Crating & Rigging

Crating and rigging are the parts of a move that decide whether equipment arrives intact and whether it can get out of the building at all. They are also where guesswork costs the most, because the wrong protection method or a missed access problem does not show up until the crew is standing in front of the equipment with the clock running.

Three ways to protect a load

There are three real options for protecting equipment in transit, and the right one depends on the haul and the value of the piece. Matching the method to the job is the first decision, and it drives the cost and the handling from there.

• Blanket wrap: short hauls where padding and careful handling protect the finish.
• Skidding: anything that rides upright and strapped down, giving the piece a stable base and clean lift points.
• Custom crate: fragile, high-value, or overseas freight that needs a rigid enclosure built around it.

What rigging actually means

Rigging is what happens when equipment cannot leave the way it came in. Sometimes a piece was set in place before a wall went up, or a doorway is simply too narrow for what is behind it. In those cases getting it out can mean pulling a door frame or a window, or hoisting the unit out entirely. Rigging is problem-solving with the building itself, and it is a normal part of moving large equipment out of spaces that were never designed to let it back through the front door.

The right tools for tight buildings

Heavy equipment in a tight building calls for tools a hand truck cannot replace. Machinery skates let a crew move a massive piece across a floor with control, and stair-climbers handle flights that would be dangerous or impossible with a two-wheeler. Using the right equipment is what makes a move safe and keeps both the equipment and the building undamaged, especially when the piece is heavy and the path is narrow or has stairs.

Liftgate limits decide the plan

Liftgate capacity is a real constraint, not a technicality. A loaded piece of cooking equipment can exceed what a standard liftgate is rated to take, and that single fact often decides whether a job needs a loading dock, a liftgate, or a forklift to load and unload safely. Knowing the weight of the loaded piece up front is what determines the equipment for the move, and getting it wrong means a truck that cannot actually load what it came for.

The survey comes first

The survey before the quote is what keeps all of this off move day. Walking the equipment, the path, the doorways, and the loading situation is how the protection method, the rigging plan, and the right truck get decided in advance instead of discovered in the moment. A good survey turns a complicated move into a routine one, and it is the reason an accurate quote and a smooth move are really the same piece of work.

Whether a piece needs a blanket, a skid, or a crate, and whether it walks out the door or comes out a window, the answer starts with a survey. Tell us what is moving and where it sits, and we will build the plan around it.