MidSouth Shooters SupplyReloading EverythingRepackboxLee Precision
Inline FabricationRotoMetals2Titan ReloadingLoad Data
Wideners
Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 41 to 46 of 46

Thread: Is too big of a reloading room a problem?

  1. #41
    Moderator Emeritus


    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Land of 10,000 Lakes
    Posts
    15,832
    My old house has a crawl space with two dug cellars, both of which leak in ground water during heavy rain events...both have an undersized sump pit and a sump pump.
    BUT...
    If I had a newer house that had a mostly problem free basement with more space than I think I needed...I'd add a walk-in gun vault, maybe 6' by 6', cement walls and strong steel door.
    If you are putting metal machining equipment down there, I can only assume your basement is mostly problem free, in regards to moisture?
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  2. #42
    Boolit Buddy


    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Pulaski, WI
    Posts
    416
    Quote Originally Posted by JonB_in_Glencoe View Post
    My old house has a crawl space with two dug cellars, both of which leak in ground water during heavy rain events...both have an undersized sump pit and a sump pump.
    BUT...
    If I had a newer house that had a mostly problem free basement with more space than I think I needed...I'd add a walk-in gun vault, maybe 6' by 6', cement walls and strong steel door.
    If you are putting metal machining equipment down there, I can only assume your basement is mostly problem free, in regards to moisture?
    Hey Jon B,

    I really hope water is not a problem, as it it was built in 2018 (It was already built when we bought it, just empty). A gun vault would be nice, but WAAAAY out of the budget at this point in my life.

  3. #43
    Moderator Emeritus


    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Land of 10,000 Lakes
    Posts
    15,832
    Budget?
    Put it in a corner and you only need two walls, A few hundred bucks for cement blocks, several bags of sand mix and mortar mix ($100 or so) and a heavy duty all steel door, which could be found second hand (surplus industrial or recycled/recovery at a construction supplier) $100 to 200...probably $400 to 500 for a new door.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  4. #44
    Boolit Master Handloader109's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    NW Arkansas
    Posts
    2,505
    One thing that you must do if you ever have visitors is to make a "room" not just a corner. You can at least hide from prying eyes that might wander by

    Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

  5. #45
    Moderator
    RogerDat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Michigan Lansing Area
    Posts
    5,751
    A gun room is probably not a lot more than a decent gun safe but... there is the ease with which a concrete block wall can be breached. Sledge hammer goes right through it. So one has to consider adding some rebar verticals that make it more work. Or filling block cores with concrete and rebar. Or going with poured wall which probably requires cutting holes in floor above to fill forms as well as drilling into existing basement walls and floor for rebar anchors.

    Gun room is nice but done right so it is secure is a lot of work and more expense than just the block, cement and door. Gang tool box for job site is cheaper and probably harder to break into and easy to anchor so it can't be removed. Put a 1/2 dozen bolts into floor from inside box, or better yet make a few inch raised concrete platform with bolts. Raises the box above the floor in the event of minor flooding from say a water leaks etc. Don't put it under a water pipe or vertical water run and being a few inches raised should cover most situations. Go ahead an be especially evil. Put a chain in addition to the bolts. Bet any thief will work on the chain... only to find the dang box won't move after the chain is cut. All that work and nothing gained, so sad, too bad.

    One does have to think a bit about how one might break into the basement if one is putting a bunch of valuable equipment and firearms there. How easy is it to be hidden and look through or break into a window? Amazing the number of people that plant big bushy shrubs that block view of side doors or basement windows. I went with big bush very thorny rose. Winter or summer the "hidden" window doesn't have extra cover and what is there would be unpleasant to deal with. I still get some sun, and can open the window in summer for a breeze. I have debated adding some semi reflective film to make it harder to see in.

    Motion sensor or decorative lights can help if they point at house not toward road from house. Making people passing look into light doesn't let them see well, you want "stage" foot lights that make being at your wall like being on a stage. One can also put a motion sensor light in the basement. If half way through a window and a light comes on... leaving might just happen abruptly right then. Can be extra effective if blinding or if separate sensor and light with light in another room so it looks like someone is "coming" and turning on a light. I won't suggest hanging fish hooks on clear line in front of windows because that could be considered a trap. However if you ever paint or have items that you would like to hang and dry then right in the window seems like an oblivious place for the hooks to hang them on. Just saying.

    Oh and to the original subject. +1 on lots of shelving. Sturdy shelving. Drawers are nice. Even the plastic 2 and 3 drawer sets that just go on a shelf. Some cabinets are great, might be able to get them at scratch and dent prices if you have a kitchen and bath place around. Floor to ceiling shelves can be useful but leave room on top for bulky items that don't weigh much. Or are seldom needed. Measure some presses if they will be stored on shelf so you can get the right height. Shot shell presses are pretty tall. If you unhook the return spring from the handle the handle will drop and the height needed will be less, at lest with the MEC or Pacific that I have. Only takes a second to re-hook the return spring. If you have a college or university in the area check out their surplus & salvage sale. They sometimes have incredibly sturdy shelves for as little as $20 bucks. Library quality book shelves 7 foot high. If you are fussy hit them with some paint but they often don't need it.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

  6. #46
    Boolit Buddy


    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Pulaski, WI
    Posts
    416
    Thanks for all the advice so far. I already have a safe so for now it will probably be bolted in out of sight, I can upgrade to a gun room at a later date. As far as shelves and cabinets go, I am hoping to make custom cabinets when I get a chance, hopefully this spring or summer.

Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check