20x20 room used as a safe

[5.56]

I've been looking into building an additional room off my detached garage with the specific purpose of being a man cave. I also need a larger safe. It crossed my mind, why not turn the entire man cave into a large safe. The purpose of the room will be a music studio/man cave/gun safe. I'd like the room to look as normal as possible with dry wall and some sound insulation but also as a storage area for firearms/ammunition.

Almost something like this but covered in dry wall to look like a normal room and more fortified to attacks from a burglar.

http://www.pentagonsafes.com/images-lightbox/modular-room.jpg

Now that I'm going this far, how much further to turn it into an indoor practice range? I have a 21 acre property in an unregulated shooting zone so land is not an issue.

[El Trollo Mejor]

I hope it's fortified. I'd recommend cinder blocks and cement on the inside. Drywall is woefully inadequate to secure guns IMHO.

[djbooya]

I hope it's fortified. I'd recommend cinder blocks and cement on the inside. Drywall is woefully inadequate to secure guns IMHO.

Did you click on the link in the OPs post? He said something like that covered in drywall...it was a metal room.

[El Trollo Mejor]

Did you click on the link in the OPs post? He said something like that covered in drywall...it was a metal room.

I missed the link. It looks good to me though. Cinder blocks and concrete still might be cheaper though.

[gc44]

I did kinda the same thing. I skipped the drywall and put up 3/4" plywood for walls (because I NEVER want to have to look for another stud as long as I live) and hung 1/4" ply as ceiling. I did R13 insulation above and in walls.
I covered the concrete pad and secured the door(s). Elect roof vents front/rear and added 220 volt outlet. 2 small exhaust fans reclaimed from older kitchen demolition for fresh air. Lotsa other nonsense, but serves as a secure area/shop/cave (alarmed) and place to hang out w/ mini kitchen/appliances and cable. Biggest prob is rotten radio reception. Quiet. Only mistake I really made was a shingle roof instead of a metal one.

[bk23103]

I want one, but cheaper.

[ColdDeadHands1]

My guess is CMU block filled with rebar and grout over a concrete slab on grade with a concrete over metal deck roof would be cheaper, more secure, and more fire resistant that that steel box. Definitely add a vault door to the room. Could easily metal stud frame and sheetrock the interior. It would be sweet!

[Ripon83]

What is the soil like on your 21 acres? If you have clay just make compressed earth bricks to the width you want and build an adobe room out of the earth. CE machines can be built for under $1k and with 21 acres you can build as much as you want. I had to mix in about a cup of concrete mix because my soil was too sandy but it worked fine will dirt from a nearby hill.

[jeffrice6]

"Earth bricks" are worse than cement block for protection/ infiltration!

[saki302]

A properly built cinder block wall, with rebar and filled with concrete will be more secure than virtually ANY gun safe on the market. Just get a good vault door to go with it.

Not sure how I'd secure the ceiling- maybe you'll have to get steel plates and tie them in to the block wall with anchor bolts?

For the best of both worlds- you can sheet the inside with plywood, then add a layer of drywall on top.

-Dave

[pterrell]

When I build my house there will be a concrete room with a vault door on it. It will be awesome.

[MrExel17]

Need something like that in my life!

[Ford8N]

Concrete block with #6 or #7 rebar in every cell. Fill the cells with at least 6 sack mix. Buy some used road plates to cover the top and weld them together. Anchor them to the wall. Buy a nice vault door. Cover it with whatever you want to disguise it for what it is from a casual visitor. Keep your mouth shut.

[Kmai24]

You'll need a really good air filtration system if you wanted to do an indoor range and that's where it'll get really expensive. With all of that land and unregulated zoning then it might be best to keep it outdoors

[5.56]

This room will have its own full sized HVAC zone/condenser attached to it which makes me juggle the idea of making it a range also. For a range, I see a large concrete slab 40 yards long and 20 feet wide with cement filled cinder block with rebar. For the ventilation and bullet back drop now....