• Tips for a smooth office relocation

    June 18th, 2018 | by
    office relocation prep, the team packs moving boxes in the office read more

    Don’t get stuck leaving it all to the last minute.

    If you’re about to move your office—regardless of whether it’s interstate or around the corner—you’re probably feeling very overwhelmed by how enormous the task seems.

    You’ve already got enough to do in your own role, whether you’re working from home or in a corporate setting, and somehow you need to pack up years worth of equipment and settle it into an unfamiliar space—without losing any working hours.

    It does take a bit of planning, but don’t worry—there are some simple logistics to help you get your office relocation over and done with quickly and smoothly as possible, so you’ll soon be enjoying your new workplace.

    Plan the move early

    No matter who’s in charge of coordinating your office move, it will be a person who already has a busy job. It’s hard work, so if you can plan early, you’ll be able to enlist a bit of help from all the staff in the office to make it easier—and find a good mover with plenty of time to spare.

    An office and corporate relocation specialist will be able to plan and orchestrate your entire move so you’re settled into your fresh new space in minimal time, with minimal interruption to your daily operations.

    Start looking in the months before the move to give yourself plenty of time to do your research, and to give the movers time to visit your office and coordinate your move. Planning early will give you time to develop a strategy with your professional office relocation experts, but it’s also helpful to arrange the move with the help of web-based project management tools that can assist you in managing the tasks and deadlines of your move.

    You can share this information with your colleagues, which might include essential dates and tasks—like changing addresses on all their documentation, taking inventory, informing their customers and clients,providing printouts of floor plans for the new workspaces, and when deep cleaning and maintenance will happen.

    Commercial relocations often need very specific deadlines because of the expense and legalities of the leases held over the new and old properties. They have to be done fast, and planning your move months in advance will mean your movers, suppliers and colleagues will all be on track to complete their part of the shift on time.

    Every day that your business isn’t operational costs a fortune, so planning everything in advance—from patching up and repainting your old.

    Plan the new workspace

    One of the most important things you can do to avoid any downtime in your business because of a move is to plan the new workspace.

    Creating a floor plan with details of seating and furniture that goes in each room will help the movers and your colleagues to know exactly where everything has to go.

    Labelling each zone, and labelling the corresponding boxes for that area will mean that every box goes where it needs to go, and nothing gets lost.

    If you’re buying new storage equipment, supplies, or furniture, order it some time in advance of the move—this will mean it’s delivered on time, and you won’t be trying to complete your daily tasks in a space with no desks or chairs.

    You’ll also save yourself doubling up on moving, because you won’t be filling the new rooms with boxes of supplies that you’ll just have to shift again when the furniture comes.

    But be careful with this—if the new furniture comes before you’ve got access to the new office space, you’ll need somewhere to store it.

    Planning the new workspace makes it easier to know what you really need to bring along, and what’s ready to be let go of, especially if you’re able to get the dimensions of the new office or corporate suite.

    In every office, there are unused and outdated supplies that should have been disposed of years ago, and have just become part of the scenery. On the other hand, you might find things you’d forgotten about—like a laminator that still works, or packets of printer ink—that you won’t need to replace.

    You’ll save time and effort—maybe even money—if you’ve thoroughly cleaned out your office beforehand. Your new space might not need a complete fit out to accommodate your business, but if you’ve got access to it before the move, you should still get in there to inspect it and do the small jobs it needs.

    Plan early to give yourself time to arrange your utilities and services, paint, or assemble and mount newfurniture and fixtures so it’s ready for you to start work straight away—and to find out what regulations and daily obligations (like security systems, locks, and building opening hours) come with the space.

    Plan the packing

    Sometimes it helps to first pack the things that you need the least. Non-essential items, like reference material or archived work can be packed and moved first, and the items that you can’t work without should be packed last—and marked to be opened first at the other end.

    Office relocations can also be tricky where sensitive and confidential information needs to be transported. These documents need to be packed and moved separately, and an employee in a trusted position—rather than your movers—should be responsible for handling them.

    The task of moving your other important or valuable items should also be allocated to someone trustworthy who will take responsibility for ensuring they get to the new space, and in one piece.

    You should supply your colleagues and employees with storage boxes and equipment to properly pack their items, and instructions on how to prepare items that are fragile or difficult to pack (like computer monitors).

    They should also label and seal their boxes, and ensure that any personal items of value or importance are taken home with them and not left with all their work equipment. Professional office relocation professionals will already know which order to pack and move the furniture and equipment in the office, but make sure all thepeople in your workplace understand which goes first, so they can be ready.

    Essential furniture including desks and chairs goes first, so that computers,phones and printers have somewhere to be set up for work to recommence. Planning your packing early, and ensuring your colleagues know what to do will mean that their supplies and equipment are ready and waiting when the movers arrive, and ensure a smooth transition into the new workspace.

    Plan with professionals

    Successful office moves and commercial relocations are possible with specialist knowledge and the right equipment. Comprehensive planning and project management ability, combined with a dedicated fleet of vehicles customised for the industry, can help you transition smoothly into your new workplace.

    Faulkner Removals have everything you need to get settled into your new environment with minimal stress and interruption to your productivity, so contact our friendly staff in Brisbane at any time to find out how we can help you with your commercial move. 

  • Tips for making moving easier

    June 18th, 2018 | by
    Tips for making moving easier, couple in their new home surrounded by moving boxes. read more

    Don’t leave it all until the last minute

    Start packing in the month or two before you move! If you start with your most fragile items, you can plan the best way to pack and transport them, instead of throwing them in at the last minute to get broken.  

    If you start early, you’ll have time for things like labeling your boxes (which is a phenomenal help when you’re reorganising your new place).

    It will also give you time to take inventory of all your items, which makes it easier to unload them all at the other end, and ensures that you know immediately when something goes missing.

    It also means you can better plan the logistics of the move, including what kind of transportation you need—if you know how many items you’ve got and what sizes they are, you’ll know whether you need a trailer, a ute, or a truck, and how many trips you’ll have to do. This could actually save you money: if your load turns out to be smaller than you think, you can downgrade the truck size you were going to get.

    Moving houses - Faulkner Removals Brisbane

    Pack your fragiles first, transport them last

    Starting early means you can pack your fragile items properly to ensure their safe transportation. It also means you can leave them until last, when it’s safest to move them—there’s nothing else to accidentally fall on or squash them, and you can concentrate on getting them to your new home safely.

    Make sure you’ve taken inventory of your valuable items, and if it’s possible, have them insured before you move. And safeguard things you rely heavily on: back up your important files on your computer, just in case your monitor or hard drive gets broken.

    Make a moving pack

    Pack some cleaning products, toilet paper, and garbage bags and anything other essential things you might need at the other end. Obviously there’s nothing in the new house yet, so pack enough that you can clean the new bathroom before unloading your items, and so that you don’t have to drink out of your hands until the cups get there (which are buried in the bottom of the enormous kitchen boxes).

    Pack a change of clothes and some towels as well, because if you get really dirty you’ll be wearing them for a long time.

    Packing for moving house - Faulkner Removals

    Don’t take what you don’t need

    Another benefit of planning your move early is getting rid of things you don’t want anymore. Why pack it and move it, when you don’t even use it?

    This is a great opportunity to cut down your clutter, and your work, by having a garage sale, donating quality items to charity, recycling anything that can be used again, and making a run to the dump for everything else.

    Plan your unloading

    Get familiar with your new street before you move. Is there on-street parking for your helpers? Is there a risk of the truck blocking the only entry and exit to theproperty? If it’s a multi-level apartment building, how are you going to get everything upstairs?

    Packing house items - Faulkner Removals Brisbane

    It’s best to plan before you move so you know how you’re going to get around the little roadblocks that every property has. You’ll save a lot of time and kerfuffle if everyone knows where they’re going and how to get the job done, and you might even prevent accidents and breakages.

    And be ready for your movers, whether you’re paying them in money or beer! If you’re still trying to pack, and you don’t know what’s going and when, there’s going to be a lot of standing around and wasting time that could be better spent.

    Sort out your services

    If you plan ahead, you can have your utilities connected for moving day. That way, when the sun goes down, you can keep working and you won’t be stumbling around an unfamiliar home in the dark.

    Which day is bin day? If it’s just been, your bins will be sitting filled the brim for a whole week. Getting this information early means you can plan a dump run, or cut down on your packaging by making a bit of extra effort by doing more trips reusing your packaging and boxes.

    It’s also best to avoid having anything delivered on moving day: another truck wanting to stop at your already overloaded new house is the last thing you want, so do without your new furniture for another couple of days and save yourself the stress of trying to fit everything in.

    Get a babysitter

    Whether it’s your toddler or your fur babies, moving day is not the best place for little ones. While it’s obviously exciting for them, with access to all sorts of exciting cupboards and items they’ve never noticed before, there are quite a few dangers around and they’d be much better off having a good play in the safe care of a trusted person.

    It’s worth the investment, even if it’s paying for a day at a kennel, or a whole day of babysitting—you don’t want your babies being trodden on by heavy boots when they’re under a mover’s feet, or breaking or being hurt by fragile items they’ve got their hands on.

    And if you need some help with packing your items properly, contact Faulkner Removals anytime for advice. We’ve got a complete range of packing materials and boxes to suit just about anything you own, and we’re experts in packing and transportation. We’ll help get you and your belongings to your new home—fast, easily, and safely.

  • Moving fragile items

    June 18th, 2018 | by
    fragile tape over a box read more

    Moving house is stressful enough on its own, without having to worry about breaking your most valuable items on the way. If you want to get your breakables to your new home in one piece, there are a few simple measures you can take to get them there safely.

    Preparing properly before moving day

    If you leave it until moving day to pack your items, there will be breakage. It takes time to do it properly, so start early with your most fragile and most precious items, and if you end up in a rush, it will be the shoes and pillows that get tossed in at the last moment.

    Packing your most fragile items in the days before you have to move means that you’ll have time to do a good job, and you won’t forget things at the last minute, like correctly labelling your boxes. It’ll also give you time to sort and group your boxes, so your movers can load your boxes in the right order.

    Removalists in Brisbane - Faulkner Removals

    Get the right equipment

    The right packing materials will protect your fragile items from breakage, whether the risk is during handling or transport. It might seem like a hassle, or an unnecessary expense, but investing in good quality protection could save you replacing expensive items, or losing the irreplaceable ones.

    There’s a reason why removalists use cardboard boxes: they are easy to handle even when they’re heavy because they’ll sit properly on a trolley, they’ll slot securely beside each other during transport because they aren’t an awkward shape, and they’re firm enough to protect the contents inside from damage.

    Getting proper moving boxes, that are designed to hold up even when filled with heavy items, is essential if you’re determined to move your items without accidents.


    Other packing materials that are great to have include:

    • Packing peanuts: to fill out space. They do move around a fair bit, so they are better used with together with other materials, and they aren’t suitable for extremely fragile items.
    • Bubble wrap: to wrap smaller items, or as extra wrap for larger ones.
    • Kraft or other heavy duty packing paper: used to wrap around objects, pad out space in boxes, or to wad into glasses and other hollow items.
    • Inflatable packing pillows: sometimes a good alternative to wads of packing paper.
    • Sheets of Styrofoam: to pad out spaces in the box or wrap items.
    • Specially designed boxes for tableware: there are boxes with strong, built-in dividers to save much of the stuffing and wrapping involved with cups and plates. There are also corrugated cardboard dividersavailabel to safely separate items.
    • Tape: to ensure the flaps won’t flip open and spill the contents.
    • Labels or pens: to clearly label your boxes detailing what’s inside, which way up to store and handle it, and to indicate that the contents are fragile.

    Avoid using towels, clothes, pillows or other household items for packing: they won’t absorb as much energy from bumps and knocks as proper packing materials will, they can’t be taped, and they will often shift around inside the box.


    Packing methods for the most fragile items

    A lot of breakages happen because of things you didn’t know, like which way up to pack plates and mirrors. But there are a few tricks of the trade to secure the most common fragile items for transport and help you get them to your new home safely.

    • Plates should be packed vertically, not horizontally. Bubble wrap them and make sure there’s a wad of packing paper or a corrugated cardboard divider between each one. Make sure the inside of the box is packed to the sides, top and bottom with packing paper.
    • Glasses should be stuffed with crumpled packing paper, then wrapped in packing paper, bubble wrap or Styrofoam sheets. They should be stacked with the heaviest on the bottom, and the box should be tightly packed with wads of paper.
    • Wine bottles have special requirements. They shouldn’t be exposed to extreme temperatures, so if the journey to your new home is a long one and your collection is valuable, you might need to consider climate-controlled transport. There are specially designed packing boxes for wine, and removalists usually have a good idea of how to pack and transport it, so ask for some advice if you’re not sure.
    • Mirrors and picture frames should be packed in boxes the right size for the mirror. If you can’t buy one to fit, you can make one out of other boxes. Fill the bottom of the box with to the edges with packing paper, wrap the mirror in a few layers of bubble wrap or paper, then fill in the front and back of the mirror with more wads of paper. The most important thing is to transport mirrors vertically, not horizontally, and they should be secured with moving blankets around the base when they’re in motion.
    • Computers, televisions, and other electronics are best packed in their original boxes with the custom designed Styrofoam packing that they came in. If you don’t have the original boxes, use regular moving boxes and lots of paper padding, and remember to protect the screens and surfaces to stop the power plugs and cable connectors from scratching.
    • Lamps are awkwardly shaped, and the two main pieces need to be packed in different ways. Remove the shade from the stand, and box the shade separately with lots of padding. The base is sometimes an irregularly shaped sphere, so lie it on its side on bubble wrap or paper, use packing paper to fill any gaps at each end, and then roll the paper around it.
    • Other awkwardly shaped items can be completely wrapped in bubble wrap or paper secured with tape, wrapped in pliable corrugated cardboard which is also taped, and packed into well-padded boxes.

    Communicate with your removalist

    Your removalist will automatically check your boxes to see whether they are marked as fragile, or with instructions on which way up to store or move them. But at any time, if you are unsure whether you’ve packed your fragile item properly, or you want to be extra sure they will be careful, speak up.

    Labeling boxes - Faulkner Removals

    If the idea of packing your items yourself is overwhelming, contact Faulkner Removals for information on our full suite of packing materials and boxes, and our expert packing and transport services in Brisbane. We can help you get your fragile items to your new home fast, easily, and in one piece.

  • Hiring a reputable Office Removal Company

    June 18th, 2018 | by
    removalist listing boxes read more

     

    Let us take away all the obstacles

    Moving an office is a huge ordeal and in most cases, it is much more than just a few people can handle, especially if you are not trained to do so. As if the frustration involved with moving an office is not enough, the physical burden that it places on individuals makes it even worse. It is much better to hire professionals to handle the problem instead.

    Think of it this way. Just as you would not allow someone to walk in off the street and perform your profession that you have been trained to do, you should reconsider before deciding to pack up an entire office and move it yourself. It may not seem like that big of a task at first, but once you get started doing it, it can quickly become something that is both physically and mentally overwhelming.

    Furthermore, trying to do it yourself means that you might miss important deadlines because it may simply be impossible to get it all done as quickly as you need to.

    You may also lose track of some important documents along the way and this can have terrible repercussions for both you and your business.

    Removalist company - Faulkner Removals

    All of these reasons should make you think carefully about hiring an office removal company.

    It eliminates all the time that you would spend packing up and moving things yourself and you know that you are working with professionals who are used to doing this.

    They know how much time it will take and how much work is involved because that is the nature of their business. In reality, it usually allows you to get up and running in your new location much more quickly than you would have been able to if you had made the decision to continue on alone. In addition, it gives you time to focus on other aspects of going to a new location.

    Removalist taking boxes - Faulkner Removals

    Thing that you have to consider…

    Take all of the things that a person moving to a new home would have to consider such as turning on the lights and the water. Then you have to start thinking about your customers.

    All of them have to know that you have moved to a new location and this alone can be enough to require that a single person be dedicated to doing nothing more than that. That is why it is so important that an office removal company do all of the physical lifting for you. It gives you time to focus on all of the other things that you might otherwise overlook.

    Contact us today to look after your removal needs – 07 3279 1720

  • What can you expect from Interstate Removalists

    June 17th, 2018 | by
    interstate removal services, happy couple in front of their new home. Removals team in the background moving a mattress. read more

    You can rely on interstate removalists to move your goods from one place to another, start to finish. Moving is always a stressful thing to do and it is important to go with company that puts your interests first and one that helps keep you stress free.

    It’s always good to use someone who handles all the transportation of your goods from state to state. Many companies end up outsourcing the transportation once your stuff gets out of state. Those who handle the shipping in all states without doing so will prevent any further confusion in the moving process.

    There are several things that you can expect when you hire interstate removalists. Here is a short list.

    • Full packing and unpacking service.

    You do not have to pack and unpack things yourself. Your interstate removalists can do it all for you. This obviously takes a lot of stress off you and allows you to focus on other aspects of moving.

    • Complete and no obligation quotes

    Your Interstate removalists should come over to your home and give you a full quote that is obligation-free. Always ask for this in advance and without expectations of reciprocity on your behalf.

    • Offers support around the clock through the moving process

    Your Interstate removalists should be available to assist you at any time during the relocating process.

    • A schedule of movement process

    A schedule for the different stages of the movement process should be given to you if you use movers. From packing to transporting, dates and times should be given to you ahead of time to make the moving process easier for both you and the movers. They also will try to work at the best times the work in your favor. Your movers should seek your approval for the times set in the schedule.

    • Assistance with preparing for moving

    Your Interstate removalists should help you with packaging and labelling your goods if you choose to package and label them yourself. Good interstate removalists also help in unpacking and arranging your belongings in your new place.

    • They supply you with moving materials

    Your movers should provide you with all the boxes, packing tape, and bubble wrap to package all your goods.

    It is also a very smart idea to know your rights and responsibilities as a client before you start looking for an interstate removalist. You should also read and reread the documents given by your mover. This can include order of service, bill of lading, inventory list, and estimates. A very important thing that you should keep in mind is that you should stop from accepting and verbal quote. You should always receive a very detailed written quote that includes every single charge in order to avoid any surprises in the future.

    No matter the moving company you choose, you should make sure that they are easy to communicate with at any time. In case any problem arises, good communication is critical to a successful move. If you have more than one way to be contacted, then you should give them all the ways available for them to contact you.

  • We were blown away by their professionalism and efficiency. I would recommend them to everybody! Sally Fordham, Brisbane
  • I just wanted to pass on my compliments for the way you and your company have handled our furniture freight in Queensland over the last few years. B. R. Morgan - Comfortel
  • Thanks so much, I have used Faulkners for all my moves in the last 7 years and I have to say the whole process is just seamless... Jacqui Reed, Upper Brookfield