Bank Vault Types Through History

The story of bank vaults shows us how people have worked hard to keep money and valuable things safe. Regular people might think a bank vault means one big metal room with a giant door, but there are many different kinds of vaults that banks use.

Early Bank Vaults

People started making special rooms to protect valuable items thousands of years ago. Ancient Egyptian temples had secret rooms deep inside to guard treasures. These rooms had thick stone walls and heavy doors that needed many people to open them.

Banks in the 1700s built vaults with thick brick walls. They made the walls super strong by stacking many layers of bricks together. The doors were huge wooden ones with iron bands across them. Inside these early vaults, banks kept gold coins, important papers, and rich people’s jewelry.

Modern Bank Vault Types

Modular Vaults

Banks today often pick modular vaults because workers can put them together piece by piece, like building blocks. These vaults have panels made from strong materials that fit together perfectly. The great thing about modular vaults is that banks can make them bigger when they need more space. Each panel has layers of different materials that make it hard to break through them.

Reinforced Concrete Vaults

Many banks have vaults with walls made from special concrete mixed with steel. The concrete gets poured around a mesh of steel rods that make it super strong. These vaults often go deep underground where robbers can’t easily reach them. The walls can be several feet thick, which means they’re stronger than regular building walls.

Time Lock Vaults

Time lock vaults have special locks that only open at certain times. Bank workers set the locks ahead of time, and nobody can open the vault until that exact time comes. These vaults help keep money safe because even if bad guys force bank workers to open the vault, they can’t – the time lock won’t let them. Many time lock vaults have more than one lock, so they need different people to open them.

Class I High-Security Vaults

Class I vaults give the most protection a bank can get. They have walls made from the strongest materials and lots of security features working together. These vaults often have motion sensors, heat detectors, and special microphones that can hear if someone tries to drill through the walls. Banks use these vaults to protect their most valuable things.

Night Deposit Vaults

Night deposit vaults let store owners drop off money after the bank closes. These vaults have a special door outside the bank where people can put in bags of money. The bags fall down a chute into a secure room inside. This helps keep cash safe when businesses close late at time.

Vault Door Types

Round Vault Doors

Round doors make vaults extra safe because their shape helps them stay sealed tight. These doors can weigh many tons – as much as several cars put together. They roll on special tracks to open and close smoothly even though they’re super heavy.

Rectangular Vault Doors

Some banks choose rectangular vault doors because they’re easier to move through. These doors still weigh tons and have lots of locking bolts around all four sides. Many rectangular doors have emergency release systems in case someone gets trapped inside.

Emergency Doors

Most modern vaults have smaller emergency doors built into the main door. These doors let people get out if they accidentally get locked inside. The emergency doors have their own locks and alarms to keep them secure when they’re not needed.

Security Features

Timing Systems

Modern vault locks need specific combinations of numbers to open them. Many vaults make people wait between entering each number. This stops robbers from trying lots of combinations quickly to guess the right one.

Relocking Devices

Vault doors have special systems that lock everything extra tight if someone tries to break in. These relocking devices snap shut if they detect drilling, explosions, or other attacks. Once they activate, even the right combination won’t open the vault.

Surveillance Systems

Banks put cameras everywhere around their vaults. The cameras record everything that happens near the vault all day and night. Many cameras can see in the dark and some can even detect body heat. This helps banks catch anyone trying to break in.

Biometric Scanners

New vaults often check people’s fingerprints, eyes, or faces before letting them in. These body scanners work with the combination locks to make sure only allowed people can open the vault. Some scanners can tell if someone is nervous or acting strange.

Environmental Controls

Temperature Control

Banks keep their vaults at steady temperatures to protect what’s inside. Papers can get damaged if they get too hot or cold. Some vaults have special air systems that keep the temperature just right all year round.

Humidity Management

Too much moisture in the air can hurt valuable things inside vaults. Banks use machines that control how much water is in the vault’s air. This keeps documents from getting moldy and stops metal items from rusting.

Fire Protection

Modern vaults have systems that fight fires without using water. These systems pump in special gases that put out fires but don’t damage anything inside the vault. The walls and doors can also resist very high temperatures for many hours.

Common Uses

Safe Deposit Box Storage

Many bank vaults hold hundreds of small boxes that people rent to store valuable things. Each box has its own key, and people need both their key and help from a bank worker to open their box. These boxes keep important papers, jewelry, and family treasures safe.

Cash Storage

Banks need secure places to keep large amounts of cash. Vault rooms often have special cabinets and shelves organized to store different types of money. Bank workers count and sort the cash in secure rooms connected to the main vault.

Document Protection

Companies and people trust banks to protect important papers. Vault rooms have special sections just for storing legal documents, contracts, and other valuable papers. The temperature and humidity controls help keep these papers in good shape for many years.

Vault Construction Methods

Panel Assembly

Workers build modular vaults by connecting strong panels together. Each panel has layers of different materials that make it hard to cut through. The panels lock together so tightly that not even water can get between them.

Cast-In-Place Construction

Some vaults get built right where they’ll be used. Workers pour special concrete around steel bars to make the walls super strong. They often do this underground, which makes the vault even safer.

Retrofit Installation

Banks sometimes add new vaults to old buildings. This takes careful planning to make sure the building can hold the vault’s weight. Workers might need to make the floor stronger or add extra support beams.

Testing and Certification

UL Testing

Companies test bank vaults to make sure they’re strong enough. They try to break into the vaults using tools, torches, and explosives. Vaults have to resist these attacks for certain amounts of time to get certified as secure.

Regular Inspections

Banks check their vaults often to make sure everything works right. They test the locks, alarms, and emergency systems. This helps catch any problems before they become dangerous.

Insurance Requirements

Insurance companies want banks to have certain types of vaults. They check how strong the vault is and what security features it has. Banks need good vaults to get insurance for the money and valuable things they protect.

Modern Innovations

Smart Security Integration

New vaults connect to computer systems that watch everything happening around them. These systems can call the police automatically if they detect trouble. They also keep track of who goes in and out of the vault.

Remote Monitoring

Bank security teams can check on their vaults using phones or computers from anywhere. They see live video from the cameras and get alerts if anything unusual happens. This helps them respond quickly to problems even when they’re not at the bank.

Power Backup Systems

Modern vaults have backup power supplies that keep everything running if the electricity goes out. This means the security systems and locks still work during power outages. The backup power can last for many days if needed.

Banks take vault security very seriously because they protect people’s valuable things. Each type of vault has special features that make it the right choice for different situations. As criminals find new ways to try breaking into vaults, banks keep making their vaults stronger and smarter to stay ahead.