Moving Your Fine Art: Tips for Local Moving in Cutler Bay

Your fine art collection is more than simply a financial investment in priceless objects that may appreciate in value over time. It’s a hobby, a passion, and for many people, a matter of cultural importance. Whether you’re an artist yourself, or you simply have a passion for collecting art, your fine art is something that needs to be considered when you’re planning for local moving in Cutler Bay.

You can’t just throw priceless paintings or sculptures into a cardboard box and call it a day. Art pieces can be surprisingly fragile, and they need to be packed securely and moved with care. If your art is damaged during the move, it’s not something you can just go out and replace on the spot. Artwork is often irreplaceable by its very nature, and can have immense sentimental and personal value beyond its mere financial worth.

This guide can help you securely pack your fine art when you move. Along with local moving services from professionals with experience moving delicate artwork, good packing goes a long way toward keeping your art safe during transport.

Packing Up Your Fine Art: How to Pack Paintings & Sculptures

Proper packing is important for keeping delicate art pieces safe and intact when you’re in the process of moving to a new home.

Packing Up Your Paintings

Paintings can be surprisingly fragile. They’re generally painted on canvas, which is durable but ultimately susceptible to tearing and water damage. Paintings can also be damaged if they abrate against other objects during your move. Regardless of the medium or type of paint, your paintings need to be carefully protected for local moving.

Start by carefully wrapping each paper in Glassine. You can substitute plastic wrap if you really need to, but Glassine is the best material for this. It’s a smooth, glossy paper that’s watertight and grease resistant. It forms a barrier that keeps your paintings from getting smudged during transport. After you’ve wrapped the painting in a couple layers of Glassine, use a couple of layers of bubble wrap. This cushions the painting against impacts, preventing it from tearing and protecting the frame from damage.

Once your painting is protected with glassine and bubble wrap, you can box it. The best box for a painting is the one that it came in. If its original box isn’t available, the flat boxes from modern LCD TVs can also work well. If the box is larger than the painting, use packing peanuts and bubble wrap to fill in the extra space. For very large paintings, bicycle boxes can work very well.

If you’re dealing with an unusually large painting — something with dimensions along the lines of Dali’s masterworks or Picasso’s Guernica — you may need custom crating from a local moving company. Custom crating is also the best way to pack up sculptures and statues, along with other large three dimensional objets d’art. Talk to your moving company ahead of time about their custom crating services.

Moving Antique Furniture

Like paintings and artworks, antique pieces of furniture may also need special care and treatment for packing and moving. Custom wooden crates can be created for antiques, and special furniture blankets can add extra protection inside.

Moving Your Piano

Pianos are big, heavy, unwieldy, and surprisingly complex on the inside. For that reason, they need special care for moving and packing. Unlike smaller, more portable instruments, they’re very difficult to move. Professional services are often needed simply to relocate a baby grand or grand piano within your own home.

Whether your piano is something you use every day, or a largely decorative object that’s gathering dust in the dining room, moving it is no small task. A piano can have over 10,000 moving parts, and can weigh anywhere from 400 pounds for a small upright, to over 1200 pounds for a full-size grand piano. In some cases, grand pianos need to be lifted out of a window, as their large size and unusual shape can make standard doorways a challenge. Just getting your piano out the front door is easier said than done.

Specialty Local Moving Services for Fine Art, Antiques, & Pianos

At Orange Movers, we provide specialty moving services for fine art, antique furniture, pianos, and other delicate and sensitive items. To find out more, call us any time, or fill out our contact form to get in touch today.