[longlane]

First, he procured a separate insurance policy for the firearms. I don't recall the name of the company, but he located them through NRA member services. Investments must be protected of course. The following steps actually decreased the cost of this insurance (due to the quality of the safe--it's burn temp and time and security features).

Second, he contacted his building's physical plant/supervisor/what-have-you and asked what his floor is load rated for (you can also check building codes in your area at the time the building was built and renovated). He explained that he had a bulky collection of items he wanted to protect with a safe. After several calm, reasonable conversations, he found out what the rating was.

Third, he purchased a safe with an appropriate footprint and weight rating (and double-checked his elevator's certificate for weight capability--he's a belt and suspenders guy).

Fourth, he had the safe delivered early one morning for an extra fee to avoid attention and blocking the foot traffic of his neighbors. The safe was placed in the closet farthest from the main entrance and he "hid" it with a bed sheet layed over it that closely matched the color of the closet walls and had clothes surrounding it on hangers. Of course, he has a vapor corrosion inhibitor (VCI) and dessicants canisters inside the safe as well--and maintains both properly.

Fifth, he took pictures, recorded serial numbers, and captured video of his collection (and his safe), encrypted this data on an SD card and a portable hard drive (and of course a paper copy for his own records kept in a separate location)--and placed these encrypted items in a safe-deposit box that he already rented.

A pain? Yes. Worth it? For his peace of mind and his collection, yes.