If you want to know how to hide a gun safe in plain sight, it’s important to understand a few misnomers. Hidden “safes” are often not safes at all. A gun safe is a reinforced container that is extraordinarily difficult to break into. Hidden gun “safes” are often just unique tricks of construction in the home.
Or, a hidden safe might simply be furniture that isn’t furniture. You get the point but what this means is that it’s not a safe at all. It’s just a hidden area to stash your firearms. What we’re referring to are gun safes that are hidden in plain sight and are actually gun safes.
If a thief happens to find the thing, they have to get innovative to open it. If a thief finds a traditional hidden “safe,” they can make off with your firearms without making much of a fuss. If you want to hide a gun safe in plain sight, here are five ways to do just that.
5 Ways to Hide a Gun Safe in Plain Sight
For obvious reasons, hiding a pistol safe is a lot easier than a safe designed to hold 10 to 20 rifles. So there are a few different ways to hide them in plain sight. You could always hire a professional to help you install a gun safe in a hidden compartment as well.
The point here is—we’re hiding a safe, not buying a dresser drawer that secretly holds firearms. The dresser drawer isn’t a safe. It’s just a unique dresser drawer.
1. Install it in the floor
This might be easy or pretty difficult, depending on the floor. Tile floors are simple, assuming the safe is small enough. You’ll need something to break through the concrete foundation, along with some digging tools, and a fresh bag of grout to mold yourself a compartment beneath.
If you have a real wood floor, that’s much harder since wood floors are often built on an underlying framework. Plus, no one wants to break through a natural wood floor. If you’re on the second floor, the size of the safe matters, along with the thickness of the floor. You’ll also need to ensure there is a framework to hold the safe up.
2. Install it in a wall
This is far easier, especially if you have some sheetrock experience. The thickness of the wall and the size of the safe is important. There are many in wall gun safes, for example, this is a nice one you can install right between the studs in a non-loadbearing wall, preferably in a closet or another, out-of-the-way place.
3. The Attic
Most thieves who break into your home aren’t going to head up to the attic, and you can design your safe in such a way that you can access it from a secondary attic door, rather than that creepy one that holds a folding ladder and opens with a creepy yawn.
The best part is you can use a variety of safes, so long as you install them so the studs in the attic provide the proper support.
4. Hide the safe in a fake dresser
Well, not really a fake dresser. You need to remove some of the framework on the drawers to fit the safe in while maintaining the integrity of the outside. Of course, thieves probably won’t neglect a dresser, since people tend to keep more in them than just clothes.
But it does allow you to maintain the safe in an easy-to-access area in plain sight without being immediately obvious.
5. Convert it into a nightstand or end table
This is honestly one of the easiest methods, and since it’s so out in the open, no one will bother with it but you. It needs to be one of those safes that’s about thigh or waist high, something that looks like it could be an end table.
Simply throw your favorite end tablecloth over it, place a lamp on top, maybe a magnet charger for your smartphone, and a couple of coasters, and you’re all set. When you need to access it, lift the cloth and do so.
Bottom Line
If you have easy access through your floor tiles to your concrete foundation, it’s honestly one of the coolest DIY projects you can do. Especially if you can get ahold of some decent boards and frame up the hole you make for fresh grout.
Just be sure your measurements are exact. The last thing you need is to cut up your walls or put fresh grout, and the safe won’t fit, or the hole is far too large. Either way, feel free to get inventive. If you have an enormous gun safe, some of those DIY projects may be off the table.
There are a ton of unique ideas to work with, however, such as bookshelves, concealment benches, large cabinets, dressers, and even under the bed. Whatever you decide to do, have fun with it, and feel free to be creative.
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