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        • How to Build a Hide A Safe to Protect The Family Jewels
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        • How to Install Vinyl Mini Blinds
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      • How to Install a Chain Link Fence Gate
      • How to Seed Flagstone Walkways With Moss
  • Contact Me
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TomComKnowsHow
  • Home
  • Article Directory
    • Automotive >
      • How to Change Automatic Transmission Filters
      • How to Change Seized Up Spark Plugs
      • How to Do Auto Body Repair Work
      • How to Increase Fuel Economy
      • How to Install Truck Hitch Accessories/Attachments
      • How to Make a Poor Man's Fuel Heater
      • How to mix your own Fuel Additive
      • How to Replace a Door Panel
      • How to Replace Rear Leaf Springs
      • How to Tune-Up a Car Yourself
    • Business >
      • How to Appeal Denial of Unemployment Insurance Benefits
      • How to Create Order Forms
      • How to Perform Maryland Judiciary Case Searches Online
      • How to Promote your New Small Business
      • How to Recover Microsoft Office Professional for free
    • Computer/Internet >
      • Anti virus/Anti malware >
        • How to Protect Computers using Free Version Antivirus Protection Software
        • How to Remove a Spyware Infection
        • How to Remove Conficker Malware
        • How to Remove Keyloggers
        • How to Remove Locky and AutoLocky Ransomeware for Free
      • Audio/Visual >
        • How to Add a Cursor (Mouse Pointer) to a Print Screen Image
        • How to Convert qcp to wav
        • How to Create Watermark Protected Images
        • How to Crop a Print Screen Image
        • How to Disable your built-in Camera
        • How to Disable your built-in Microphone
        • How to Draw a Rose Bouquet
        • How to Print Digital Images Actual Size
        • How to Resize an Image to 424 X 282 Pixels, Without Distortion
        • How to Stream M3U's on Websites
      • How to Access a No Boot Hard Drive
      • How to Add a Hibernate Shortcut to your Windows Desktop
      • How to Add a Log Off Shortcut to your Windows desktop
      • How to Add a Restart Shortcut to your Windows desktop
      • How to Add a Second HDD (a Slave Drive) to your PC
      • How to Add a Shutdown Shortcut to your Windows desktop
      • How to Add a Standby Shortcut to your Windows desktop
      • How to Add Downloads to the Start Menu
      • How to Add Keywords to Your Website
      • How to Add Safe Mode to your Windows Boot Menu, by editing the BOOT.INI file
      • How to Backlink your online content
      • How to Block a Pinterest Follower
      • How To Comply with Amazon FTC Regulations
      • How to Connect to a Public WiFi Network
      • How to Create a Bookmarks Favicon
      • How to Create a Downloads Library in Windows Explorer
      • How to Create an active Click to Call Link
      • How to Create an h1 Header
      • How to Defragment the Paging File aka Virtual RAM
      • How to Disable sharing on Windows 7 and 8
      • How to Enable and Disable WiFi on Laptops and Tablets
      • How to Fix an Optical Scroll Mouse
      • How to Force Safe Mode on restart without editing BOOT.ini
      • How to Improve Computer Performance
      • How to Install a Bluetooth USB
      • How to Open Affiliate HTML Ads in New Tabs
      • How to Optimize your online content
      • How to Repair Windows Offline Help and Support
      • How to Replace a Dell Vostro 2510 LCD Inverter
      • How to Replace a Dell Vostro 2510 LCD Screen
      • How to Safely Eject ReadyBoost
      • How to Securely Wipe a Hard Disk Drive
      • How to Set Single-Click Customization on Desktop and Laptop Computers
      • How to Turn Num Lock on by Default in Windows 7 & 8
      • How to Tweet from a Flip Phone
    • Food & Drink >
      • Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Shiitake Mushrooms and roasted Bell Pepper
      • How to Bake a fantastic Zucchini Pie
      • How to Bake Candied Pecans
      • How to Bake Rosemary-Maple Glazed Pork Loin
      • How to Boil Eggs Without Cracking Shells
      • How to make Ramen Noodles more interesting
      • How to Make your own Chopsticks
      • How to scratch Hearty Turkey and Rice Soup
      • How to Slow Cook Beans & Rice with Sausage
      • How to Slow Cook Venison Stew
    • Health >
      • How to Build a Strong Freestanding Inversion Rack
      • How to Pack a Blood Specimen for Air Travel
      • How to Tell if you have Bed Bugs
    • Holidays & Celebrations >
      • How to Easter Egg Hunt with Candy Filled Eggs
      • How to Hang the American Flag
    • Home Improvement >
      • Concrete >
        • How to Apply/Repair Ornamental Mapping on Historic Field Stone Construction
        • How to Install a vented Glass Block window
        • How to Pour Concrete Footers for Jack Posts
      • Electrical >
        • How to Control Outdoor and Ceiling Lights with a Timer
        • How to Install a Breaker Panel Receptacle
        • How to Install a Switched Receptacle
        • How to Install Outdoor Motion Lights
        • How to Replace a Doorbell
        • How to Replace a Door Chime
        • How to Wire multiple lights on a Porch Circuit
      • Exterior >
        • How to Calculate a Roof Pitch in Degrees
        • How to Frame a Dormer
        • How to Install Vinyl Outdoor Swings
        • How to Install Vinyl Soffit
        • How to Paint Wood Doors
        • How to Reduce your Cooling costs by painting your Roof white
      • Interior >
        • How to Build a Hide A Safe to Protect The Family Jewels
        • How to Build Boxed Ceiling Beams
        • How to Frame Interior Walls
        • How to Install Crawl Space Insulation
        • How to Increase your Cordless Phone Range
        • How to Install Vinyl Mini Blinds
        • How to Remove Spray Foam Insulation From Hands
        • How to Resize an Interior Composite Hollow Core Door
      • Plumbing >
        • How to Repair Copper Pipes
        • How to Replace a Water Heater Thermocouple
        • How to Solder a Plumbing Joint
        • How to Stop Water Pipes From Vibrating
    • Pets >
      • How to Administer a bitter pill to a Cat
      • How to Administer subcutaneous hydrating fluids to an ailing Cat
      • How to Paper train a Green Iguana
    • Wildlife >
      • How to Escape from a Bear in the Woods
      • How to Field Dress a Whitetail Deer
      • How to Legally live-trap and relocate Squirrels in the State of Maryland
    • Yard & Garden >
      • How to Build a Concrete Outdoor Fire Pit
      • How to Build your own Pond
      • How to Change the Tire on a Riding Lawn Mower
      • How to Install a Chain Link Fence Gate
      • How to Seed Flagstone Walkways With Moss
  • Contact Me
  • Zazzle.com/TomCom

How to Build a Hide A Safe to Protect The Family Jewels

Picture
Hide a Safe
 Build a hide a safe to protect the family jewels. Home security being of major concern these days, a 'hide a safe' or diversion safe is surprisingly easy to create! Once a burglar trips an alarm system, they know they have but a short time to grab and run before Law Enforcement shows up. You can believe they practice! They know all the usual places people habitually store valuables thinking they're safe. That's right, they know about the freezer compartment, back of the dresser drawer, under the mattress, the closet and the cookie jar! They'll hit them first! What do you do? Hide valuables in ways that take way too long to discover. The best place to hide anything is in plain sight!
​ In this tutorial, I'll show you how to create a diversion safe built into a false Double-Gang Receptacle.

Things You'll Need:
* Tape Measure
* Keyhole Saw
* Stud Finder w/ AC Scan
* Pencil

​* Carlon Superblue 34 cu. in. Two Gang (Double-Gang) Old Work Box
* Two 15-Amp Grounding Receptacles (cheap ones)
* Duplex Receptacle Wall plate
* Phillips and Standard 
Screwdrivers
1. Make this as realistic as possible. You need to make this false duplex receptacle look like it belongs there. For conformity, it is important that this appear as if it was installed at the same time as the rest. No one will ever notice your hide a safe! Begin by removing the cover plate of an existing receptacle. Measure from the floor up to the bottom of the box (typically, between 9-12 inches).

2. Decide where to locate your hide a safe. Put it somewhere easily accessible, so you won't have to slide heavy furniture out of the way. But not too near an existing receptacle or it could stick out as excessive.

3. Locate the hollow space between wall studs. While you could just tap on the wall, listening for sound changes, that won't alert you to hidden electrical wiring. I recommend using a Stud Finder w/ AC Scan. (see Tips) If you install your hide a safe in an exterior wall, fiberglass batt insulation may hold (typically installed) Romex electrical wiring against the Drywall. A saw blade could easily damage the insulated sheathe and cause a short.

Picture
Double-Gang box
4. Mark the bottom and one side of the opening to cut out, mindful of the wall stud locations. Once you have found a "safe" location, place the open face of the double-gang old work box level against the wall and trace it with a pencil.

PictureCutout
5. Cut two holes in diagonal corners. Insert the tip of the Keyhole saw through the Drywall and cut away from the corners. Remove the section and try the old work box for fit. If it fits, rotate the locking tabs by turning both Phillips head screws clockwise. If not, shave the edges and try again.

6. Place your valuables inside and install both of the Duplex Receptacles and the Wall plate. This hidden wall safe should hold a fair amount of Jewelry or Cash. Unlike similar (single receptacle) diversion safes advertised for sale, this mock up looks every bit as realistic and solid as the real thing. True, there is no hinge and it requires removing at least two screws. But a burglar will never discover it. Especially if you plug in a heated air freshener, a battery-operated lamp with a fake cord or even an extension cord routed behind furniture.

Tips
* Having trouble locating a hidden wall stud? Measure in from an exterior wall; modern construction dictates a spacing of 16" on center. Test first with a finishing nail. Drill a 3/4" hole, insert your finger and check from side to side. A double-gang box will require approximately 3-3/4" x 4".

* For even more secret storage space, in an interior wall, remove the Old Work Box entirely and store valuables inside of the wall cavity itself. Because of the size of the opening, you should have no trouble using this cavity as a handgun safe, for example. At only 9 inches from the floor, with the typical stud spacing of 16 inches on center, this gives you approximately 340 cubic inches of storage space in addition to the Old Work Box.
* Bathroom walls are often insulated, as a means of privacy.
* You could also install this safe at wall switch level, using a pair of single-pole switches or a switch/receptacle combination. Even a blank Wall plate will do.

* Going on vacation? There's a wide variety of portable travel/diversion safes available to secure what you don't squirrel away at home.
* In a pinch for time? Seal valuables in a soup can with a pet food lid, inside of a larger coffee container topped with fresh coffee grounds, or inside a 5 gallon bucket with a lid!

Warnings
* This is not a fireproof safe!
* Enclose objects in plastic zip-loc bags to protect against corrosion or insect damage. Moisture from hot showers and cooking can permeate walls.


Copyright 5/19/2009 All Rights Reserved. Questions? Comments? Contact Me
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Copyright © TomComKnowsHow

  • Home
  • Article Directory
    • Automotive >
      • How to Change Automatic Transmission Filters
      • How to Change Seized Up Spark Plugs
      • How to Do Auto Body Repair Work
      • How to Increase Fuel Economy
      • How to Install Truck Hitch Accessories/Attachments
      • How to Make a Poor Man's Fuel Heater
      • How to mix your own Fuel Additive
      • How to Replace a Door Panel
      • How to Replace Rear Leaf Springs
      • How to Tune-Up a Car Yourself
    • Business >
      • How to Appeal Denial of Unemployment Insurance Benefits
      • How to Create Order Forms
      • How to Perform Maryland Judiciary Case Searches Online
      • How to Promote your New Small Business
      • How to Recover Microsoft Office Professional for free
    • Computer/Internet >
      • Anti virus/Anti malware >
        • How to Protect Computers using Free Version Antivirus Protection Software
        • How to Remove a Spyware Infection
        • How to Remove Conficker Malware
        • How to Remove Keyloggers
        • How to Remove Locky and AutoLocky Ransomeware for Free
      • Audio/Visual >
        • How to Add a Cursor (Mouse Pointer) to a Print Screen Image
        • How to Convert qcp to wav
        • How to Create Watermark Protected Images
        • How to Crop a Print Screen Image
        • How to Disable your built-in Camera
        • How to Disable your built-in Microphone
        • How to Draw a Rose Bouquet
        • How to Print Digital Images Actual Size
        • How to Resize an Image to 424 X 282 Pixels, Without Distortion
        • How to Stream M3U's on Websites
      • How to Access a No Boot Hard Drive
      • How to Add a Hibernate Shortcut to your Windows Desktop
      • How to Add a Log Off Shortcut to your Windows desktop
      • How to Add a Restart Shortcut to your Windows desktop
      • How to Add a Second HDD (a Slave Drive) to your PC
      • How to Add a Shutdown Shortcut to your Windows desktop
      • How to Add a Standby Shortcut to your Windows desktop
      • How to Add Downloads to the Start Menu
      • How to Add Keywords to Your Website
      • How to Add Safe Mode to your Windows Boot Menu, by editing the BOOT.INI file
      • How to Backlink your online content
      • How to Block a Pinterest Follower
      • How To Comply with Amazon FTC Regulations
      • How to Connect to a Public WiFi Network
      • How to Create a Bookmarks Favicon
      • How to Create a Downloads Library in Windows Explorer
      • How to Create an active Click to Call Link
      • How to Create an h1 Header
      • How to Defragment the Paging File aka Virtual RAM
      • How to Disable sharing on Windows 7 and 8
      • How to Enable and Disable WiFi on Laptops and Tablets
      • How to Fix an Optical Scroll Mouse
      • How to Force Safe Mode on restart without editing BOOT.ini
      • How to Improve Computer Performance
      • How to Install a Bluetooth USB
      • How to Open Affiliate HTML Ads in New Tabs
      • How to Optimize your online content
      • How to Repair Windows Offline Help and Support
      • How to Replace a Dell Vostro 2510 LCD Inverter
      • How to Replace a Dell Vostro 2510 LCD Screen
      • How to Safely Eject ReadyBoost
      • How to Securely Wipe a Hard Disk Drive
      • How to Set Single-Click Customization on Desktop and Laptop Computers
      • How to Turn Num Lock on by Default in Windows 7 & 8
      • How to Tweet from a Flip Phone
    • Food & Drink >
      • Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Shiitake Mushrooms and roasted Bell Pepper
      • How to Bake a fantastic Zucchini Pie
      • How to Bake Candied Pecans
      • How to Bake Rosemary-Maple Glazed Pork Loin
      • How to Boil Eggs Without Cracking Shells
      • How to make Ramen Noodles more interesting
      • How to Make your own Chopsticks
      • How to scratch Hearty Turkey and Rice Soup
      • How to Slow Cook Beans & Rice with Sausage
      • How to Slow Cook Venison Stew
    • Health >
      • How to Build a Strong Freestanding Inversion Rack
      • How to Pack a Blood Specimen for Air Travel
      • How to Tell if you have Bed Bugs
    • Holidays & Celebrations >
      • How to Easter Egg Hunt with Candy Filled Eggs
      • How to Hang the American Flag
    • Home Improvement >
      • Concrete >
        • How to Apply/Repair Ornamental Mapping on Historic Field Stone Construction
        • How to Install a vented Glass Block window
        • How to Pour Concrete Footers for Jack Posts
      • Electrical >
        • How to Control Outdoor and Ceiling Lights with a Timer
        • How to Install a Breaker Panel Receptacle
        • How to Install a Switched Receptacle
        • How to Install Outdoor Motion Lights
        • How to Replace a Doorbell
        • How to Replace a Door Chime
        • How to Wire multiple lights on a Porch Circuit
      • Exterior >
        • How to Calculate a Roof Pitch in Degrees
        • How to Frame a Dormer
        • How to Install Vinyl Outdoor Swings
        • How to Install Vinyl Soffit
        • How to Paint Wood Doors
        • How to Reduce your Cooling costs by painting your Roof white
      • Interior >
        • How to Build a Hide A Safe to Protect The Family Jewels
        • How to Build Boxed Ceiling Beams
        • How to Frame Interior Walls
        • How to Install Crawl Space Insulation
        • How to Increase your Cordless Phone Range
        • How to Install Vinyl Mini Blinds
        • How to Remove Spray Foam Insulation From Hands
        • How to Resize an Interior Composite Hollow Core Door
      • Plumbing >
        • How to Repair Copper Pipes
        • How to Replace a Water Heater Thermocouple
        • How to Solder a Plumbing Joint
        • How to Stop Water Pipes From Vibrating
    • Pets >
      • How to Administer a bitter pill to a Cat
      • How to Administer subcutaneous hydrating fluids to an ailing Cat
      • How to Paper train a Green Iguana
    • Wildlife >
      • How to Escape from a Bear in the Woods
      • How to Field Dress a Whitetail Deer
      • How to Legally live-trap and relocate Squirrels in the State of Maryland
    • Yard & Garden >
      • How to Build a Concrete Outdoor Fire Pit
      • How to Build your own Pond
      • How to Change the Tire on a Riding Lawn Mower
      • How to Install a Chain Link Fence Gate
      • How to Seed Flagstone Walkways With Moss
  • Contact Me
  • Zazzle.com/TomCom