There’s no question that glass furniture adds a particular air of elegance to a home or office space. Helping to make a smaller space look bigger, using a glass table, shelving unit or other furniture piece is a great way to decorate a space with an environmentally friendly material. However, while glass furniture is beautiful it is also incredibly fragile, moving with it can be a nightmare if you don’t know what you are doing. Fortunately, Allied are removalist specialists and have years of experience in making complex moves simple. Here are our tips on preparing glass furniture for your move.
Gather the right materials
The first step to preparing your glass furniture for a move is to gather the right packing materials. Unlike books and clothes, packing your glass furniture and items requires a little more than a few cardboard boxes and some tape.
We recommend creating a packing kit with:
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Packing tape
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Permanent markers
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Labels
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Bubble wrap
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Cardboard boxes or specialised moving crates
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Packing paper
Having all your packing essentials in a handy kit (like a bag or small box) will help to keep everything together and make things more efficient and easier as you pack room by room. We recommend sourcing your packing materials from a moving company. They’ll provide you with industry standard materials and specialised boxes or crates to effectively pack and transport especially fragile items.
You can also be resourceful by using soft items you already own like blankets and thick jumpers to wrap smaller glass items like wine glasses or small picture frames. Using other items as packing materials is a great way to pack two things at once.
Disassemble items
Depending on the type of glass furniture you have, you may need to disassemble it before you pack. Disassembling the furniture can make it easier to pack and move the fragile items, especially in the case of bigger things like tables. For items such as glass tables, remove the glass component from the rest of the mount and pack it separately. It should be easily removable, but in some cases you may need to unscrew the fixtures holding the glass in place. We recommend taking photos or a video of the disassembly so when you are putting the item back together you have a clear visual guide to work from.
If you have items which cannot be disassembled, like a mirror, then tape the glass surface with a criss-cross pattern or large “X” using packing tape. Then wrap the item in bubble wrap and/or newspaper.
Clearly label
When packing your glass furniture, you need to make sure that you clearly label it so you and removalists know that the item is fragile and needs to be handled with care. You can either label items “fragile” and “glass” by writing on the packing with a permanent marker. We also recommend using fragile printed tape to identify which items are particularly delicate.
Do not stack or lay flat
Packing isn’t always a quick process so when you are storing items that have already been packed, ensure you don’t stack any glass items. Pack each glass item individually as grouping or stacking items can create scratches and damage. It can also be tough to separate stacked glass. Even when packed in boxes, avoid placing anything heavy on your glass items and don’t put anything on top of your fragile boxes. Avoid laying any glass furniture down as it is likely to shatter or crack. The strongest part of glass is the edge so laying glass on the side or upright is recommended.
Organise insurance
Even the most perfect packing job can’t always protect against accidents. As glass is incredibly fragile, sometimes damages can occur during the transportation of your belongings and furniture to their new destination. Organising insurance is a great way to give yourself peace of mind so if the worst case scenario does occur then you will be covered. Allied offers a comprehensive insurance policy to help protect you against the unexpected.
Hire the professionals
Some jobs are best left to the professionals. When packing your glass furniture, we recommend enlisting the experts to get the job one for you. By hiring a professional packing service, you won’t need to worry about your items being incorrectly packed and damaged while being transported to your new home. A team of packing experts will also have all the necessary materials and equipment required to do a successful packing job so you won’t need to source the bubble wrap or specialised boxes for glass furniture.