Friday, August 12, 2011

Wrestling a 700 Pound Safe

A safe is a wise investment. You can store your valuables in it. You don't need to rely on your banks weekday hours to get needed items out of it. It is great for storing important papers, guns, gold/silver, jewelry, and other necessary items. It is easily bolted to the floor. You have your choice of a dial or electronic combination. They come in an array of finishes and colors to match your decor. Depending on what you can afford and how much room you have, a fire safe is worth the extra investment. It can withstand fires for up to one hour or more. And they give you piece of mind.

I got the bright idea several months ago that our office/sewing/
craft/storage/safe room should be turned into an office/sewing/
craft/storage/TV room. So, that meant moving the safe out of the room and into another room. Then, after moving the behemoth, the plan is to put up some shelving for storage and a TV, plus a couple of comfy chairs. This multi-purpose room is a generous 8 X 12 space with an eastern exposure. Yeah, it's small.

Have you ever wrestled 700 pounds? In a small room? Through three doorways? It was more like 1,700 pounds and I was so glad when our friend (a male) showed up to help. Because I wasn't helping much no matter how hard I tried to budge this monstrosity. I couldn't even seem to be able to tip it onto the hand truck. Pathetic. I read the other day that on a per size basis, women are only 52% as strong as men in the upper body, and have 66% the strength in the lower body. Now, I am a strong woman. I even held the bench press record in my weight class at the community college I went to. I was a swimmer and rower. I bike, hike and love to walk and be active. But I have to tell you, I felt down right puny trying to wrangle this safe. My husband was very patient with me as we ripped out a floor strip between rooms, and I think he must have been powering about 97% of the weight of this safe. I am so thankful for friends that show up and help out with chores such as this. The men finished up the moving job quickly and we were able to sit and have a nice visit afterward.

This was a wise move. Not only is the safe now in another room, it is not in plain sight if someone looks through a window. It is also against an outside wall with the foundation, rather than an inside wall. I now have some room in the office for more shelving and as an added bonus, we are going to put a TV in there with a couple of small chairs. This is nice because we don't have a separate family room. The girls can have a space to watch TV with friends and not feel our presence in the room. Plus, it just looks right in its new spot.

Prediction: We will not be moving the safe ever again...unless we do a whole house move.

3 comments:

  1. It would be a good thing to disguise the safe or put up a false wall to hide it. One major problem with having a safe where people can find it if they break into your home is that they can use violence against you and your loved ones in order to get you to open it. People are going to be ever more violent in the coming years.

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  2. Anonymous,
    Excellent points. And a good reason to not keep all your guns in your safe. It's hard to protect yourself if you have to get the key, dial the combination and get your firearm. It'll probably already be too late.

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  3. I feel for you, been there, done that...have two, need a third. I keep a small two-tier handgun safe on my dresser (grandchild proof) for those quick emergencies. It opens when keys are pressed in the correct order. It's quick and easy. Just a thought.

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