Sizes and weights
Typical ranges for what we actually meet in Central London rather than one manufacturer's specification. Measure yours before you rely on them.
| Type | Size | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic document safe | 35 to 50cm each way20 to 60kg | 20 to 60kg |
| Home fire safe | 50 to 70cm tall60 to 150kg | 60 to 150kg |
| Commercial floor safe | 70 to 120cm tall, 50 to 80cm deep150 to 500kg | 150 to 500kg |
| Gun cabinet | 130 to 150cm tall, 25 to 35cm deep40 to 90kg | 40 to 90kg |
For reference, a standard UK internal door is 762mm. Older Central London stock is often narrower. Full door and van measurements.
Will it fit?
Will it fit through the door?
Almost always. Safes are compact for their weight and even a large commercial safe at 80cm deep clears a 762mm door on its narrow face. Width is rarely the constraint on this page, which makes it unusual among the items here.
Will the staircase take it?
That depends on the weight, not the size. Up to about 150kg a safe goes on a stair climbing trolley with two or three crew. Above 150kg it needs load spreading boards on the treads, a controlled descent with straps, and four people. Above about 350kg on a period staircase we will want to look at the building first.
What about the floor it is going onto?
A 300kg safe on a 40 x 50cm base puts a great deal of load into a small area. On a concrete ground floor that is irrelevant. On a suspended timber first floor in a Victorian conversion it is worth positioning the safe over a joist rather than between two, and we will say so rather than leaving it where it lands.
Is it bolted down?
Most are, either to the floor or to a wall, and often both, using expansion bolts through the base. They come out with the right tools and it takes a few minutes. Where a safe has been resin anchored rather than bolted it is a longer job and worth mentioning at the quote stage.
How we move a safe
- We establish the weight from the model or the plate inside the door before quoting
- Anchor bolts are removed and kept, along with the fixings for refitting at the other end
- The door is locked and taped shut, because a swinging safe door is how fingers get broken
- It travels on a heavy duty stair climbing trolley, strapped, never carried freehand
- Boards spread the load on staircase treads for anything above 150kg
- In the van it goes against the bulkhead on the floor, strapped, with nothing on top of it
- At the other end it is positioned, and re-anchored where you want it bolted down
When this stops being a routine job
Anything above about 350kg, anything going above the ground floor on a period staircase, and any safe that has been resin anchored rather than bolted. We do all of it, and all of it wants a week of notice and a look at the building rather than a booking form.
What a safe move costs
A domestic safe under 60kg, ground floor to ground floor, is £150 to £230. A home fire safe of 60 to 150kg with a staircase at one end is £250 to £400. A commercial safe above 150kg, with load spreading and four crew, runs £430 to £700.
Unbolting at one end and re-anchoring at the other is inside those figures. What is not is drilling into a floor that has no existing fixings, which needs to be agreed in advance because it is a change to the building rather than to the safe.
Security, and who knows what you own
A safe move is a job where discretion is part of the service. We do not need to know what is in it, and the right answer is that it should be empty anyway.
What we will do is turn up in an unmarked van if you ask, avoid leaving a safe standing on a pavement while the crew does something else, and not discuss the address or the item with anyone. It is a small thing to offer and it is the reason a good number of people ring rather than fill in a form.
Before we arrive
- Find the weight, which is usually on a plate inside the door or in the manual
- Empty it, and take the contents yourself rather than sending them in the safe
- Have the key or the combination to hand, because a safe that cannot be opened cannot be checked
- Tell us if it is bolted down, and whether it is bolted or resin anchored
- Decide in advance where it is going, since repositioning a 300kg safe is not a small change of mind
What tends to go wrong
Nobody knew the weight
Safes are much heavier than they look and people routinely underestimate by a factor of two. The plate inside the door gives the real figure. A job quoted for 100kg that turns out to be 280kg is a job that needs a different crew and different equipment, and that is not a discovery to make on the morning.
Moving it with the contents inside
It adds weight, it lets things slide about and it means valuables travelling in something nobody can open in a hurry. Empty it and carry the contents yourself. It also removes any argument about what was inside it when it arrived.
Putting it on a first floor without thinking about the joists
Weight concentrated on a small base is exactly the load that suspended timber floors do not like. Positioning the safe over a joist rather than between two costs nothing and it is the sort of thing that only gets considered if someone raises it.
Safe moving: common questions
How much does it cost to move a safe in London?
Between £150 and £700 including VAT, most near £310. A domestic safe under 60kg between ground floors is £150 to £230. A 60 to 150kg safe with stairs at one end is £250 to £400. A commercial safe above 150kg, with load spreading and four crew, is £430 to £700.
How heavy is a safe?
A domestic document safe is 20 to 60kg, a home fire safe 60 to 150kg, and a commercial floor safe 150 to 500kg. The plate inside the door usually gives the real figure, and it is worth finding because people routinely underestimate by half.
Can you take a safe up or down stairs?
Yes. Up to about 150kg it goes on a stair climbing trolley with two or three crew. Above that we use load spreading boards on the treads and four people. Above about 350kg on a period staircase we want to look at the building before committing to a date.
Can you unbolt it from the floor?
Yes, and re-anchor it at the other end where you want it fixed down. That is inside the price. Drilling new fixings into a floor that has none is a change to the building rather than the safe, so it is agreed in advance rather than done on the spot.
Should I empty it first?
Yes. It removes weight, stops things sliding about inside, and means your valuables are not travelling in something nobody can open quickly. It also removes any question later about what was inside when it arrived.
Will the floor take it upstairs?
On a modern floor, yes. On a suspended timber first floor in a period conversion, a 300kg safe on a small base is worth positioning over a joist rather than between two. We raise it rather than leaving the safe wherever it happens to land.
Other single items
Moving more than one thing?
This page is about a safe on its own. The single item and furniture delivery page covers the service generally, and what a move costs prices a whole flat or house.
Across Central London
We move a safe anywhere in the 37 areas we cover. What changes between them is the parking and the staircase, which is what decides where in the band you land.