Congratulations! You’re moving to your new home. But what does this now mean? Packaging up furniture, hiring removal vans and handling paperwork can make moving more stressful than it has to be. Particularly when you need to move high-value items such as fine art, it can be a hassle to ensure they’re packaged and transported safely and efficiently. Here are our top tips for packing fine art for a house move.
Prepare Your Space
Whether you’re moving one item or several items, it’s important to have clear, flat space with no potential trip hazards around. In terms of supplies, this will depend on the size and nature of your fine art. Have a large canvas to transport? Invest in a large artwork box. Have a fragile antique to move? Ensure you have extra bubble wrap and protective coverings.
When preparing your fine art for a move, avoid as much contact as possible to ensure it stays clean and pristine throughout the move. This also means no lifting with grimy fingers. Before laying down your artwork, consider putting a dust sheet or blanket down with bubble wrap on top to avoid any harsh collisions with the floor. With clean gloves, you can then slowly place the artwork face down.
Extra Bubble Wrap
As you would with any piece of art, using bubble wrap is essential for preventing damage and harm during a move. However, make sure to wrap so the bubbles are facing outwards and not pointing into the artwork. Be careful not to get the tape on the canvas itself, as this can damage the art. We would also recommend wrapping your fine art in a layer of acid-free brown paper before the bubble wrap goes on for additional protection. Do avoid newspaper wrapping, though, as this can leave prints and stain your artwork.
Pack With Care
Following on from our last point, how you wrap and pack can make all the difference for your fine art. For framed artwork that contains glass, extra care will need to be taken. To ensure the glass of your art doesn’t shatter during your move, create an X with blue masking tape from corner to corner without touching the frame itself. You can then follow our previous steps and wrap with paper, then bubble wrap.
Secure Your Corners
To avoid the risk of scoring the corners of your fine art items, or if you have a frame you’d like to protect, you can use foam or cardboard corner protectors on top of the wrap. You can usually find these in art shops, online or alternatively, you can make them yourself with a small amount of cardboard. Court Senior Art has a simple tutorial on how to make cardboard corners from scratch here.
Invest In Artwork Boxes
For fine artwork that may be antique or fragile, you should always consider an artwork box. These can also be found in art shops and online, or it may be worth ordering one which is built customised to the dimensions of your piece. Once you have your box, place the artwork gently and fill the space around the frame with packing paper as well as on top of the frame. After sealing the box, give it a gentle shake. If the artwork shifts when shaking, open it up and simply fill it with more packing paper.
Don’t Forget To Label
Just like parcels, your artwork packaging must be labelled clearly to show that the item is fragile and should be moved with caution. Other details on the label should include your name, new address and contact details should your art get lost in the moving process. If the art is going somewhere else, whether it be a gallery or art fair, also attach instructions on how to handle and unpack the piece of art to prevent potential damage.
Fine Art Insurance
Like any other valuable, it’s always a good idea to get insurance on your item (if you haven’t already) in the event of it getting lost, stolen or even damaged. Fine art insurance typically covers items such as paintings and sculptures – often ones that are irreplaceable. With plenty of fine art insurance companies on the market, we’d highly recommend taking out insurance to have peace of mind.
Just Hire a Removals Team
If you’re not confident in packing and moving your fine art securely, don’t be hesitant to hire a fine art removal services team. A reliable removals team will wrap, protect and move your paintings with professional materials and expert precision. At Edwards Removals, we have a specialist team of highly trained technicians who will work closely with you to plan and execute each project while adhering to strict professional processes.
To find out more, get in touch with our team to get a quote or learn more about our services.