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A vault door is a heavy, rated security door that turns a reinforced room into a strongroom. When your cash, stock or collection no longer fits in a safe, or staff need to walk in to manage it, a strongroom with a vault door is the next step up. It protects far more volume than any safe, but it has to be planned into the building, because the room is as important as the door.
This guide explains the difference between a safe, a strongroom and a vault, what goes into building one, and what to look for in the door. It is part of our commercial safes buying guide.
Safe, strongroom or vault?
- Safe: a self-contained, freestanding container. It is delivered complete and bolted down.
- Strongroom: a room built to resist attack, secured by a strongroom door. The walls, floor and ceiling are part of the security.
- Vault: generally used for the same thing as a strongroom, often implying bank-level construction. A modular or portable vault is a strongroom built from prefabricated security panels instead of poured concrete.
In practice, people use “vault door” and “strongroom door” interchangeably. What matters is the door’s rating and how well the room around it matches.
When a safe isn’t big enough
Consider a strongroom when:
- You need several large safes to hold everything, and floor space or loading is becoming a problem.
- Your insurer requires more protection than the safes you can fit will provide.
- Staff need to walk in, for example to manage stock, files, pledged goods or equipment.
- You store bulky items that will not fit through a safe door.
Who uses strongrooms and vault doors
- Banks and cash centres: bulk cash, safe custody and counting rooms. Strongrooms also make a secure place to count takings behind a locked day gate, following the dual-control steps in our cash handling procedures guide.
- Jewellers and pawnbrokers: overnight stock and pledged goods. See our article on safes and strongrooms for jewellers.
- Firearm collectors and dealers: walk-in storage for larger collections, subject to state firearms storage rules. Our state-by-state gun storage guide is the place to start.
- Government agencies: secure rooms for classified material, which may need SCEC-endorsed doors. Our article on how SCEC standards protect national security gives background.
- Businesses with data, records or equipment: server media, archives and high-value tools.
How a strongroom is built
The door is only one part. A rated vault door set into an ordinary stud wall can be bypassed by going through the wall. The room needs to match the door.
Reinforced concrete construction
Traditional strongrooms use reinforced concrete walls, floor and ceiling. The design and thickness should be set by a structural engineer to suit the security level, the building and the floor below.
Modular and portable vaults
Modular vaults use prefabricated security panels that bolt together on site. They can be installed in existing buildings and taken apart if you move. The Lord Portable Vault in our range is an ex-bank, bolt-together unit with 110mm thick concrete-filled panels, a 12mm steel plate floor, breather ventilation in the door and an emergency exit release. It weighs around 10,000kg, so the floor must be assessed before installation.
Floor loading and approvals
Strongrooms are heavy. A structural engineer should confirm the floor can carry the room, the door and the contents. Check with your building surveyor or council whether a building permit is required, and with your landlord if you lease.
Ventilation and emergency release
People will be inside the room, so plan airflow and make sure the door has an internal emergency release. Many strongroom doors include one as standard.
Day gates
A day gate is a lockable steel grille inside the door opening. It lets the main door stand open during the day for ventilation while still controlling who goes in.
Choosing a vault door
Rating
Strongroom doors carry cash ratings like safes. In our range, the Stronghold Strongroom Door VD1 and VD2 are listed at $100,001 to $200,000, and the Guardall KS-SD at $80,001 to $100,000. CMI strongroom doors come in Basic, Commercial, Premier and Commander grades. Confirm with your insurer what door and room construction they require.
Size and wall fit
Check the clear opening you need, for example to fit a trolley or pallet, and the wall thickness the frame is designed for. The Guardall Strongroom Door and Frame KS-SD has a clear door opening of 1890 x 857mm, needs a clear masonry opening of 1980 x 980mm, and has an adjustable frame for walls 150mm to 230mm thick. It is designed for new or existing buildings.
Locks
Digital locks are standard on most of the doors we sell, with options such as dual locking, time delay, duress codes, card access and audit trails on some models.
Fire resistance
Several doors in our range carry a 60 minute fire rating. Remember the room’s walls and ceiling also affect how well contents survive a fire.
Swing direction
Many doors open outward, but inward-opening models such as the Stronghold VD2 suit tight corridors. Several doors in our range can be hinged left or right.
What vault doors cost
In our range of strongroom and vault doors, the Guardall KS-SD starts from around $6,350, the Stronghold VD1 and VD2 from around $7,950, and the CMI strongroom doors from around $8,190 for the Basic grade up to around $25,700 for the Commander grade. Prices change, and you also need to budget for building the room, delivery and installation.
Buying a used vault door or vault
Vault doors last for decades, so used doors are worth considering. Our vaults and used vault doors for sale currently include a pre-used CMI B Class SCEC door with an extra-wide opening that suits a standard pallet, designed for a 200mm wall, with a lockable day gate and emergency internal release. Stock changes, so check what is available.
Before buying any used door, confirm the make, model and rating, check it suits your wall and opening, and make sure the lock is serviced and codes reset. Our checklist on buying a used safe in Australia applies to doors too.
Installation
A vault door weighs hundreds of kilograms; the Stronghold VD1, for example, is around 475kg. Fitting it is a job for specialists with the right lifting equipment, working with your builder so the frame is set correctly into the wall. Our safe and vault door installation team works in Melbourne and through our national network.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a strongroom and a safe?
A safe is a self-contained, freestanding container. A strongroom is a whole room built to resist attack, usually from reinforced concrete or purpose-made security panels, and secured with a rated vault door. Strongrooms hold far more and let people walk in, but they need to be designed into the building. The terms vault and strongroom are often used interchangeably.
Can I install a vault door in an existing building?
Often, yes. Some strongroom doors come with an adjustable frame designed for new or existing buildings, provided the wall around them is strong enough. The room itself usually needs to be built or upgraded to match the door’s security level, and the floor must carry the extra weight. A structural engineer and builder should be involved, and you should check whether a building permit is needed.
What is a day gate on a strongroom?
A day gate is a lockable steel grille fitted inside the vault door opening. During the day the main door can stand open while the gate stays locked, which lets air into the room and lets authorised staff control who enters. At close, the gate is locked and the main vault door is shut and secured over it.
Is it worth buying a used vault door?
A used vault door can be very good value, because doors last for decades and new ones are expensive. Check the make, model and any certification, make sure the frame suits your wall thickness and opening, and confirm the lock has been serviced and the codes reset. Buy from a supplier who can inspect, deliver and install it.
See vault doors at our Tullamarine showroom
Strongroom doors are easier to understand in person. Visit our showroom at 38 Barrie Rd, Tullamarine to see vault doors and high-security safes up close, or call 0409 860 011 to talk through your project. You can also send us your plans or questions.
