walk in bank vault for gun storage?

bobthe · May 18, 2009, 03:18 AM

Hello,

I have a bit of an odd question and hope some of y'all might be able to lend assistance.

Some time ago I purchased a class I 10 by 15 foot modular walk in bank vault, complete with door. This vault is comprised of a series of steel clad security concrete panels that get stitch welded together on site. I have the whole thing - panels (stacked on 4x4s), door (with combo), original documentation and assembly instructions, lifting hooks for the door and panels to assemble the vault - the whole nine yards.

I bought the vault as secure storage for a collection and life interfered with setting it up in the last year. I'm planing on moving now and my new digs wont allow anything but a smaller safe, so I'm faced with finding a place to unload this turkey.

I considered eBay but all of the bank vaults and or doors that I have seen on these in the last while have gone for so low a number I couldnt even recoup shipping on the vault (assuming they received any action at all!). This isnt a fire sale, but I'd be willing to let it go for a fraction of new cost.

Does anyone think there would be much of a market for such a vault in the gun world? If so any reasonable suggestions for it's potential sale would be much appreciated!

Hellbilly5000 · May 18, 2009, 04:10 AM

sell it to a bank

oldone · May 18, 2009, 01:12 PM

Out of curiousity, how much is something like that worth?

Housezealot · May 18, 2009, 01:16 PM

It might help to tell us what state you are in, that sounds like the type of thing it would be appropriate to pick up rather than ship.

dipper · May 18, 2009, 01:32 PM

I know nothing about what you have.
10 x 15 feet is pretty large.

Although you are thinking it's use would be for firearms, others may have a different use for your vault.

People are starting to and have been putting "safe rooms" in their homes.
I don't know if your vault could be used for this or easily modified so that it could be used as a safe room....10 X 15 feet is certainly large enough.

You might want to expand your market or look into this possibility.....it may be suitable for this application.

a1abdj · May 18, 2009, 10:06 PM

We sell used vault equipment, and there's not a big demand for it.

Most banks buy new. We get several calls a day from people who buy buildings with vaults in them. The easiest way to break the news to you is this: Banks are one of the most greedy companies that exist. If they left it behind, that should speak volumes for its value.

Depending on the manufacturer of your vault, you may be looking at an overall weight of 40,000 to 100,000 pounds. Shipping it will be expensive. Having it professionally reassembled will be expensive.

If somebody needs that type of security, you may be able to sell it to them. However most people with that type of need also have money, and tend to buy new.

bobthe · May 18, 2009, 11:41 PM

to answer a few questions:

The vault is located in the tampa, florida area.

The total weight of the vault, with door was 46,000 lbs per the trucking company that moved it. The entire vault will fit on 1 flatbed trailer load.

(see: http://www.vaultstructures.com/concrete.php)

I was told by the folks that left the vault behind that the new cost was on the order of 60k$ about 5 years ago.

I surely appreciate that this endevour will be a hard sell, but surely SOMEONE out there wouldnt mind saving 50 grand or so

The company that made the vault was willing to cut up the panels and cart them away in exchange for the door, so now that I have done the hard work of properly removing the vault, perhaps the pile of concrete has some value now.

again any suggestions would be welcome!

Dodgegirl73 · May 19, 2009, 01:51 PM

We put in a vault when we remodeled our house a few years ago. We however just bought a door and then poured concrete for the walls. We got the door out of our local want ads. Sure there is not a huge market for it, but you are far more likely to sell it to someone in your area than to ship it. You never know what people are looking for. We had been trying to find a door for about 6 months before a friend spotted the one we ended up with in the paper.

bobthe · May 19, 2009, 02:39 PM

Dodgegirl73,

Would you mind saying what you paid for the door, and what you might have been willing to pay if you could have gotten the panels for the vault? (keeping in mind that security concrete can be as hard to get through as 10x the thickness of the stuff you get from a a truck and all of that other sort of marketing goodness)

TIA!

ENC · May 19, 2009, 06:20 PM

I would love to have something like that. Safe room/safe all in one.

Evan

Dodgegirl73 · June 22, 2009, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Would you mind saying what you paid for the door, and what you might have been willing to pay if you could have gotten the panels for the vault? (keeping in mind that security concrete can be as hard to get through as 10x the thickness of the stuff you get from a a truck and all of that other sort of marketing goodness)

At the time we bought 2 doors and robbed parts to make 1 good door, I think we paid around $600 for the two. But these were beat up had been hanging around in a farmers field for several years. (We were looking for something more on the rustic side). We then had to have handles fabricated because the originals had been stolen, add the conrete, and pan decking for the lid and I think we were around $1200 at the time. So around $2000 at the time we put it in 3 years ago. But there was a lot of work that we put into this ourselves. The frame had to be straightened, combo had to be reset, rebar welded on to keep it in the concrete, getting the door into the addition, (only door I had ever seen set with a backhoe and a come-a-long). And plenty of other labor, we spent many nights in the shop tinkering with this thing before we could get it to work. To many they are ahead to pay the extra $$$ to not have the mess with all of this other stuff. We are much more into getting old unique stuff to work. The doors we bought were the original small arms room doors off of a nearby air force base and we thought it would be cool to be able to say we have one of them that functions in our basement.

2ndAmendmentForever · June 24, 2009, 06:18 AM

You might want to try AuctionArms.com.....

For either the complete package or maybe just the door....

langenc · June 24, 2009, 07:41 PM

What about scrapping all or part that cant be used??

a1abdj · June 26, 2009, 10:48 AM

Most modern day vault doors, and the panels that make up the structure, are going to be concrete. No scrap value, but good for fill if you need it.

Older vault doors are steel, but the cost of removing the door will far exceed its scrap value. The demolition companies usually do scrap them when tearing down the structure.

mp25ds4 · July 1, 2009, 06:03 PM

sounds pretty cool. you will probably never need it, but it kinda sounds like the gun vault in the movie Mr & Mrs. Smith

May 18, 2009, 03:18 AM	#1
bobthe Junior Member Join Date: May 18, 2009 Posts: 3	walk in bank vault for gun storage? Hello, I have a bit of an odd question and hope some of y'all might be able to lend assistance. Some time ago I purchased a class I 10 by 15 foot modular walk in bank vault, complete with door. This vault is comprised of a series of steel clad security concrete panels that get stitch welded together on site. I have the whole thing - panels (stacked on 4x4s), door (with combo), original documentation and assembly instructions, lifting hooks for the door and panels to assemble the vault - the whole nine yards. I bought the vault as secure storage for a collection and life interfered with setting it up in the last year. I'm planing on moving now and my new digs wont allow anything but a smaller safe, so I'm faced with finding a place to unload this turkey. I considered eBay but all of the bank vaults and or doors that I have seen on these in the last while have gone for so low a number I couldnt even recoup shipping on the vault (assuming they received any action at all!). This isnt a fire sale, but I'd be willing to let it go for a fraction of new cost. Does anyone think there would be much of a market for such a vault in the gun world? If so any reasonable suggestions for it's potential sale would be much appreciated!

May 18, 2009, 04:10 AM	#2
Hellbilly5000 Senior Member Join Date: March 24, 2009 Location: RGV, Tx Posts: 787	sell it to a bank __________________ And death climbs the steps one by one, To give you the rose that's been burnt by her son, Point me to the sky above I can't get there on my own, Walk me through the graveyard Dig up her bones

May 18, 2009, 01:12 PM	#3
oldone Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2009 Location: Republic of Texas Posts: 164	Out of curiousity, how much is something like that worth? __________________ If you want to kick the Tiger in it's ass, you'd better have a plan dealing with it's teeth.

May 18, 2009, 01:16 PM	#4
Housezealot Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 606	It might help to tell us what state you are in, that sounds like the type of thing it would be appropriate to pick up rather than ship. __________________ We must, indeed, all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.

May 18, 2009, 01:32 PM	#5
dipper Senior Member Join Date: April 6, 2008 Posts: 895	I know nothing about what you have. 10 x 15 feet is pretty large. Although you are thinking it's use would be for firearms, others may have a different use for your vault. People are starting to and have been putting "safe rooms" in their homes. I don't know if your vault could be used for this or easily modified so that it could be used as a safe room....10 X 15 feet is certainly large enough. You might want to expand your market or look into this possibility.....it may be suitable for this application. __________________ --------------------------------------------------------- "It is better to die on your feet than live on your knees" EMILIANO ZAPATA SALAZAR

May 18, 2009, 10:06 PM	#6
a1abdj Senior Member Join Date: November 28, 2005 Location: St. Charles, MO Posts: 496	We sell used vault equipment, and there's not a big demand for it. Most banks buy new. We get several calls a day from people who buy buildings with vaults in them. The easiest way to break the news to you is this: Banks are one of the most greedy companies that exist. If they left it behind, that should speak volumes for its value. Depending on the manufacturer of your vault, you may be looking at an overall weight of 40,000 to 100,000 pounds. Shipping it will be expensive. Having it professionally reassembled will be expensive. If somebody needs that type of security, you may be able to sell it to them. However most people with that type of need also have money, and tend to buy new. __________________ www.zykansafe.com

May 18, 2009, 11:41 PM	#7
bobthe Junior Member Join Date: May 18, 2009 Posts: 3	to answer a few questions: The vault is located in the tampa, florida area. The total weight of the vault, with door was 46,000 lbs per the trucking company that moved it. The entire vault will fit on 1 flatbed trailer load. (see: http://www.vaultstructures.com/concrete.php) I was told by the folks that left the vault behind that the new cost was on the order of 60k$ about 5 years ago. I surely appreciate that this endevour will be a hard sell, but surely SOMEONE out there wouldnt mind saving 50 grand or so The company that made the vault was willing to cut up the panels and cart them away in exchange for the door, so now that I have done the hard work of properly removing the vault, perhaps the pile of concrete has some value now. again any suggestions would be welcome!

May 19, 2009, 01:51 PM	#8
Dodgegirl73 Junior Member Join Date: April 22, 2009 Posts: 5	We put in a vault when we remodeled our house a few years ago. We however just bought a door and then poured concrete for the walls. We got the door out of our local want ads. Sure there is not a huge market for it, but you are far more likely to sell it to someone in your area than to ship it. You never know what people are looking for. We had been trying to find a door for about 6 months before a friend spotted the one we ended up with in the paper.

May 19, 2009, 02:39 PM	#9
bobthe Junior Member Join Date: May 18, 2009 Posts: 3	Dodgegirl73, Would you mind saying what you paid for the door, and what you might have been willing to pay if you could have gotten the panels for the vault? (keeping in mind that security concrete can be as hard to get through as 10x the thickness of the stuff you get from a a truck and all of that other sort of marketing goodness) TIA!

May 19, 2009, 06:20 PM	#10
ENC Senior Member Join Date: August 31, 2001 Location: Grand Lake, OK Posts: 658	I would love to have something like that. Safe room/safe all in one. Evan

June 24, 2009, 06:18 AM	#12
2ndAmendmentForever Junior member Join Date: June 6, 2009 Posts: 8	You might want to try AuctionArms.com..... For either the complete package or maybe just the door....

June 24, 2009, 07:41 PM	#13
langenc Senior Member Join Date: August 19, 2007 Location: Montmorency Co, MI Posts: 1,551	What about scrapping all or part that cant be used??

June 26, 2009, 10:48 AM	#14
a1abdj Senior Member Join Date: November 28, 2005 Location: St. Charles, MO Posts: 496	Most modern day vault doors, and the panels that make up the structure, are going to be concrete. No scrap value, but good for fill if you need it. Older vault doors are steel, but the cost of removing the door will far exceed its scrap value. The demolition companies usually do scrap them when tearing down the structure. __________________ www.zykansafe.com

July 1, 2009, 06:03 PM	#15
mp25ds4 Senior Member Join Date: March 6, 2009 Posts: 392	sounds pretty cool. you will probably never need it, but it kinda sounds like the gun vault in the movie Mr & Mrs. Smith __________________ Liberal Newscaster Katie Couric, while interviewing a Marine sniper, asked: 'What do you feel.....when you shoot a Terrorist?' The Marine shrugged and replied, "A Slight Recoil."

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