Finding a wall that will hold in a single-storey house
The échoppe poses a simple problem: everything happens on one level, there is often neither cellar nor upper floor in which to hide anything, and the rooms run one behind another. External walls and internal walls of stone or rubble masonry will take a recessed safe, provided the thickness allows it and the chase is cut cleanly; partitions added during a renovation, on the other hand, hold nothing. Identifying the substrate comes before any decision, including the decision to give up on recessing.
In the suburban areas, the garage and the utility room spring to mind first. Yet these are two locations to look at closely: an open garage puts its contents on display from the street, and the damp of an unheated outbuilding damages documents and digital media long before anyone notices. A concrete slab, by contrast, offers an excellent fixing point for a freestanding safe. As everywhere, the location has to stay convenient day to day: an awkward safe ends up being left open.
Shops and business premises: the safe follows how the place is run
The ground-floor shops of the centre and of the main roads work with teams that turn over, often reinforced by students for a few months. The question is therefore not only where to put the safe, but who knows how to get into it and how that right is withdrawn when a season ends. A position out of customers' sight, in a room with controlled access, and a routine that limits handling in front of the public are often worth more than an oversized model in the wrong place.
Two checks are essential before drilling. In rented premises, fixing into a wall or a slab constitutes an alteration to the property: the owner's written consent is required, and in a co-owned building certain walls form part of the communal areas. On an upper floor, weight and access count as much as the safe's grade: an old staircase, a narrow landing or the absence of a lift point towards a model that can be carried. A detailed quote is drawn up before any work and you are always given an invoice.
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 Talence.