How to Pack Artwork for Moving

If you happen to be an art lover and the day to move your house has come, you will definitely need to take special care of the important artworks that give character to your home. For some people, ensuring that valuable pieces arrive intact without damage during a move is just as important as moving all the other furniture.

All of your paintings, prints, statues and even mirrors can be safely packed in what’s called a mirror box or an artwork box. For larger, heavy items you may need a wooden crate, as you’ll see below. The smaller items can be packed in China cartons. They have two layers of cardboard to keep your artwork safe.

In principle there are two basic stages to packing artwork: protecting the piece, and padding the box you’ll be placing it in.

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Artwork Packing Checklist

In order to get your art pieces and framed photos to your new home safely, they will need added protection before going into the moving truck or U-Haul. With the right supplies, our speedy Pembroke movers will pack paintings and framed art properly with the extra protection they need. Here are some supplies you’ll need to get the job done right.

• Moving boxes or wooden crates
• Flat picture box or specialty moving box
• Styrofoam or Cardboard corner protectors
• Protective material (bubble wrap, packing peanuts,
• Plastic Wrap
• Painter’s Tape
• Markers & Labelling equipment

Depending on your art pieces and style, the items you need may vary but the items above will help get your moving going. Keep reading for our best tips to pack all your framed artwork and wall art.

Moving Framed Artwork and Prints

Our Pontiac movers suggest investing in a flat picture box will help keep your paintings and prints safe. They will cost more but are worth it. Try to find one that is larger than your artwork by about 3 or 4 inches on each side. If it’s larger you’ll have to use more padding materials, and if it’s smaller you won’t have enough room for padding and you run the risk of damage.

Packing Steps

Now it’s time to protect your artwork and pack it.

1. Mark an ‘X’. If your painting or print has a glass cover, take some masking tape and place an X across the glass. This will prevent the glass from moving around as much if it gets broken. Naturally, if your painting doesn’t have glass or is a piece of canvas art you’ll skip this step.
2. Plastic or palette wrap. If your picture isn’t covered in glass it is critical to protect the painted face. A great option is to wrap the painting in several layers of plastic wrap from your kitchen. You can also buy sheets of palette wrap, which is basically the same thing. The wrap will stay put and prevent friction damage if the artwork moves a bit inside the box. This is also a great option for glass-covered watercolours and art prints.
3. Cardboard corners. If the frame of the painting is valuable or unique, you may want to purchase or make cardboard corner protectors for your piece. This will go over the cling wrap if you do this step and it gives you an extra layer of protection.
4. Bubble wrap. The next step is to provide padding. Several layers of bubble wrap will work. Be generous, cover both horizontal and vertical dimensions, and seal the bubble wrap with tape. Crumpled newspaper is an eco-friendly alternative to bubble wrap, but is more time-consuming. With a canvas painting, you may want to place a piece of cardboard on the face of it to avoid warping.  Bubble wrap will help you pack artwork like a professional!
5. Prepare the bottom of the box. Place wadded newsprint on the bottom of your box. You can then put the artwork in the box and can work on filling the sides and the top. Your moving box will need to be slightly larger than the art piece when you pack pictures to avoid breaking the frame.
6. Test. Close the box but don’t seal it. Gently move the box back and forth and see if you feel the painting inside shifting. If you do, you need to open the box and add more padding until everything stays put.
7. Seal and label. Once that is done, you can tape the box closed and mark them as “fragile items” and “artwork” so your hired Barrhaven movers will know to take extra care. You can also buy rolls of brightly coloured stickers to clearly identify your fragile boxes.

If your artworks are valuable, you may want to pack one per box. If it wouldn’t be the end of the world if they were damaged, you can try fitting a few in the box. If you do this ensure there is extra bubble wrap between the paintings.

Don’t Pack Multiple Artworks In One Box

If possible, try to give each piece its own box. Smaller photo frames that are the same size and are well protected may be fine, but when you pack framed art pieces together, they will typically end up damaging each other. Wall art and framed artwork can be different sizes with fragile pieces and in the moving truck, one bump can make all the difference!

Packing Sculptures

Protection

The challenge with any sculpture large or small is that any parts that extend or holes are vulnerable. If you imagine a sculpture of a swan, for example, the neck and head are vulnerable to being snapped off.

• To fix this, you’ll need to first cover the sculpture in cling wrap to protect the finish. Use smaller pieces and get in and around all the nooks and crannies to provide support.
• Then you’ll be rolling up strips of bubble wrap and wrapping them around the vulnerable parts of the sculpture.
• Once you’ve built up the fragile areas, use more bubble wrap to wrap the entire sculpture. You should end up with a sphere or egg shape that you can place inside a box, and brace with padding.

As with paintings, you’ll need to pad the box and test it, as outlined above.

Larger Sculptures

If you have a sculpture that is a few feet tall and has the weight to match, you have a bigger challenge on your hands.

Figure out the approximate weight of the item will help you determine how to handle this, and whether you need a wooden crate or if a cardboard box will do. Most single-walled boxes will be able to hold up to 40 pounds or so during moving, so if your weight exceeds that you will need a wood crate instead.

A lot of modern sculptures are made from plaster moulds, which means they’re hollow and their weight is not all that bad. If that is the case, you can work with a single good-sized cardboard box with sufficient padding, but you need to be sure about its strength during moving.

The safest and sturdiest way you can take care of larger items is to use wood crates. You can buy these online or even at a shipping supplier.

Wood crates are not only a heavy-duty solution for shipping valuable items, they’re very noticeable in a sea of cardboard boxes. That means they’re less likely to get dropped, flipped or damaged. If they get mishandled, they will also be a lot more likely to survive the moving process as well.

Insurance

If your artwork is very valuable, ask your mover in Stittsville about extra insurance. Make sure it’s on a value basis and not with the usual weight-based insurance.

Make no mistake, packing artwork is a delicate and important job. If you care about your art and are unable to take appropriate care, it’s best left to professional movers who have experience with the artwork.

Natalie Miller is an art enthusiast, who greatly values beautiful displays of artwork. She’s proficient in preserving valuable paintings and statues during hard to manage removal operations. She loves sharing tips and tricks on keeping items safe during house moves.

Hire Professional Movers

Whether you’re looking for full packing services, local Kanata movers or long-distance movers, Cassidy’s is here to serve the people of Ottawa. We have experienced movers who have proper training and knowledge about moving homes in an efficient and safe manner. Get your artwork moved with Cassidy’s today!

So, now that you know how to pack your artwork, what about everything else? Good news – here’s our packing tips for moving guide to help you get organized.