[DDQ]

I hope this is a realistic project.
I purchased a used Mosler TL30 safe which currently sits in the back of my enclosed trailer.
I REALLY want to put it inside my house to be protected from humidity and be easier to access (gun safe). The safe is 60" tall x 25.5" wide and 27.5" deep. I estimate the safe at 2500 lbs. It is constructed of 1" plate steel and the door is 1.5" plate.
I want to move it in through the front door, make a right turn and move it along the wall about 20ft until I get to the closest corner of the house where it will stay. The floor is hardwood and the joists are 2x8" at 12" spacing, which I think we can all agree will not support this much weight. My plan for bringing the safe in will be on heavy boards and rollers to spread the weight out, but I also want to permenantly support the floor along the entire path the safe will travel.
Directly under the floor here is a concrete slab in the basement. My idea is to cut up 2x8s into short pieces and place them perpendicular to the joists in-between them, to connect the joists and keep them from twisting, like a checkerboard. Then, I was thinking I would take some 5 or 6 ft sections of 4x6 posts and place them perpendicular to and under the joists, with each post end supported by a vertical 4x6 post supported by the concrete in the basement. I thought I would do this every 4 or 6 feet along the path the safe will travel.

1) Is it even possible to put a safe this heavy in the house without a high risk of damage?

2) Does my plan sound like it will be adequate to support the weight? If not, is there an option that would work better?

Thank you so much for any help!

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[huesmann]

Any way to get the safe into the basement?

 

[DDQ]

Any way to get the safe into the basement?

Yes, but due to the high humidity I would not be able to put guns in the safe. The basement is less secure and I have to go outside the house to get to the basement making it not very accessible.

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[huesmann]

Can you remove the door (and any interior parts) from the safe to reduce the transport weight?

 

[DDQ]

Can you remove the door (and any interior parts) from the safe to reduce the transport weight?

I can not, without extremely special safecracking equipment.

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[huesmann]

You have quite the conundrum there then. I'd start with adding more blocking to your joists, and maybe consider trying to sister the ones where the safe will sit with taller ones. I think I would also try to site it against a wall where the joists rest on the sill plate.

As far as the path to its final location, if you're really worried, you could maybe rent some house jacks to support the safe from the basement.

 

[DDQ]

Sistering the joists then blocking them sounds like a good idea. For extra insurance should I still support the joists with posts or jacks?

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[stadry]

i'd support the complete pathway from front door to resting place then remove the pathway supports,,, a couple columns & spreader beams should do it

 

[Bud9051]

Worked inside banks for many years and when they moved to a new location they would bring in a specialty moving company who would move the safe deposit boxes. For the floor they laid down sheets of 1/4" steel with blocks to get them over door thresholds.

I doubt you would want to pay their price but it would be an option.

You could talk to your local rental shop to see if they have the steel plates.

As for the basement, 2x8's scare me. Final support posts should be metal and not wood. Maybe rental also.

When you move it in through the front door, what is it on. I'm picturing a deck built outside that brings the safe up to level with whatever path you have created. Remember, there is no grabbing and lifting something that heavy.

Bud

 

[DDQ]

Worked inside banks for many years and when they moved to a new location they would bring in a specialty moving company who would move the safe deposit boxes. For the floor they laid down sheets of 1/4" steel with blocks to get them over door thresholds.

I doubt you would want to pay their price but it would be an option.

You could talk to your local rental shop to see if they have the steel plates.

As for the basement, 2x8's scare me. Final support posts should be metal and not wood. Maybe rental also.

When you move it in through the front door, what is it on. I'm picturing a deck built outside that brings the safe up to level with whatever path you have created. Remember, there is no grabbing and lifting something that heavy.

Bud

Why should the final support posts be metal?

What I have in mind is a deck like you mentioned made of stacked 2x6 or 2x8 with longer 2x6 boards screwed to the deck crossing the threshold. I have a backhoes that I plan to use to push the safe accross the threshold on 1" conduit rollers. The difficult part will be transitioning the rollers in a different direction to make the 90 degree turn. I can always use pry bars to reinstall the rollers and roll the safe back out using the backhoe if I need to. I plan to make a path of those 2x6 or 2x8s which the safe will roll across until it gets to its final destination, where it will sit on 2x6 boards to make it easier to get the safe back out years from now when I move.

Do you think sistering the 2x8 joists with support beams every 4 or 6 ft will be sufficient?

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[Bud9051]

Feel free to ignore me as I'm not there and you are. Years back I enlisted several friends to help me slide a baby grand piano down a sloped ramp into my basement. Those plans ended up looking like a keystone comedy as the piano went sliding and dragging me and my crew as it went uninhibited into my basement. Damage to piano was all cosmetic. Damage to our pride was much worst.

Just be careful, take pictures, and share results.

Note, I have a safe half that size I got from the bank we serviced. Rather than putting it on a truck the bank guy opened up on a Sunday and since the safe had wheels we rolled it down the center of Main st in Bangor and out Central st to my store. Had a cruiser come along that would have taken some fast explaining. .

Bud

 

[DDQ]

Feel free to ignore me as I'm not there and you are. Years back I enlisted several friends to help me slide a baby grand piano down a sloped ramp into my basement. Those plans ended up looking like a keystone comedy as the piano went sliding and dragging me and my crew as it went uninhibited into my basement. Damage to piano was all cosmetic. Damage to our pride was much worst.

Just be careful, take pictures, and share results.

Note, I have a safe half that size I got from the bank we serviced. Rather than putting it on a truck the bank guy opened up on a Sunday and since the safe had wheels we rolled it down the center of Main st in Bangor and out Central st to my store. Had a cruiser come along that would have taken some fast explaining. .

Bud

That is a funny story!

For support posts, I was hoping to use what I have access to. 6x12" wood beams would obviously be easier to cut but I can cut the I-beams with a plasma cutter at work, it will just be much more time consuming to move the I-beams around, and I dont know how I would attach them to the horizontal beam spread across the joists.
Do you think the metal beams would be better than the 6x12 wood beams?

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[Bud9051]

LOL, I wasn't thinking I-beams. Metal support posts in homes are often concrete filled. Their benefit is they don't shrink over time or under load. Easy to cut, just hacksaw around the circumference and smack them.

Note, you will want all of the final support posts in place before the safe arrives, but bet you knew that.

Bud

 

[huesmann]

Have you tried rolling this safe on conduit?

 

[DDQ]

Have you tried rolling this safe on conduit?

No, but four men tried pushing it one inch on the metal tractor forks and that wasn't happening.
Do you think the conduit is not strong enough or that we will not be able to roll it? Or both?

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[ClarenceBauer]

See if you can rent machinery mover with 360* rotation some are about 5" in height & about 12" X 8" will hold over 10,000#

 

[DDQ]

See if you can rent machinery mover with 360* rotation some are about 5" in height & about 12" X 8" will hold over 10,000#

I have calls out to my local equipment rental businesses. So far no luck finding anything like that.

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[stadry]

pipe support columns posts in homes are often concrete filled to satisfy fire code rqmnts however that's little item's RARELY enforced

your wood posts will do great !

 

[kwikfishron]

You can definitely utilize those 6x12's in this project for creating the support for it's final resting place and possibly for the path to getting it there.

Is the path running parallel or perpendicular to the joist?

Some pics from the garage to it's final home would help also.

That pallet jack is nice to see...

 

[DDQ]

The safe is moving from right to left in this pic along the wall with the windows. From the door to the corner. That path will be running parallel with the joists. I pulled the safe out of the trailer today and it is resting on the porch.

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