my profile |
register |
faq |
search upload photo | donate | calendar |
06-15-2019, 09:23 PM | #1 |
Patron
LugerForum Patron Join Date: May 2018
Location: wyoming
Posts: 277
Thanks: 711
Thanked 330 Times in 133 Posts
|
gun room
I have been finishing out my basement all winter and have made accommodations for a nice sized gun. Has anyone had any experience with murphy doors? I want the room to be hidden. I made the room so as to have a real high fire rating but to guard against theft my thinking is that if a thief doesn't know the room exists my things will be that much more secure. Any comments or suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks Jim |
06-15-2019, 11:20 PM | #2 |
Lifer X5
Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: texas
Posts: 708
Thanks: 87
Thanked 522 Times in 201 Posts
|
just how big a gun is it ?
|
06-16-2019, 07:30 AM | #3 |
Always A
Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Colorado
Posts: 2,417
Thanks: 226
Thanked 2,603 Times in 933 Posts
|
I like those bookcases you see in the movies, you tilt one book "A Polish-English Dictionary" would be a good choice, and the whole bookcase swings open to reveal a hidden room. You could probably pick up the dictionary real cheap.
Norm |
06-16-2019, 08:24 AM | #4 |
Moderator
2010 LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Santa Teresa New Mexico just outside of the West Texas town of El Paso
Posts: 7,012
Thanks: 1,088
Thanked 5,151 Times in 1,696 Posts
|
A swinging bookcase is a neat solution. The only problem is the weight. You need a really hefty back frame and hinge set-up. Otherwise, you have to add a roller to the bottom to help carry the weight and that leaves a track on the floor. A hidden cable (or steel rod) and turnbuckle from the top hinge to the bottom outside corner helps with carrying the weight and can be adjusted over time.
Ron
__________________
If it's made after 1918...it's a reproduction |
The following member says Thank You to Ron Wood for your post: |
06-16-2019, 11:12 AM | #5 |
Patron
LugerForum Patron Join Date: May 2018
Location: wyoming
Posts: 277
Thanks: 711
Thanked 330 Times in 133 Posts
|
They make these hideaway doors from several manufacturers and they come assembled or put together yourself. Most seem to be able to hold a reasonable amount of weight. I have just never seen one in person. Wondering if they are worth it or if it is better to go another way like with a heavier security door? A safe door is not an option, and I will have my gun safe in the room when finished.
Jim |
06-16-2019, 01:07 PM | #6 | |
User
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: near Charlotte NC
Posts: 4,681
Thanks: 1,441
Thanked 4,350 Times in 2,040 Posts
|
Quote:
IMO use a steel door, one that opens into the room(may not meet code, so put it in yourself). Good locks, and a security system on top of that. If you can panel over the door, to hide it great- but a security/alarm system is a requirement for sure. But even more important, don't talk about it.
__________________
03man(Don Voigt); Luger student and collector. Looking for DWM side plate: 69 ; Dreyse 1907 pistol K.S. Gendarmerie |
|
The following member says Thank You to DonVoigt for your post: |
06-16-2019, 02:53 PM | #7 | |
User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 1,149
Thanks: 159
Thanked 663 Times in 318 Posts
|
Quote:
|
|
The following member says Thank You to Olle for your post: |
06-16-2019, 04:24 PM | #8 |
User
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 464
Thanks: 36
Thanked 113 Times in 60 Posts
|
It really depends on the layout of your home. A smart person will know that the basement of your house usually follows the layout of the upstairs of your house. So having a "hidden" room is difficult to fool the keen observer.
Having said that, I have seen several that are really good. One I've seen had a "hidden room" under the garage. Normally, you wouldn't have a basement under the garage, so it was perfect for "concealment". He had a bar in his basement, and the back bar had an automated sliding doors to it, to reveal a bank type vault door, the when opened, would lead to his gun room. The doors were controlled with a simple garage type remote. Very cool, and very concealed, but also a lot of work, money, and preparations to do it. Another one I've seen has a "hidden room" under the porch. Again, you wouldn't think there would be a basement under the porch, so it it's easily concealed. He concealed it by having a work shop in his basement, and had large peg board with hanging tools on it. If you turn one of the pegs, the peg board swings open, revealing the vault door, and inside is the gun room. Very simple, and not easily seen to the casual observer. Both really good designs. All depends on your home, and how much money/time you want to spend on it? Think outside the box! Matt |
The following member says Thank You to MP38 for your post: |
06-16-2019, 09:08 PM | #9 |
Super Moderator
Eternal Lifer LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: North of Spokane, WA
Posts: 15,926
Thanks: 2,014
Thanked 4,523 Times in 2,089 Posts
|
Depends on where you live - many places only half half basements
But If your gun room takes up the entire basement, then hide the door to the basement, if say half the basement, you could hide the door - remember that the strength of a vault is only as strong as its walls. |
The following member says Thank You to Edward Tinker for your post: |
06-19-2019, 04:45 PM | #10 |
Twice a Lifer
Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Atop the highest hill in Schuyler County NY
Posts: 3,331
Thanks: 7,229
Thanked 2,549 Times in 1,356 Posts
|
"Gas springs" such as seen on automobile hatchbacks and hoods might come in handy. Something off the shelf might work, but it's better to get help from the supplier to engineer its application, which will result in really slick operation. You'll have to submit lots of pertinent dimensions, weights, and calculated centers of gravity, but it's worth the trouble. I installed some on a large contact exposure table at Cornell that had two lids. The first lid was a steel-framed piece of glass that held the negative and paper in position. The second lid contained a bank of fluorescent bulbs of the proper color temperature, positioned as tightly together as possible. After I had moved their ballasts into an box I made and installed under the table, the sheet metal box/lid was still quite heavy. Bottom line, the lids stayed closed when shut, and could be raised to stay in any position with a little finger. The darkroom folks loved it, and I'll admit the results even impressed me!
__________________
"... Liberty is the seed and soil, the air and light, the dew and rain of progress, love and joy."-- Robert Greene Ingersoll 1894 |
The following member says Thank You to ithacaartist for your post: |
06-19-2019, 06:03 PM | #11 |
User
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 544
Thanks: 194
Thanked 489 Times in 251 Posts
|
I presently store my modest pistol collection in a wooden vault (bookcase). It is probably a character flaw but I have imagined an upgrade to the "gun room" security approach shown in this video when/if it becomes available. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS2PtmM9mwU While presently unsafe/illegal, to say nothing of the hazard posed to family pets, the approach demonstrated in the video would probably be quite effective. As well as obviate the need for a Polish-English dictionary.
Last edited by 4 Scale; 06-19-2019 at 07:04 PM. |
06-19-2019, 06:23 PM | #12 |
User
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: near Charlotte NC
Posts: 4,681
Thanks: 1,441
Thanked 4,350 Times in 2,040 Posts
|
I'm not sure what those Utube videos have to do with a bookcase?
__________________
03man(Don Voigt); Luger student and collector. Looking for DWM side plate: 69 ; Dreyse 1907 pistol K.S. Gendarmerie |
06-19-2019, 07:25 PM | #13 |
User
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 544
Thanks: 194
Thanked 489 Times in 251 Posts
|
I mentioned my wooden gun vault (actually a cupboard in a bookcase) to illustrate how I am in need of a more secure system. It would be nice to have something even better than metal cabinets or hidden rooms.
|
06-20-2019, 01:18 AM | #14 |
Moderator
2010 LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Santa Teresa New Mexico just outside of the West Texas town of El Paso
Posts: 7,012
Thanks: 1,088
Thanked 5,151 Times in 1,696 Posts
|
I have been fortunate enough to have my last two homes built for me. In each I had a reinforced concrete vault constructed and the house built around it. The first vault had a door salvaged from a jewelry store in Odessa, TX. That was a chore hauling that heavy son-of-a-gun back to El Paso and setting it up. My current vault has a door I purchased from the Ft. Knox Safe Co. It is insulated and fire-rated with a 1-inch thick steel door front, twenty-four 1 3/8” stainless locking bolts with 4 additional bolts of the same dimension at the corners and a Sargent & Greenleaf combination lock. The total cost was roughly the same as three years of insurance premiums would have cost. Fourteen years later it makes it a pretty good investment.
Ron
__________________
If it's made after 1918...it's a reproduction |
The following 5 members says Thank You to Ron Wood for your post: |
06-20-2019, 07:22 AM | #15 |
User
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Florida/Penna
Posts: 891
Thanks: 856
Thanked 511 Times in 274 Posts
|
The use of a "water tight door" as used on ships might be part of the answer.
|
06-20-2019, 08:17 AM | #16 |
User
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 425
Thanks: 217
Thanked 408 Times in 149 Posts
|
Very nice set up there Mr Wood!!! John
|
06-20-2019, 02:34 PM | #17 | |
User
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: near Charlotte NC
Posts: 4,681
Thanks: 1,441
Thanked 4,350 Times in 2,040 Posts
|
Quote:
Now just hang a large picture over it.
__________________
03man(Don Voigt); Luger student and collector. Looking for DWM side plate: 69 ; Dreyse 1907 pistol K.S. Gendarmerie |
|
06-20-2019, 04:48 PM | #18 |
Always A
Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Colorado
Posts: 2,417
Thanks: 226
Thanked 2,603 Times in 933 Posts
|
I like it Ron, no one would ever guess that you store valuables there.
Regards, Norm |
06-20-2019, 05:11 PM | #19 |
Moderator
2010 LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Santa Teresa New Mexico just outside of the West Texas town of El Paso
Posts: 7,012
Thanks: 1,088
Thanked 5,151 Times in 1,696 Posts
|
Actually that is just a diversion. I keep all my stuff in a sock drawer.
Ron
__________________
If it's made after 1918...it's a reproduction |
The following 8 members says Thank You to Ron Wood for your post: |
06-21-2019, 02:27 PM | #20 |
Lifer
Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 435
Thanks: 3
Thanked 152 Times in 72 Posts
|
This setup has worked well for me for several years. It spans 70" which is wider than any doorway.
Lyn |
The following 5 members says Thank You to Lyn Islaub for your post: |
|
|