Moving art and antiques is a delicate process. It is not recommended that you do this yourself. Instead, we advise that you hire a moving company in Dubai that has experience handling items like fine art, framed prints, mirrors, fragile keepsakes and antique furniture. If, however, you want to do part or all of the packing and moving by yourself, this guide by ServiceMarket will help ensure that you go about it in the best way possible.
Packing artwork
Wrap fine art, prints and mirrors in Glassine before securing with packing tape. Glassine is air, water and grease resistant. Thus, it will prevent blemishes on your valuables. Next, bubble wrap everything at least twice and secure with packing tape. Frames of any kind are vulnerable to nicks and scratches so use styrofoam corner protectors for the corner of the frames. If you are still worried about damage, add an extra layer of protection with moving blankets secured with tape. Lastly, you need to place the items in narrow boxes that don’t leave room for movement. If there is room for movement, fill the spaces with foam peanuts or paper to prevent dents and scratches.
Artwork can also be stacked face to face/back to back in the moving truck. This will ensure the hanging hardware at the back of each piece won’t damage the fronts. Remember to place all the frames away from bulky items that could bang against them.
Packing Furniture
Disassemble the furniture, if possible. Otherwise, secure the drawers. Wrap the parts in plastic wrap before securing with packing tape. If anything has handles on it and they are removable, remove these and wrap separately. Follow this with bubble wrap and moving blankets as advised for artwork above. Place all the wrapped items in wooden crates to prevent damage from bumpy roads. Crates also keep your valuables from being tossed around in the truck during transportation. If you don’t have access to wooden crates, use cardboard boxes of appropriate sizes and fill will paper, towels or foam peanuts to prevent dents, nicks and scratches. Don’t forget to secure the boxes with strong packing tape. You don’t want a box to be picked up only to have the contents fall through out of the bottom.
Label carefully
Be sure to label everything carefully. Whoever is handling the boxes needs to know which way is up and if anything contains glass or fragile items. This is to ensure that everything that needs to be handled with extra care is.
Ask friends and family for help
When loading and unloading the moving truck, ask your family and friends for help. After you went to so much trouble packing and securing everything, it would be a shame if a valuable got damaged just because there weren’t enough hands to lift it.
Of course, the best way to move fine art, fragile items of sentimental value and antique furniture is to hire professional specialist movers for the job. That is not to say that following this guide won’t ensure your items are moved safely from point A to point B. But the peace of mind from knowing that your precious items are in experienced-hands is invaluable.
Movers and packers in Dubai also offer insurance coverage for the time that your items are in transit. So head on to ServiceMarket to get free quotes from reputable moving companies in Dubai. The quotes you will receive depend on a number of things. If you are wondering how movers calculate the cost of moving your valuables, read this article.
