The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Hi all,

So I live in a typical new build home with plasterboard over external brickwork with wooden studs. I have had some advice on installing a safe in my home for my rifles and shotguns. My plan is to install in my main bedroom cupboard with the external brickwork side. The advice I've been given already is to drill through the plasterboard and install the heavy masonry bolts right through to the external brickwork. Will this be enough? I've read elsewhere online that I may need to fill the cavity space between the plasterboard and external wall to prevent a crowbar from being able to get behind the safe for prying off the wall?

TIA

Laz

Most people cut the plaster board and bolt direct to the blockwork.

I have the same setup in my place. I used long rawl bolts and epoxy, and so far so good. I had to remove a section of skirting board in order to present a smooth surface for the cabinets (3) to mount to.

You could also use 8mm threaded rods, secured with epoxy.

I cut the plasterboard around the safe so I could mount it flush on the brickwork.

Only takes 10 minutes and is more secure. If you move house itll only take a plasterer an hour or so to put it right.

I would suggest something like a resin fixing as linked

https://www.screwfix.com/c/screws-nails ... /cat840022

As for skirting boards I made plinths with 4x2 and chipboard to lift the cabinets over the skirting board and flat to the wall

Alan

Thanks for the answers so far guys.

I considered cutting a whole for the safe and then recessing it so it's contacting the brickwork but I thought it was really invisve but if it's easily patched up then that may be my best bet. Shall I just seal the edges with silicon where the safe meets with the plasterboard?

Les wrote:I have the same setup in my place. I used long rawl bolts and epoxy, and so far so good. I had to remove a section of skirting board in order to present a smooth surface for the cabinets (3) to mount to.

You could also use 8mm threaded rods, secured with epoxy.

Excuse my ignorance but where would the epoxy sit?

lazareth1 wrote:

Les wrote:I have the same setup in my place. I used long rawl bolts and epoxy, and so far so good. I had to remove a section of skirting board in order to present a smooth surface for the cabinets (3) to mount to.

You could also use 8mm threaded rods, secured with epoxy.

Excuse my ignorance but where would the epoxy sit?

Drill hole in wall for threaded bar, fill with chemical anchor resin (epoxy) then shove threaded bar in and twist to spread resin into all nooks and crannies.
Leave to set, job done.

if you want to seal the plasterboard to the safe, decorators caulking is probably better than silicone as you can paint over it. silicone won't take paint.

and yeah, as gazza says, the epoxy resin goes in the hole. make sure you buy the size of tube that fits in mastic guns, don't get the tubes that need their own size gun.

added bonus is, if you ever want to remove them, just lock two nuts together on the studding and wind it out the epoxy and then polyfilla the hole, no anchor to try to wriggle out.

lazareth1 wrote:The advice I've been given already is to drill through the plasterboard and install the heavy masonry bolts right through to the external brickwork. Will this be enough? I've read elsewhere online that I may need to fill the cavity space between the plasterboard and external wall to prevent a crowbar from being able to get behind the safe for prying off the wall?

I think your getting confused about the small cavity behind the platerboard (dob n dab) and the cavity between the outer brickwork and the inner blockwork wall. You don't want to be drilling through the blockwork and then through the cavity into the outer brick skin as you will be bridging the cavity, which is not a good idea.

I've just moved house into an almost new build, and as others have said, use resin anchors through the plasterboard and into the inner block wall skin....much better way to do it.
I'm not going to remove the skirting board this time (did that in my previous 60's build house) and not doing that again. I've bought some MDF panels same thickness as the skirting to act as spacers behind the cabinets instead.