Atlanta Moving Blog - Tips, Tricks, and Insider Info
July 22, 2019

Moving Casualties in Atlanta: How to Protect Your Most Difficult-to-Move Items

Packing & MovingBy Julie DeLong, A-1 Freeman Moving Group 

Any time packing and moving your residence to another location in or around Atlanta, a number of pieces probably won't make it through the move. This is what is known as a moving casualty, a terrible amount of damage or full breakage that could take place on move-out day, move-in day, or as the truck goes along from one home to the subsequent. No matter how thoroughly you pack, most households encounter some form of minor moving casualty over the move, but you don't need to.

As a professional moving company in Atlanta, we pack a lot of vulnerable pieces for our clients to be sure they arrive at the destination unharmed. So, today, we're here to discuss ways to avoid the most prevalent moving casualties if you are packing yourself and ways to safeguard your most difficult-to-move items.

Delicate Glassware, Fine China, & Antiques

There's a reason that professional movers use so many customized packing supplies for packing your dishes. Glasses and ceramic dishes are hard enough to move without damaging them, much less fine china and sensitive antiques. A number of people discover at least one crack or shattered glass piece in a move with numerous delicate things in cartons.

You will want to be extra careful packing, stuffing, separating, and cushioning your most fragile belongings. 

  • Utilize cardboard dishware partitions
  • Pack plates upright, this approach cuts down the possibility of breaking
  • Fill each and every empty space utilizing paper, bubble wrap, or packing peanuts
  • Don't allow glass to contact other glass
  • Don't pack too tightly, or pressure/bumps can lead to damaging
  • Fill extra space as well as the outside of every box with fluffy packing material

Wall mirrors & Pictures

Sizeable panes of glass are particularly tough to pack given that they have a superior possibility of becoming cracked or destroyed in the move. This implies mirrors and glass-covered pictures has to be packed with special care. What is important will be to shield the glass area and lessen the risk of an impact against the glass. 

  • Stack mirrors together in a carton utilizing cardboard dividers in between
  • Secure a blanket or cloth covering the complete layer of the glass
  • Apply a large sheet of cardboard over each glass area to decrease impacts
  • Store vertical, much like the dishes
  • Don't allow packed glass to lay flat

 Wood Furniture

Wood household furniture is a common moving casualty, although not the entire furniture item itself. Alternatively, wood is likely to endure scratches, scuffs, and also damage to the finish when being taken apart or carted through narrow corners and doorways of the property. It's very usual for once-pristine wood household furniture to reach the new house requiring refinishing or fixes. Here's how to avoid harm to your household furniture (and also wall surfaces) along the route: 

  • Remove components such as handles and feet to make the furniture more rectangular and even.
    • Store all removed pieces collectively within a clearly labeled bag or box.
    • Smaller groups of taken off hardware could be placed in a drawer of the furniture it came from
    • Store multiple sets of removed components in the same carton for convenient reconstruction
  • Tape All drawers and also cabinets shut
    • Use paper tape or masking tape which does not harm paint, stain, or finish
  • Take sizeable furniture apart when you can.
    • Cover each piece individually and bunch into one carton or bundle.
    • Visibly label anything you disassemble, including where the parts need to be reconnected down the road. Colored tape will help.
  • Cover all things in furniture pads or moving blankets to decrease the chance of scuffs
  • Ask for guidance or hire professional movers to relocate substantial or cumbersome household furniture 

Musical Instruments

If you possess any musical instruments, you recognize that relocating could mean serious danger for these types of carefully tuned and fragile belongings. From grand pianos to flutes and all things in between, instruments tend to be breakable and need to be addressed utilizing the utmost attention.

For large musical instruments such as pianos, harps, and acoustic bass, you may want to utilize a professional instrument moving team. Talk to your moving company in Atlanta regarding what they could do or services they are able to connect you with who specialize in moving sizeable musical instruments correctly spanning short or long distances.

For more compact personal instruments, these steps can help you keep your musical equipment protected and in fine shape during the move: 

  • Loosen the strings of the stringed instruments like guitars, violins, cellos, and small harps. The humidity and temperature changes over a move or while in storage can cause strings to snap or even warp the wood of the musical instrument if the strings are extremely tight.
  • Package mouthpieces independently and consider transporting your mouthpieces with you as opposed to packaging them in a box.
  • Pack musical instruments in their own shaped and padded cases if it is possible.
  • If realistic, cover musical instruments in bubble wrap, even in their cases, to provide extra padding in addition to protection.
  • In the event that you do not have a case wrap the instrument in several layers of bubble wrap and after that pack in its own carton with nothing more inside.
  • Pad your box with newsprint, bubble wrap, or packing peanuts in order to avoid wiggling and bumping.
  • Do not ever put two instruments inside the same carton in case they damage the other on the move.
  • If perhaps it's a possibility, contemplate moving instruments inside your automobile instead of within the moving truck. 

Art

Packing & MovingWhether you have posters, painted canvas, or sculptures, preparing fine art is often tricky. There's a pretty good chance your art will certainly endure the move not having specialized moving services, but only if you pack it the right way and are cautious regarding where it's placed in the moving truck. For particularly expensive items, talk with your moving company in Atlanta concerning if you should research moving them inside your vehicle or shipping with an artwork transport service.

Even so, if you've merely got a couple of delicate pieces of fine art to pack and take, here is how to prevent them from becoming moving casualties:

Canvas & Posters 

  • Figure out whether it's safe to roll up the art and store in poster tubes. Vertical, sturdy poster tubes are frequently the soundest approach to take.
  • If stowing flat, consider keeping inside picture frames that happen to be presently packed up carefully to lessen bumps.
  • If keeping flat, make use of a thin flat box near the measurements of your art
    • Lay your canvas or poster in between pieces of cardboard to make sure they're both flat and protected
    • Give consideration to plastic wrap, wax paper or maybe a swift spray of paint-sealant for unsealed paintings or perhaps drawings 

Delicate or Strangely Shaped Statues 

  • Like dishes, fill every crevice, cavity, and handle with fluffy packing material
  • Like instruments, spot in a bed of packaging material and surround with more packaging materials to guard from bumps or compression
  • Metal in addition to wood may be located in the same carton
  • In general, do not put two glass or breakable sculptures inside the same container

 Exercise Machines

Lastly, we visit the toughest but maybe most complicated packing job of all: your workout machines. Barbells, weight benches, exercise bikes, and specialty workout equipment tend to be a huge concern to move. The weighted and structural pieces can be extremely hefty whilst the gear itself can be sophisticated and/or clumsy to move. The truth is, large work out devices are often the reason for moving casualties.

Sporting gear, however, could be very delicate. Rackets and skis, snowboards in addition to surfboards, along with other carefully wrought sporting gear can take severe destruction from the wrong sort of jostling during a move. They're items you ought not quickly toss in a box and set off.

Here's how to move your home workout room and sporting equipment safely with no breaks, losses, or too-heavy boxes:

Weights 

  • Pack one or two per container
  • Pad snugly and pack into small now-heavy cartons
    • Search for or build boxes smaller than a book carton
  • Pack disc weights in acceptable piles
    • Wrap in furniture pads and secure with shrink wrap
  • Do not ever load up several weights more substantial than you can carry
  • Lift up utilizing your legs 

Workout Equipment 

  • Maintain and load up the set up directions
  • Disassemble everything you can and pack in bundles of bars and bench pieces
  • Mark every component as well as screw as you take apart and keep within labeled bags with the workout equipment parts
  • Snap photos before you disassemble to assist with reassembly 

Sporting Gear (Rackets, Skis, etc.) 

  • Store rackets inside their cases with an added layer of cushioning. Don't allow to fold.
  • Bubble-wrap skis and surfboards and then put within cases or vertical boxes.
    • Think about added cardboard or struts to maintain cartons impact-resistant and firm
    • A professional mover can provide boxes, when you need them
  • Pack groups of equipment collectively in the identical container.

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Transferring to a new house in Atlanta does not have to include the common moving casualties like furniture pieces scrapes or broken plates. If you're moving big everyday items or distinctive vulnerable items, these suggestions will help you have a tragedy-free move with every one of your favorite things making it safely to your new residence. If you want more sensible moving suggestions from a professional moving company who has seen it all or you might be concerned about packing specific items in your residence, give us a call today!

 

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