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Moving a gun safe into the basement?

M

MAC2187

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OK guys, any ideas on how to move a 700 pound gun safe down the bulkhead (6 steps,concrete) and into the basement. The safe company, which is 15 minutes from my house, wants $500 to move it. The safe in on sale for $850, so thats over half the price to move and install it [frown].Thanks for the help.
 
A big truck to get it there, and lots of muscle after that. An appliance dolly will help moving it on the flat stuff.

You may be able to use some 2x4's the length of the bulkhead to slide it down, but I didn't when I moved my 500lb safe into the basement.

You're just going to need a lot of manpower.

Jr
 
That's exactly what I paid a moving company for picking up a safe of that size at the store, transporting it to my house (maybe 10 miles) and setting it up in my basement. They put 4 big guys on the job, and they were all working hard.

A hydraulic lift gate on the truck was a big help, as was an appliance dolly, sheets of 3/4" plywood to roll across the lawn on, and also to help it slide down the concrete steps in the bulkhead. I just considered the moving costs as part of the price of the safe.
 
Here is what we did with my safe. We were able to fit it in a box truck and then we backed it up to my bulkhead as close as we could get it. We then took 2 x 6 planks and screwed them into the steps in the bulkhead. Then we wrapped rope around the pallet at the bottom of the safe. We had 4 guys. 2 guys stayed at the top of the bulkhead to support the safe and the other 2 stayed inside the van. We slid the safe to the back of the van until we were able to teater it at the back. We slowly lowered it to where the bottom of the safe met up with the 2 x 6's. From there we just VERY SLOWLY lowered the unit down the boards to the bottom. No big deal. Just be careful not to have anyone at the bottom of the stairs in case something goes wrong. We then used an appliance dolly to move it to its current location. It was actually quite easy. NOw the problem is how the hell do I get it out of the basement if we move???

Pete
 
As long as you take it very slowly and don't do anything stupid (e.g., having someone at the bottom of the steps when lowering it), getting it in should be a real problem. Of course, having managed to get it into the basement, you might find some day that you're not the first person to include a nice safe in the purchase price of a house. [wink]

Ken
 
PistolPete said:
Here is what we did with my safe. We were able to fit it in a box truck and then we backed it up to my bulkhead as close as we could get it. We then took 2 x 6 planks and screwed them into the steps in the bulkhead. Then we wrapped rope around the pallet at the bottom of the safe. We had 4 guys. 2 guys stayed at the top of the bulkhead to support the safe and the other 2 stayed inside the van. We slid the safe to the back of the van until we were able to teater it at the back. We slowly lowered it to where the bottom of the safe met up with the 2 x 6's. From there we just VERY SLOWLY lowered the unit down the boards to the bottom. No big deal. Just be careful not to have anyone at the bottom of the stairs in case something goes wrong. We then used an appliance dolly to move it to its current location. It was actually quite easy. NOw the problem is how the hell do I get it out of the basement if we move???

Pete
Click to expand...

i did the same thing but it was just my bro and I. We went one step further by having a 'comealong' fastened to the safe and the front of the pickup truck bed. We slowly ratcheted it down the planks we attached to the stairs.

When I moved, it was just reverse the process....
 
This is the thing that gets me wondering about buying a real nice quality (heavy) safe. I can get it into my garage (under house) no problem but that's not where I want it. Ughh. I feel your pain.
 
KMaurer said:
having managed to get it into the basement, you might find some day that you're not the first person to include a nice safe in the purchase price of a house.
Click to expand...
Nope, not at all. That's what my buddy did when he moved from Milton to the free city of Merrimack, NH. Just bought a new safe when he got there.

Well, OK, six months later, actually, during which time my safe had guests. [laugh]
 
I put mine in my cellar by myself. (I have a little gear for this)

Get a good appliance dolly, a come along, and some padding. Use whatever you have to anchor the come along to (Tree, vehicle, big friend) and lower it in using wood of some sort to cover the stairs.

Best advice I can give is take the door off. It is about half the weight. You will need two people to help you get the door back on but the time saved is worth it.

Remember, lift with your legs [wink] and if you need the name of my Chiropractor let me know.[shocked]
 
Be very careful!! I helped Cpher move his into the basement. One of his friend almost lost a finger when his hand got stuck between the safe and the wall of the bulkhead...
 
winch it

do the ramp thing on the steps into the basement.

Find someone with a winch on the fromt of their truck and SLOWLY
let it go down the bulkhead.

JimB
 
Dig a new entrance ramp into your basement and back the truck up to it?

Seriously though, get 6 big guys to help you out.
 
snowjoker said:
Be very careful!! I helped Cpher move his into the basement. One of his friend almost lost a finger when his hand got stuck between the safe and the wall of the bulkhead...
Click to expand...

Yea, it took six of us to get my 975lbs safe into my basement.

I rented one of those electric dollys. It says that it climbs stairs, and it was rated for 1700 pounds. I never figured out how to get it to climb the stairs in the bulkhead...

But, we had three people below pushing on the safe, and three people pulling on the dolly. We went really slow...

And yes, get the biggest guys you know. I had ex-Rugby players, ex-BC linebackers... They were all big guys. It wasn't fun...but it's in my basement.
 
MAC2187 said:
OK guys, any ideas on how to move a 700 pound gun safe down the bulkhead (6 steps,concrete) and into the basement. The safe company, which is 15 minutes from my house, wants $500 to move it. The safe in on sale for $850, so thats over half the price to move and install it [frown].Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

If you ponder the financial and non-financial cost of screwing up a do-it-yourself safe moving operation, $500 sounds to me like a cheap price for having someone else take the risks.
 
When I put my safe in, I used the winch on my old Jeep CJ. Still have the winch, but not that Jeep and the Willys is still in pieces. Otherwise, I'd offer to help. Seriously, two sheets of plywood for the yard, some 2x6 for the steps, a rental dolly (get the one with the stair sliders on the back) and some kind of winch or come-along to do the lifting.

Next time, I'd add a blanket too. Got a small nick on my safe. Hardly noticeable, but I know its there. Only took two of us to move a 700+ lb safe this way. The hardest part was getting it out of the pickup. If you've seen my pickup, you'd know why.
 
You could use an ATV ramp to move a safe in or out of a pickup. Of course, that doesn't help when you're sitting there in the driveway wondering how in the hell you're going to pull it off. [wink] In the end, I opted for white glove delivery for my safe.
 
RKG said:
If you ponder the financial and non-financial cost of screwing up a do-it-yourself safe moving operation, $500 sounds to me like a cheap price for having someone else take the risks.
Click to expand...

+1... IMO unless one knows what the hell they're doing (eg, they've
done it before) it's best either to get a pro, or at a minimum, get
a friend that -does- know what they're doing to help you.

-Mike
 
I hired a pro for $500. He brought his front loader and a helper. Big thing is preparation if you are going down a hatchway. Too tall a safe and you can't get it upright. I was limited to 60 inch versus 72 that I wanted. Check you hatchway steps and reenforce with 2x4s underneath so the steps will take the weight. I did one small treadlock by myself with a refrigerator truck. It took me on a ride...down the stairs, across the floor, against the far wall. Since then its cheaper and safer to hire the pro.[rofl]
 
Can anyone recommend a good moving company to bring an 1100 lb safe into a basement through a bulkhead? 8 steps. Worcester county.

I've been quoted 800-900 so far.

Thanks!
 
Most safes the door will come off and lighten the load a little. Go to home depot and rent a professional moving dolly. Once you get the safe on the correct pivot point it will move a lot easier than you think. You can also get some four wheeled wooden furniture moving dollies from Harbour freight for about $8, two or three of these will help.

If you can have a professional move it, if not it's a lot of blood sweat and tears but it can be done.

I moved mine into my basement this way with the help of two of my sons.

harry
 
Chris said:
When I put my safe in, I used the winch on my old Jeep CJ. Still have the winch, but not that Jeep and the Willys is still in pieces. Otherwise, I'd offer to help. Seriously, two sheets of plywood for the yard, some 2x6 for the steps, a rental dolly (get the one with the stair sliders on the back) and some kind of winch or come-along to do the lifting.

Next time, I'd add a blanket too. Got a small nick on my safe. Hardly noticeable, but I know its there. Only took two of us to move a 700+ lb safe this way. The hardest part was getting it out of the pickup. If you've seen my pickup, you'd know why.
Click to expand...

This.
Location?
I've got a Jeep CJ and a winch.
 

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