These beginners’ guidelines will give you invaluable assistance in keeping some bigger antiques in mint condition.
What our transporters can do for you and your antiques
Using DQC can help you find the best transporters for the job at hand. Most will offer protective blankets and straps for the journey your antiques will take. However, not all will offer packing services. In situations like these you’ll have to prepare the item for transport yourself. For some it’s as simple as wrapping it in bubble-wrap and sending it on its way. For other antiques it can be more involved. Here’s some examples of bigger antiques:
Grandfather Clocks
A real antique Grandfather clock can value at anywhere between £2000 and £20,000. Therefore you would want to make sure that it is in the best of conditions. Plus, sentimental value to an old
family heirloom can make one breaking its frame or the movement stopping incredibly upsetting. To avoid this here are some quick tips to ensure a safe journey.
The craftmanship in clocks is what brings their value
Remove the loose weights and pendulum. This should be done carefully and while wearing cotton gloves so you don’t bring dirt into the fragile brass and glass. The weights would be at the bottom under a panel and the pendulum is hung from a hook near the clock face. Wrap them separately.
Then wrap the entire clock in multiple layers of bubble-wrap and a blanket, taping it tightly. When moving it, always make sure that it’s pointing upright. Laying it down will stress the components, potentially breaking them.
Finally, like most of these antiques, be careful. Any knocks or scrapes could potentially damage the clock beyond repair. However, after all of this, you will end up with the historical and valuable clock still in one piece.
Vases
Vases, whether glass or ceramic, are incredibly valuable. Thousands go on getting these beautiful decorative items all the time. If they’re damaged in anyway, or repaired or tampered with, the money disappears. Packing these requires technique, as they are often difficult shapes. However the process on the whole is quite simple.
Chinese vases are very valuable, and very fragile
Get a box large enough for the vase. Most box providers offer short and wide or long and thin boxes for packing such items.
Lay out some bubble wrap, bubbles down, on the floor. The reason for the bubbles being down is that the bubbles can stick to the vase. As gently as you can lay the vase on its side and wrap it around in the bubble wrap. Make sure there is enough left for the ends. If it comes with a lid, remove it and wrap it with as much care separately.
Put the vase in the box and fill out any space left with anything soft. Newspapers, packing peanuts or more bubble wrap will do the trick. Mark the box as fragile so your hired transporters will know to take extra care. After this you can relax, the stunning thin pottery or wonderfully cut glass will reach its destination in perfect condition.
Garden Ornaments
Big pots are good options for pallet delivery
These may seem like an odd choice compared to antiques such as vases and clocks but Garden art is still valuable. Some pieces can reach over £15,000 for the right item such as on 1stdibs. The problem with them is that they are big, bulky and often very heavy.
For transporters strapping these down is nearly essential. A giant piece of stone or metal moving freely can be dangerous. It thrashing around can be dangerous to itself, other items or people on the roads. They should be wrapped in bubble wrap or a protective blanket to further lessen the impact it could have. However, because they’re so heavy it’s probably best to get some rather strong friends to help you out.
Maybe, if the item is too difficult to move and it weighs less than 1.2 metric tons you could instead go for a pallet delivery. For more information on how you can take advantage of our pallet collection delivery service, please check this blog post. Do note however that we do not provide pallets for deliveries.
With these helpful tips you can make sure your bigger antiques make it safely to their destination. Whether they be a buyer paying thousands for your one of a kind historic piece, or just to a new house so you can admire their beauty. To start the process, get a quote with Delivery Quote Compare and get up to 75% off of the potential price of transport.
Christopher East 2018