How Furniture Removal During a Cleaning Project Can Lead to Further Damage of the Home
When your team is called in to do a residential restoration job, you are being contacted to fix a particular problem. Perhaps the client’s home flooded during a recent storm. And they need help dealing with the water damage, the mustiness, and the mold. Maybe the home was damaged but not destroyed by a fire and needs to be brought back up to its previous level of beauty and livability.
In either of these cases, one of the responsibilities that your team is not being hired to handle is furniture removal. However, in many instances where clients call for restoration help, you will arrive at the scene to find that heavy furniture is still in the house. In some situations, you will be able to work around tables, chairs, or couches to do the necessary restoration work. For most jobs, though, you would rather have a clear workspace.
Because cleaner workspaces are preferable, many restoration companies either offer clients removal services for an extra charge. Or just figure removal and storage into the cost of their repair services. This approach can be precarious, and not just because restorers are very rarely insured against the loss or damage of contents. On the contrary, by moving heavy furniture, your team could accidentally destroy the property further.
Think about the heaviest and most cumbersome items in your home: big antique desks, huge living room couches, tall bookshelves, etc. You can’t move any of these items on your own. You might be able to move them with the help of a family or friend. However, in carrying out such DIY moving projects. It’s not uncommon to leave a scuff on a wall here or a scratch on the hardwood floor there. There are even some items that most people won’t even attempt moving without professional help—like grand pianos or pool tables. Because they are worried that they would do more damage than good in the process.
When you offer to remove a client’s adored furniture as part of a residential restoration process. You are effectively signing your team up for a DIY moving project. Your team might be just fine with lifting heavy objects, but they are not trained to move big cumbersome pieces of furniture. What’s more, moving furniture is just an extra task for them. Something to get out of the way before they can proceed to the real job.
This mentality often leads to careless staff who don’t take the necessary precautions when moving heavy furniture. As a result, trying to get a desk up the stairs or a grand piano out the front door. Your team could easily damage the items they are moving or parts of the home during the cumbersome clearing process. From chipped marble countertops to ruined hardwood floors to huge dents in the drywall. Your staff can do more damage than you realize by merely trying to get furniture out of the way.
As mentioned before, your company is not insured for loss or destruction of contents. This means that you could be liable for the cost of replacing a grand piano if a moving job goes awry. By damaging the customer’s house, you could also end up creating more work for yourself. More drywall to redo and more flooring to replace or restore. As for chipped countertops, those are harder to repair and could lead to a less-than-pleasant conversation with your client.
How can you avoid all of these risks and pitfalls? Call my company. We are professional removalists, which means that we will go into the client’s home before you arrive to restore it. We will pack up any loose items and get them out of the way, but we will also remove the furniture in a safe and professional fashion. My team is experienced as any moving company. And can handle even the most cumbersome furniture without leaving behind dents, scuffs, scratches, or holes. And, since we are insured against contents loss, our insurance will cover damage to your client’s belongings. You won’t be held liable for those losses like you would be if you had tried to attempt the removals on your own.
Removing heavy furniture from a client’s house isn’t your job, but you can let it be ours. Call us today if you are interested in learning more about our services or forging a potential partnership in the future.