Packing up and moving your household is one of the most exciting tasks you’ll ever do. It’s also one of the most challenging. This is true especially if you own a significant amount of furniture fragile. If it’s not protected correctly, you can reach your destination only to find that many items didn’t survive the move.
Defining Furniture Fragile
Furniture fragile spans a wide range of items in your household. The nature of these pieces could be as a result of what they’re made of. For example, tables, bed frames and bookshelves made of laminated particleboard may look like real wood but they don’t have the weight or the cost. Think furniture that requires assembly after purchasing.
Other furniture is fragile due to age. Pay special attention to antiques. Glass inserts, mirrors, or decorative elements that protrude from the surface also contribute to an item’s fragility. Other types of furniture requiring special care are grand pianos and delicate items due to their construction, bulk, weight, or unusual size.
Tips for Packing Fragile Furniture
Your treasures may have to withstand being carried up and down corridors, stairs, in elevators, and around corners. Trucks that vibrate and rumble along pothole-filled streets and highways can end up damaging your treasures. Package your furniture fragile properly to prevent breakage, scratches, impressions, and dents.
- Cover edges and corners with bubble wrap, packing paper, or other padding before wrapping the entire piece with heavy-duty moving blankets.
- Remove contents, then remove drawers to reduce the weight of heavy dressers. To ensure drawers are replaced exactly in their original position for the best fit, number them.
- Detach knobs, feet, or ornamentation. Take pictures as you disassemble so you’ll know exactly where to reattach.
- Carefully bag all detached elements. Secure the bag to the underside of the furniture. Or, collect all detached items from all furniture and keep in one large bag (that is, don’t pack away these elements).
- Wrap protruding elements with extra padding before putting the entire item in a moving blanket.
- Wrap stretchable plastic around items with delicate doors or handles to hold them securely to the piece. This will also help ensure they don’t break free of their hinges.
- While securing bubble wrap or moving blankets around items, don’t get masking tape directly on the surface of your furniture fragile. It could damage the finish.
Protecting Glass Items
- Separate glass or mirrors from the base of tables or vanities, etc. to which they are attached.
- Apply tape across the glass or mirror in an X-shape to help keep it secure. (This will also help hold pieces together should they break.) Wrap in packing paper or newspaper. Then, wrap in bubble wrap. Place glass or mirrors in a heavy-duty cardboard box. TV or picture frame boxes work well for this. Cushion with rolled-up t-shirts, newspaper or bubble wrap. Then tape securely shut.
- Collect any screws that you remove from an item and place in a ziplock bag. Label and secure the bag to the underside of the item.
- Clearly label all items with a FRAGILE sticker on the top and side.
Hire Professionals to Carefully Handle Your Furniture Fragile While Moving
Engage a certified professional moving company with specialized training and experience in handling furniture fragile. These movers will pack your household using many of the processes listed above. They will ensure your items arrive at their destination looking just as good as they did at the start.
Unpack Fragile Furniture as Carefully as You Packed Up
Whether you’re moving across town or across the country, take your time to unpack. Unwrap items carefully. Reassemble them one at a time to ensure all the components survived the trip and nothing was lost. Use plastic furniture sliders to easily move your items once they’ve been carried inside your new digs. This will protect both your freshly painted walls and your furniture,
Think ahead. Have a floor plan already in mind to immediately position the furniture fragile in its intended location. Before you know it, you’ll be safe and snug in your new home with your precious items in place and ready to be enjoyed for years to come.
