Have you been searching for a small home safe and discovered there’s hundreds of options? It’s likely just a few searches filled your IG feed with ads from places like Mycube and Amazon home safes. But if you ended up here looking at a Liberty - Premium Home 8, it means you’re serious about safeguarding your valuables from theft and fire.
With nearly 40 years of experience in selling safes, we know those are two key factors when choosing the right one. Liberty's Premium Home Safes are a newer addition to the home safe market. They were introduced in 2023 by a Utah-based company that has been crafting top-notch safes since 1988.
While we're pretty impressed with the quality build of the Liberty Premium Home Safe 08, we want to make sure it’s the right fit for you. In this post, we’ll provide an objective review to help you determine if it’s the right safe for you and your loved ones.
Liberty Premium Home 8 Design and Construction
The Premium Home 8 was crafted with homeowners like you in mind. Its sleek and elegant design fits seamlessly in any space, whether it’s a bedroom, office or family room.
Does it fit in a closet? In most cases, yes. It features a slim footprint (the Premium Home 8 is just 24.5" wide and 19" deep) and a very forgiving height (it’s only 29.75" tall), allowing it to be discreetly installed in most closets.
Customize to Fit Your Home with 21 Colors & Finishes
Safes get a bad wrap as ugly black boxes that sit in the corner collecting dust. The Premium Home Safe 8 comes in 21 different colors and finishes. So rest assured, this pretty little baby can be customized to match your decor.
10-Gauge Steel Body
The heavy-duty body is built from 10-gauge steel, offering nearly six times the bending strength of the more common 14-gauge steel found in many home safes. This heavy duty steel offers two major benefits:
- Fire Protection
- Burglary Protection
Thanks to the extra structural integrity of the 10-gauge steel, it doesn’t bend or buckle as easily when exposed to high heat. This is a serious advantage in a fire, as the tight door seal helps keep the internal temperature of the safe down, while keeping contaminants (such as smoke and water) out.
Additionally, the steel’s strength makes it exponentially more difficult for a burglar to cut their way into your safe.
4 Important Security Features of a Premium Home Safe 8
In the world of home safes, the security features of the Liberty Premium Home 8 are top-notch. These safes come equipped with several different advanced features that allow them not only to stop curious tiny humans but deter burglars and protect valuables in the event of a house fire.
1. Locking Mechanism
The Premium Home 8 comes standard with an easy-to-use Electronic ProLogic lock. At some retailers (like NW Safe), you have the option to have your safe retrofitted with an old-school Sargent and Greenleaf dial lock.
Both options are UL-listed and come highly recommended by our in-house Master Safe Technician due to their reliability.
2. Reinforced Door and Bolt System
The safe’s door is built with 4 Solid State™ Locking Bars — giving this small home safe unmatched pry resistance for its price point.
The Solid State™ Locking Bars are a relatively new advancement in the safe world. Most safe designs use round locking bolts that are often secured to the bolt bar with a lightweight screw or rivet. These create a weak point and often fail during a pry test.
The Solid State™ Locking Bars are made from a single piece of American-made steel. This design eliminates the rivets. Additionally, the single piece of steel creates a full edge-to-edge contact when the door is closed and locked — dramatically increasing the safe’s pry resistance.
3. Slip-Clutch Mechanism
Liberty's collar-style slip-clutch mechanism offers superior protection against forced entry. This system controls the movement of the locking bars when the exterior handle is turned.
Unlike traditional welded designs, which can break under excessive force and lock you out of the safe, the collar-style mechanism spins freely when too much pressure is applied. This prevents damage to the safe while effectively deterring break-in attempts.
4. Fire Protection
The Liberty - Premium Home 8 comes with a 120-minute fire rating and a Palusol heat-activated door seal. Made from sodium silicate encased in a thermoplastic profile, the seal expands up to five times its original thickness when exposed to heat.
As this non-combustible material expands it seals the minor gaps between the door and the body of the safe, offering protection against smoke, heat, and water damage.
Additionally, the Premium Home 8 comes with three players of fireboard in the walls, 4 in the ceiling, and four in the door. You can see how many layers of fireboard insulation the safe has by looking at the rating sticker Liberty has placed on the door.
This level of transparency is very unique within the safe manufacturing world. It gives you the ability to accurately compare models within Liberty’s collections. Most manufacturers are not nearly as transparent about the level of fire protection they are providing.
Get Customizable Interior Shelving with Premium Home 8
While you can't customize the fabric interior of the Premium Home 8, its adjustable shelving lets you tailor the storage space to your needs. Whether you’re storing important documents (like birth certificates and social security cards) or valuables (such as jewelry and cash), the shelves can be arranged to fit items of varying sizes.
The interior is lined with soft fabric to prevent scratches on delicate items and includes a standard light kit for clear visibility inside the safe. The door panel features convenient hooks and Liberty's Cool Pocket — a unique fire safety feature made from Liberty’s proprietary heat shield material.
The Cool Pocket is a large file folder. It is designed to keep its contents up to 50 degrees cooler than the rest of the safe during a fire. In one recent tragedy, a customer lost all their belongings in a house fire, except for $27,000 in cash stored in their Cool Pocket.
Premium Home 8 is Simple and Straightforward
The Liberty Premium Home 8 is designed for ease of use, especially thanks to electronic ProLogic lock that comes standard. This e-lock offers quick and convenient access, making it ideal for users with unsteady hands.
Would you prefer a lock that is not battery dependent and unaffected by potential EMP outages? Some retailers will offer a lock swap for a small additional charge. (Not to toot our own horn, but we’re one of those retailers.)
Liberty - Premium Home 8 FAQ
Can my kids get into a Liberty - Premium Home 8?
Unauthorized access to the Liberty - Premium Home 12 is incredibly challenging. As long as you keep your combination secure, it’s nearly impossible for anyone, including children, to break into the safe.
With the ProLogic lock, four incorrect combination attempts trigger a 4-minute lockout, adding an extra layer of protection. The dial lock offers 1 million possible combinations, making random guesses impractical and time-consuming, potentially taking hours, days, or even weeks.
These advanced locking mechanisms, paired with the safe’s robust construction, ensure peace of mind, keeping your valuables secure from curious hands.
How difficult is it to install a Premium Home 8?
While the smallest of Liberty’s Premium Home Safe line, the Premium Home 8 is still 321 pounds. An awkward shape, this safe is often a bit too much for most homeowners to install themselves safely.
Most big box stores offer curbside delivery at a bare minimum, and some offer first-floor delivery.
Here at NW Safe, we have experienced in-house delivery crews that offer full-service delivery and installation anywhere in your house. This service includes:
- Safely moving your safe to the exact location you want it while protecting your walls, floor, and thresholds. (If your safe doesn’t fit where you want it, we can help you find the next best solution!)
- Leveling your safe to ensure proper door swing.
- Teaching you how to use your safe (including helping you program your electronic lock).
Where can a Liberty - Premium Home 8 be installed?
As a small home safe, the Liberty Premium Home 8 can be installed nearly anywhere. It not only has a small base, but it’s less than 2.5 feet tall — allowing it to easily sit under most desks and within most closets.
Popular installation locations also include:
- Home Offices
- Master Bedroom Closet
- Under a Bedside Table in the Master Bedroom
- Butler’s Pantry
While the safe is a substantial weight for a small home safe (it’s 321 pounds), it is light enough that it could be rolled out of your house using a dolly. For this reason, we strongly recommend bolting it to the ground. This extra precaution enhances burglary resistance and ensures your safe stays firmly in place.
What if I can’t get my safe open?
Worried you’ll get locked out of your safe? The first thing we ask anyone experiencing issues with an electronic lock is, "When was the last time you replaced the battery?" In most cases, simply installing a fresh battery resolves the issue, avoiding the need for a service call. If that doesn’t work, our in-house Master Safe Technician can help you regain access by expertly opening any safe.
What if I forget my combination?
No matter what safe you buy, we strongly recommend registering your safe with the manufacturer. If you forget your combination, the manufacturer can help you recover it if your safe is registered. Registering your safe also ensures you’re covered in the event you need a warranty service.
One important thing to keep in mind is who you put on the registry. If you are married, we always recommend putting both partners on the warranty. In the event something happens, this saves you the headache and legal expense of proving that you are now in charge of the warranty.
Why Doesn’t This Safe Have a Key Bypass?
There are some articles online that tout a key bypass (aka a key backup) as an emergency safety net. In reality, a key bypass is actually a security threat. Any lock with a key bypass is not UL listed and can be easier to break into.
Why would I regret buying a Premium Home 8?
We truly hope you don’t. But in our experience, the most common regret customers have is choosing a safe that’s too small. Safes can’t be resized, so if your collection of valuables outgrows it, you’ll need to either buy an additional safe or upgrade to a larger one.
Often, the valuables a customer intends to store in their safe takes up more space than they anticipated. Furthermore, they don’t know what future purchases they may want to store in their safe.
The good news is we’re here to help with either option — and we’ll even remove your old safe when delivering a new one. So, if you end up with a safe that's too small, it doesn't have to be a permanent issue.
Is there an easy and affordable financing option?
Some safe retailers offer financing options for new home safes and gun safes. Here at NW Safe, we have affordable financing powered by two different options:
- Buy now, pay later with Shop Pay
- 12 Month Same As Cash
Both of these options are contingent on approved credit and may require a down payment.
Is a Liberty - Premium Home 8 Right for Me?
While we can’t narrow down the countless home safe options available on Amazon or at Costco, we hope this overview has showcased the outstanding security and versatility of the Liberty - Premium Home 8. If you’re looking for a top-quality safe that offers protection from both burglary and fire, this model is an excellent choice.
Select the color for your new Premium Home 8 so you can schedule your delivery.