Storage vault sizer: how many vaults?

How to use the vault sizer

1. Pick what you are storing. Choose studio, 1 BR, 2 BR, 3 BR or 4 BR and larger for a quick answer.
2. Or tick the big pieces. Sofas, armchairs, beds, dressers, a dining set, desk, bookcase, washer and dryer, refrigerator, TV stand and outdoor furniture can each be ticked.
3. Add your boxes. Set the number of cartons you plan to store alongside the furniture.
4. Read the stack. The drawing shows the vaults stacked, with a line saying about how many you need.
5. Ask about storage. The button opens the estimate form with storage already chosen.

A vault is a wooden box that your belongings go into, and then it stays in the Sparks warehouse on a rack until you want it back. Because the vault is a fixed size, planning storage is a counting exercise: how many boxes of that size does your furniture fill? The sizer does the counting for you, and you can do it in a minute from a phone.

The size of one vault

A vault measures 7 ft x 7 ft x 5 ft. Multiply the three numbers and you get 245 cubic feet of space. The sizer treats each piece of furniture as taking a share of that volume, with large pieces such as a refrigerator or a sectional taking more than a lamp or a stool. Vaults are kept in the Sparks warehouse, which is 30,000 square feet under one roof at the same site as the office and truck yard.

What the sizer cannot tell you

It cannot know how tightly your goods can be packed. A crew that wraps and nests furniture carefully fits more into a vault than a quick load. It also cannot see oversized pieces. A very long sofa, a pool table or a grandfather clock may need special handling. The final vault count comes from the O'Brien's team once the contents are known, so treat the number as a first estimate.

Short term or long term

Vault storage works for a few weeks between homes and for years of storage. Monthly rates begin at $40 per month for vault storage. Stored goods ship out with about 2 to 3 weeks notice, so build that gap into your move date. For storage between homes, see storage between moves, and for stays that run longer, long-term household storage.

Before you load

Empty and dry any appliance before it goes in a vault. Disassemble beds and tables where the legs unscrew. Wrap upholstered pieces so dust stays off them. The guide on preparing furniture for storage has the full list, and vault storage vs self storage explains why a vault in a staffed warehouse differs from a rented unit you load yourself.