What About New Builds?
Installing a Safe in a New-Build Property
New-build houses and apartments can be some of the most challenging properties in which to install a safe.
Underfloor heating may prevent us drilling into the floor, while modern insulated and plasterboard-lined walls may provide no conventional solid masonry fixing immediately behind the safe.
That does not mean you cannot have a safe. It means the installation has to be planned around the building that actually exists.
Why Are New-Build Homes Different?
A brand-new home may look easier to work in than an older property, but from a safe installer's point of view modern construction can remove the two traditional fixing surfaces we would normally look for: a concrete floor that can safely be drilled and a solid brick or masonry wall that can accept a substantial anchor.
The challenge is therefore rarely finding enough physical space for the safe. The challenge is finding something sufficiently substantial behind or beneath that position to which the safe can safely be anchored.
Why Installing a Safe in a New Build Can Be Difficult
Modern construction can take away both of the conventional fixing options at the same time.
Underfloor Heating
The structural floor may be perfectly strong, but heating pipes, electrical heating elements or other services may lie between the finished floor and that structure.
Unless a safe drilling position can be reliably established, we will not simply drill down and hope for the best.
Lightweight & Insulated Walls
The wall behind the safe may contain plasterboard, a service void, thick insulation, timber or metal studwork and lightweight thermal block construction rather than traditional dense masonry.
The fixing method therefore has to be chosen for what is actually inside the wall.
Underfloor Heating Can Rule Out the Obvious Floor Fixing
In a traditional installation, a concrete floor can provide an excellent substrate for a substantial safe anchor.
The difficulty in a new-build property is that we may not be able to reach that concrete safely.
Water-based underfloor heating uses pipework within the floor construction. Electric systems may use heating cables or elements. Other concealed services may also be present.
Drilling blindly through the finished floor could therefore turn a straightforward safe installation into an extremely expensive building repair.
Our approach: unless a safe drilling zone can be established with sufficient confidence, we look for another fixing method rather than taking an unnecessary risk with the floor.
A Thick Wall Isn't Necessarily a Solid Wall
This is another major difference between traditional and modern construction.
In an older house we may drill through a relatively thin plaster finish and quickly reach solid brickwork.
In a modern apartment, what appears to be a substantial wall may contain plasterboard, insulation, a large service void, timber or metal framing, dry lining and lightweight blocks before anything structural is reached.
A conventional expanding masonry anchor that works extremely well in dense brick or concrete may therefore be completely unsuitable for the material behind a new-build wall.
The key question isn't “is there a wall?”
It is: what is that wall actually made from?
The Building Cannot Give Us a Material That Was Never Used to Build It
A professional safe installer has to distinguish between the ideal fixing, the best fixing physically available, and — where insurance or firearms licensing is involved — the fixing the relevant insurer or authority requires.
“Anchored to the Fabric of the Building”
It sounds straightforward until the property offers no readily accessible conventional masonry surface.
Insurance requirements are sometimes expressed using wording such as the safe needing to be “anchored to the fabric of the building”.
In a traditionally constructed house, that may mean an obvious brick wall or concrete floor.
In a modern development, the surfaces actually presented to the installer may be plasterboard-lined walls, lightweight blocks, insulation systems, suspended flooring, fitted joinery and floors containing underfloor heating.
That does not make the property unsuitable for a safe. It means we have to establish what structure is available, investigate whether something stronger exists behind the visible finishes and decide on the strongest sensible installation that the property permits.
The Ideal Fix, the Available Fix and the Required Fix
The Ideal Fix
A substantial anchor into suitable concrete, dense brick or masonry where that structure can safely and properly be accessed.
The Available Fix
The strongest safe and practical anchorage the actual construction of that particular property physically allows.
The Required Fix
Any particular method, standard or condition imposed by the customer's insurer, or in the case of firearms, the relevant security requirements.
What Happens When We Can't Drill the Floor or Use the Wall?
We investigate the alternatives.
There may be a structural element behind the wall lining that can be reached with an appropriate fixing system.
Another wall in the same cupboard may offer a better substrate. Turning the safe through 90 degrees may completely change the fixing options.
A slightly different location can sometimes provide a much better installation without materially affecting the customer's use of the safe.
There may also be substantial permanent fitted furniture that can form part of the installation.
What Is a “Joinery Fix”?
Sometimes a new-build property gives us very few conventional structural fixing options. In those circumstances, substantial permanent fitted furniture can sometimes form part of the solution.
A joinery fix means mechanically securing the safe to permanent, non-portable fitted joinery — for example a fitted wardrobe, built-in cupboard or substantial fixed cabinet.
This is very different from fixing a safe into a freestanding bedside cabinet, loose chest of drawers or another piece of furniture that could simply be carried away together with the safe.
✓ What We Mean
Permanent fitted wardrobes, built-in cupboards and substantial fixed cabinetry that form part of the room.
✕ What We Don't Mean
Portable furniture such as a freestanding cabinet, bedside unit or chest of drawers.
Is a joinery fix as strong as a good concrete or masonry anchor? No. Where suitable structural masonry or concrete is safely available, that would normally be preferable. But in some modern properties a joinery fix may be one of the practical options available or may supplement another fixing.
Will a New-Build Safe Installation Be Acceptable to My Insurer?
This is an area where blanket statements should be avoided.
Different insurers and individual policies can impose different conditions concerning the safe, its security grade, its cash or valuables rating and the way in which it must be installed.
Where we can achieve a conventional structural fixing into appropriate masonry or concrete, that will normally be our preferred solution.
Where the construction of a new-build property prevents that, we can explain the installation method that is realistically available and what has actually been used.
It is important not to confuse “the strongest practical installation available in this property” with a guarantee that every insurer will automatically accept every unconventional fixing method.
If your insurer has specified a particular anchoring requirement, especially where the proposed installation needs to rely solely on lightweight construction or permanent joinery, we recommend obtaining the insurer's acceptance of the proposed method.
That is much better than discovering after a burglary that the policyholder and insurer interpreted the installation condition differently.
A New-Build Flat Is Still Somebody's Home
There is an important practical reality here.
Someone living in a modern apartment cannot move house simply because their insurance company has asked them to install a safe.
They cannot remove their underfloor heating just to give the installer somewhere convenient to drill.
And they cannot replace the construction of the building with traditional brickwork simply because brickwork would provide a better safe fixing.
The professional question is therefore not “why doesn't this building have the fixing surface we would like?” It is “given the way this building has actually been constructed, what is the strongest, safest and most appropriate installation we can achieve?”
Security Safes and Gun Cabinets Are Not the Same Installation Problem
The difference becomes particularly important in a new-build property.
Security Safe
- We seek the strongest appropriate fixing the property permits.
- Suitable concrete or solid masonry is preferable where it can safely be used.
- Underfloor heating may rule out conventional downward drilling.
- Hidden structure or another wall may provide an alternative.
- Permanent fitted joinery may sometimes supplement or form part of the practical solution.
- Any specific insurer requirements should be checked where the installation is unconventional.
Gun / Shotgun / Rifle Cabinet
- The security arrangements must meet the requirements applying to firearms storage.
- The fixing forms an important part of the resistance to removal.
- Lightweight stud partitions require particular care.
- Thermal and lightweight blocks can be unsuitable for conventional anchors.
- Alternative orientation or fixing into suitable structural members may be required.
- The relevant police firearms licensing authority must ultimately be satisfied with the security arrangements.
Why Gun Cabinets Can Be Much Harder to Install in New Builds
With a gun cabinet, shotgun cabinet or rifle cabinet, the standard we are trying to achieve is different from an ordinary valuables-safe installation.
The cabinet needs to provide genuine resistance to removal. In practice, the installation may be physically checked for movement during the firearms licensing process, and the security arrangements must satisfy the relevant police firearms licensing authority.
Home Office guidance states that firearms cabinets should be fixed to the structure. It identifies brick, concrete and masonry as generally the preferable fixing materials and says fastening to timber-studded walls should be avoided unless additional anchorage can be provided.
The guidance also specifically recognises the difficulty presented by modern construction materials, including breeze and thermal blocks and buildings with partition walls or modern insulation-block linings.
A fixing that may represent the best practical solution for an ordinary valuables safe should never automatically be assumed to be sufficient for a firearms cabinet.
Four New-Build Problems for Firearms Cabinets
The Floor Cannot Safely Be Drilled
Underfloor heating may remove what would otherwise be the obvious opportunity for substantial anchorage into the floor.
The Internal Wall Is a Lightweight Partition
Plasterboard and studwork cannot simply be treated as though they were dense brick or concrete.
The Structure Is a Long Way Behind the Finished Wall
Insulation and service voids can create a considerable distance between the cabinet and anything capable of accepting a substantial structural fixing.
The Blockwork Is Lightweight or Thermal
Modern lightweight blocks do not behave in the same way as dense masonry and may require specialist fixing methods or a completely different installation arrangement.
What Can We Do With a Difficult Gun-Cabinet Installation?
Sometimes the solution is to find another structural wall.
Sometimes structural timber or joists can be located and used correctly rather than simply fixing to floorboards or plasterboard.
In some properties changing the orientation of the cabinet can open up a completely different fixing opportunity.
In others, another cupboard or room may simply provide a much better location.
If there is no obvious robust fixing point, it can be sensible to discuss the proposed arrangement with the relevant police firearms licensing department before permanently positioning the cabinet.
Sometimes the customer's preferred position genuinely cannot provide the required level of firearms security. In that situation the correct answer is to find a better location rather than disguise a weak fixing.
Safe Installation Is About Understanding the Property
These photographs show genuine London Safes installations within fitted furniture. They illustrate why the installer must consider both the visible cupboard and the building structure behind it.
Modern Buildings Need Modern Safe-Installation Thinking
The answer to a difficult new-build installation is neither “you can't have a safe” nor blindly drilling into a floor or wall because that is how safes have traditionally been installed. The safe, the building and the available structure all need to be understood before the fixing method is chosen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you install a safe in a new-build house or apartment?
Yes. New-build properties can require more planning because underfloor heating may prevent floor drilling and modern walls may contain plasterboard, insulation, service voids or lightweight blocks rather than conventional solid masonry. We assess what the building actually provides and look for the strongest appropriate installation method.
Can you bolt a safe down if there is underfloor heating?
We would not blindly drill through a floor containing underfloor heating. If a safe drilling zone cannot be established with sufficient confidence, we would normally investigate wall fixing, another structural fixing point or a different location instead.
Can a safe be fixed to plasterboard?
Plasterboard itself is not equivalent to solid brick or concrete. However, the visible plasterboard may conceal framing, blockwork or another structural element behind it. We therefore consider the complete wall construction before deciding what fixing method is appropriate.
What does “anchored to the fabric of the building” mean?
The phrase is generally used to distinguish a safe that is secured to the property from one that is simply freestanding and removable. The precise installation conditions can vary between insurers, so where an insurer has specified a particular method or substrate its requirements should be confirmed.
What is a joinery fixing?
A joinery fixing means mechanically securing a safe to substantial permanent fitted furniture, such as a built-in wardrobe or fixed cupboard. We do not use the term for portable furniture that could simply be removed together with the safe.
Is a joinery fixing as secure as fixing into concrete?
No. A suitable substantial fixing into good concrete or solid masonry would normally provide greater resistance. A joinery fixing can nevertheless provide useful additional security and in some properties may form part of the strongest practical installation available.
Will a joinery fixing satisfy my insurance company?
Insurance requirements vary between insurers and policies. Where an installation has to rely on an unconventional fixing or permanent joinery rather than a conventional masonry or concrete anchor, we recommend confirming the proposed arrangement with the insurer if it has imposed a specific anchoring condition.
Can a gun cabinet be installed in a new-build property?
Often yes, but the installation can be more challenging. Underfloor heating, stud partitions, insulation and lightweight thermal blocks can limit conventional fixing options. Firearms cabinets need robust security, so a suitable structural fixing or alternative arrangement must be identified and the relevant police firearms licensing authority must be satisfied with the security arrangements.
Can a gun cabinet simply be screwed to fitted joinery?
A joinery-only fixing should not automatically be regarded as a substitute for suitable structural anchorage for a firearms cabinet. Home Office guidance places importance on fixing the cabinet to the structure and recognises that modern lightweight construction may require alternative fixing methods.
What if there is nowhere obvious to securely fix my gun cabinet?
Another wall, structural member, orientation or room may provide a better solution. Where the construction is particularly difficult, it can be sensible to discuss the proposed arrangement with the relevant police firearms licensing department before the cabinet is permanently installed.
Buying a Safe for a New-Build Property?
Don't be put off by underfloor heating, plasterboard walls or unusual construction. Tell us where you would ideally like the safe and we can discuss the property, the available fixing surfaces and the best practical installation options.