will simply keep the guns locked up. It depends on your intention quite honestly.

Right now I feel like a fire would be more devestating to the other items I have in the house, not the majority of my value being in guns yet. In the future they may become the priority, but right now I just need secure storage from theft.

Economy option: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OPpBmD9v78

Armored closet option: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF49wftfN_k

Now, we are talking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJFQfNpRx2A

I would say I'm probably somewhere in between the first and second video. Cool videos though.

A couple of thoughts/points/questions:

Unless your door is concrete, you mean 3 walls (not four) are concrete.

Is the door (non concrete) the weak point?
By concrete, do you mean cinder block? or something else?
Can someone gain access to the opposite side of any of those three walls (cause I can come through a cinderblock wall in less than 2 minutes without much effort)
Hinge pins on your door are accessible from the exterior of your safe room? If so, could I break in with a screwdriver and a hammer?
Floor and ceiling are made of what?

Are you trying to protect your weapons from theft? Or are you trying to protect them from random damage?

I meant that all four walls are concrete, one having a door as opposed to a wood wall with a door.
That does make the door the weak point, although the ceiling of the room is wood. If someone worked hard enough they could find the exact spot upstairs, but I think someone would have to have pretty intimate knowledge of the room to use it as an entry point.
The walls are not cinderblock, but is actual concrete with what I believe is sheetrock laid over it. Some rooms are just painted while others are more finished.
The current door hinges outwards. If I were to replace it with a more secure door I would need it to be able to hinge outwards also without exposing the pins.

I'm mainly concerned with protecting from theft. If it was random damage I'd just throw a padlock on the current door to keep people out.
Thanks for the feedback though.

 

[Light]

Actually looking at some of the other walls, It may be cinderblock that has been coated over. If that's the case, It looks like I may have to go with a standard safe.

 

[devious169]

I would suggest a steel fire rated commercial door, jamb and lockset. I have installed hundreds of them and am here to tell ya that if someone is going to get in, their gonna be there awhile.

 

[devious169]

if you think the walls are cinderblock, take a hammer and tap on the exposed block/ wall to see if it sounds hollow. you may get lucky and find that it is ''slushed'' full of concrete reinforcing the bock even more!

 

[Leadeye]

Consider getting an alarm system which protects against theft and fire. That combined with a safe is your best bet.