# Gun room in basement



## sp700twin (Mar 8, 2016)

We recently moved to Utah. Having a basement is a new experience for us. The home we are having built has a large cold storage room under the front patio, which appears to be pretty standard here in UT. The room is more of an "L" shape with the short section being maybe 5' by 10'. I have been playing with the idea of framing in a metal fire/security door to this section to make a gun vault. This room does not have any ventilation. Electrical is already in place. Room is below ground level. Question is, would I be able to maintain a safe humidity level being below ground in a basement? If this helps we are north of SLC and west of I-15. We are not aware of homes around us having issues with ground water. I like the idea of a walk-in gun vault or safe room if needed. Thoughts?


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

sp700twin said:


> We recently moved to Utah. Having a basement is a new experience for us. The home we are having built has a large cold storage room under the front patio, which appears to be pretty standard here in UT. The room is more of an "L" shape with the short section being maybe 5' by 10'. I have been playing with the idea of framing in a metal fire/security door to this section to make a gun vault. This room does not have any ventilation. Electrical is already in place. Room is below ground level. Question is, would I be able to maintain a safe humidity level being below ground in a basement? If this helps we are north of SLC and west of I-15. We are not aware of homes around us having issues with ground water. I like the idea of a walk-in gun vault or safe room if needed. Thoughts?


My uncle did just this, it works great for him. You will have to see what the humidity is like, it is different in every location. It would never work at my house.

My uncle made the door a swing out book case so everything was concealed, it is was pretty trick.


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## Springville Shooter (Oct 15, 2010)

If there is a power outlet in the room, you should be able to control the humidity fairly easily to whatever level you would like it. ------SS


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## sp700twin (Mar 8, 2016)

Yes, power is to the area. Starting the process of studying de-humidifiers now. Would air circulation be needed or just a de-humidifier? If the framing was done right it would be fairly air tight; not sure if this is good or bad. I am looking at gun racks that would stand the long guns upright, lowest point about 10"s off the cement floor and a couple inches off the cement wall.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

sp700twin said:


> Yes, power is to the area. Starting the process of studying de-humidifiers now. Would air circulation be needed or just a de-humidifier? If the framing was done right it would be fairly air tight; not sure if this is good or bad. I am looking at gun racks that would stand the long guns upright, lowest point about 10"s off the cement floor and a couple inches off the cement wall.


If you have plumbing or window wells I would recommend at least 3 feet off of the floor for lowest point of anything you don't want water damaged unless you have a good automatic sump pump.


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

Check with the Liberty Gun Safe Company. I remember seeing vault doors in their showroom down in Lindon/Orem/ ?????.


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## Mr Muleskinner (Feb 14, 2012)

I put my gun room in there and have a small heater that doesn't run much and a small humidifier. I have a electronic combination lock on the cabinet with hard pins that go into the hinges when the cabinet closes. It is very secure and the combination lock is concealed. I think it is easily the best place for a gun. It is insulated and I installed pegboard on all walls and have a small bench in there for cleaning. I keep all of my hunting optics in there as well. The lighting is a 3 level touch sensor LED. I built the bookshelf/cabinet myself. Total cost of the entire build was about $800.


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

Anybody have preferential info on dehumidifiers?


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## Mr Muleskinner (Feb 14, 2012)

Choosing a humidifier or dehumidifier is dependent on the size of the area and the average relative humidity it is intended to service.

The National Firearms Museum maintains their guns at 70 degrees and 50% humidity as does the Cody Firearms Museum. The relative humidity in our homes in Utah is generally substantially lower than it is outside due to our HVAC systems. Chances are the humidity here is already lower than ideal for gun storage. If I turn off the humidifier in our home my hygrometer will almost always drop below 45% in the winter and down to 20%-25% in the summer.

Just some food for thought.


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## sp700twin (Mar 8, 2016)

Mr Muleskinner said:


> Choosing a humidifier or dehumidifier is dependent on the size of the area and the average relative humidity it is intended to service.
> 
> The National Firearms Museum maintains their guns at 70 degrees and 50% humidity as does the Cody Firearms Museum. The relative humidity in our homes in Utah is generally substantially lower than it is outside due to our HVAC systems. Chances are the humidity here is already lower than ideal for gun storage. If I turn off the humidifier in our home my hygrometer will almost always drop below 45% in the winter and down to 20%-25% in the summer.
> 
> Just some food for thought.


Thanks for this tip Muleskinner - do you think the cold storage rooms under the front patio would have similar humidity as the rest of the house once a door is put in place effectively eliminating any air circulation? Sounds like we need to get the home finished then measure the humidity and temperatures for a time before I invest heavily into this idea.


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## Mr Muleskinner (Feb 14, 2012)

I doubled up vapor barrier in the walls and also put it on the floors and the ceiling prior to insulation. I then put the same stuff over the insulation. The only moisture that will get in there is from the inside of the house. Overlap the barrier by 6" and fold it.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Those "goldenrods" people buy and put in safes really dont dry the air, they simply cause convection of air within the safe. A small fan in a room would suffice as well I'd imagine. One can buy all kinds of neat computer gadgets now a days to measure humidity and temperatures... you could set up a system to email you if it levels ever go beyond certain limits.

Example:

https://www.lacrossetechnology.com/alerts/temperature-humidity-monitor-general-purpose-no-probe.php

https://www.silabs.com/products/sensors/humidity-sensors/Pages/si7005usb-dongle.aspx

-DallanC


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