Veneer, French polish, marquetry, gilt work. The materials that need different methods, and how a careful remover delivers them intact.
Working with an antique furniture moving specialist matters when the piece in question can't be replaced — pad-wrap, custom crating and the right insurance value are non-negotiable. Antiques and valuable furniture demand a different standard of removal than ordinary household contents. The differences aren’t mystical — more careful wrapping, slower handling, specific protection for veneer and marquetry, custom crating where needed, crews trained to recognise what they’re handling. After forty years of antiques moving across Sussex we have a clear and tested approach.
This guide covers what counts as antique-handling, the specific methods we use, the insurance considerations, and the survey process. For valuable single pieces or whole collections, our white-glove service is the relevant tier. For mixed inventories with some antiques alongside modern furniture, standard pad-wrap plus declared-value insurance is usually sufficient.
The standard definition is “more than 100 years old”, but for removal purposes the more useful definition is “valuable, irreplaceable or fragile”. A solid oak Victorian wardrobe is technically antique but moves like ordinary furniture. A French marquetry escritoire from the same era is far more delicate and needs specialist handling regardless of age.
For survey purposes we treat the following as antique-handling: anything with marquetry, anything with original gilt or gold leaf, anything with veneer (especially walnut, satinwood or rosewood), anything with marble or stone tops, anything mounted on splayed legs that can splay further, anything in glass-fronted display cabinets, and anything the customer values at over £2,500.
Within that category, the handling escalates with value. Items at £2,500–£10,000 get pad-wrap plus declared-value insurance. Items at £10,000–£50,000 typically get white-glove handling. Items above £50,000 usually need specialist art-and-antiques carriers with climate-controlled transport.
Standard pad-wrap is fine for many antiques. For more delicate pieces we add internal padding (acid-free tissue between drawers and against veneer surfaces), corner-board over vulnerable corners, and soft-cotton cloth between the blanket and the finish for items with French polish or lacquer.
For items with original gilt work, we use tissue-then-cotton-then-blanket layering. The tissue protects against the cotton; the cotton protects against the blanket fibres; the blanket provides impact cushioning. This sounds excessive until you see a piece arrive after a long journey with no marks at all where ordinary pad-wrap would have left a faint pattern.
For marquetry and inlay work, the rule is no tape on the surface ever. Tape lifts veneer; even ‘painter’s tape’ can lift original 18th-century shellac. All restraint is achieved through webbing straps over the pad-wrap, never adhesive on the wood.
Glass-fronted antiques are among the highest-risk items in any move. The rule: glass faces glass with padding between, never glass against wood or any other hard surface. The compressive forces in a lorry are vertical; face-to-face cushions; glass against wood concentrates force on the glass.
Original Georgian or Regency mirrors get specific handling. The wooden frame and the glass are surveyed separately — sometimes the glass is original and irreplaceable, sometimes the glass is a later replacement. Original glass needs custom crating; replacement glass is replaceable.
For valuable mirrors over £5,000, the standard transit method is bespoke crating with vertical orientation and soft internal padding. For collections, each mirror is crated individually. The crates are reusable and we collect them after the move.
Marble and stone-topped furniture has two operational problems: weight and fragility. A typical marble dining table top weighs 80–120kg and can chip or crack if dropped, twisted or stacked improperly. The standard rule: marble travels separately from its base, padded vertically, never flat.
For removal, we lift the marble from the base with two crew members minimum, wrap it in heavy bubble plus pad-wrap, and stack it vertically against an interior lorry wall with foam between it and any neighbour. The table base is wrapped separately as ordinary furniture. At the new property they’re reassembled.
For stone fireplaces, garden statuary and outdoor stone ornaments, the principles are the same but the weight is often greater. We use specialist lifting equipment for items over 100kg. For pieces over 250kg we need a four-person crew or specialist sling equipment — flagged at survey. The heavy items guide covers the operational details.
Standard goods-in-transit insurance covers transit damage at typical per-item limits (typically £2,500). For antiques above this limit, items need declaring specifically on the contract before move day. Declared-value coverage is available up to most reasonable amounts; for genuinely high-value pieces (above £25,000), a separate specialist policy is usually right.
Photograph everything before the move. Wide shots of each piece, close-ups of any existing chips or marks, close-ups of any signatures, maker’s marks or labels. These are invaluable in any insurance discussion and useful to the unpacking crew (you, in a fortnight’s time).
For full collections — family silver, an art collection, a wine cellar — we recommend a written inventory before the move. We provide this as part of the white-glove service; for self-managed inventories the structure is straightforward.
Antique surveys take longer than standard surveys — typically 60–90 minutes for a property with significant antique content. The surveyor photographs each high-value piece, notes the protection requirements, and discusses any access challenges. The quote follows within 48 hours and itemises the antique-specific work.
The crew assigned to antique-heavy moves is our most experienced team. Trained at our own staff training centre, specifically on antique handling, and selected for jobs where the inventory requires it. The same crew that handles a routine 3-bed move isn’t necessarily the right team for a country house with significant period content.
Booking lead times for antique moves are similar to standard — 6–10 weeks for end-of-month dates in May-September peak. For very high-value moves (large country houses, art collections), book 12+ weeks ahead because the survey scheduling and crew assignment is more complex. Talk to us early at survey stage.
We've been a family-run Sussex remover since 1982. Crews are directly employed and trained at our own staff training centre. Pad-wrap on every full removal, removal-grade cartons, BAR Advance Payment Guarantee on every deposit.
120+ independent Google reviews at 4.9/5. Survey, written quote within 48 hours, deposit-protected booking, calm move day. Whichever category your move falls into — routine local, overseas, antiques, business — the approach is the same.
Booking the survey takes ten minutes via the online form.
Free in-home or video survey, written fixed-price quote, BAR-protected deposit. Sussex’s family-run remover since 1982.
A meaningful share of antique-heavy moves involve storage between completion dates. Antiques particularly need climate-stable conditions — uninsulated steel-walled storage units cause condensation that damages veneer and warps wood within weeks, not months. Our Lower Dicker depot has climate-stable strong-room storage on the mezzanine designed specifically for high-value content holding.
For collection-level holds (a full art collection, a set of family silver, an antique furniture inventory waiting for a future property purchase), our Prestige Steel Storage Rooms are the relevant tier. Individual rooms inside our secure depot, climate-controlled, with formal inventory tracking and access management. Cost is meaningful relative to standard self-storage but appropriate for the value of what’s stored.
For shorter holds (between-completion contingency, brief renovation period at the new property), standard depot storage works fine. The short-vs-long-term storage guide covers the decision framework. For genuinely valuable items going into long-term storage, the climate-stable conditions matter more than the cost differential.
For pre-storage preparation, the preparing furniture for storage guide covers the cleaning, wrapping and material choices that prevent damage during the storage period. None of this is complicated but the difference between “stored well” and “stored carelessly” shows up at the retrieval end six months or two years later.
Booking your move with us is a five-step process. One: enquire via the online quote form or call our office on 01323 848 008. We’ll arrange a survey within a few working days. Two: the survey itself, usually in-home and lasting 30–90 minutes depending on the move complexity. The surveyor walks the property, photographs access points, counts cartons by size, and discusses any specialist requirements.
Three: the written quote, emailed within 48 hours of the survey. Itemised by line so you see what every cost line covers. Four: deposit and date confirmation. Typically 20–25% deposit on confirmation, fully protected under the British Association of Removers’ Advance Payment Guarantee. Five: the move itself. Uniformed crew, our own lorry, no agency labour, blankets washed between jobs.
For pre-move questions, our office is reachable Monday to Friday 8am to 5:30pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm. We’d rather have the customer conversation early than late — a small clarification three weeks before move day saves a meaningful misunderstanding on the day itself. For the wider company history and our forty-year track record across Sussex, the about-us page covers the background.
For your specific move, we look forward to the conversation. Whichever category falls under (a routine local move, a complex international relocation, a specialist antique or office job), the principles are consistent: in-home survey, written itemised quote, deposit-protected booking, crew you can rely on, calm move day, post-move follow-up. That’s the standard we aim for on every job.
Practically: anything valuable, irreplaceable or fragile — marquetry, gilt work, veneer, marble or stone tops, glass-fronted cabinets, anything you value at over £2,500.
Yes — additional protection materials, longer survey, sometimes custom crating, slower handling. Quoted transparently at survey, not added as a surcharge.
Usually no — most home policies exclude items in transit. The removal firm's goods-in-transit insurance covers transit damage.
Pianos go via our piano-moving service. Stone fireplaces and large marble pieces use lifting equipment and four-person crews where weight requires it.
Yes — Lower Dicker depot has climate-stable strong-room storage suitable for high-value contents. Climate-stable is non-negotiable for valuable items.