Moving art, antiques and collections
Some things in a house cannot be replaced by buying another one. Art, antiques, a collection built over decades and a cellar somebody put real thought into all need to be identified before they move, packed to what they are made of, and in some cases boxed in wood rather than cardboard.
Write it down before anything is touched
Make a list with photographs before packing starts. Each piece, where it is in the house, and images from a few angles including any damage it already has. Existing chips, lifted veneer, a hairline in a frame corner: photograph them now, because a condition record made afterward is an argument rather than a record.
Appraisals, certificates and provenance paperwork stay with you rather than travelling in a box. If there are pieces of genuine value, say so at quote time and ask how valuation coverage works for your move. That is a conversation to have before the truck is booked.
Antiques are old joints and old finishes
Old furniture flexes at joints that were glued generations ago, so it gets carried rather than pushed, lifted from the frame rather than the arms or the top, and never dragged. Marble and stone tops come off and travel on edge, separately from the base. Drawers come out or get secured, and loose keys, pulls and escutcheons go into a labeled bag attached to the piece.
The finish needs as much thought as the structure. Nothing adhesive touches a gilded, painted or shellac surface, and plastic wrap should not sit tight against an old finish or leather for a long haul, since it traps moisture and can mar what is underneath. Pads first, then wrap outside the pads. Clocks want the pendulum and weights removed and secured before the case moves at all.
Art, frames and anything behind glass
Hanging hardware comes off or gets taped down so it is not pressing into the next piece. Framed work is stacked upright, face to face and back to back, with a barrier between each one, and never laid flat with anything on top. Corner protection goes on before the outer wrap, since corners are where frames actually get damaged.
Unframed canvases are handled by the stretcher, never by the surface, and nothing gets leaned against the front of one. Past a certain size, or where the glass is large and the frame is heavy, a built crate is the right answer rather than a bigger box.
Collections and wine
A collection gets counted, not eyeballed. Coins, stamps, records, first editions, china, figurines: they go in small boxes, packed piece by piece, with the count written on the box. Records travel upright and never flat. Books go in small cartons because a book box filled like a linen box is a box that breaks.
Wine is a separate problem: heavy, heat sensitive and unhappy with vibration. Small cases only, bottles upright or on their sides consistently, and no case anyone has to struggle to carry. If the move is in summer heat, wine is often better riding in your own car than in a truck box, and anything temperature-sensitive is worth asking about before it goes on the truck rather than after.
25+
Years moving Long Island
2
Counties covered, Suffolk and Nassau
7 days
A week we run crews
$0
Hidden fees on a quoted job
Licensed and insured. NYSDOT #42381, USDOT #4161235. Certificates of insurance provided for buildings that require one.
Book a walkthrough, keep the Starter Kit
Three professional-grade boxes, two rolls of tape and one of the moving blankets our crews use on real jobs. Yours to keep, for moves of two bedrooms and up. No purchase and no obligation.
See what is in the kit