There’s nothing comparable to moving big pieces of furniture. You get to enjoy breaking your back while handling heavy, old wooden tables and cabinets smelling of dust. Oh, and let’s not forget your late aunt’s bulky sofa everyone’s afraid to sit on… Now, who’d want to miss out on such a delightful activity? Well, just about every sane person in the world. Still, there are ways you can make the whole ordeal easier. In the text you’ll find below, we’ll show you how to disassemble furniture when moving house. Stay tuned for some useful info!
What goes, what stays (downsizing)
This might even be the most important tip on how to disassemble furniture when moving house. Before you do any dismantling, you might want to consider leaving some pieces behind. Just before the move, you can organize an old-fashioned yard sale to see if some of your household inventory can find new owners. Also, you can try selling your things online. What matters is that you do a bit of downsizing before the trip. You might even earn some money along the way for new pieces of furniture in your new home. Dispose of items you don’t imagine being in your new home, the ones you haven’t built any relationship with over the years.
Before doing any disassembling, think about organizing a yard sale and getting rid of furniture you really don’t want to move to your new home.
Measure everything
If you’re wondering whether you should disassemble all your furniture, the answer’s quite simple – nope. The only items of furniture that need to be dismantled are the ones that can’t pass through doorways and hallways of your old/new home and the ones that are too heavy to be carried in one piece. Grab your tape measure and measure each bulky piece. If you see an item’s too long for it to easily pass corners, you should think about dismantling it, too.
Make some space for the furniture disassembly process
To successfully do the dismantling (without damaging any of the furniture you’re moving), make sure you create enough working space. As you already know, oversized pieces of furniture can be pretty tricky to handle. Suppose a bulky piece of furniture that needs to be dismantled touches a wall. In that case, it’s recommended you put a furniture slider underneath or on the side of it and carefully slide it to the middle of the room for easier handling. The thing is, you want to be able to circulate around a specific piece of furniture. Make sure no other items are lying around on the floor so that you have a safe environment to work in.
Dig up the instructions
We’ll take a guess and say the instruction manuals for certain pieces of furniture are probably gathering dust somewhere in your basement. Well, it’s time to dig them up. Some items don’t require you to be Einstein to figure out how to dismantle them. Others, though, demand you take a look inside the manual. These manuals, of course, are concerned with the way you should assembly the pieces. That being said, start from the last page. If you don’t remember where you put them, try searching for them online.
For more difficult furniture pieces, dig up their assembly instruction manuals and, of course, start from the last page.
Bonus tip: Where to obtain free, eco-friendly packing material?
Before you start dismantling your furniture, you might want to obtain some green packing solutions. For example, you can go to your local shopkeepers and ask if they could save you some cardboard boxes. Since we guess you want to be kind to our planet, it’s good to pack dismantled furniture pieces into previously used boxes.
Prepare the correct set of tools
Okay, so we’re getting near the start of the process. That’s why you’ll want to prepare the right set of tools for this ordeal. You should do this now so that you don’t block the process by searching for them later. You’re going to need:
- Screwdrivers. A whole set.
- Wrenches. You’re going to need these to remove nuts and bolts that keep the pieces of the furniture together.
- A hammer. Find a rubber one, if you can, so that you don’t damage more delicate pieces of furniture.
Obtain sealable bags for the smallest parts
As you might already know, the tiny parts (screws, bolts, etc.) that keep the whole structure together get easily lost. That’s why you’ll need some sealable, zip-lock bags to keep them all in one place, without worrying whether you’ve lost this or that part.
See if your friends, relatives, or neighbors can help you out
Needless to say, you’re going to need some assistance. It’s always best you don’t do this entirely on your own. A fresh pair of hands offered by some of your friends, neighbors, or relatives is just the thing you need. As you know, things can get pretty messy when dealing with big, sturdy furniture.
See if some of your friends are willing to help you move. Take them out for drinks later as a reward!
Ensure the dismantled pieces are well protected
We’ll show you to pack the pieces and get ready for the trip. First things first, obtain some packing paper. That will be the first layer of protection. Next up, we’ve got bubble wrap; that’s your next layer. Also, think about using shrink wrap as the next one. It will keep the dust and moisture away from the pieces you’re moving. Lastly, use furniture blankets to seal the deal. If you don’t have those, use your ordinary household blankets but have in mind that they’ll probably get ruined during the relocation.
Hire professional services
If this whole ordeal (how to disassemble furniture when moving house and other exciting stuff) seems too complicated and messy to you, think about hiring professionals to help you dismantle, pack and relocate your bulky pieces of furniture. This way, you’re bound to save some time, money (imagine you damage an expensive furniture set), and, most importantly – nerves.
Furniture Solutions, the furniture store in Northern Kentucky, carries the most popular brands like Ashley Furniture, Coaster Furniture, Sealy Mattress and Sauder. You will be amazed at the incredible value and low prices we have on a large selection of bedroom suites, dining room collections, sofas , chairs and all manner of accent furniture that will make your home new. Those who are in communities that are further away just need to call us and we will do our best to respond to your needs. When you drop by, you will be greeted by the friendliest sales personnel you have ever been served by. We can hardly wait to meet you and help you make the right choice.