Finding a solid wall before even choosing the model
In the apartment blocks on the plateau the structure is concrete, but not everything vertical is: the internal partition walls are lightweight and will never resist a safe being torn out. Locating the load-bearing walls, the floor slabs and the service ducts therefore comes before the purchase, not the other way round. A free-standing model anchored into a slab generally offers the most reasonable compromise in a flat; building the safe into the wall calls for a wall thickness and a freedom to drill that are guaranteed neither in a rented property nor in a co-owned building.
Down below, in the houses of the old village centre, the subject changes in nature. Old walls of stone and rubble offer generous thicknesses but real inconsistencies: crumbling joints, loose fill, thick render hiding the true state of the wall. A plug driven into render is worth nothing, whatever the grade of the safe. Sounding the wall beforehand is the real technical step here, and on its own it determines whether building the safe in is feasible or whether it is better to anchor it to the ground floor.
Staying discreet: a different exercise depending on the home
Discretion is a safe's first asset, and it is decided before installation. In a flat, the difficulty is proximity: drilling into a party wall can be heard, and a bulky package carried up a narrow stairwell gets noticed. A sensibly sized model, installed without any fuss and somewhere that is neither the bedroom nor the dressing room, is better than the opposite. Those two rooms are the first to be searched, and they are searched fast.
In a house, particularly in the village streets where the properties are terraced and where you sometimes step straight in from the street, the question becomes one of damp and use. Cellars and basements close to the river suit documents and digital media badly. Finally, before buying anything, read your insurance policy again: it is the policy that sets the grade expected and the fixing conditions for the valuables kept at home to be genuinely covered.
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 Lormont.