Safe moving in Vancouver
Planned to spare the stairs, the floors and the door frames.
Moving your safe is a weight problem first. We check the safe and the route at both ends, move it on rated equipment, then bolt it down again at your new spot.
A safe move is a weight problem before it is a lock problem.
The lock on your safe is rarely the hard part. What decides how your move goes is the weight, and every step, doorway and floor it has to cross on the way.
Safe weight and what the floor can take
A gun safe or a large office safe can run several hundred kilograms on a small footprint. We check the floors along the route, and the spot where yours will sit for years.
Stairs, landings and tight turns
Stairs are where safe moves go wrong. A stair-climbing dolly takes the safe one step at a time under control, and we measure every landing first, because a safe cannot bend around a turn.
Elevator load limits in Vancouver towers
Every elevator has a rated load, usually posted in the cab. The safe, the dolly and the people moving it all count toward it. Your strata may also want the elevator booked for the move.
Doorways, hallways and corners the safe has to clear
Measure your safe at its widest point, handle and hinges included, not the box alone. A hallway corner can stop a safe that fits through every door on the route.
Some safes we move. Some need a rigging crew.
Home and commercial safes, relocated within the same building or across town. What you have decides who moves it.
Gun safes, home safes and small commercial safes
The safes most homes and businesses have: a gun safe in the basement, a home safe in a closet, an office or deposit safe. We move yours within the building or to a new address.
Vault-style safes that need a rigging crew
Vault and bank-style safes can weigh over a tonne. Those need a rigging company with lifting gear, and sometimes a check of the floor structure. If yours is one, we tell you when you call.
Safes that have not been emptied first
A loaded safe is heavier, and the contents shift mid-carry and throw off the balance. Empty yours before the move, shelves and drawers included.
A moved safe gets re-anchored at the new address.
Anchoring is the half of the job people skip. If your safe sits loose, it can be tipped over and pried at, or wheeled out whole and opened somewhere quiet.
Unbolted at the old spot before it moves
An anchored safe has to come free before it goes anywhere. The bolts are usually reached from inside the safe, so the door must open: keep the combination or key with you.
Bolted through the factory anchor holes
Most safes have factory anchor holes in the base. We bolt through those into the slab or a floor joist at the new spot. The old floor keeps small holes that can be filled.
Levelled, then the door and lock tested
We shim the safe level so the door hangs true, then check that it closes, the bolts throw and the dial or keypad works before handing it back to you.
A new safe, or one that was never bolted down
A first bolt-down, or a wall safe cut in between the studs, is its own job. See safe installation for your floor type and strata rules.
Stairs, weight and distance set the price of a safe move.
The $75 mobile service call is never the whole bill; the move is quoted on top, before any work begins.
See starting pricesSafe weight class
Weight decides the equipment and how many hands the move takes. The maker's label or manual usually lists it. If not, the make, model or measurements let us work it out when you call.
Stair count and whether there is an elevator
A ground-floor room to a ground-floor room is one job. A third-floor walk-up is another. Each flight adds time, and an elevator only helps if its rated load covers your safe.
A move within the building or across Greater Vancouver
Basement to bedroom in the same house is one site with no loading. A new address adds loading, transport and a second site. We cover anywhere in the Lower Mainland.
Removal and disposal of a safe you no longer want
Carrying an unwanted safe out is the same work as any move. Where it goes afterward is a separate question: ask when you call and we will say if we can take it on.
Questions people ask before a safe gets moved.
Can you move a gun safe down a flight of stairs?
Usually, yes, strapped to a stair-climbing dolly with the treads padded. Basement stairs are the hard ones: steep, narrow, and often with low headroom or a turn at the bottom. Describe yours when you call.
Do I have to empty the safe before you move it?
Yes. Firearms, ammunition, cash, documents and anything loose come out first and stay with you. Keep the combination or key handy too: we open the door at the new spot to test it.
Can you take away an old safe I no longer want?
Ask when you call. It depends on the safe and where it will end up. If it is locked and the code is lost, have it opened first, so you know what is inside.
Will a heavy safe fit in a Vancouver condo elevator?
Often. Weight is one limit and size the other: a tall gun safe on a tilted dolly has to clear the door and fit the cab's depth. Ask your strata about a service elevator.
Can I move a safe myself with a hand truck?
A small document safe, often yes. A gun safe can outweigh a household hand truck's rating, and stairs are where that shows. Once a heavy safe starts to tip, it is hard to stop.
An insured move, with the route protected and the safe on rated gear.
Before your safe moves, the route is covered: runners on hardwood and tile, pads on door jambs and stair edges. Straps keep the weight on the dolly, not on your walls.
The equipment is rated for the load: stair-climbing dollies, straps, skid plates and ramps over steps and thresholds. Nothing gets muscled up a staircase or dragged across a bare floor.
The plan is agreed with you before the day: the route, the new spot and the fixings. The work is insured, and evenings, weekends and holidays are by appointment.
Our shop at 929 Drake Street opens soon; every job is mobile until then, anywhere in the Lower Mainland.
Tell us what is going on, and we will price it first.
Call with your safe's size or model and both addresses. You will have the plan and the number before any work begins.