Looking for any practical experience on the subject. Getting ready to move and the room I'd prefer to place the safe has LVP. (over a slab)
Safe is about 900 pounds empty and is on laminate at the current home.(over a normal crawl space with wood decking) I've not really noticed any issues with the laminate. There is one slightly raised seam (along to "other axis") but even that is about six foot from the safe. Figure it is more of an installation or other home structure related issue.
Wife is concerned that the safe would potentially compress or cause a seam issue where the LVP joins. I can't really imagine an issue as in my mind the safe is less pounds per square inch than a well stocked fridge since the fridge sits on a limited number of rollers.
Any practical experience with this?
Thanks

All I can suggest is hire a professional safe mover.

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All I can suggest is hire a professional safe mover.

This, for sure.
Twice my 40" Browning was moved by regular movers who said they could move it. Results were had to replace large butt size drywall where he braced his ass. Next time the paint was deep scratched all over.

If it’s over slab I would not worry about the flooring. If you wanted to be super safe you could put a sheet of plywood under it to protect the flooring and spread the load. Planning on anchoring to the slab?

Yes, safe mover will be involved on both ends. Currently sits on a piece of cardboard which made it a lot easier to slide into its current space without damaging the floor.
That cardboard doesn't even appear to have the corrugation compressed so that probably answers some of the concerns.

I would keep the safe off the slab with either hockey pucks or 4 x 4. Slab will conduct the cooler temperature to the metallic safe. 4 x 4 allows ammo storage under the safe and prevents a flooded safe in the event the hot water heater goes.

The safe won't harm the floor. Just a bit of math; assuming the safe is 30 inches deep by 40 inches wide, you get 1440 square inches of contact with the floor. Assuming 1000 lbs. loaded, you get 1.44 lb./sq. inch.

ETA, I such at math, which is why I am a lawyer, and not an engineer... So, really, it works out to be 1200 square inches. 1000 lbs. spread over 1200 square inches, equals .83 lbs. per sq, inch.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ArtieS,

My safes are on LVP which is glued to the slab and no problems at all. Unlike setting them directly on the concrete slab, the vinyl flooring will be a vapor barrier blocking any moisture that could come up through the concrete and rusting the bottom of the safe.
The "only" issue I could think of is if your LVP is floating (not glued), the safe could possibly prevent the floor from being able to expand and contract freely. In reality I've seldom seen this occur and then only with pretty thin LVP. If it did, it'd be something like a joint slightly opening up or lifting near the safe.

You could do what I did… measure out the safe exactly where it will sit. Cut out flooring to expose slab. Take a stall mat from Tractor Supply and cut to fit. Have safe placed on top of stall mat. Provides a barrier between the slab and the safe to keep the safe at closer to room temps and not the slab temps. Looks pretty nice as well.

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Originally posted by ArtieS:
The safe won't harm the floor. Just a bit of math; assuming the safe is 30 inches deep by 40 inches wide, you get 1440 square inches of contact with the floor. Assuming 1000 lbs. loaded, you get 1.44 lb./sq. inch.

Now calculate the pressure the wheels, rollers, or whatever is going to be used to move the safe into position are going to put on the floor.

Not all LVP is created equal. Some of it is softer and not dent resistant. I’d look up the specs of the LVP you have first or call the manufacturer and ask them.

I’ve put thousands of safes on safes on LVP in homes without any issue. In the commercial side I’ve also put countless safes that weigh far more than gun safes on it. In those scenarios it’s not uncommon for us to plate the floors to roll the equipment across.

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Originally posted by a1abdj:
I’ve put thousands of safes on safes on LVP in homes without any issue. In the commercial side I’ve also put countless safes that weigh far more than gun safes on it. In those scenarios it’s not uncommon for us to plate the floors to roll the equipment across.

Thanks for weighing in a1abdj. Your experience level truly puts my mind at ease.

I fully defer to the people with more experience in safes - and I’m actually curious about the best way to do it - but we have to put sliders/etc under filing cabinets to prevent rust at work. (We need the air gap between the tile and the metal.)

Is that an issue with safes?

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we have to put sliders/etc under filing cabinets to prevent rust at work. (We need the air gap between the tile and the metal.)

Is that an issue with safes?

It could be. That would depend on how much moisture you're dealing with and who makes the safe. Some manufacturers leave the bottoms of their safes as raw steel, while others stop and primer, and others are completely painted.

I typically suggest using felt pads for a two other primary reasons. The first being that the safe will usually have to me moved slightly into or out of its installed position. Pads allow you to slide it on the floor without risk of scratching the floor. The second is that not all floors are flat, and neither are safe bottoms. You run the risk of having indentations in the floor from conflicting surfaces. The felt pads eliminate that risk.

You can pick these up at Walmart or just about any hardware store:

I have a 800 pound safe on lvp that’s on a slab. No issues. When the company delivered it, they used 4 three foot nylon sticks to slide the safe on, from the garage door thru the living room, MBR then master bath to the closet. All of it is lvp.

They used the sticks like sled runners, slide it forward, move two sticks, slide, repeat. I didn’t put anything down under the safe to protect the flooring-like hockey pucks or stall mat.

When I move, I’ll call them back out to remove it and load it in a truck.

I slid my safe on a moving blanket . It's sitting on LVP on a slab and there are no issues with rust, humidity , or anything else .

I prefer mine slightly elevated. I have mine setting on 8 hockey pucks on a cement slab. Gets a bit of air circulation underneath in this humid climate.