No matter for how long you are staying at your place, if you have a safe there will be a situation sooner or later which will make you move that heavy safe.
You may want to move it toa location within or outside the house, but you still have to move it and the precautions that you need to take are almost the same.
Yes, you will definitely have to take precautions while moving your safe and if it is a gun safe you have, then you might have to take a few extra steps.
So how should you begin? Moving a safe is not a very easy task and that is mainly because all safes are very heavy.
If you are thinking of buying a lightweight safe, don’t! Safes are heavy because the weight is a major factor that prevents burglars from stealing it away. If they are lightweight, then they can be easily picked up, leaving them infinite time to open it.
Anyways, follow the pointers given below to move your safe efficiently and safely.
Know your details
This should be your very first step when trying to move a safe. Knowing the details of your safe such as weight, dimensions and other sensitive parts and precautions you should take. Every safe has its own characteristics which completely depend on the manufacturing brand.
Also, when you know all these details, it will be easy for you to plan your next move, like which doors the safe will fit in and which place has enough space to keep your safe without being able to move it for the entire time of your stay.
Logistics
Determine the place where you want to move it to. Don’t rush into the decision and think about the pathway first.
Make sure the place you are moving the safe to has the easiest way to get there. Take into consideration corners, turns and, most importantly, stairs.
Climbing up the stairs with the safe is a very dangerous task and it would be better to keep it somewhere on the ground floor. Also, try to have an exit plan just in case you want to move it again sometime.
Safe Keep the contents of the Safe
It is better to empty the contents of the safe before moving it, in particularly if it’s a gun safe. Remove all the guns, ammunition and other things and it’s better to clean it too.
Safely secure a place where you can keep all your dangerous items until the Safe is completely moved. Once the transfer is done, you will have a clean safe to place your things back.
Preparations
You know you are moving a heavy object and a safe has cutting edges too, which means if it is carelessly drawn, there is a high possibility that it will cause damage to the walls and the floor of your house.
To avoid this, you can wrap a blanket or something spongier and cover the safe entirely. Also, create a track with old clothes or carpets to avoid damage to the floor.
If it is a gun safe, make sure to clean it before you start moving.There is a high possibility that the gunpowder might fall at the base and could leak all around the house.
Get help when you need it
If you don’t have a choice, but to keep it at a place higher or up the stairs, ask for help. Ask people you know to help you lift it or hire professionals that could help you lift and move it.
Remember, you cannot lift a heavy safe on your own, and trying would be extremely stupid too. You could end up hurting yourself or someone around you, like children or pets.
Lock the safe before calling for help
Cleaning and moving out the contents should be done before calling for help. Lock the safe properly with all the security measures your safe has.
If you forget removing contents before the help arrives, you might have to open the safe in front of them, revealing the method and also the contents inside,which is obviously a huge risk for any person.
Invest in a furniture dolly
If you happen to move to a new house and you have to shift the safe from one house to another, carrying it is simply not an option.
Consider investing in a furniture dolly. This might be a small investment to make, but will help you greatly with lifting and carrying it around the city.
Also, do not forget to wrap it up before you start the process – even if it falls due to some unfortunate situation, the safe will not be damaged.
Safety
Do not forget safety! That is a warning and not an advice. If there are children at your place, then it is probably better to ask them to be someplace safe.
If you have pets, move them to a secure location too. Also, be careful while in the process and ask other people to be cautious all the time too.
Since you already know that moving a heavy safe is dangerous, a word of advice is probably the best possible safety measure.
Summing Up
You must have already found out that this is not a one-man job. You will need help and you will have to plan it through.
There is no possible way to shift a heavy safe on your own, unless and until you have high-tech machinery that could help you do so, which is unlikely to happen.
Plan your way up or down before you take the stairs and figure out the simplest way to reach the destination.
Avoiding any sort of complications will be great, but if you cannot avoid any sharp cuts, corners or places hard to carry to, make sure to have a plan ready.
Also, make up your mind for the best and the worst to come. This is a tough job and that is a fact!