I have a friend in Galveston who bought a home that used to belong to some unscrupulous restauranteers who went to prison for laundering lots of $$$. Well, upon renovating this home, he discovered a "secret" walled-in room in the center of his home. It is a small room, about 4 feet by four feet. He decided to make this room part of his laundry room, so he knocked the adjoining wall down and pulled up the carpet so he could lay matching tile. Upon removing the carpet he discovered a floor safe that had been built into the slab and he obviously wants to see if anything in in there, but a locksmith quoted him $500 to open it. That seems like a lot of money to bust open a safe. Does that seem excessive to anyone else? He doesn't care if it is picked or cut open, but he wants to get in there. Anyone got any ideas?
1) Don't forget: 2) I don't get it: he's hoping for some free goodies, yet he's too cheap to get them? Then just leave it.
That kicks ***. I'd pay that $500 in a flash. And for Christ's sake, if there is some loot in there, don't hand it over to the cops. I'd also notify Geraldo.
1. Get a jack hammer - electric unit costs less than $ 100.00 / day. Chip it out. 2. Use some 2x6's & rig a hoist - use lots of good, thick nylon rope or some chains. Pull that puppy out. 3. Find a terrorist (of either foriegn or domestic origin), make friends & apply some C-4 to the hinges. That oughta do it. I am guessing the extra cost is probably due to the complexity of the tumbler & lock system. You're probably looking @ a $ 500.00 charge due to the time it will take in combination with the very specialized skills required to get it open. Was this a quote over the phone, or did they make a house call? If he has all the specs (model & maybe even some serial # if it's visible, etc) he may be able to contact the mfg. & see if they can point to a factory certified co. who might take less time & / or less cost. If no good on that, then take the specs & call Cothron's here in Austin & get a comparison on the cost (obviously, don't mention the safe is in Galveston). 800.294.6273 Of course, we'll need updates.
I would not want to jackhammer a safe out of the floor. I would pay the $500 for the locksmith to pick it and keep it in working condition. I would guess there is a 95% chance this thing is empty.
watch The Italian Job, then buy a stethoscope. How hard can it be? $500 does not seem like too much if the locksmith has to manually pick the lock. I imagine it could take a while. He could be cheap and get some friends to chip in for a % of loot recovered and then would not be out the whole $500 in it is indeed empty.
I would be worried if there were $ left behind by the previous tenants. Do you not think that these unsavory characters are going to come calling some day or break in to get their $ back? Find out when they get released - if they dont come calling that year then at some point later I would consider going in.
No locksmith, dude. You don't want anyone to know what you find. If it is good, he will want a cut or rat you out. I like the jackhammer idea, but I would not jackhammer the slab, I would use it to bust the safe open. If it is an old safe, it can't be that hard to just beat your way into, especially if it was installed in a home. I'll bet it ain't empty if it was walled over t jus tmake dead space. Have you pulled the candle stick on the mantel yet? Those bookcases might open up to secret tunnels.
i agree no locksmith... you do not want the cops involved... no idea besides that ... but wow this blows the bomb shelter thing out of the water... ill willing to bring some beer... lets all head over and brainstorm!
You bought a house owned by the M...o's, or the F.....a?'s I'd put an armed guard on my horse and bunny rabbit before taking whatever is in that safe. There were two or three big families that controlled gambling in Galveston back in the day-I think they might have been known to do a few things that were not completely legit, and have connections to the police department and local politicians. A wild and wooly era of slot machines, casinos, big entertainers like Sinatra at the Balinese Room, and officials looking the other way. The safe is most likely empty, but if you pay a neutral party to open it, the police will be involved. Maybe you could pay someone, and tell them not to fully open it. You only want to pay for the opening, not the silence of an accomplice to your looting of a crime family's ill-gotten loot. How much for the book rights to your story?
You'll have to share the loot with everyone on this thread or we will rat you out to Elliott Ness, Geraldo Rivera, the VIP Newsletter, and America's Funniest Home Videos.
My grandparents have an old post office safe and the hinges are exposed on the outside, ask your buddy if the hinges are exposed, if so, I can tell him how to open it. Chief
Shoot, all he needs is a big sledge hammer and a good drill. If he has enough time and desire, he'll get it open.
He needs to hire BrisketTexan to come and bbq. We have our first HornFans Galveston party at his house. Everyone brings along some tools and we all take turns trying to crack that thing open. I'm ready for something like this. Mag Base drill and lots of bits, couple of cases of Kroil. This has huge potential.
i sense this will wind down with the phrase "think you used enough dynamite there butch?" being uttered through a cloud of dust.
liquid nitrogen is your friend. you can get it by bribing a college/high school student with access to the science lab. then apply it to the hinges and let it rip. a friend of mine did this...
