More Effective Measuring Tips
Is it Length x Width x Height or is it Width x Depth x Height? And does it matter which order you provide these dimensions for your crating?
From all research, there is ongoing debate about which to use, but one thing stands out. You will notice that regardless of your preference, HEIGHT is always consistent. Reason being, from a crating and transport perspective height is the most important dimension. In other words you can have length and width in the wrong order, or mix depth with length, it doesn’t matter to us, as long as you get the height right. This point is perfectly illustrated in the art industry. Ask any artist or gallery owner to measure an artwork and they are likely to meaure the height first, as they know this is most critical.
The important thing to note – the height is not necessarily the vertical dimension (measurement from top to bottom) as you look at the object, it WILL BE the vertical dimension as you want the object to be transported. To determine the height, look at the object to be crated, and ask yourself: “How do I want this object to stand when it is being transported?”
By getting this right, it means the crate will be reinforced on the base where necessary but importantly because we put ‘This Way Up’ arrows on the crates, it gives your packers a better chance to carrying the crate the right way, greatly reducing the likelihood of damage to the object.
Here are some examples of how to measure some items:
Baby Grand Pianos are most commonly transported packed on their long flat side (opposite side to the kidney indentation). The easiest way to remember this is that the keys become the height.
Upright Pianos are much more straight forward, as you see them, is how they are transported.
As a general rule, with artworks, the height is most commonly the second largest dimension. Reason being, this just gives it better stability in transit.
As an example, an artwork measuring (L x W x H) 1800 x 40 x 800mm.
Obviously having 1800mm as the height would make this more likely to fall over when being transported. This same rule applies for mirrors, marble, glass tops and even billiard table tops (as these too need to be transported on their side).
However, this being said, some artworks are recommended to travel the way they are hung on the wall (as with some mirrors). This will more likely be the case with ‘mixed media’ artworks. In fact, if you are unsure, the safest decision is to determine the height as it hangs on the wall.
If you have any confusion about measuring any other items when it comes to crating, or have any questions on anything mentioned above, please feel free to email or call Brad on (07) 3255 6480.