Many people who plan to move houses make the mistake of thinking that it is quite an easy process. While it might be easier for you to handle moving simple things, a lot of valuable items need to be packed and carried carefully. Those people who have fine-arts and antique items at their house or need to move a piano should not try to handle them on their own. These things can be damaged easily and you need experience to move them in a careful manner. In order to ensure the safety of your prized possessions, here are a few tips about what you should do:
Hire Professional Movers
If you have a lot of valuable items that need to be moved, don’t just hire any random moving company. While all movers can be helpful in moving usual things, not everyone can handle valuable items. There are a number of professional movers that offer specialized packaging and handling of fine-arts, antiques and pianos to ensure maximum safety and minimize damage. It can be highly beneficial for you to take assistance of these companies when it comes to moving valuables.
Get Insurance
During a move, there is a high possibility of your valuables getting damaged or breaking, even if you do hire professional movers. Accidents can happen to anyone, anytime. To protect yourself against huge financial loss in case of any such damage, it is better to get your valuable items insured for transit.
You can select a moving company that offers transit insurance coverage in case of any accidents so that you can be reimbursed. In order to keep track of damages, it is important that you inspect your valuable items closely before and after the move. If you detect any damage, it is advisable to claim damages as soon as possible.
Research about the Company Carefully
When you are considering transit of valuable items, it is essential to research about the company carefully. Even if the website of the company claims specialization in transportation of such items, ask them for a list of referrals. Contact their customers personally and ask them about the service. You can also go through the testimonials provided on the website. If you have friends who have similar items, you can ask them about movers they might have used in the past.
Move Them Yourself
If you still find it difficult to trust professional movers with your valuable items, you can move them personally. However, do that only if you are absolutely confident that you can do that without causing any damage to the items, which is highly unlikely because movers have much more experience. If you lack experience in packing and handling of these items, think carefully before you decide to give up hiring movers. To help you pack your antiques carefully, here are a few tips:
If you have paintings and portraits, remove them from the frame and pack separately.
Use heavy-duty boxes to pack mirrors and frames and also use protectors around the corners. Use a lot of cushioning material such as newspapers and bubble wrap all around the glass. For additional protection, tape the mirrors or glass surfaces to avoid shattering.
Wrap small photographs separately in bubble wraps and newspapers and then pack them in boxes.
Sculptures and antiques with uneven shapes should be first covered by foam padding and then wrapped in bubble wrap before they are packed in boxes. All the remaining space in the box should also be filled by cushioning material to avoid any movement.