A Villa Move Usually Goes Wrong Before the Truck Even Starts

The living room might be set up by 8 a.m. in the morning. The sofa is wrapped, the tv has been turned off and several cartons await at the door. Then a person opens the cupboard under the stairs. A fellow citizen recalls the garden store. Toddler is pointing to three boxes above a wardrobe. There’s a lot of work done before anything leaves the house.

This is one factor that makes it better for Villa Movers in Dubai to conduct a thorough inspection of the property before finalizing the task. Four bedrooms doesn’t always mean four bedrooms’ worth of belongings. One villa might be minimally furnished, the other might be packed with furniture and other items over the years.

The most often easy part is the distance to the new home. If you have a wide sofa to get around a landing, the process of not damaging it by landing at the wrong spot, or if you need to move it, you must find the right spot to put it down; if you have a stone table that needs to be moved, it takes care to not just land on it at the wrong spot, but also to find the right spot, as the drive is not as simple as it seems – find the right screws for a dismantled wardrobe can take more thought than the drive itself.

When it comes to Luxury Villa Movers in Dubai, appearances need to be low in importance and what takes place behind the backs of others counts more. It’s the hardware bag that’s in the right cabinet, the glass shelf that’s taken out before the cabinet is hiked, the heavy table that is correctly positioned the first time. These little things help to prevent the day from being too long.

Look inside the villa, not merely around it

People typically start a moving survey in the living space. It makes sense. There you can see the biggest sofa, TV and dining furniture.

The problem is that it is hard to tell the entire story out of what you can see on the furniture.

A bedroom can be nearly empty while the fitted wardrobes are packed with clothing, shoes, suitcases and bedding. Until thirty cupboard doors are pulled open, the kitchen may be tidy. In a small storeroom, it may be necessary to use twenty cartons even if there are only loose items stored here.

The garage is usually the most unexpected room. Old tools, folding chairs, bicycles, paint tins and unopened boxes sit quietly. The family might not remember to include them in a quotation because they aren’t typically used on a daily basis.

Things left outdoors during the move are included as well. When you add the cushions and the separate pieces of a garden sofa set to the vehicle, you can have a large amount of space taken up. Play equipment may be required to be disassembled. This is not about just having the strength to lift heavy pots of plants, it’s about the soil, size and condition of the pot.

There is no trash to dispose of during the survey. If there is an item that is unsure, it may remain on the list until the Family decides. It’s simpler to eliminate a chair off of a stock list than to discover unanticipated room for one after a truck has been loaded.

This is also a great time to note the damage, as this is the first viewing. Maybe there is a loose door in the cabinet. Perhaps one leg of a console table was repaired years ago. The crew may still be able to manipulate these pieces, but they must be aware of not grasping them in the wrong place.

The furniture’s route may decide everything

Now stand in front of a large closet and pretend to walk out with it.

It needs to pass through the doorway of the bedroom. The next one is the corridor, possibly a flight of stairs, followed by the main entrance and the gate to the villa. The wardrobe might be able to pass through all the openings but not fit at a certain corner.

Sofas are no exception. A sofa will be able to move through a doorway, but will not rotate on the landing outside the doorway. Even long bed and dining tables pose the same issue on stairs.

Take measurements at tight places and not open areas. A wide entrance is not beneficial if the corridor in front of it is narrow.

Don’t forget the wrapping, either. It is slightly larger with protection around the edges and corners. That difference is typically not problematic. When only just right, some extra centimetres make a difference.

The new villa should be re-inspected. Furniture that preserves the original room layout may not be delivered to the preferred room at the other location. The destination could have a smaller doorway, lower ceiling or sharper staircase turn.

The effect of outside access is by itself. The carrying route is short if the truck can stop next to the gate. When it is necessary to park some distance away, each carton, mattress and cabinet has to be carried this additional distance.

This isn’t necessarily a problem. It just takes a longer time, and it’s important that the crew is aware of this beforehand, let’s say on the morning of the move.

Not every wardrobe should come apart

You can’t help but want to break down any big structure. Sometimes it is the correct thing to do. Sometimes, it brings on another issue.

Bed frames and tables that can be moved up and down are usually quite straightforward. They are easy to identify and also easier to carry as they are small.

It is more important to exercise judgment when choosing wardrobes. If the route is suitable, a solid wooden wardrobe can be safely taken apart and transported in one piece. While an older flat-pack unit may seem more straightforward to take apart, boards and fittings may not be as tightly fitted to the assembly for the second or third time.

A custom-built cabinet is another story. There may be some hidden fixings behind trims. Some panels might help keep the rest of the unit on the table and the sequence of removing panels might be important.

Before picking up the tools, consider three things: the pathway, the furniture construction and the furniture’s current state.

When it comes to tearing down, the smallest elements are surprisingly significant. All screws, brackets, shelf supports, handles and keys must remain attached to the item they are supporting. A simple method is to have one labelled bag per item. Unfortunately, it is not possible to put all the screws from the villa in one container.

Photographs help too. A fast shot with a photo can capture where or how a frame was placed. That tiny mention could come in more handy than anyone’s recollection hours later, at another address.

Heavy doesn’t always mean strong

It seems that a marble tabletop is solid, and this impression might lead people to believe that it should be carried in a certain way.

Stone is able to carry a great deal of weight when it is in its usual position, but a section that is not supported might crack if the top is lifted unevenly. Before proceeding, the crew must examine how it sits on the base and check whether the two parts are fastened together.

Glass presents a different issue. If a shelf which is meant to be removed is left loose within a cabinet it can slide when the cabinet is tilted. Generally, it is better for the movers to take out the shelf and pack it on its own.

Polished wood is just as likely to be harmed by small objects as it is by the act of moving it. For example, a key, the handle or a bag of screws rubbing against the surface will result in a noticeable mark. It is advisable not to place loose hardware directly against the finish.

Fabric sofas should have clean protection, even if a tighter fit isn’t necessarily better since wrapping the fabric too tightly around the soft cushions can cause them to be compressed. When the cushions are removable, it may also be easier to hold the sofa frame if they are packed separately.

Before lifting wardrobes, cabinets and drawers should be emptied since leaving the items inside may save a few minutes when packing but results in extra weight in the wrong positions. Books might press against the joints of the cabinets and dishes could hit the doors. Also, loose shelves are likely to shift from side to side.

Packing is most effective when it focuses on the individual item before the crew; for example, a sofa, a mirror, a wooden cabinet and a stone table should not all be handled in the same way just because they are all pieces of furniture.

Pack for the new rooms

A carton labelled ‘bedroom’ is of any use only if all the people in question know which bedroom it refers to.

In a villa which has a number of rooms on two floors, the general labels soon result in boxes being piled up in the wrong place, and the situation gets even worse when the members of the family are moving between rooms at the new address.

The cartons should be labelled according to where they are going; for example, “Main bedroom—clothing” is clearer than “old upstairs room”, and “Ground-floor study—files” informs the crew of where to take the box without having to ask anybody.

Temporary labels for the rooms can be put on the doors of the new villa; there’s no requirement for an elaborate numbering system since the text on the door just has to correspond with that on the carton.

You should put the large furniture in first, before filling the room with boxes; the bed frame or wardrobe needs room to turn in. When the floor is full, even a minor adjustment becomes difficult.

Kitchen cartons have to be handled with extra care since their contents are so different. Items such as glasses, plates, pans and small appliances all tend not to cope well when they are put together without any consideration. During transportation, heavy cookware can shift and end up damaging the more fragile items.

Large boxes aren’t appropriate in all cases; if you put books, tools or dishes in one then it might become hard to lift before it has even been filled. For dense items you should use smaller cartons and reserve the larger ones for bedding, cushions and light clothing.

The boxes that are meant to be family-packed should be closed before the crew get there; a carton that is open with some loose items next to it is not ready to be loaded since it still needs to be arranged, protected and sealed.

Keep one corner away from the move

It is rather unusual for passports to go missing when all the rooms are being packed, and the same thing happens with car keys, medication and phone chargers.

Select a small area that the moving crew will not disturb and retain your bags, documents, jewellery, medication, keys and the items you will need during the journey.

Make it clear what the boundary is. A closed room would be best, but if a clearly marked table or cupboard is used then everyone must understand that the items inside it are not being taken into the truck.

Make sure to pack a bag for the first night too. There’s no need for it to be complicated. For most families, enough will be provided in the form of clothes for the following morning, toiletries, chargers, basic medicine and a few items for the children.

By the time evening arrives the new villa could be full of boxes and, at that stage, it will be more important to know where the toothbrushes and the clean clothes are than it will be to find a decorative vase.

Moving day needs one clear voice

A family will generally have many opinions regarding where the furniture should go, but the crew requires a single answer at a time.

Imagine that one person orders a cabinet to be taken to an upstairs bedroom. About halfway there, another person says it should go into the study. Then a third person decides it would be better in the garage. The cabinet has by this time been moved more times than are really necessary.

Speak with the supervisor with one person only; although other family members may discuss the decisions with that person, the crew is given just one final instruction.

Start the day with a brief walk around the premises and point out to the supervisor what is moving, what is remaining unchanged and what requires special attention. Also refer to any furniture that has altered since the survey was carried out.

Make sure that the paths used for carrying remain open since although small rugs, shoes, side tables and plant pots may not appear to be a danger they are difficult to see when a person is walking backwards with a heavy object.

When you arrive at the destination, decide first where the beds, wardrobes and the biggest tables should go before the unloading picks up speed. The smaller items can be dealt with later on, since heavy furniture is harder to move when the cartons have already taken up space in the room.

Read the quotation as if moving day has arrived

Nothing by itself tells us much.

Start by examining the way the crew are packing—whether they are packing the entire villa, just the furniture, or only certain rooms. The document should specify if the family is in charge of the books, clothing and personal effects.

Make sure that the furniture is examined. The beds, wardrobes and tables which need to be taken apart should be spotted and, if the team are going to have to reassemble them, this should also be noted.

The phrase ‘unpacking’ has more than one meaning. By it is meant opening up the cartons and putting the contents onto a nearby surface; it does not necessarily involve organising the clothes in wardrobes or arranging all the ornaments.

The materials also count; check if the cartons, covers, wrapping and any other form of protection are included in the service.

The access details must correspond to the property; features such as stairs, remote parking, narrow entrances, and extra collection points can affect the time and labour needed.

You should focus specifically on any items that are either very heavy or very delicate. Just describing a marble table as “one dining table” gives the moving team insufficient information. The inventory must indicate what makes the item special.

If the prices differ, you should check what is included in each one before working out which is the cheaper. A quote which omits essential work may appear to be the cheaper one until the day you move.

Don’t rush the last twenty minutes

A villa with no people can still have things inside.

One final time open the cupboards and check behind the doors, under the sinks and above the wardrobes. Go through the bathrooms, the balcony, the garden and the garage before the truck departs.

When you arrive at the destination, check all the things that the crew has rebuilt. Open the doors of the wardrobe. Verify that the bed frames are steady and that the shelves, handles and keys have all returned to the correct furniture.

If you look at where the heavy items are positioned while there are still people available to move them, it will be easier to shift a cabinet a short distance now than it will be after the room has been unpacked.

It is not necessary to open the cartons at once. You should make sure that they have arrived at the rooms mentioned on the labels and that the essential boxes are there.

If an item seems to be marked, missing or assembled incorrectly, it should be shown to the supervisor before the crew leave so that all members can examine the same item and understand the issue.

It is quite normal for the new villa not to appear complete by evening. The beds should be usable, the essential furniture should be in position and the family should know where the first-night bag is; everything else can be dealt with until morning.