Moving a 2,500 lb safe

Moving across the floor with heavy plywood or steel plate, would probably be ok. Where it ends up, you could support with jack post. Getting into the house is the bigger problem [seems to me]. When I worked at a Rental place, we had rollers similar to what "No Fries" showed. We called them Tanks. Probably due to the shape. They had a flat top, & you could even get a rotating top. Had a set of steel rollers under it.
Wesco® HeviMover™ Machine Rollers 480001 2000 Lb. Capacity
Item #: T9F987816
 
What if from the door to the resting place I brace the blood like this:

I cut up 2x8s into 11" pieces and screw them in between and oerpendicular to the joists to keep the joists from twisting. Then, I take a few 6' 4x6 posts and screw it perpendicular to the joist every 4 ft. Under each end of the 4x6 post is a vertical 4x6 post sitting on the concrere slab in the basement. In addition to that I use sheets of heavy plywood or 2x8s to move the safe as suggested by others to get it where it will stay, and I leave it in some boards instead of directly on the hardwood.
Is there still a chance the 2x8s will crush under the weight of the safe even if they are not given room to sag?
 
You will not crush the wood joists if they are not deteriorated. It would take 5,000 lbs in an area of a couple of square inches to start crushing floor joists
 
awheelterd said:
How does something only 4ft square weigh 2500#? You sure you bought a safe or a forklift counterweight? Im curious to see how this thing is constructed.
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The walls, floor and roof of the safe is 1" A36 steel plate. The door is 1.5" A36 steel plate.

My research indicated 1 sq ft of 1" steel is 40 lbs. 1 sq ft of 1.5" steel is 60 lbs. The safe is 25.5"×27.5"x60".
 
awheelterd said:
How does something only 4ft square weigh 2500#? You sure you bought a safe or a forklift counterweight? Im curious to see how this thing is constructed.
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TL30 rated safes are about as bombproof as it gets. They look very unassuming, but are multitudes beefier than normal gun safes.
 
Nissan11 said:
The walls, floor and roof of the safe is 1" A36 steel plate. The door is 1.5" A36 steel plate.

My research indicated 1 sq ft of 1" steel is 40 lbs. 1 sq ft of 1.5" steel is 60 lbs. The safe is 25.5"×27.5"x60".
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That's not a safe. You bought a small armored tank with no drive train.
 
Two things ...
1- do yourself a huge favor and spend the money.
900 bucks is a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of work it will take to DIY this.
900 bucks is an exponential drop in the bucket if something goes wrong. The movers should be insured.
2- I don't care what anyone says .... I would re-enforce that floor for the apocalypse!!!!
 
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I’d call a pro and get them to do it.

if you decide to do it, many rental companies have low profile dollies you can rent (sunbelt, hertz, etc).

Or a local crane and rigging company could help. They are used to moving heavy, small objects into odd locations. But it’s likely going to be more than $900.

And either direction you take will, by the looks of pics, will require adding a lot of work to rework the floor joists.
 
After all the advice I have gotten here is what I think I am going to do:
I am going to sister the 2x8 joists then block them. After that I am going to use 6x12 beams every 5 ft to support the joists. For the moving process I will put down a track of heavy wood that the safe will travel on and I will leave the safe resting permanently on heavy wood that is wider than the footprint of the safe. I plan to try to move the safe with some friends and the backhoe. If anything seems to be going wrong or I get a bad feeling as the safe is moving through the door I will pull it back out with the backhoe.
 
That all sounds good if you have your mind made up, is every 5 ft going to break the joist span into 3rd's?

Wherever that safe ends up, I would definitely sister the joists and build a wall with 4x6 posts under every joist that it rests on, and be sure to tie the posts together so they can't twist or kick.

Be safe, remember to tell the people helping they are there to guide it, not to save it if something goes wrong, goes without saying, but I have seen grown men try to catch 200lbs of steel with their foot before it hits the ground (so it doesn't damage the floor or the piece of steel) it is a reaction and not a decision....unless you start with the right mindset.
 
shelby27604 said:
That all sounds good if you have your mind made up, is every 5 ft going to break the joist span into 3rd's?

Wherever that safe ends up, I would definitely sister the joists and build a wall with 4x6 posts under every joist that it rests on, and be sure to tie the posts together so they can't twist or kick.

Be safe, remember to tell the people helping they are there to guide it, not to save it if something goes wrong, goes without saying, but I have seen grown men try to catch 200lbs of steel with their foot before it hits the ground (so it doesn't damage the floor or the piece of steel) it is a reaction and not a decision....unless you start with the right mindset.
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Yes that would break the joists up into about thirds but I can break it up in to quarters or more if you think I need to. I have a big supply of posts.
 
Lizooki said:
Two things ...
1- do yourself a huge favor and spend the money.
900 bucks is a drop in the bucket in compared to the amount of work it will take to DY this.
900 bucks is an exponential drop in the bucket if something goes wrong. The movers should be insured.
2- I don't care what anyone says .... I would re-enforce that floor for the apocalypse!!!!
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I like this and I'm notoriously stuborn to DIY.

900 will be very cheap compared to long term medical help should something go south. Let alone repairs to household should that one lever or shim squirt and the load shifts.

This sounds like balancing a Sami by a chain and squeezing it next to the full-size pick up and sedan in a 15 foot wide garage with one door.

It can be done, but every door and post is gonna get scuffed and buffed.
 
Is it completely out of the question to just put it in the basement?

You also might consider what this will do for home resale. For the right person, its a bonus. For the wrong person, having it in the way on a main floor AND losing the space underneath for the reinforcement is a downside.
 
RatLabGuy said:
Is it completely out of the question to just put it in the basement?

You also might consider what this will do for home resale. For the right person, its a bonus. For the wrong person, having it in the way on a main floor AND losing the space underneath for the reinforcement is a downside.
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The basement is very humid.

I just got off the phone with a very reputable safe seller and mover. He reinforced the moving method many on here suggested. He said he would charge $600 but that it is very easy and I should strongly consider doing it myself. He mentioned using rollers on a platform to protect the hardwood and cautioned to be sure the safe door is LOCKED and that be very careful when tipping towards the door side since the door is 1/3 the weight of the safe. He said getting it on the porch is the only hard part about my operation and he has moved 4000 lb safes the same way with only two guys.
 
RatLabGuy said:
Is it completely out of the question to just put it in the basement?

You also might consider what this will do for home resale. For the right person, its a bonus. For the wrong person, having it in the way on a main floor AND losing the space underneath for the reinforcement is a downside.
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If he isn’t careful with supporting the floor, it may end up in the basement on its own.

there are tons of ways to protect the floor and get it in the house. None of that means squat if the floor joists can’t support the weight. Sounds like there is a plan in place to support the weight.
 
rockcity said:
If he isn’t careful with supporting the floor, it may end up in the basement on its own.

there are tons of ways to protect the floor and get it in the house. None of that means squat if the floor joists can’t support the weight. Sounds like there is a plan in place to support the weight.
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I just keep thinking, "this is like taking my old Mazda, and compressing it into a 4' square, and dropping that bad boy into a wood frame house."
Nissan11 said:
The basement is very humid.
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I'm not trying to be pushy, but dehumidiers, are cheaper than the work to reinforce the house. Even several years of electricity to run the things. And then you'll have a nice dry basement.
If thats the only reason against it, I'd give it serious thought.
 
RatLabGuy said:
I just keep thinking, "this is like taking my old Mazda, and compressing it into a 4' square, and dropping that bad boy into a wood frame house."

I'm not trying to be pushy, but dehumidiers, are cheaper than the work to reinforce the house. Even several years of electricity to run the things. And then you'll have a nice dry basement.
If thats the only reason against it, I'd give it serious thought.
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The basement is uninsulated and has a huge hole in a wall going to the crawl space where ducting runs. I could seal that but it will not be secure. Also, I can only access the basement by going outside the house which makes it pretty inaccessible.
 
Nissan11 said:
The basement is uninsulated and has a huge hole in a wall going to the crawl space where ducting runs. I could seal that but it will not be secure. Also, I can only access the basement by going outside the house which makes it pretty inaccessible.
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Sounds like a great reason for a trapdoor...

I've moved by Liberty Fatboy a few times. Granted its a fraction of the weight of yours but we had good luck with furniture pads and steel rollers.

My only other concern is how it will mount to the floor. I know with mine, if the safe was empty and the door wide open it got pretty tippy. Any thoughts on how to fully secure it?
 
The safe moving guy and I are on the same page, and he and I have both moved a lot of heavy stuff ;) Honestly with a big rectangle its pretty easy.

YJJPWrangler said:
Sounds like a great reason for a trapdoor...

I've moved by Liberty Fatboy a few times. Granted its a fraction of the weight of yours but we had good luck with furniture pads and steel rollers.

My only other concern is how it will mount to the floor. I know with mine, if the safe was empty and the door wide open it got pretty tippy. Any thoughts on how to fully secure it?
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I'm guessing that safe has about a 3ft wide door and the actual safe is 2ft deep or less? Plus the door is much thicker, double panel, and has all the bolts and mechanism adding extra mass? If so, half the weight or more is in the door. And it's centerline is proportionally much further out when open.

@Nissan11 , I assume your safe does not tip over when you open the door while its just sitting on the ground? Therefore it won't tip over when its sitting on the floor of your house, assuming the floor doesn't collapse :D
 
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YJJPWrangler said:
Sounds like a great reason for a trapdoor...

I've moved by Liberty Fatboy a few times. Granted its a fraction of the weight of yours but we had good luck with furniture pads and steel rollers.

My only other concern is how it will mount to the floor. I know with mine, if the safe was empty and the door wide open it got pretty tippy. Any thoughts on how to fully secure it?
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I will not be bolting it to the floor. If a group of theives experienced in moving heavy safes shows up with a wrecker they might be able to get it to the door and winch it up but they are not getting it onto a trailer or truck bed with 'normal' means.

It is out of the trailer.
 

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Because we all have opinions. I think you should pour some sort of concrete under the safe and then place blocks from concrete to floor joists.

Those sistered joints have to transfer the load to something else. That something else may not be ready for it.
 
BigBody79 said:
Because we all have opinions. I think you should pour some sort of concrete under the safe and then place blocks from concrete to floor joists.

Those sistered joints have to transfer the load to something else. That something else may not be ready for it.
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The plan is for the sistered joists to transfer the weight to the 6x12 beams I posted a pic of earlier, supported by the concrete slab in the basement. Do you think I need something stronger than 6x12s?
 

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Nissan11 said:
I will not be bolting it to the floor. If a group of theives experienced in moving heavy safes shows up with a wrecker they might be able to get it to the door and winch it up but they are not getting it onto a trailer or truck bed with 'normal' means.

It is out of the trailer.
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I wasn't at all worried about someone breaking in and stealing it. No home burglar will have the tools/skills to move that thing. Opening/closing the safe with it empty and a lot of the weight in the door seems like it could get very tippy. It did with my empty safe and mine weighs at 760lbs empty. First time I opened it, the back edges lifted off the ground. Luckily, I had other people holding it so it didn't come over on me.
 
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