Finding the load-bearing wall in a 1970s house
The suburban houses that make up a large share of the local building stock were built with few internal load-bearing walls and a great many lightweight partitions. Finding a support capable of taking a built-in safe is far from straightforward: you have to identify the load-bearing wall, check its actual thickness and make sure no services run through the spot you have in mind. In the town houses of the centre the question arises differently, as older masonry often offers a comfortable thickness and excellent anchoring.
The location then deserves as much attention as the model. The garage and the utility room are the instinctive choice, because they are discreet and out of the way. In an area this wooded and this close to the floor of the Eau Bourde valley, those rooms stay cool and damp for a good part of the year: paper documents, notarial deeds and digital media all age badly there. A dry spot on a solid support always beats one that is merely discreet.
Shops in the bourg and clubs: a different need
Along the through road and around the redeveloped centre, local shops and professional practices keep cash, files and sometimes duplicate keys belonging to clients. Here the safe answers a daily constraint rather than an exceptional risk: staying out of public view, in premises with controlled access, and being able to take deposits without being opened every time the till is emptied, which a deposit slot makes possible.
Club and community life, very active in the commune, creates a similar need. Clubs and associations handle takings at events, often in shared premises whose keys circulate among several volunteers. The thinking then has to cover the safe and the management of access to the premises themselves in equal measure. In every case, read your insurance policy again before buying: it is the policy that sets the grade expected and the anchoring conditions.
How does this service work?
Techniques, typical situations, standards and things to watch out for: it is all on our safes page. This page focuses on what the service involves in Gradignan.