Bolting a safe to laminate flooring

[Mister.Meow]

I'm hoping somebody else has done this and can shed a little light on it. I'm going to be putting down laminate flooring throughout my house. I want to bolt down my safe. Now since this floor is floating and you must leave a 1/4" gap around the perimeter, I'm curious how bolting something down that will hold the floor in place will work. I'm not worried about scratching the laminate or moving it later and having the fix the floor. If I use a 1/2 inch bolt do I drill a 1" hole through the laminate? Do I just drill a 1/2" hole and be done with it? Hopefully, some of you smart fellers will pipe up and let me know what you did and what you'd do differently next time.

THANKS!!!

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Good question...I bet it won't matter. I'm not sure in which direction a laminate floor expands. A hardwood floor will expand and contract perpendicular to the direction of the grain. But I'm not sure about a laminate...Even if it gets anchored at one point, the rest of the floor will still expand and contract. But I'll defer to somebody that knows more about it.

 

[Harleyrider_50]

Crawlspace or basement underneath?.......if basement......underside x'posed? (floorjoist area.....) either case.......I'd backup with some steel plate......draw the nuts/washers down tight ta that. Thief be able ta pull them things right thru the floor if ya don't .....

 

[VUPDblue]

You don't need a 1" hole for a 1/2" bolt. You want to drill the hole just a smidge bigger than the size of the bolt you are using. As someone mentioned above, if your sub-floor is wood, you will want a piece of steel plate on the underside to keep the bolts from being able to be ripped out of the floor. If the sub-floor is concrete, use good expanding concrete anchors along with concrete adhesive inside the holes. The laminate floor won't be an issue as far as not being able to move where the safe is bolted to it. If it makes you feel better, install the safe first and then install the flooring around it and finish with trim around the safe.

 

[Mister.Meow]

Thanks for the quick replies! I guess the subfloor type would be good to know - it's wood with a crawl space below. A steel plate is definitely in the plan (great idea, btw!!). However, I'm still not convinced on the laminate concern. I have thought of placing the safe on separate flooring from the laminate but I'm not exactly sure where it's going to end up. A little back history - just bought this house and have completely gutted it and am in the process of rehabbing it. I have no clue where the furniture is going to end up. This makes any pre-planning for the safe's location impossible. I'm doing the work myself and I don't want to waste my money (and time) putting down a laminate floor only to have it buckle in the spring. I'd really like to hear from people who have done this to hear what did or didn't work for them. I do appreciate the opinions and suggestions!

 

[illini40]

I don't think this is exactly what you are concerned about, but I will toss in my two cents for something to think about as I just laid a bunch of Pergo XP Laminate flooring. Everything that I have been told cautions you to never nail/screw/attach/etc anything into laminate that would attach the "floating floor" to the subfloor that in theory would not allow the floor to float and/or expand. Based on how laminate flooring works, I am somewhat of a believer in this.

However, I did screw some brackets for closet doors into the laminate flooring. So far, no issues. But, this were smaller and less restrictive than a gun case.

You are probably good to go, but just wanted to toss this out.

 

[CitiusFortius]

However, I did screw some brackets for closet doors into the laminate flooring. So far, no issues. But, this were smaller and less restrictive than a gun case.

You are probably good to go, but just wanted to toss this out.

i've put laminate in three rooms in my house. I say don't worry about it. The first room I did was a three season porch (no heat or ac) and I put the edges flush to the wall, 3 years later it looks fine.

The other two rooms I did "proper" - but I cant tell the difference. Good luck.

 

[VUPDblue]

If you're worried about the laminate and you are totally against pre-planning the safe's location, I don't really have any options for you. One thing you could do is not "attach" the laminate under the safe to the rest of the laminate. ie: cut off the "lock" strips of the pieces under the safe so that they are not connected to the surrounding pieces of laminate, that would eliminate the problem for the floor that's not directly under the safe.

 

[Trigger Time]

If you're worried about the laminate and you are totally against pre-planning the safe's location, I don't really have any options for you. One thing you could do is not "attach" the laminate under the safe to the rest of the laminate. ie: cut off the "lock" strips of the pieces under the safe so that they are not connected to the surrounding pieces of laminate, that would eliminate the problem for the floor that's not directly under the safe.

^^
this is a good answer. It will work if you decide to move the safe and it will also work if you don't move it. Either way follow the advice of using the steel plate under the crawl space to bolt the safe down to. Save some extra pieces of the flooring to replace the ones under the safe if you ever move or want to change the safes location. If you have good flooring then the warping or buckling issue shouldn't present itself.

 

[patience0830]

Pick a permanent location for the safe. Install your metal underparts. Add a piece of 3/4" cabinet grade plywood under the safe as big as the base of the safe. Then trim around it as an extension of the baseboards after you install the laminate around it.

You really aren't gonna want to go through bolting it down a second time, are you? Fighting the spiders and snakes in the crawlspace? Naaaah. Make a decision and sick with it. You'll thank me later.

 

[bos-94-003]

The weight of the safe would have the same effect as bolts in regards due pinning the floor down. As long as the majority of the laminate perimeter is not secured and the proper gap is left under the baseboard for expansion you will be fine. Climate controlled rooms with laminate have little to no expansion anyways.

 

[rvb]

how heavy is the safe? 1/4-1/2 ton isn't hard to achieve, especially after loading it down. In that case, gaps won't matter as that floor isn't "floating" anywhere w/ that weight on it... it'll expand the other direction.

my 2c.

-rvb

 

[Mr. Habib]

Have you considered bolting it to a wall and not to the floor?

 

[CindyE]

ours is on laminate, but we weren't that concerned, as it's inside a closet. It's bolted to a stud in the wall and also thru the floor into the crawlspace. haven't had any issues.

 

[Kagnew]

Gorilla Glue

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I would drill the hole in the laminate itself to readily clear 1/2 flat washers, and stack those washers up between the underlayment and the safe just thick enough that the safe rests on the washers and the laminate can float freely under it. Definitely the steel plates, and maybe reinforce the joists with some lumber between the ground and the joists. Remember, you're just clearing the laminate; not providing a pry gap.

 

[6mm Shoot]

Laminate flooring is tough. In our kitchen we have it and the stove and refrigerator have had no effect on it. In the bedroom there is a water bed that has to weigh more than my gun safe and has had no effect on the floor. In the living room I have a couch that is 7' and is made out of redwood. It had to go 300 Lbs then you add my weight and one of the dogs and you are talking around 600 pounds and we have had no problems with the floor. Also in the living room is a bunch of book cases full of books and they set against the wall and have caused no problems for the floor.

Now my gun safe is in the closet and it took four of us to get it in the house with out the door on it. I set it in the closet on a peace of plywood that was screwed down to the sub floor. It runs from wall to wall. I installed walls on each side of the safe and two layers of dry wall to add to the fire rating. It also pens the safe in place. In the closet we installed carpet. That is what the wife wanted, it is warm to her feet. We have runners all through the house for that reason and because the dogs slip on the laminate floor.

Good luck with what ever you decide. I think it is a non problem. Set the safe on top of the floor and for get about it.

 

[Jeepster]

For what it's worth, my safe weighs 680 lbs empty. I too was very Leary about bolting it through the laminate, but figured with that kind of weight the flooring wouldn't float anyway. No issues at all after 3 years and yes it is securely bolted through the floor and into the crawl space. I was worried about the humidity below but it has not been a concern.

 

[CathyInBlue]

Screw the horizontal steel plate bolted to the underside of the subfloor. That's still just bolting to the subfloor.

Use a vertical steel plate, weld a couple of parallel pieces of 1/2" all thread off the top edge, drill holes through the floor right next to a floor joist for those pieces of all-thread, place and bolt the plate against that joist. NOW I would consider the safe bolted to the floor.

I would still elongate the holes in the laminate flooring in the expected direction of expansion/contraction, though. But, not the subfloor. Seal the hole around the all-tread with spray foam or similar.

If your safe is on wheels, it should be pretty simple to allow the flooring to expand and contract between it and the joist without binding.

I'm looking to gut and rehab a place myself as well. [STRIKE]Where are you located? Maybe we can labour-share.[/STRIKE] Oh. Scottsburg. Nevermind.

I'm contemplating taking some floor joist space, lining it with 1/4" plate welded up, and cutting a concealed access hatch from above. Why bolt a safe on top of a floor, when you can bolt a safe into a floor?

 

[patience0830]

Screw the horizontal steel plate bolted to the underside of the subfloor. That's still just bolting to the subfloor.

Use a vertical steel plate, weld a couple of parallel pieces of 1/2" all thread off the top edge, drip holes through the floor right next to a floor joist for those pieces of all-thread, place and bolt the plate against that joist. NOW I would consider the safe bolted to the floor.

I would still elongate the holes in the laminate flooring in the expected direction of expansion/contraction, though. But, not the subfloor. Seal the hole around the all-tread

If your safe is on wheels, it should be pretty simple to allow the flooring to expand and contract between it and the joist without binding.

I'm looking to gut and rehab a place myself as well. [STRIKE]Where are you located? Maybe we can labour-share.[/STRIKE] Oh. Scottsburg. Nevermind.

I'm contemplating taking some floor joist space, lining it with 1/4" plate welded up, and cutting a concealed access hatch from above. Why bolt a safe on top of a floor, when you can bolt a safeinto a floor?

CiB, CIA/NSA Operator, covert, one ea, olive drab.