Antique furniture can be very expensive to acquire or might hold a special place in your heart. Moving normal pieces of furniture can be difficult but with antique furniture this process to amplified. Repairing antiques is expensive or it might even be impossible. The best way to go about moving antiques is to prevent them from getting damaged in the first place. The following are some tips to help you move antique furniture and can be applied to moving furniture or appliances in general.
1. When moving antique furniture, secure all moving parts such as doors and drawers. Attach keys to cabinets and shelves inside the furniture to avoid losing them.
2. Sometimes moving antique furniture is tedious because of the pieces can be heavy. If an antique piece of furniture is heavy but has drawers and other removable parts, remove them prior to moving. Some furniture can become 50% lighter when you remove drawers. If legs or other fragile elements can be removed dissemble the furniture. This will prevent your furniture company from dropping or dragging the furniture when moving it.
3. Carefully choose the delivery or moving company. Before you hire any company, you should make sure that the moving company is well-equipped and experienced to handle antiques. Be careful when looking for cost savings because any damage to antique furniture will quickly cancel any costs you might save.
4. Use blankets in the van/truck to prevent scratches. You can even wrap the items in bubble wrap or with blankets and masking tape. Make sure to mark the furniture as fragile. Tell your moving company to pack the furniture upright and not to place anything on top of them
5. Make sure the courier’s insurance covers the full value of your antiques to avoid not being covered for transport damage.
6. Before moving antique furniture, photograph it in good condition to have evidence that it was okay prior to moving.
7. Take all details of the courier. This should be done when you book the moving company. Be sure to tell them directly that you have fragile and expensive items that you are moving. Mark the wrapped furniture with ‘fragile’ and ‘do not pack anything on top of this product’
8. Always have enough people to do the heavy lifting when moving antique furniture. If need be use sliders under the furniture to avoid damaging the bottom of the furniture or if you have wooden floors. Sliders could be cardboard or old blankets.
9. Make sure that there are people in the house when the antique furniture is collected. Their help might be needed to carry the product or to explain to the moving company which furniture is fragile.
10. Be grateful for people who help you to deliver antique furniture safely and tip them for competent and hard work.
Click HERE for some tips for physically moving the furniture itself