Cabinet Advice

[Dombo63]

One final question - my local firearms licensing dept suggested I wait until the FEO visits so he can advise on cabinet position. Is this normal procedure, as then FEO would have to make two visits?
I was planning to put it in a built in cupboard and bolted to an external wall. The only other choices would be attic (tricky as a 9-gun brattonsound weighs around 50+kg) or on its back bolted to floor of understairs cupboard.

[ovenpaa]

The FEO will be back fairly quickly to check the installation so that is not a real problem although personally I usually bolt mine in and then tell them. As long as it is a BS approved cabinet, secured to a solid construction wall and out of sight of the casual observer you should be OK. One other thing (Just my opinion) cabinets which are difficult/awkward to get to mean you are more likely to leave a rifle on the bed until you can get into the loft space, then you can easily forget and rush down the shops or similar... Ooops. Better to have them located in an area that is easily accessible for you and the same goes for ammunition so you can just put them away when you have finished cleaning your rifles.

[Polchraine]

I had my 7 gun Brattonsound in the loft - screwed to a board which was spread across several joists and it was fine but you need to know how good your joists are. The worst part, is getting it up there! There is also a school of thought which says taking guns up a ladder into a loft is not the best idea - the temperature variations can be too great and it can mean that you don't always put your guns away immediately.

In the cupboard will be fine - just make sure it is not visible to visitors. With mine, I have screwed a 19mm high quality ply board to the floor, and it protrudes about 100mm in front of the cabinets which are screwed with short coachbolts to the board. There is another layer of ply inside the cabinet with recesses for the bolt heads and foam on top.

The front protrusion is somewhere to stand the guns as they are being stored or retrieved.

If you have the cabinet and tell the FEO where it is going - he may not even want to come back but if he does it will be a 30 second visit!

[rox]

One final question - my local firearms licensing dept suggested I wait until the FEO visits so he can advise on cabinet position. Is this normal procedure, as then FEO would have to make two visits?

Wise words from ovenpaa.

Usually you can install it in advance to save a second visit if you wish (I have done so twice), but you run the risk of being asked to move it if there is some problem with the location. If you're going to go ahead in advance then read the home office guidelines carefully and make it clear that you are aware of them and that you have considered them thoroughly in choosing the location. It pays to have your (well-thumbed) copy close at hand during the visit, with post-its sticking out of the relevant pages, key points underlined etc.

..

[Tomo]

I'm still debating where to place my first cabinet.

Initially, I was going to stick it in the loft but two things put me off. First - the joists up there are only 3.5 X 1.5 inches in size, and I wasn't sure what a 45KG weight would do to the ceiling over time! Second thing was the temperature variations, which apparently can cause havoc with stored rifles. I was looking at getting some of that thermal blanket material to staple to the roof to try and regulate the temperatures up there, but in the end it I decided to look for an alternative location.

The wardrobe in the main bedroom is out as its jammed packed with the girlfriends cra.... clothes. The cupboard under the stairs is too small and I'm guessing the conservatory would be an immediate NO!

At the moment I'm seriously looking at sticking it in the back bedroom. I've got an old Ikea 'Billy' bookcase in there that would accomadate the rifle cabinet (once I took some shelves and the back out). The bookcase has doors on it so the cabinet would be hidden from view by a casual observer. Once placed inside the bookcase I can bolt the safe directly to the wall, however the bottom of the bookcase is raised off the ground by a few inches, so I'm going to need to stick some 2X4 underneath where the rifle cabinet will sit to support the weight. I can also drill down through it it into the floor and screw it into place.

[Polchraine]

Your are right about teh loft. 3.5x1.5 - how did that pass building control and at that size, should you even walk up there!

Make a frame from 2x4 with a central cross piece too and try to get the screws through the floorboards into a joist or two. Then fit some 3/4" (19mm) ply over the top which will make it easier to screw the base of the cabinet down.

[Tomo]

Your are right about teh loft. 3.5x1.5 - how did that pass building control and at that size, should you even walk up there!

oh blimey, I just boarded out the middle section with the idea of using the space for reloading!

It should be okay - the previous owner had it boarded out (took all the boards with him when he moved!)
hope so any way!

Gotta love new build properties - walls made of cheese and matchstick roofs!

[Polchraine]

I'm not a structural engineer but have had enough recent dealings to get a good feel.

Go to http://www.tameside.gov.uk/buildingcont ... dancenotes Select #9 and the smallest it refers to are 97x47 (4x2).

Be careful - very careful and if you do work there make sure the weight is fully spread. Whilst the joists will probably take your weight they will flex and could lead to cracking of the ceiling. There is no way you could have put the cabinet there - the continuous deformation would have caused problems.

I have a small attic - 1m wide 4m long and the joists run across the 1m width. The architect specified 100x50 (nominal) for those!