Walk in safe

[Yaseen]

Greetings All. Could anyone share some pics or ideas on a walk-in safe. I wish to build a 3.5mx4m walk-in at my home. Finding it hard to find info with regards to what specs need to be met in order to comply with the law. Thank you

 

[BigJohnx13]

Confirm if there is a newer version available!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Extract: Government Gazette No: 15652

Notice No: 787, Regulation Gazette No: 5305

22 April 1994
STRONG-ROOMS
29. The requirements with which strong-rooms shall comply for purposes mentioned in regulation 28, shall be the following:

(a) the walls, roof and floor shall be of reinforced concrete of not less than 300 mm;

(b) the reinforcing of the concrete shall consist of bars of a diameter of 10 mm on a square grid, face to face, of which the horizontal and vertical bars are not more than 125 mm apart;

(c) the strength of the concrete shall not be less than 30 mega pascal after 28 days;

(d) the covering screen over the reinforcing on the walls and slab shall not be less than 40 mm;

(e) the thickness of the door shall not be less than 6 mm and the door shall be equipped with at least three bolts;

(f) the safe door shall be equipped with one lever lock which shall have not less than ten levers of which not less than three shall be provided with false notches or a combination lock of the type which has three gears or an electronic lock which complies with the requirements approved of by the South African Bureau of Standards; and

(g) a switch shall be installed on the inside of the strong-room connected to an external warning device such as a flashing light or an alarm.

(h) Apparatuses, devices and instruments

(i) 30. The requirements with which apparatuses, devices and instruments shall comply with for the purposes mentioned in regulation 28, shall be the following- The apparatus, device or instrument shall to the satisfaction of the Commissioner-

(a) be manufactured from steel of at least 2 mm thick;

(b) be capable of enclosing or covering the arm concerned wholly;

(c) have an effective integral locking mechanism;

(d) have a hinge mechanism for the cover or lid thereof which shall ensure that if the locking pin thereof

is removed, the cover or lid shall not be capable of being opened or removed;

(e) have another mechanism which shall ensure that if the hinge mechanism is removed, the cover or lid shall nevertheless not be capable of being opened or removed; and

(f) have a facility with the aid or use of which the device, apparatus or instrument may be affixed to another structure such as a wall or a floor, or the body of a vehicle.


Other info
The regulations issued in terms of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 clearly states that the safe should "conform to" SABS Standard 953-1.

SABS STANDARDS 953-1 AND 953-2
STRONGROOMS

The requirements are more stringent for the door and less stringent for the walls, etc, than those previously required in the regulations issued under the Arms and Ammunition Act (See below) 953-2 specifies two categories of strongroom:


Type BC – in which the walls are constructed of brick outer and inner skins reinforced with a concrete core. (Not as simple to construct as might be thought)

Type RC – in which the walls are constructed entirely of reinforced concrete. The RC is considerably more secure that is the BC because thicker concrete and larger diameter reinforcing is specified for the walls. Both types must have a door meeting Category 2 of SABS 949 “Strongroom and vault doors”. Given the “all eggs in one basket” nature of a strongroom, I strongly recommend that collectors pay the small extra premium for a category 2 ADM (Anti-disk cutter material) door.



EXISTING SAFES AND STRONGROOMS

As noted above, the new safe specification is more stringent than that which previously applied; the same applies to the door of a strongroom. The applicable earlier specification was published in Government Gazette No 15652 dated 22 April 1994. This called up a 2 mm body and 3 mm door for a safe, and 300 mm reinforced concrete body and 6 mm door for a strongroom.


New regulation 86(8) says: “An existing safe, strongroom, device, apparatus or instrument for the safe custody of firearms, which complies with the regulations under the previous Act, will be deemed to comply with the standards set out in SABS Standard 953-1 and 953-2 for all purposes of this Act, if the Registrar issues a certificate to this effect”. Quite how this will be applied remains to be seen, but it offers the opportunity of regularising the continued use of existing safes and strongrooms.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Interesting spec BigJohnx! 6mm door and 300mm wall seems a little strange!

 

[Yaseen]

Thank you so much Big johnx13

 

[CAustin]

I find it interesting that there is a standard!

 

[BC.Pat]

Interesting post Big johnx13, was looking for similar information a while ago. This very helpful.
Thank you.

Pat

 

[Ridgewalker]

I find it interesting that there is a standard!

Government job creating standards, the good, the bad and the irrelavent.

I’ll be the first to admit it’s nice to have something to start with though.

 

[BC.Pat]

I’ll be the first to admit it’s nice to have something to start with though.

x 2

 

[Gemsbok Gangsta]

6 inch concrete walls and lid. Northwest Safe built a custom door to my opening.

 

[Shootist43]

The 300 mm thick wall specs are based on using reinforced concrete, while on the other hand the 6mm thick door specs are based on using steel. These thicknesses providing they meet current specifications are not inconsistent with each other. If it were me I'd opt for a heavier i.e. thicker door say 10mm or better.

Yaseen is located in South Africa, I cannot determine what country's specifications BigJohnx13 is siting. I would advise yaseen contact a local architect for specifications and perhaps the name of contractors and or suppliers that can help him with this project.

 

[Yaseen]

Thank you shootist43. It's so difficult getting any form of help or direction for this walk in. I do understand that the ones in South Africa who do have one won't likely go posting pics of it on the net so everyone can see. All info I'm receiving from this forum helps. Thank you once again.

 

[Shootist43]

Architects and Engineers just design things to specification. They don't own them. My only point was that the specs quoted may not be applicable to South Africa. A South African A/E (Architect/Engineer) would be able to tell you what is required by law.

 

[Nyati]

I find it interesting that there is a standard!

Charlie, in Europe absolutely everything has to meet a standard.

In fact I am required by law to have a safe before a gun permit is issued to me, and there are different standards in safes for rifles and for handguns.

So far shotguns are excepted from this ruling.

 

[rinehart0050]

Maybe @Red Leg can chime in. I believe he built a walk in gun safe a few years ago and posted about the process.

 

[BigJohnx13]

Yaseen is located in South Africa, I cannot determine what country's specifications BigJohnx13 is siting. I would advise yaseen contact a local architect for specifications and perhaps the name of contractors and or suppliers that can help him with this project.

This is RSA standaards (SABS = South African Bureau of Standards) will try and forward my whole document to Yaseen

 

[Shootist43]

Thanks BigJohnx13 for clearing up that point. Hopefully with the help provided by your documentation Yaseen can go forward with his project.

 

[Yaseen]

Thank you Sir.

 

[BigJohnx13]

Yaseen PM your email adres I got some more specs that is a bit newer