NSW H Rated Pistol Safe Installation Floorboards

Questions about New South Wales gun and ammunition laws. NSW Firearms Act 1996.

NSW H Rated Pistol Safe Installation Floorboards

Post by rjayz » 26 Nov 2022, 4:45 pm

I wanted to share my recent experience with the installation of a H pistol rated safe into hardwood floorboards and also the NSW compliance check that was carried out shortly after.
Introduction
Many H rated safes that I found only had 2 holes on the bottom, and 2 holes at the rear. With these sorts of safes, getting the safe placement can be hard enough, but then to get structural frames to line up in the wall for the rear bolts is a pretty difficult task.
I did some more research and bought the Secuguard SHS2K. This safe has 4 holes in the base, and 4 holes at the rear. In my case, I used the 4 holes in the base.
I applied some gaffa tape over the holes in the rear, to keep moisture out.
If you have a void space that you can access under your house, it is ideal to install cross-bars so that your coach bolts have something to go into, as it’s likely that the floor joists/support beams are not going to line up with the holes of your safe.

1) If your wall has skirting of any kind remove it along the wall of which you are going to place your safe. A chisel & hammer, and crow bar will do the trick. If the safe is going in a corner, measure the length of the safe and then cut the skirting to that length so you can fit the left over piece back against the wall later.
IMG20220715181949.jpg
IMG20220715181949.jpg (189.43 KiB) Viewed 3828 times


2) Now that the skirting has been removed, you can position your safe flush against the wall and mark out the 4 bottom holes.


3) Move the safe away and use a 3 or 4mm drill bit to make your holes.
IMG20220709120216.jpg
IMG20220709120216.jpg (363.9 KiB) Viewed 3828 times


4) Go under the house to locate your floorboard drill holes. Measure the distance between the floor joists, and cut 2 structural timber pieces to that length.

5) Since my safe is going against the wall, (with brick lining under the house) it was not possible to screw the rear end of the cross-bars to the floor joist, so I first applied some Liquid Nails (timber glue) or equivalent to the rear of the cross-bars.

6) Place your 1st timber piece under the first rear and front drill holes. Since the Liquid Nails needs time to set, wedge some timber underneath to stop it from falling out of place.
IMG20220709141651.jpg
IMG20220709141651.jpg (207.56 KiB) Viewed 3828 times


7) Pre-drill 2 holes in the joist. Keep in mind that this wood is extremely hard so pre-drill using a drill bit that is the same width as the screw and no less, to avoid getting your screw stuck! I used 75mm screws. Use a hand held screw driver because it’s going to be a tight fit!
IMG20220715190327.jpg
IMG20220715190327.jpg (303.41 KiB) Viewed 3828 times


8) Repeat steps 6 and 7 for your second cross bar. Wait a day or 2 for the timber glue to set.
IMG20220715192949.jpg
IMG20220715192949.jpg (330.39 KiB) Viewed 3828 times



9) Go over your 4 floorboard holes with a 6mm drill bit. A depth of 50mm should be enough to go through the floorboard, and slightly into the new cross-bars.

10) Put your safe back in place and use a compliant coach screw (I used M8X75mm) and washers to secure your safe using a spanner or ratchet. Again, this will be a super tight fit and won’t go in like butter so take your time. Your safe should now be rock solid.
IMG20220716124514.jpg
IMG20220716124514.jpg (169.6 KiB) Viewed 3828 times


11) Take your left over piece of skirting and put back on the wall. If the skirting was originally attached using nails, remove or cut/file them down first. I used liquid nails to reattach to the wall, and used a white filler to bring to a clean finish.
IMG20220716132133.jpg
IMG20220716132133.jpg (188.53 KiB) Viewed 3828 times

IMG20221126170614.jpg
IMG20221126170614.jpg (176.89 KiB) Viewed 3828 times


Before you apply for your PTA, for the safe inspection, you must contact your local police station and ask to speak to a licensing officer. You can organise a suitable date and time. You may need to wait at least a couple of weeks to get something booked in.
I’ve read accounts of the officers asking to see the packaging of the screws to check they are compliant, or giving the safe a bit of a wiggle to see if it moves.
In my case, it was a visual inspection only. The officers looked inside the safe to see that it was bolted down, and were in and out of the house in a matter of probably 2 minutes.
This was my experience, I don’t know if this is typical.
From here, the police will issue you an event number which you will need to submit when you apply for your PTA.
Hope this has helped!
rjayz
Recruit
Recruit
 
Posts: 1
New South Wales

Back to top
 
Return to New South Wales gun laws