There’s never a time when your office items are more at risk for damage than during an office move.
It could happen when the office movers you hire or even your own employees bump your office items against the wall while moving them from one place to another. You also have to account for the possible damage from vibration whenever your belongings are being transported from your old office to your new space.
But, believe it or not, you can reduce and even eliminate breakage by just taking a few extra steps during the moving process. It’s important to first identify the items most likely to sustain damage during the office move and from there come up with a plan to ensure their safety.
Here are the office items most susceptible to damage and a few tips and tricks to keep them intact despite all of the stress put on them.
1. Glass Desktops
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that glass fixtures are prone to damage during an office move. Even the tiniest of bumps can chip glass.
For belongings this fragile, you’ll want to take precautions before the office movers arrive. First, gather several of your teammates together and remove the glass desktop from the rest of the desk. In some cases you may need to use a screwdriver to unscrew the desktop from the rest of the piece.
Once you’ve removed the desktop, wrap it in paper and then tape the paper shut using duct tape. Then, wrap the desktop in bubble wrap. After it’s fully wrapped, quickly check to make sure the wrap fits snugly around the desktop.
Finally, tape both sides of the bubble wrap together. From there, the office movers should be able to box and move the desktop out of your office securely.
2. Office Furniture
Furniture adds character to an office. But, it can also add dollars to your budgetary expenses if not prepared properly before an office move.
Right off the bat, you might want to consider purchasing new furniture for your new office. Although this could potentially be an expensive endeavor, furniture quickly deteriorates and can even serve as a breeding ground for pathogens. An office move presents a great opportunity to refresh your office furniture.
If you are planning to move your furniture with you, however, you’ll want to make sure you disassemble as many items as you possibly can. For instance, you should remove the drawers from any filing cabinets. To the extent you can, you should also wrap your furniture in either bubble wrap or a moving blanket to prevent cosmetic damage that could take place during the move.
Although reassembling furniture upon arrival at your new facility might sound tedious, the truth is many moving companies offer disassembling and reassembling services. Make sure you check with your office movers before the moving process begins to learn of the extent of their services.
3. Electronics
Moving electronics from one location to another is perhaps the trickiest task for any business. Upon first glance it might not be obvious any damage occurred once a move is finished. But soon after turning on a laptop or computer, an employee could find internal damage occurred.
It should go without saying, but it’s always wise to have an insurance plan for your company’s electronics. Not only are they expensive, but they’re also crucial to your business’ day to day operations in the world today.
Before you start moving any electronics in your office, be sure to first back up all of your files. Then, remove any batteries since they can easily cause corrosion to the device if damage causes it to leak acid. Once all objects have been removed from the device, including items such as wires and external hard drives, either pack it in its original box or in a moving box. Line the box with silica packets to prevent moisture damage and then wrap the device itself in either a blanket or bubble wrap to make sure its fan isn’t damaged from dust.
4. Lamps
Like furniture, lighting helps make your office a vibrant workspace. Don’t let an office move cause a setback for your work company’s work atmosphere.
To start, you’ll want to disassemble all of your lighting fixtures. First, remove the light bulbs and lampshades. Consider investing in packaging for all of your light bulbs since they are particularly fragile. As for your lampshades, make sure to investigate the materials from which they are assembled. If it’s made of a delicate material, pack it separately in a secure container.
After the light bulbs and lamp shades are packed up, wrap the base in protective wrapping and then place in a secure box. Label the box to ensure the movers do not flip it upside down.
5. Office Kitchenware
Trust us: You don’t want to work in an environment where teammates aren’t able to grab a coffee cup in the morning.
Of course, kitchenware is especially prone to damage during an office move. You’ll want to invest in packaging designed specifically for shipping kitchenware if your office doesn’t already have it.
But what does this type of packaging look like? Well, unlike regular boxes, this packaging should contain partitions that separate different office items while still holding each snugly to limit movement during a relocation. If you don’t have access to this type of packaging, be sure to at least use cushioning of some kind to separate your kitchenware, regardless whether it’s newspaper or bubble wrap.
The good news? Nodus Office Movers is here to make sure your move goes off without a hitch. Our movers have the experience to ensure a smooth moving process in which your belongings are protected. We’re even able to disassemble your furniture in your old office and reassemble it once you’re all set in your new space.
Contact us today for a free office moving estimate!
