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  • oldguy

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    Looking at gun safes can anyone advise as to how can I determine max weight that a slab foundation can withstand,perhaps a stupid question if so just say until she cracks.;)
    Target Sports
     

    Big country

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    I wouldn't think that the slab in a house would have any issues with any commercial safe unless it's a second story slab and even then I doubt it would crack it. What kind of weight are we talking 900, 1,000 LBS?
     

    oldguy

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    Single family residence, one story,looking at around 800 lbs, I've had people tell me over years that slabs need reinforcement for fireplace additions (I know that could be much more weight) and or very heavy items placed with in a small area on slab. Truthful 800 lbs in24inchx36inch space seems like a large amount to me perhaps I'm overly concerned.:confused:
     

    Acetone

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    I am new to Texas, so I am not completely familiar with residential building practices around here. If you are in/around the Houston area, chances are you house is built on expansive clay (what Houstonians call Gumbo.) This would mean that your house is probably not a slab on grade, but rather a suspended slab on gradebeams. If this is the case, you will probably be fine as long as you aren't putting the safe in the middle of the slab. It should be placed near one of the grade beams. I do know that this expansive clay (gumbo) is very prevalent in east Texas/Gulf Coast. If your house is a true slab on grade, you shouldn't worry about your safe cracking the slab.

     

    oldguy

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    I'm in the Austin area, will check with some local builders to get their take
    also thinking about contacting some safe manufactures.
     

    TexasRedneck

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    It won't even notice 800 lbs. When you break it out, it's less than one psi. A 200 lb man with a size 10 foot puts more of a load on a floor than that......think about the load of someone sitting on a four-legged chair! My safe is 1800 lbs, and it isn't even a challenge for a normal slab foundation.
     

    TXchoctaw

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    Mar 14, 2009
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    Euless
    It won't even notice 800 lbs. When you break it out, it's less than one psi. A 200 lb man with a size 10 foot puts more of a load on a floor than that......think about the load of someone sitting on a four-legged chair! My safe is 1800 lbs, and it isn't even a challenge for a normal slab foundation.

    I agree completely...Don't even waste your time worrying about it........you'll be SAFE. LOL
     

    oldguy

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    It won't even notice 800 lbs. When you break it out, it's less than one psi. A 200 lb man with a size 10 foot puts more of a load on a floor than that......think about the load of someone sitting on a four-legged chair! My safe is 1800 lbs, and it isn't even a challenge for a normal slab foundation.

    Good info, wow 1800, not a small safe. What size gorilla did it take to set in house.?
     

    ZX9RCAM

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    Just hire you a safe mover, my 800# safe was installed by one person with the right equipment & he could have taken it upstairs by himself as well....
     

    Acetone

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    It won't even notice 800 lbs. When you break it out, it's less than one psi. A 200 lb man with a size 10 foot puts more of a load on a floor than that......think about the load of someone sitting on a four-legged chair! My safe is 1800 lbs, and it isn't even a challenge for a normal slab foundation.

    It is less than one psi of compressive stress. A slab would not fail in compression, but rather one-way or two-way shear. Just so you are aware.
     

    navyguy

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    The only time a 800 lb~ safe will cause a foundation issue is if there is already foundation problems, and you happen to place it at a point where it is weighing against an existing crack. But even at that, it's still probably no big deal.

    Up stairs is a different story. For example if you have a large upstairs room, and you place it smack in the middle of the room, then you invite 4 or 5 of your 200 lb+ buddies to come over and dance around it once a week, eventually you could see some sagging. But since most people will place it near a wall or corner, there should be enough support from the load bearing walls to handle such weight. The other issue I've hear people worry about with upstairs safes is fire. Theory being if a fire starts, and burns the floor joists, the safe will fall to the first floor damaging things inside. But meh... I think that's more internet lore than anything.
     

    thorkyl

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    Oct 13, 2008
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    Lets do some math...

    a safe that weighs 1,000 pounds
    a safe that is 2.5 foot by 3.5 foot
    2.5x3.5=8.5 SF = 1260 SQ Inches
    1,000 / 105 = .79 pounds per square inch

    Now lets say you have a size 12 foot and weigh 200 pounds
    lest say your foot is 3 inches wide
    3x12=36
    200/36=5.555 pounds per square inch

    Now for the extreme
    Your kitchen chair is 4 legs of 1.5 SQ inches each
    chair weighs 5 pounds
    1.5 x 4 = 6
    205 pounds / 6 = 34.666 pounds per square inch

    You will have no issue with a safe on a slab as your safe is only .79 PSI
    Your dog puts more pressure on the slab than the safe
     

    Acetone

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    Aug 24, 2009
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    El Paso
    Lets do some math...

    a safe that weighs 1,000 pounds
    a safe that is 2.5 foot by 3.5 foot
    2.5x3.5=8.5 SF
    8.5x12=105 square inches
    1,000 / 105 = 9.523 pounds per square inch

    Now lets say you have a size 12 foot and weigh 200 pounds
    lest say your foot is 3 inches wide
    3x12=36
    200/36=5.555 pounds per square inch

    Now for the extreme
    Your kitchen chair is 4 legs of 1.5 SQ inches each
    chair weighs 5 pounds
    1.5 x 4 = 6
    205 pounds / 6 = 34.666 pounds per square inch

    You will have no issue with a safe on a slab as your safe is only 9.523 PSI

    There's a mistake in there. To convert SF to SI you need to multiply by 144. Also, one last time, I am going to point out that the mode of failure of a slab would not be compression, which is the stress that you are calculating, but more likely shear.
     
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