Preparing wooden furniture for storage is vitally important, whatever its cost or sentimental value. There are many reasons for storing furniture. You may have inherited things, you may be a dealer who buys and sells, or you may simply have downsized but can’t bear to let some things go.
Whatever your reason, it’s likely that you’ll need to use a self storage facility for a period of time and if not prepared properly your furniture could suffer irreparable damage.
Preparing wooden furniture for storage is not a five minute job. It takes time, care and attention. If you want to ensure the long term value of your antique bookcase, sideboard or dining table and chairs, put aside enough time to do things correctly.
Here at Space Centre Self Storage we have a number of clients who are keen on storing pieces of wooden furniture with us. Many will also use our fully insulated units to store their wooden garden furniture during the winter months.
We always advise them to follow a number of useful tips that will help protect their belongings, both in the short and long term.
After all, many people are keen to store their pieces ahead of selling them on ebay or at a local auction. If that’s the case, the value of your items will reduce dramatically if they become damaged whilst in storage.
Here are 6 tips to help you when preparing wooden furniture for storage
1) Always make sure your furniture is clean and dry. Things can often get lodged in crevices like recessed carving work, or in joints (in the case of tables, it’s very likely to be food crumbs etc.).
2) Select a storage facility where the units are either fully insulated or benefit from climate-control. Almost all materials used to build furniture are affected by warm weather or cold weather and the constant change between the two. Leather furniture commonly cracks in cold conditions and solid wood furniture may expand and begin to warp in the warmer parts of the year.
3) If your chosen unit has a cement floor, use plastic sheeting to cover the entire floor. It will act as a vapour barrier in your storage space to keep moisture from coming through the cement floor and damaging your furniture. Heavy plastic sheeting is widely available at DIY stores.
4) If your furniture can be disassembled, make sure you do exactly that before putting the items in storage. Store the screws or fasteners in a heavy plastic bag and tape the bag to the item with gum-free or low adhesive painter’s tape to avoid leaving sticky residue when you take it off again. Again, this can be found in most DIY stores
5) Wrap all valuable wood items in heavy blankets, especially if you plan to lean them against the walls of the storage space. This will prevent the wood from denting and scratching over time.
6) Many storage facilities have a certain amount of insurance coverage for damage due to fire, flood or other disasters. However, it would be wise to check the small print and if necessary, purchase a separate policy. This is especially important if your furniture has a high monetary value.
If you have any concerns about storage units or how to prepare your furniture and you live in the North Bristol or Gloucestershire area of south west England give us a call. Likewise, if you are on the lookout for insulated units to use for storing wooden furniture, look us up on the website.
Have you got any additional tips for preparing wooden furniture for storage?
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