Moving is an incredibly exciting process: it’s a time to start fresh, getting rid of things you don’t need and fondly reminiscing with your most treasured belongings. There’s nothing quite like the bittersweet feeling of saying goodbye to your old home as you look toward all the happy memories you’ll make in your new residence.
However, packing up all your possessions and heading off into the unknown is also very stressful; one big aspect of that worry is fretting about whether all your items will get to their new home in one piece. If you’re not familiar with the moving process, you might be curious as to how Atlanta residential movers prevent damage to your property, especially when it comes to warding off expensive repairs to delicate furnishings like stair banisters. Today, we’ll take a look at some of the standard equipment that movers use to ensure that your old home and new residence stay pristine.
Floor runners and carpet shields prevent scuffs to hardwood floors or tears in the carpet
Hardwood is a beautiful and hardy flooring material, but it can also be damaged or scuffed by dragging heavy furniture across the surface – and repairs to hardwood floors aren’t cheap. Depending on where you live and what kind of wood you’re replacing, you could be looking at a bill of $6,000 or more: definitely, not something you want to consider when you’ve just moved into a brand new place.
A good moving company will keep your hardwood flooring safe by laying down floor runners, which is a plastic sheet laid atop the floor as the movers carry furniture and boxes in or out of the home. This doesn’t just ensure that moves can push heavy furniture across the floor without worry, but it also keeps everyone from tracking dirt in so that you’ll have less cleaning to do when everyone leaves.
Similarly, carpet shields will reduce the risk of having to replace soiled or torn carpets. This clear film sticks to your carpet so that it isn’t sliding around while workers move across it, and it is usually applied with a clean paint roller; you can think of it sort of like clear painter’s tape, as it does not damage surfaces and will not leave an adhesive film when it is removed.
Masonite placed atop stone flooring protects both the house and the movers
Marble entryways are beautiful, but they have a problem: polished stone is incredibly slippery, and it’s also easily cracked if hit at the wrong angle. You can imagine, then, that stone flooring is at high risk of damage when movers are trekking in and out of your home with heavy boxes, perhaps on a rainy day.
This is where Masonite saves the day. Made of pressed hardwood, masonite can be secured atop marble or other stone flooring to provide a flat surface with more grip for the movers, so that they don’t need to worry about slipping on a slick wet surface while carrying loads. This also ensures that should your workers accidentally drop something, your marble floors are safe from impact damage.
While masonite is expensive, it’s far less than having to replace several square feet of marble. Good moving companies won’t hesitate when it comes to securing your home and keeping their own employees safe.
Thick batting can be applied to door jambs and banisters
If you’ve ever moved before, you’ve likely seen the heavy quilted blankets that movers use to protect large furniture as it is being moved, but you may not realize that this isn’t the only application for this kind of batting. Great moving companies will also use banister, threshold, and door jamb protection to ensure that no part of either home is banged up during transit. Like the mover’s blankets, these protective claddings are made of a quilted fabric, which is then wrapped around fragile parts of your home and secured with tape. It’s especially important for banisters, as it’s not uncommon for movers to reorient items as they take tight turns at landings, and this can easily knock the paint off banisters or handrails.
A great moving company has a variety of equipment to ensure they leave no trace
When it comes to moving, there is no such thing as being too careful, and great companies recognize this: they’ll take the time to safeguard all of your property, including your home, by using protective equipment such as floor runners, carpet shields, masonite, and batting. Now that you know what some of the protective materials are, be sure to ask potential moving companies what measures they will take to ensure that your home remains pristine when they leave; a little questioning now can save you a lot of heartache later.
