There is something undeniably impressive about a private residence with a wall safe. It elicits images of an eccentric billionaire in a luxury penthouse cackling maniacally as he opens a hidden wall safe to carefully remove his secret plans for world domination. However, wall safes aren’t often recommended these days.
This is due, in part, to the proliferation of cheap, cordless reciprocating saws (Sawzalls) at home improvement stores. A smart burglar who knows the location of your wall safe could, theoretically, break into your house with a reciprocating saw and cut your wall safe from its 2×4 studs in only two or three minutes before disappearing into the night with your safe (and all the valuables inside).
Of course the truth is a little more complicated than the simplistic scenario laid out above. For one thing, it ignores the greatest asset of a wall safe – concealment. A burglar cannot take what he cannot find. And wall safes excel at not being found.
In addition, it is the uncommon criminal that brings power tools to a burglary. Even cordless reciprocating saws start feeling heavy after a while.
And assuming you haven’t told the entire neighborhood you have a wall safe – and, by extension, something worth stealing – it is highly unlikely that a burglar randomly targeting your house would bring power tools. Having said this, it would still be wise to limit the value of the contents you put into a wall safe to perhaps $10,000 to $15,000 for the very highest security models.
A far more likely attack against a wall safe would be a pry attack using a crowbar or large screwdriver. Luckily there are burglary resistant wall safes that excel against this type of attack. Two examples are the Hayman WS-7 and Gardall SL6000-F
Both of these wall safes have 1/8 inch steel walls and 1/4 inch solid steel, recessed doors. They are made to fit into walls constructed with 2×6 lumber and would offer excellent burglary-resistance against the average smash and grab thief. Gardall also manufactures another model – the Gardall SL4000-F
If you really want to feel like a James Bond villain though, the finest wall safe available by far is the Amsec WS1214E5
The AMSEC WS1214E5 is the Cadillac of wall safes and will easily resist the most violent pry bar or sledgehammer attacks (assuming your wall studs survive). Of course, buying the best comes at a price, in this case about $700.
Gardall, AMSEC & Hayman Wall Safes for Sale on eBay
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Keep in mind that all the wall safes I’ve talked about so far have been burglary-resistant models that provide no protection against fire whatsoever. However, AMSEC also produces an Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certified wall safe with a one hour fire rating, the AMSEC WFS149. This unit weighs 106 pounds and needs a full 16 inches of wall depth for installation.
Because of this space requirement, the WFS149 may not be an option for every homeowner. It is important to note that while the AMSEC WFS149 is the gold standard of fire protection for wall safes, it provides only modest burglary protection. Prices run from about $350 to $450 depending on whether you choose a digital lock
Wall safes have been unfairly maligned and don’t deserve the poor reputation they have acquired in the security industry. Of course, like all safes, they do have their limitations. Wall safes provide relatively little storage space, typically between 0.25 to 0.75 cubic feet. They should also not be used to store extremely high value items due to their inherent design limitations. In addition, there aren’t any wall safes that perform well in both burglary and fire protection, so you will also have to choose which kind of protection is most important to you.
On the other hand, wall safes combine the very best aspects of concealment and ease of accessibility. If a wall safe’s placement is well-chosen, it will almost always be overlooked in a burglary. And if it does happen to be discovered by a thief, the higher security units furnish substantial burglary protection, provided power tools aren’t involved. Prices for wall safes are usually lower than for freestanding chest safes too. And really, what other type of safe can make you feel like an evil genius conspiring to take over the world?
