Tips for Protecting Your Home During a New Jersey Move

Walk the path before moving day

Every piece of furniture takes the same route: out of its room, down the hall, through the front door, and onto the truck. That path is where walls, floors and door frames get bumped. Walk it a few days before the move. Look down at the floors, up at the light fixtures, and at every corner where a dresser turns.

Photograph floors, walls and door frames at both homes. Photos help renters at the walk-through and owners before the work starts. At the estimate, point out anything that worries you: a new hardwood floor, a glass railing, a tight stair turn. We plan around it.

Floors: hardwood, tile and carpet

Floors take the most traffic. The crew crosses the same strip many times with loaded hand trucks. Prep keeps it clean.

• Roll up rugs and move them early.
• Ask about floor protection at the estimate.
• Carry or roll heavy pieces. Never drag them.
• Use felt pads under chair and table feet.
• In rain or snow, lay mats at each entrance.

Door frames, banisters and stairs

Many Hoboken and Jersey City brownstones have narrow stairs and tight landings, where frames and banisters take the hits. Wrap banister rails and spindles in moving pads or cardboard, taped with painter’s tape. Do not use packing tape on painted wood. It can pull the paint off.

Take storm and screen doors off their hinges or prop them open. Measure furniture against narrow doors first. Our crews take pieces apart and put them back, so a piece that does not fit whole often fits in three parts.

Walls, art and mirrors

Take down framed art, mirrors, clocks and wall TVs. Keep hooks and screws in a taped bag. Clear the walls so a passing box can’t knock a frame off its nail. Fill nail holes after the move.

Mirrors and large glass frames need boxes or a padded crate. Add them to the list if you want the crew to pack them.

In a high-rise, the building is part of the job

On the Hudson waterfront, from Edgewater and Fort Lee down to Jersey City, many moves happen in elevator buildings. Management protects the lobby, halls and elevator, and sets rules for each move. Many high-rises require a COI and a reserved elevator. We issue the COI and plan around your elevator time.

• Ask management for the move rules: hours, elevator, loading dock and paperwork.
• Ask if the building pads the elevator, or expects the mover to.
• We issue the COI your building asks for and send it with the contract.
• Tell the doorman or super the date and time a few days ahead.

Our high-rise moving page lists what buildings usually ask for and how we plan around move windows.

Outside: lawn, driveway and garage

At a home with a yard, check where the truck will stand. After rain, a loaded truck on soft grass leaves deep ruts. Keep it on the street or driveway. Point out sprinkler heads, low branches and loose steps. Clear a straight walkway from door to truck, and move cars out the night before.

Lay flattened cardboard in the garage where boxes wait. Old oil stains transfer to box bottoms, then to your new floors.

Spills, leaks and things that cannot go on the truck

Liquids cause a lot of moving-day mess. Empty, defrost and dry the fridge and freezer a day ahead, leaving doors open to air out. Bag cleaning and bathroom products. Do not pack gasoline, propane or paint thinner. Drain fuel from mowers and tools. Tell us what you have, and we’ll tell you what goes on the truck.

Who does what

We handle

• Furniture disassembly and reassembly
• Packing and unpacking, on request
• Crating for glass and marble
• The COI for your building

You handle

• Elevator reservations and building move hours
• Clear walkways and rolled rugs
• Art and mirrors off the walls
• Defrosted fridge and sealed liquids

If you would rather hand the fragile work to us, see packing services.