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With so many businesses on the move every one of the trickiest parts during a move is keeping your furniture and office equipment safe from dings, scratches, and (even worse) major damage. Glass can be scratched or break, wood can be gouged, and upholstery can be stained and torn without the proper precautions. It’s essential to plan ahead to make sure all of your furniture arrives at your new location damage-free.

Moving to a new office can be an exciting but daunting task, and protecting your office furniture and equipment during the move is crucial to ensure everything arrives in good condition. Here are some practical tips to help safeguard your office furniture and equipment during the relocation:

1. Create a Detailed Inventory

• Catalog Everything: Before starting the move, create a detailed inventory list of all furniture, equipment, and other items to be moved. Include important details such as model numbers, serial numbers (for electronics), and any other distinguishing features. This ensures nothing gets lost, and you can check everything against the list once it arrives at the new office.
• Take Photos: Document the current condition of each item with photos. This will be helpful for insurance purposes in case of damage during the move.

2. Disassemble Large Items

• Break Down Furniture: For large or bulky furniture (like desks, cabinets, or shelving units), disassemble them into smaller, manageable pieces. This reduces the risk of damage during transport and makes moving easier.
• Keep Parts Organized: Store screws, bolts, and other small parts in labeled bags and tape them to the corresponding furniture pieces so they are easy to find when reassembling.

3. Protect Office Equipment

• Cover Electronics: Use bubble wrap, foam, or soft blankets to wrap all electronic equipment such as computers, monitors, printers, and copiers. Be especially careful with fragile screens and sensitive components.
• Use Custom-Fit Boxes: For smaller electronics like keyboards, mouse devices, and laptops, use custom boxes with padding to protect them from impact during the move. You can often get boxes designed specifically for electronics from moving supply stores.
• Remove Cartridges and Ink: For printers and copiers, remove any ink cartridges or toner to prevent leaks and spills during transit.
  • Bubble wrap
  • Cardboard sheets (corrugated)
  • Plastic bags (sealable)
  • Saran wrap
  • Mattress covers
  • Sofa covers

4. Use Proper Moving Materials

• Moving Blankets: High-quality moving blankets are essential for protecting furniture and delicate items from scratches, dents, and dust. Wrap furniture, especially wooden items, in moving blankets and secure with packing tape.
• Bubble Wrap and Foam: For fragile or delicate items, such as glass tables or artwork, use bubble wrap or foam padding to add extra cushioning. Pay attention to corners and edges to prevent damage. Bubble wrap will be your absolute best friend when moving your furniture because it helps to keep the more fragile parts protected. Covers are also crucial to protect fabric and upholstery from rips, scratches, and stains. Remember that couches, and chairs can be heavy and a protective cover ensures that no dirt or grime gets where it shouldn’t.
• Stretch Wrap: Stretch wrap is perfect for securing drawers, doors, and other parts of furniture that could open during transit. It’s also useful for keeping smaller items like office supplies together.

5. Label Everything

• Mark Boxes Clearly: Label boxes and furniture with the name of the room or the person it belongs to. This will help movers and your team keep track of everything and ensure things are placed in the right location in the new office.
• Indicate Fragile Items: Use “Fragile” stickers or labels on boxes containing delicate equipment or sensitive materials. This will alert movers to handle those items with extra care.

6. Hire Professional Movers (If Possible)

• Experienced Movers: If your budget allows, consider hiring a professional moving company with experience in office moves. They will have the necessary equipment, such as dollies, moving blankets, and lifts, to safely move heavy or delicate items.
• Request Specialized Handling: Some moving companies offer specialized services for office furniture and equipment. Make sure they are equipped to handle fragile electronics, fine furniture, and other valuable items.

7. Use the Right Packing Techniques

• Distribute Weight Evenly: When packing furniture and equipment into boxes, distribute the weight evenly to prevent damage during transport. Avoid overpacking boxes or making them too heavy.
• Cushion Items: Ensure that every item is properly cushioned with packing peanuts, foam, or soft material to prevent any shifting inside the box.
• Tape Boxes Securely: Use high-quality packing tape to seal boxes tightly. This will help prevent items from falling out or getting damaged during the move.

8. Protect the Floors and Walls

• Floor Protection: Lay down protective coverings like cardboard, moving blankets, or floor runners in the old and new office locations to prevent scratching and scuffing of floors during the move.
• Corner Protectors: Use corner protectors on walls and door frames to prevent damage when moving large or bulky items through tight spaces.

9. Consider Temporary Storage (If Needed)

• Storage Units: If your move involves multiple stages or there are delays in moving into the new office, consider renting a temporary storage unit to keep your furniture and equipment safe until everything is ready for setup.
• Climate Control: For sensitive items like electronics or expensive artwork, look into climate-controlled storage to avoid damage from heat, humidity, or moisture.

10. Ensure Proper Insurance Coverage

• Insurance for Office Equipment: Verify that your current insurance covers your office equipment during the move. Many moving companies offer insurance coverage options that can protect against potential damage or loss during transit.
• Consider Additional Coverage: If you’re moving high-value items or irreplaceable equipment, it may be worth purchasing extra insurance to ensure your assets are fully covered.

11. Plan for the New Office Setup

• Pre-Setup Preparation: Before the move, plan the layout of your new office, including where each piece of furniture and equipment will go. This can help speed up the setup process and reduce the risk of damage from unnecessary re-positioning.
• Delegate Setup Tasks: Once everything is moved into the new office, designate a team member to oversee the setup and ensure that everything is arranged carefully and correctly.

12. Test Equipment Upon Arrival

• Check Equipment Functionality: Once your office furniture and equipment arrive at the new location, carefully check all electronics, computers, and office equipment to ensure they are working properly. Test for any signs of damage or malfunction, and take note of any issues so they can be addressed immediately.

13. Prepare your furniture for moving ahead of time

If your furniture can be dismantled, it’s recommended to do it ahead of time before you begin wrapping your furniture. Dismantling your furniture will make it easier to move larger pieces without worrying about potential damage. If the owner’s manual for your furniture is available, make sure to follow it and use sealable baggies to hold the hardware you need to reassemble the furniture later at your new home. Tape the bag shut for additional security and label each bag with a permanent marker so you know which bag belongs to which piece of furniture.

What’s more, you can wrap more fragile pieces of the furniture securely when they’re detached from the rest of the piece. For instance, if your couch has wooden legs and you’re worried about them being scratched or gouged during the move, but the legs can be removed, you can take the couch apart and bubble wrap the legs securely to ensure their safety while covering the sofa with a protector.

14. Wrap your furniture

Speaking of wrapping pieces of your furniture, it’s important to make sure you’re wrapping correctly. Bubble wrap is best used to protect wood while saran wrap is best used to protect upholstery. While wrapping wooden pieces, use corrugated cardboard sheets for an additional layer of protection to prevent scratches. Bubble wrap is also great for protecting mirrors and glass. For the best possible protection, use painter’s tape to create a large “X” on the glass or mirror and then wrap the item completely with bubble wrap before placing the item between two sheets of large cardboard. This will help to significantly reduce the risk of the glass or mirror shattering or breaking while it’s being moved.

15. Hire professional corporate movers

It’s important to make sure that you’re wrapping your furniture and equipment with care before your big move whether you plan on moving yourself, with coworkers, or you plan on hiring professional movers. However, it’s a good idea to hire a professional moving service if you’re worried about your furniture being damaged. Professional moving services have experience not only moving furniture and office equipment in a way to ensure that it doesn’t get damaged but also wrapping furniture correctly for protection.

Additionally, they have the experience assembling wrapped furniture carefully in a moving truck to prevent any unfortunate mishaps. This last point is especially important as many DIY movers are unsure of how to place their furniture in their moving trucks to prevent boxes or important pieces from falling or sliding into each other. Professional movers can set up the moving truck correctly for the best security possible.

By taking these protective steps, you can minimize the risk of damage to your office furniture and equipment during the move to a new building. Planning ahead, using the right packing materials, and hiring professional movers will ensure a smooth transition with minimal disruptions to your office operations. Proper protection will also help preserve your assets, saving you time and money in the long run.

Are you relocating and need moving professionals to help make your move easier? We’ve got you covered. Craig Van Lines has the professional moving assistance to help keep your furniture and other belongings damage-free during your move. To learn more about our moving services, contact Craig Van Lines for moving help today.

Commercial & Government Moving Services Offered

In order to make your move easy and smooth as possible with minimal disruption to your operations, we offer the following:

• Small Business Relocation; Corporate and Office Moving
• Local and long distance either Domestic or International
• Our Special VIP Executive Moving Service – Customized for you
• Delivery, Installation and Reconfiguration of your floor plan
• Complete Project Management for both corporate and government moves
• We can also move your vehicles! All Auto / RV / Boat relocation needs met
• Expert logistics and warehousing/storage needs
• Records and inventory management

Office Movers For All Industries

Included in our Commercial services is the protection of the office building, including floor and wall protection. All of your office furniture and any heavy equipment is shrink-wrapped and padded in place prior to moving with the goal of providing you a completely damage-free office move.

We have a proven track record of successfully managing complex office moves for small business, corporate and government clients. Whether you are moving your main office, satellite offices or providing employee relocation – our goal is to provide you and your employees with the smoothest transition possible. At Craig Van Lines each and every one of our employees remains focused on your complete satisfaction. We understand that relocation is a challenge and you will find that we remain flexible and that we can offer a variety of solutions when issues arise.

From packing and storage, to transportation, to unpacking – we can provide all the services, materials, manpower and trucks necessary for your business to have a successful move.

Let’s get moving – call (703) 273-8852 today!