Packing Services
St. George

Framed pictures and mirrors are the household items people are least confident about, and with reason. They are heavy for their size, they are rigid, and the failure mode is dramatic.

They are also entirely manageable with the right approach, which is different from how anything else is packed.

Just-In-Time Moving packs and moves across St. George and Washington County.

Tape the glass, and know what it does

A cross of tape over the face of the glass does not stop it breaking. What it does is hold the pieces together if it does break, which prevents the glass slicing through the artwork behind it and injuring whoever opens the box.

That is worth doing on every framed item with glass. Use tape that will not mark the surface, and never let adhesive touch the artwork itself.

Wrap in the right order

Protect the corners first. Corners take the impact in almost every case, and a corner protector or folded card does more than any amount of padding elsewhere.

Then a layer against the surface that will not stick or mark. Then padding. Then a rigid outer, because the point is to stop the frame flexing.

Never let bubble wrap sit directly against an unglazed painting, a photograph or anything with texture, since it can print onto the surface, particularly in heat. Use plain paper or glassine against the artwork and put the bubble outside it.

Boxes and orientation

Use a picture box or a mirror carton, which are made in sizes that telescope to fit. Two boxes taped together works for a large piece.

The rule that matters most: everything flat and fragile travels on edge, standing upright, never laid flat. Flat, a sheet of glass has no strength against anything pressing down and anything stacked on it. On edge, it is supported along its strongest axis.

Mark the box on both sides so nobody stacks anything on it, and fill the box so the item cannot slide.

The heat consideration here

Worth knowing in a desert climate. Adhesives, mounting tape and framing materials soften in prolonged heat, and canvas and paper react to it. Anything genuinely valuable should travel in an air-conditioned vehicle rather than a truck in July.

Very large or valuable pieces

Above a certain size, a wooden crate is the correct answer rather than a carton. The same goes for anything of real value, anything unglazed, and antique mirrors.

Photograph valuable pieces before packing, with condition and any existing marks.

At the far end

Unpack these early rather than leaving them leaning against a wall for weeks, which is where a surprising amount of damage happens after the move is over.

Call (435) 862-3080 or email office@movingjustintime.com.