A china is a type of tableware made from a fine white or translucent vitrified ceramic material. It is mainly used in serving foods at tables. Though it has an impressive look, it is also breakable and thus should be handled with care. If you are buying property in Spain and moving house, or found new job in Amsterdam and planninf shipping to Holland or other locations, and you have some pieces of china in your home that you will like to move with, it is advisable that you pack it very well otherwise the tableware may break during the transportation when it is exposed to shocks. So, if you do not want anything to happen to your fine china, then you have to learn how to pack it. Here are tips on how to pack fine china.
Challenges with packing fine china
The first thing that you should do before you start packing your china is to procure the necessary packing materials. The quality of the packing materials you use in packing your china determines or to a greater extent how safe your item will be. So, you have to make sure that you use the best of all material. New packing materials are recommended. If you want to use fairly used ones, then it has to be in good state. Before you purchase the packing materials, you should know the quantity of china that you will pack and their dimension so that you will be able to buy the right quantity of China. When you are purchasing the moving box, you should make sure that you buy a size whose internal dimension is at least an inch larger than the china you want to put inside it in its side. Given the weight of the tableware, you should go for double walled dish packing boxes.
Besides the box, there are other packing materials that you will require. The packing materials are tape gun, tissue paper, measuring tape, small and large bubble wraps, inner boxes, pressure sensitive plastic packing tape and packing peanuts. When you have obtained all of them, then you should move over to the next step which is the establishment of packing space or workspace.
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Creating a workspace for packing fine china
As mentioned above, fine china is a breakable tableware and so should be handled with care. It is not advisable to pack such an item amidst clutter or on hard floor. So, you have to establish your packing space or workspace. Decide on where you will be doing the packing. Is it on a table or just on the floor of a room in your home. If you are doing the packing on a table, then you have to pad the flat top. If you are packing on the floor, then you should also pad it by covering it with blanket if the floor is not rugged. The reason for this is quite obvious. Fragile items are not supposed to be packed on hard surfaces because if they fall on the ground, they are more likely going to break than when the ground is padded. You should also remove any item not required for the packing from the packing space. In this way, you will feel free when you are doing the packing and there is no possibility of losing your item in the clutter.
China is normally available in different sizes and designs. So, if you have different kinds and sizes of china, it is advisable that you first group them according to their sizes and designs. The plates should be grouped together. The same could be said of saucers and others. If the pieces of china are of different designs and sizes, you may consider using small box to pack each of them and put them all in one big boxes. If the china you are packing are very delicate and fragile, you should also pack them differently in small boxes before packing them in a bigger box.
When packing them in a box, you should ensure that the bigger and heavier ones are place at the bottom while the smaller ones are placed on top of the bigger ones. When you are putting the small boxes containing the china inside the bigger box, you should ensure that the weight is well balanced. One side should not be filled with the heavier ones and another side with smaller ones. If one side is overloaded or heavier than the other side, the box is much likely going to damage.
Preparing the china for packing
You don't just put the china inside the boxes, you have to prepare them before putting them inside the boxes. Neatly wrap the china in tissue papers. It is advisable that you use a scotch tape to secure the tissue paper rather than using packing tape. This is because packing tape is stronger and can damage the tissue paper. If you haven't got enough money to buy tissue paper and you have old newspapers that you are no longer using, you can utilize it for wrapping. However, the problem with wrapping newspaper is that it does not provide enough padding for the item and thus it is not accepted for insurance. So, if you have insurance and you don't want to lose it, you should not work with papers.
After wrapping and covering the item with tissue paper, you can give it more protection and padding by wrapping again with bubble wrap. Make sure that you cover any part that is exposed. The bubble wrap should be at least 3/16 inch. Wrap the china very well so that you will no longer feel it. You can now secure it with a packing tape. Use 1/2 inches bubble wrap to wrap again and then secure with tape. The reason why you should double wrap is to protect the china. China is very fragile and can easily break when two hit against each other or bump into each other during transport as the vehicle carrying them speeds on. Besides, the boxes containing them may be handled by different hands during transportation. This is why it is necessary to pad them very well.
The instruction given above is for the packing of dishes. But when you are packing china plates, it is a different things all together. You don't have to wrap the plates differently. It is better to stack the plates together. However, you have to use the small bubble wrap to snake around each piece. When you are done snaking each piece with small bubble wrap, then you have use 3/6 bubble wrap to wrap the entire bundle of plates in all directions. You should always consider the weight of the plates when you are stacking them together. Stack about 5 or less pieces of plate together if the plates are heavy. But as a rule of the thumb, do not stack many plates together making the bundle to be very long and heavy. Such long bundle of plates can damage the moving boxes. When you are stacking the plates, you should only stack plates of the same shape or plates that fit each other. Now after the initial wrapping, use the bigger wrapper of about 1/2 inch to wrap the entire plates making sure that you can no longer feel the plates when you touch it. After wrapping, touch it to see if you can feel the hard surfaces and if you feel it, then you should keep wrapping until you are no longer able to feel it.
Putting fine china into the moving box
Before you put the bundles of china inside the moving box, it is advisable that you first void fill the box with packing peanuts. The packing peanuts heap in the inner bottom of the box should be up to 3 inches. Then, you can now put the bundles of plates inside the moving boxes. Leave about three inches spaces right round the moving boxes. Now fill the sizes with packing peanuts and then cover the top with peanuts of 1-2 inches.
Then add another bundles of plates in the manner instructed above leaving the 3 inches space right round. Then fill with packing peanuts as instructed and then continue in that manner until the entire box is filled. But do not fill the box to the brim with bundles of plate. Leave about 2 inches space on top and then fill it with packing peanuts.
When you have filled the spaces with packing peanuts, shake it a little bit so that they will press down. Add more packing peanuts to the spaces created and then cover the boxes. Seal the seams with packing tapes. You should not make use of duct tape, cellophane tape, string, rope or masking tape for the sealing of the package.
But if you are still not able to pack your china very well in preparation for shipping or if you are too busy to pack them, you should hire our packing services. We have professional packers who have been trained to pack different kinds of household items including china. They will apply their expertise in packing your china so that it will be safe during the UK to Belgium shipping. Contact us to discuss your packing needs.
Shipping your fine china
If you are able to pack your china very well, the work is half down. However, you should make effort to get a reliable shipping company that has all the facilities required to handle fragile items. It is not every shipping company that can handle fragile items. So, when you are searching for a company, make sure that it can handle fragile items. There are several ways of finding a reliable company. The internet remains a veritable platform to start your search for a reliable moving company. If you are making use of the internet, make sure that you read the reviews of a number of shipping companies paying attention to what their clients said about their services with regard to the shipping of breakables. You can also ask people you know that have moved house or such items before. They will definitely provide guidelines on how to go about it.
You can also opt-for full shipping services but we always recommend to check costs of international packing, just to find out whether it fits your budget.
Make a list of three or four companies that you feel are reliable and reputable based on your search. Ask them for quotes. Take time to compare their quotes and then choose one that offers you the best quotes. This step is necessary if you are looking for affordable shipping. If need to know approximate shipping rates, please contact us and you can easily get costs of shipping to Amman, UAE or other locations.
China dishes and plates are fragile and breakable. Shocks arising from turbulence or movement on an uneven terrain can make the china to break. Besides, accidents may occur on the way which can result in the breaking of the china pieces. This is why it is necessary for you to secure your item with adequate insurance.
But you can save yourself the stress of going through the above process by hiring our shipping services. We are one of the most reliable shipping services. We have the facilities to handle breakables including china. So, if you handover your items to us, you will have a rest of mind that they will get to you safely. We can move china locally and internationally. Our services are also very affordable. We also offer additional services like baggage shipping, sending boxes overseas or even car shipping from UK to EU locations.