There are some items in your home that you will discover are a little more difficult to pack and move. This includes your wall paintings. Whether they are canvas paintings or framed, you need to be extra careful with them to protect your investment. Here are some helpful tips for packing and moving the paintings.

Secure the Glass of the Frame

If your wall painting is in a picture frame with glass, that glass needs to be secured first. The last thing you want to do is break the glass and not only damage the frame, but have glass pieces that could cut into the canvas of your painting. Use masking tape to tape a large "X" across the front of the painting, allowing each piece of tape to secure the glass to the frame. It also keeps it from breaking in the middle. You can use more tape than this, though usually two long pieces of tape are enough to prevent it from splintering off.

Protect the Painting

Bubble wrap needs to be used to protect all artwork, whether it is in a frame or not. Artwork that is just a canvas and not inside a frame with glass is often covered in brown paper, then transported that way. However, if it is being moved with other belongings in a moving truck, you should cover it in bubble wrap as well. If other items fall over onto the painting while in the truck, the bubble wrap gives it some extra protection.

For paintings that have the canvas exposed, use your brown paper first to protect the surface. Then add bubble wrap around the entire painting for extra protection. If your painting is protected behind glass in a frame, bubble wrap is all that is needed. Once you have it protected in bubble wrap, cut pieces of cardboard from boxes and wrap that around the painting, then tape it closed, without taping the painting itself.

Pack the Painting Properly

The final step is packing and transporting the paintings. Your paintings are now covered by flat pieces of cardboard, but they still need to packed in an additional cardboard bx. Typically, you will stand them up in a box, with a few paintings per large cardboard box. This keeps them from sliding around in the moving truck and helps movers transport them from house to truck more easily. It also gives another layer of protection in case furniture or other heavy objects fall on the box containing the artwork.

Another option to standing them up in the box is to choose a box large enough where you can actually place the paintings inside. If you put more than one inside the box, separate them with additional bubble wrap or brown paper so they don't damage each other. The last packing option is when you have loose canvas that rolls up. Go ahead and roll it up and place it in a cardboard tube for moving. These are available at any art or craft store. 

For more information, talk to movers like Able Moving & Storage Inc.