Packing a television so it actually survives the journey

Flat-panel televisions are the most frequently damaged item we see, and it is not because they are fragile in transit. It is because a 55-inch panel is 4mm of glass laminate held in a frame designed for hanging still on a wall, and it fails under pressure applied to the centre of the screen. Everything below follows from that one fact.

1. It travels upright, never flat

Laid flat, the panel flexes under its own weight over a few hours of road vibration, and it does not need to be dropped to crack. Upright, the load runs down the frame, which is what the frame is for. Every professional crate is designed to keep a screen vertical for the whole journey.

2. The original carton is worth keeping

The moulded polystyrene that came with the television is shaped to hold the frame and leave the screen untouched. Nothing you improvise will match it. If you still have that carton, use it. If you do not, a purpose-built wooden crate with foam-lined internal faces is the next best thing, and it is worth paying for on an intercity move.

3. Nothing presses on the screen

A layer of soft foam sheet against the glass, then bubble wrap, then the rigid outer. The order matters: bubble wrap directly on a screen puts hundreds of small pressure points on it, and under load those become visible marks. Never let a strap cross the front face.

4. Photograph it before it goes in

Take a picture of the screen powered on, showing an image, and a picture of the back and the cables. Two minutes now is the difference between a claim that is settled and a conversation about whether that line was already there. Ask the crew to note the model on the inventory.

The other things people forget

• Photograph the cable layout at the back before unplugging anything. Reconnecting is a five-minute job with the picture and a twenty-minute job without it.
• Bag the wall-mount bracket and its bolts and tape it to the crate. Loose brackets are the single most commonly lost item in a move.
• Let the television reach room temperature before switching it on at the other end, particularly if it has travelled in a cold truck. Condensation inside the panel is a real failure mode.

Done properly this is fifteen minutes of work. Done badly it is the most expensive item on your claim.