Tips for Moving a Safe on Your Own

Moving a household safe is a tough task due to its weight and bulky size. A small, personal safe isn’t quite too hard. However, a larger safe such as a gun safe needs extra care and planning. The safest option is to use professional movers who have experience with packing, loading, and unloading safes. If you choose to do a DIY move, follow these tips to mitigate the risks of injury and damage to your safe and home.

Get Extra Help When Moving a Safe

We recommend this even if you are moving your safe to a new spot in your existing home. The danger is that your safe could tip over or fall on you. Whether you’re moving it across the room or to a new home, have others help you. It’s a good idea to have at least three strong friends available who are physically up to this heavy-duty task.

Be Overly Prepared

This is a must. Have a plan and the right equipment available. Follow these steps:

1. Pre-plan your route through the house and measure any doorways or tight spots so you’ll know whether you can actually transport the safe through narrow spaces.
2. Ensure any staircases that might be used are sturdy enough to hold the weight of the safe.
3. Empty out your safe to make it lighter and protect its valuable contents from being damaged during the move.
4. Borrow or rent a heavy-duty appliance dolly for moving your gun safe, along with supporting straps or ropes and thick moving blankets.
5. Wear comfortable, close-toed shoes with good soles for better traction to reduce the chance of you slipping while you move the safe, and to protect your feet.
6. Protect your hands with high-quality work gloves that will give you a good grip on the safe and moving equipment.
7. If you’re moving the safe to another house or business, make sure the vehicle you use is large enough and capable of carrying the weight of your safe.
8. Once you are ready to start moving a safe, make sure it’s closed and locked. Wrap it in moving blankets to help protect against damage. You’ll want to tape the blankets in place to prevent them from falling off or tripping you.

When you and your help are ready, slowly and carefully tilt the safe and slip the dolly underneath. Completely secure the safe to the dolly with the straps or ropes before moving along your pre-planned path. If you’re loading the safe onto the back of a moving truck, use a loading ramp to roll the dolly up.

Once the safe is in the truck, position it against a side and securely strap it so it doesn’t move during the ride. Whether your move is within your home or another location, reverse your steps to safely unload your safe and move it into its new space.

Skip the Alternative Options

You may have read online about people using golf balls or PVC pipes when moving a safe. Do those options really work? No. While your safe will roll pretty easily on a bed of golf balls, they can damage your floors. Your safe puts too much pressure on these small, focused areas, and that can push them down into your flooring, leaving dents, scratches, and even breaking the tile.

Using PVC pipes will spread out the weight across a larger area. Still, you risk losing control of the safe and damaging your home, or even injuring yourself.

But please remember that the safest way to move your safe is to use professionals. Alliance Relocation Services recommends hiring a professional. Give us a call for a free estimate. Save your safe, your home, and your physical health.