Packing Fragile Items in Maidenhead — Riverside-House China, Antique Glass & Listed-Property Artwork

The river-side villages around Maidenhead — Cookham, Bray, Marlow, Bourne End — are full of homes with serious fragiles. Cabinets of crystal, walls of original art, antique china cabinets, Edwardian mirrors. Our SL6 1NB branch handles packing every week for these properties. Here's our technique.

Materials we use as standard

• Export-grade double-wall cartons for kitchen and china (5-ply, not 3-ply)
• Acid-free tissue paper for crystal, fine china and silver — not newsprint (newsprint marks)
• Bubble wrap (2-layer) for stemware and mirrors
• Foam corners for picture frames and listed-property door frames
• Wardrobe hanging boxes for evening dresses and tailored suits — included free
• Heavy-duty plastic crates for books and china — supplied at no extra cost, returned after the move

The crystal-and-china routine

Every piece gets two wraps: a sheet of acid-free tissue first, then a layer of bubble wrap. Glasses go upside-down in a cell-divided box (the cells are part of the export carton, not added paper). China plates go on edge, never stacked flat. Tea sets travel in their own crate, never with other items. The whole sequence takes 4–6 minutes per piece — slow, but that's why we don't have breakages.

Antique glass — the small touches

Edwardian and Victorian glass is more fragile than modern crystal because the lead content is unevenly distributed. We use 3-layer bubble wrap (not 2) and an outer paper sleeve. For really fine pieces, we offer custom-fit crates built to size — typical cost £25–£45 per crate, often saving against the cost of a single breakage.

Artwork and frames

Listed-property art usually means original oils, antique watercolours and large gilt frames. We carry: (1) acid-free glassine paper to protect varnished surfaces; (2) custom corner-protectors that don't mark gilt; (3) flat picture-cartons in 4 standard sizes; (4) bespoke crates for anything over 1.2m. No-tape-on-canvas rule — we never use any tape on a canvas surface.

Mirrors

Mirrors are wrapped diagonally (X pattern) with masking tape on the glass — counter-intuitively this prevents shatter spread if anything does break. Then bubble-wrapped twice, then placed flat in a picture-carton (never on edge).

Insurance

For declared-value fragile items over £5,000, we extend per-item cover automatically. For really valuable pieces (over £20,000), we provide a separate written single-item cover document so you have it on file. No extra premium.

What gets packed first, what gets packed last

Packing order matters. We pack: (1) attic and rarely-used cabinets first; (2) main china cabinet next; (3) bedroom wardrobes; (4) kitchen everyday-use last (because you'll want it until the night before). Reverse on unpack at the new property.

Free quote from HomeGo Maidenhead Branch — in under 60 minutes

Fixed pricing, no VAT, PAYE-employed crew. Call 01628 369241 or use the quote form on this page.