Take extra care for these extra-fragile items
Packing up your house is nobody’s favorite activity, especially when you add the stress of determining how to pack pictures for moving. But with the right techniques, you can make sure your family pictures, framed art pieces, and mirrors make it safely.
No matter if you’re moving across the country or just across town, here’s how to pack your frames (and keep them from shattering).
Before taking a trip to the store, measure all the frames you’re planning to pack. Once everything is measured, buy your boxes.
Large frames, like the big piece of art hanging over your mantel, should get their own box. Each box should be slightly larger than the frame, leaving enough space for a little cushion, but not enough for the picture to slide around. Smaller frames, like a gallery wall of family photos, can be packaged and moved together.
You can typically find boxes at a moving supply store or even a local hardware store. While you’re there, you should also pick up everything else you’ll need, including packing paper, bubble wrap, extra cushioning like foam sheets, and tape.
For any large pictures framed in glass, use masking tape to mark a big X across the front. This way, if the worst happens and the glass breaks, it won’t shatter everywhere. And don’t worry; the tape will peel right off when you unpack.
For extra reinforcement, cover the glass with a thin piece of cardboard or flat foam a tape it in place.
Working on a flat surface, wrap up the frame completely in packing paper. Cover it on all sides, then securely tape it in place. Place corner protectors over the corners, then wrap bubble wrap over the packing paper.
Pro tip: Make sure you’re using brown packaging paper and never use newspaper. Newsprint ink can rub off the paper and onto your frame! If you have newspapers lying around, you can put them to use in the next step.
Now place your frame (or frames) into the appropriate box. You can add some extra cushion on the bottom and sides of the box with flat foam pieces or extra cardboard.
After placing the frame, add extra packaging paper to fill in any gabs between the picture and the box. You want to pack it so the frame is snug and doesn’t move or slide around. Close the box and shake it slightly—if you can feel the contents moving around, add more packing paper.
Tape up the box and write “fragile” in large letters using a sharpie or thick marker. If you’re hiring a local moving company, you want to make it 100 percent clear that the box should be handled with care. Even if you’re moving on your own, it helps to label each box clearly so you know exactly what’s inside, and which packages you need to handle with more care.
Whether you’re packing a small sculpture or a piece of artwork that’s bigger than any box you can find, the following tips can help you pack those tricky items like a pro.
For artwork that’s larger than 48 inches by 32 inches, try combining two mirror boxes instead of buying one big box, which can also save on costs in some circumstances. With two boxes, you can “telescope” the artwork by turning the boxes on their sides and sliding them around the artwork horizontally. Secure them together in the following steps:
At the top end of the first box, fold the small flaps in.
Fold one large flap on top of the other and tape.
On the second box, put pressure on the dotted lines until there’s a break in the cardboard.
Lock the tabs on the bottom end of the first box.
Squeeze the sides of the second box so that they indent, and slide box into the end of the first box.
Slide your item into the box.
On the open end of the second box, fold the small flaps in.
Fold one large flap on top of the other and tape.
When packing small sculptures, bubble wrap and plastic wrap are your best friends. Since sculptures have small pieces that are particularly vulnerable during a move, you’ll want to first wrap the sculpture in plastic wrap, then roll up small strips of bubble wrap to secure around smaller pieces or areas of the sculpture. You’ll then take more bubble wrap around the entire sculpture until the outside resembles a large egg or cone, which will provide the most protection.
If you’re hiring a moving company to move your artwork and have a few pieces that are particularly valuable, you can ask your movers if they offer additional value-based insurance to cover your items. This way, if any damage occurs during the move or the quality of the artwork is compromised, you’ll have the pieces insured and will receive compensation.
It’s not difficult to wrap pictures, art, or mirrors for moving, but it’s delicate work. You have to ensure your items are packed correctly so they aren’t damaged during the move.
If you’d rather leave the packing to the pros, you can hire a local moving company to tackle this task for you. Packing and unpacking your belongings is likely a service you didn’t know that movers offer, but they are happy to help with this part of the process. Keep in mind that adding a packing service to your move will cost about $1,000.
You can pack unframed pictures for moving by rolling them up, picture side facing outward, and storing them in a cardboard tube. The tube needs to be larger than the print or canvas and will then be placed inside a bigger tube for safe keeping. Avoid putting bubble wrap around the rolled up picture or painting, since it can create a humid environment and alter the artwork. Instead, loosely roll the cured picture and place it in the tube, then put the cap on the tube and place it in a larger tube.
To pack multiple picture frames for moving, you’ll want to buy mirror boxes, which are longer and flatter than traditional moving boxes. These are typically available at your local hardware store and can fit multiple frames in a box, depending on their size. Once you’ve taped the bottom of your mirror box, wrap each frame glass-side down with bubble wrap and packing paper. Secure the wrapping with tape, then put additional packing paper in the bottom of the box before placing the frames inside. Each mirror box should be about 30% bigger than the frames that go inside.
You can wrap a painting in parchment paper so long as it’s not the first layer of protection, since it can scratch the canvas. Instead, consider plastic or bubble wrap as your first layer, then add parchment paper on top to provide extra coverage.
