Custom crating for art, glass, antiques and machinery

Some objects defeat the standard carton. A large mirror, a stone tabletop, a framed canvas, a glass display cabinet or a shop machine has the wrong shape, the wrong weight or too much to lose. A crate made for that one object keeps it still, keeps pressure off its weak points and lets forklifts and truck ramps do the lifting. O'Brien's builds those crates and handles the move that follows.

What crating is for

Crating makes sense when an item is fragile, valuable, awkward or headed a long way. Glass and mirrors, fine art and antiques, sculpture, sensitive equipment and machinery are the usual candidates. A crate also protects an item that will sit in storage for months, because the object is enclosed rather than leaning against a wall.

Crating is separate from ordinary packing. A packed carton is stacked with others; a crate is a structure of its own, built around the item and marked for the way it should be handled.

• Glass tops, mirrors and display cabinets
• Framed art and large canvases
• Antiques and heirloom furniture
• Sculpture and decorative pieces
• Machinery and shop equipment

How a crate is planned

The estimator measures the item at the in-home visit or at the business, notes its weight and weak points and decides what the crate needs. The crate is then built to those measurements, and the item is padded, secured and closed inside it.

The crating line appears on your itemized estimate, so the figure is known before the work starts.

Crating, storage and moving together

A crated item can ride in a local truck, go into a Sparks storage vault, or travel on a Bekins van for a long-distance move. Because the crate has its own shape, the crew plans its space on the truck in advance instead of squeezing it in at the end.

For antiques and art that do not need a crate, see fine art and antique moving. Pianos and organs, pool tables and hot tubs have their own pages under specialty moving.

Commercial crating

Businesses crate too. A shop relocating a press or a lab moving a delicate instrument may need a crate built to the equipment, and O'Brien's commercial crews can include that in the plan for the move. On a commercial job, crating is scheduled with the rest of the work so nothing waits on lumber. See commercial moving and laboratory moving.

Valuation for high-value items

Items worth a lot deserve a conversation about coverage. Valuation coverage choices are explained on valuation coverage. List high-value items at the estimate so they are recorded on the inventory.