What is a wall safe and why should you have one?

Security must be a high priority whether we are assessing the needs of the home or the workplace. At all times we have valuable items which need to be protected, whether they have financial value, personal value or commercial value. Whatever the reasons behind your security needs, there will be a suitable solution out there, and one of the most common is the wall safe. This has become a popular way to secure your belongings and has many practical advantages, including the unique ability to both protect and conceal your valuable belongings.

What is a wall safe?

A wall safe is a regular safe constructed from reinforced steel, and which can be various different sizes and can use various different mechanisms to access the safe lock. However, the main difference which separates a wall safe from other free-standing safes, is that a wall safe is designed to be installed in a wall cavity. This can then be covered over to hide the safe and offer no indication that it exists. This, therefore, provides an additional layer of security.

In all other aspects, a wall safe is the same as any other standard safe, in that it is constructed to be robust and durable, can be fire and water resistant, it opens up using a hinged door, and can have movable shelves and compartments inside to suit the items you wish to store in there.

The main advantages of a wall safe

Whether you wish to store cash, family heirlooms, jewellery, or important legal documents (passports, property deeds, wills etc) in a safe at home, or whether you want to store petty cash, USB drives, legal contracts or product specifications in a safe at work, a wall safe is a suitable means to do so. The main advantages of a wall safe are:

• Hidden – A wall safe can blend in seamlessly with the everyday décor of a room and therefore can’t be seen, because it sits in a wall cavity and hence is flush to the wall. So you can hide a wall safe behind artwork, a mirror, a bookcase and even in the back of a cupboard or wardrobe if you wanted to.
• Accessible – Even though the safe can’t be seen by an opportunist thief who doesn’t know it is there, you can easily access it by removing the item hiding it. Of course you would also need a key, or knowledge of a code required to access the safe.
• Removal – A wall safe fits snugly into the wall cavity and can also be secured using bolts. This means it is very hard for anyone to remove it, without the right tools and a significant amount of time. Even if a thief had both these things, they may be deterred from attempting to steal a wall safe, or may be interrupted in the meantime.
• Adaptable – You can still choose the size and style of wall safe that suits your needs.

What to consider when choosing a wall safe

Just like choosing any type of safe, it is important that a wall safe is suitable for your needs and that it has certain features. So you need to consider:

• Size – Is the safe large enough to fit all the items you need to keep secure? Bear in mind that these needs may change over time, so it may be sensible to opt for a larger safe than you initially might need.
• Fire resistance – Every building, whether residential or commercial, faces some risk of fire, so you should opt for a safe which protects your valuables from the threat of fire, as well as from theft.
• Insurance rating – Most insurance policies will require you to safeguard your valuables in a specific way before a contents policy is valid. In terms of a safe, most models have a specific rating which is equal to the value of contents it can securely hold. So a higher rated safe will be able to secure a higher value of contents. You should opt for a safe that has a security rating that equals the value of the contents you need to store in it. However, again, it may be a good idea to go for a higher-rated safe, because your needs may change in the future, and you run the risk of an insurance policy not being valid if contents are stolen and the safe wasn’t a sufficient security rating.
• Lock type – You can choose from a number of different methods for accessing the safe via the lock. The traditional method is with a key, which has worked successfully for hundreds of years but a key can be lost, stolen or copied. So many people now opt for a four digit code, which can be inputted via a mechanical dial system or a digital keypad. You can also choose a biometric system, whereby face, retina or thumbprint recognition on a sensor will operate the lock of the safe. You should choose the method which is most practical for you.

Order your wall safe online from MB Direct

If a wall safe is a security solution that will suit your home or workplace, then check out our range of wall safes online and order from MB Direct today.