Ex-bank building purchase and chubb Vault door to book room

rearanger

I have just bought an building that was once a bank. in the building there was a book room. The door to the book room has a chubb door.(currently I do not have the keys, I am trying to obtain them. the door Is unlocked)

The bank was built in late 60’s early 70’s.

What sort of money is the door worth?
What sort of weight will it be ?

Paul Prescott

Generally the door will be worth nothing, indeed it may cost you lots to have it removed. It’s dangerous work that those skilled to do charge a lot for.

As to weight depends on the door, anything from 500 kg to about 2000 for an average door. Pictures may help.

rearanger

Ill try to get some photo’s today, there is a serial number on one of the locking bolts. bolts are up both the right and the left sides. On the inside face of the door looks like a hinged door panel(full size) I assume this provides full access to the workings of the door.

I reckon the weight could be around 1.5 ton lol that’s a bit much for me to lift and move using brute strength lol

rearanger

hopefully photo’s are attached

Tom Gordon

I dont think this book door is so heavy but it will be most unlikely to be saleable and although the doors hinges can be undone to remove it, you may struggle to remove the frame if it was built in when the bank was built (rather than being retrofitted). They obviously designed it to be securely fixed to the fabric of the building, but there may be signs of fixings on the reveal of the frame if you are lucky.

rearanger

the frame looks like it is fixed to room via 8 lugs with hex bolts on. the very top lugs on frame are exposed so can see the hex bolts. other 2 lower lugs either side look like they are skimmed over with cement /concrete. hex bolts are prob only half inch below surface.

unsure if anything else is holding the frame on. (would there be more fixings on the frame under the stone work? eg steel rods set into concrete)

the room walls are about 1ft thick(had to drill it today.) lol

don’t think there is anyway this door could be taken off without lifting gear. Thought about cutting it using stihl saw but it would take too long to chop up lol The actual main face of the door is approx. 1 inch thick plus the casing.

Tom Gordon

There is no way of knowing, but if it has a 1″ slab and was put in at the same time as the walls were built, in a bank, even though it is only a book door, I would go forward anticipating more than just a few bolts.

rearanger

Tom Gordon wrote
There is no way of knowing, but if it has a 1″ slab and was put in at the same time as the walls were built, in a bank, even though it is only a book door, I would go forward anticipating more than just a few bolts.

lol think ill just stop and leave It in Place lol Was hoping I could sell the door and get someone else to remove lol

[unknown]

Chubby

That’s the standard Chubb 25mm door. The door weighs 430 Kg and should just lift off the carriages. Get a decent length crowbar under it and a fulcrum. Sit the mother in law on the end and you will lift it off. The door and frame weigh 495Kg together. To get the frame out just undo all the bolts on the grip frame and it should come out easily enough.

It isn’t a huge amount of work but it isn’t a 1 man job either! Is it worth it? In UK you might get 1,000 sterling for the door and frame together. You might not! The door without the frame is almost worthless. It is useful for parts- lock, AED etc. It should be the double bitted Chubb 14 lever lock which is a nice unit and a live AED is always worth having. If it is difficult to get to- upstairs and won’t fit in the lift- is it worth all the effort for 8cwt of scrap mild steel? Possibly to a scrap man.

I would get it out and put it on E bay or similar if I were you. You have nothing to lose. Somebody wanting medium security- such as a large walk in gun safe or a wine & spirit store might buy it.

Huw Eastwood

Hi rearanger- seeing the hinges and style of chrome furniture on your door its in-keeping with the 1960s timescale which means it should be fitted with Chubb’s standard single-bitted 6K75 lock. I think chubby may have been misled by the look of the sliding escutcheon in the pics- it does look like a double-bitted keyway, but this age of door is way before the double-bitted Chubb-Lips locks were introduced.

Possibility the doors been cut and upgraded to the modern Lips lock, but unlikely on a book-room door and you’ll know anyway simply by looking closely at the shape of the keyway cut through the inch door slab.

I think I got an original brochure somewhere- probably up in the attic boxed with all the others, so I’ll see if I can dig it out. Like the others have said though, it’s only a basic book-room door with a very limited scope for selling- better off sorting out the keys and making use of it if you can

Chubby

It was from a brochure that I assumed it was the double bitted lock. I hadn’t realised that they fitted the single bitted lock to the heavier doors. I had a ¼″ door from slightly earlier and that had the single bitted lock- the keys had the bits friction welded on. Good lock!

Anyway if you did decide to remove the door it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Frankly for what you are likely to get for it you would be better leaving it in place and using it!

Huw Eastwood

Chubby wrote
It was from a brochure that I assumed it was the double bitted lock. I hadn’t realised that they fitted the single bitted lock to the heavier doors

It must have been a far more recent brochure than what were looking at here chubby, as they used single-bitted locks on just about everything back then- even their 33 inch thick Treasury doors were single bitted, they simply used their higher grade 6K174 Bankers lock on them instead. A plate steel book-room door just a single inch thick can hardly be classed as one of their heavier doors!

[unknown]

Chubby

Sorry, I meant the heavier of that series of plate doors.

I realise Chubb is scarcely getting warmed up much under 9″ of TDR on a door!

Chubby

I have been looking at some product particulars on book safe doors by Chubb. I hadn’t realised what a big difference there is in mass between models with the same thickness door.

In one set of details I have, from a 2010 Selestion Guide, page 23, it states the weight of a 12mm door as 615 Kg and a 25mm door as 800 Kg. Those are described as “Standard Quality Doors”. Interestingly the door is shown hung with the hinges on the left.

An earlier- but not much earlier- leaflet gives the weight of a 12mm door as 335 Kg and a 25mm door as 495 Kg.

Did they, really, suddenly get so much heavier? Or are these 2 different classes of door as I suspect?

BMLock

“That’s the standard Chubb 25mm door”

Thanks for the great share Chubby, really helped out

Best
Stanley