If you are getting ready to move, you have probably already started assembling all of your moving materials. While you may have gathered your cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, and tape, you may not still have everything you need. This is because there are probably a few things in your home that need a little bit more protection than this. In order to get these items safely to your new home, you may need your moving company to provide you with custom crating. Understanding what custom crating can provide may help you be better prepared to request it from your moving company.

What Is Custom Crating?

Moving companies stake their reputation on getting your belongings where they need to go in one piece. Unfortunately, some pieces are much harder to move than others. These more delicate items are not able to make the trip safely only shrouded in bubble wrap and packed in cardboard. Because of this, and to help to further protect your belongings, moving companies can offer you the ability to purchase custom-built wooden crates. 

Prior to your move, your movers will come in and measure the items that will need crating. This is so that these boxes can be built to the exact dimensions either offsite, or so that the materials can be supplied for them to be built onsite.

Most crates are built to the uniform standards for wood containers that are outlined by the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association. This helps to ensure that containers meet all of the required criteria for interstate transport.

These measurements will ensure that the items you are packing fit perfectly, which will help to minimize any damage that could take place during shipping. If your crate is too small, it will not provide adequate coverage, and if it is too large, you run the risk of your items moving around within the container and being damaged.

What Items Need Custom Crating?

The items that you and your movers agree to crate will often be dependent on the distance that you are moving. While you may be able to move some fragile or over-sized pieces safely across town without crating, they may not be able to make the trip across country. 

Many times it is better to crate pieces that can be easily crushed, punctured or broken. Some common items that people choose to crate include:

• Canvas artwork
• Antique mirrors
• Stone tabletops
• Large electronics
• Taxidermy
• Large, fragile pieces

Crating also helps to ensure that oddly shaped or sharply angled pieces can be safely moved. If you attempt to move these items without crating, you run the risk of them puncturing their packaging and becoming damaged in the move. 

How Do You Dispose Of Crates?

While you will be able to break down your cardboard boxes or resell them to someone else in need, getting rid of your crates is not as easy and may not be what you want to do. Your mover may offer to take them apart and take them away, but you may also want to hold on to them. 

Most people move many times during their lifetime. Because the wood your custom crates are made out of is already measured to provide the exact protection your items need, you may want to save them to be used the next time you move. Of course, this will depend on if you have somewhere to store these materials, or if you suspect you may have a move in your future. If you do not choose to do this, consider recycling the wood and using it for other projects you have around your new home.

Ask your moving company to give you a price on custom crating. While it is more expensive than other types of moving materials, the cost is much less than having to replace the valuable items these crates are designed to protect.