Wall safe installations are the traditional method used to safeguard valuables and important papers from thieves, intruders and the risk of accidental damage. While it is possible to install a safe in many other places, including under the floorboards where the degree of protection may be even greater, the wall location can often be the best combination of protection and continued accessibility. It is often the most suitable location for items which need to be kept safe, but which are also needed for daily life on an ongoing basis.

There are many businesses where wall safes are virtually essential. In banks and hotels, for example, where the valuables of other people need to be looked after, there is a need to be able to access those valuables more quickly than a hidden floor safe would allow. Businesses which need constant access to important printed records also have a need for this type of safe, although there is an increasing trend for these to be scanned and stored electronically. In the home there is more of a case for a floor safe, but in the case of jewelry which is constantly worn there is a greater chance that it will be replaced every time if the safe is more conveniently located.

One of the most logical and convincing arguments against locating a safe in the wall is that it is at greater risk of fire damage than one located below ground level. If a building is to burn completely to the ground, it is certain that the wall around the safe will be completely destroyed. The safe alone will need to protect its contents from the flames, and there is a limit to the protection which any safe can offer. Usually, the contents will remain unharmed even in this extreme case, but if maximum protection from fire damage is the priority, locate the safe underground.

Evolving technology has made the wall safe far easier for the user to operate but more difficult for the potential intruder to overcome. The traditional combination system worked effectively, but it took a long time for the legitimate user to continually have to key in the combination on a round dial. Now, even the same type of numerical combination can be keyed in to a keypad in the same way that you operate a bank ATM. There are other advanced electronic entry systems which you can use if you want them and are prepared to spend more money.

One of the other perennial problems with wall safes is that they are normally easy to find. This is half of the potential burglar’s job done for them, so it makes sense to try to hide the safe as much as you can. There are hidden wall safes which look to all the world like electrical power points, although the capacity of these is obviously limited. It is possible to hide a larger safe behind an installation which looks like an electrical switching point or circuit breaker, but the safe will need to be completely concealed within the wall.

The wall safe remains the most convenient solution for those who want to store important items out of harm’s way, but who need to have constant access to them. It is simply not going to be practical to be constantly going into the basement of the building just to access a safe embedded in the floor. A safe located in the wall will need an extra degree of protection from intruders such as a camera system which can send an alert message to the home owner, and which can transmit pictures to a remote location. You will also need extra fire protection with a wall safe.