Gun Storage in Attic

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Firpo

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Here are a couple pictures of the area I’m considering. Also just took a surface temp outside and it read 38° while in the attic it’s 54°. It’s actually pretty well insulated.
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El Pablo

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or tornado, or earthquake, or termites, or wood rot......
If you have termites in the attic, you have bigger problems.
Good thought but I’m not talking about an 1,100 pound safe with 100 long guns. More like a 75-100 pound safe with 10 guns. Also these attics are all really just extensions of the second floor as far as construction goes. I’m in no rush to do this and think I’ll take a few temp/moisture measurements on those really nasty days to see just how bad it is up there. The one on the north side of the house would be the most likely candidate being it will stay the coolest during the summer.
75-100 lb? How thick is the steel? Not sure that qualifies as more than a lock box. In the attic would be far more hidden, which would be needed since it would be trivial to open up in seconds with a grinder or axe. Mine is 1200 lbs and only like a 36 gun. 1/4 in steel weighs a lot, add in double fire rock, bolts….
 
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TeamTomlyn

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If you have walk in access to your attic space I would suggest just building out a nice built in safe closet, insulate it real good plug in a golden rod and you are set!
Kinda jealous of the possibilities here lol.
 

Roy14

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Couple thoughts.
Your attic looks to be thoroughly decked, but was it designed to be a lived-in area, or was it just roughed in enough for storage? If the joists weren’t pre-spec’d to handle a living space dead load 24/7, it could eventually cause a collapse because its psf rating isn’t very high. Especially if fire impinges from below, in which case it’ll be just like roadrunner getting flattened by the Acme safe if someone is below it.
And on the topic of fire… a fire that originates in the attic and vents before extension into the lower level could be mostly contained to the attic itself if fire crews are on scene quickly (and if you live somewhere that has aggressive companies). So a safe on the ground level may see no considerable heat, while anything above the ceiling will be torched.

IMO, attics are not for storage of valuables or keepsakes that can’t be replaced, and my experience has led me to not wanting to put any considerable weight above my head unless I know it can handle it (last loft I built was welded 8” Purlin with 4x4 11ga square tubing and 2x4 structural studs, braced below with 4” purlin and decked with 1 1/16 tongue and groove OSB, which I did trust for storage).
 

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