According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average person can expect to move 11 or more times in their lifetime, and that’s only in residential housing. Businesses relocated all the time. You could say we’re a nation on the move. However, moving house and moving a business are entirely different processes. The only thing they have in common is things are going from location A to location B.
Although both residential and commercial properties employ movers to make the transition as fast and painless as possible, those movers have specific and varying skill sets based on what needs to be transported.
That’s why today we’re going to take an in-depth look at the difference between residual and commercial moves.
Residential Moves
Let’s begin with the type of move everyone will be familiar with: residential. Most of us have moved house at least once in our lives, and know the trouble that comes with it. You have to put all of your most intimate and precious belongings in boxes. Then you hire movers to help you get all of it to your new home or apartment.
For residential moves, the biggest challenge is transporting fragile or oversized pieces of furniture. This can include antique furniture and even pianos. All of which are easily broken and awkward to carry. Hence the importance of hiring professional residential movers.
Stressful as it may be, these moves are straightforward. Professional residential movers can make it easy with just a few professionals and an appropriate truck. The worst part will be unpacking all of those boxes again.
Commercial Moves
Unlike residential moves, commercial moves can vary widely depending on the business in question. These can vary from moving corporate offices to factories. As such, commercial moves are significantly more complex than residential ones. What’s more, problems while moving commercial property can harm business operations.
Here are some of the unique factors that go into commercial moving.
Time
Typical residential moves take place during the day, during typical business hours. However, commercial moves are more commonly done after hours or on the weekends to reduce the chance the move will interrupt business operations.
Equipment
As commercial properties need a variety of furniture and equipment moved that you wouldn’t see in a residential property, commercial movers come equipped to the job with a variety of tools to do the job.
This include can include:
- Toe Jacks – Also known as floor jacks, toe jacks are used to lift heavy machinery upwards to 60 tons. These are often used in spaces where a forklift can’t reach.
- Forklifts – Another good tool to move heavy equipment and machinery in the classic forklift. These little vehicles are specifically designed to haul heavy materials short distances. As such, they’re particularly useful for moving industrial equipment to a loading truck.
- Lifting Straps – Some heavy appliances and machines are feasible to lift with two people. For larger items with few handholds, commercial movers will utilize lifting straps. These straps simply loop under the item and around the shoulders or forearms of the movers.
- Air Bearings – Often commercial equipment weighs in at several tons. That’s why commercial movers will often employ air bearings. The bearing elements are inflated under a platform, which in turn is placed under the item needing to be moved. From there, a continuous supply of air helps float the equipment for loading.
- Roller Skids – Roller skids are for rolling large equipment, and are bolted directly onto the material being moved.
- Skates – Not to be confused with roller skates, machine skates are wheels designed to move heavy equipment. They often come in square platforms with wheels under each corner. Placed under the item in question, skates allow movers to transport material without having to carry it.
Planning
In a residential move, it’s straightforward to pick a day and location to load and move. However, it isn’t that simple with commercial properties.
Moving a business takes serious planning. Business owners are looking for days and times that will impact their day-to-day business the least. That’s not even to mention giving customers and employees appropriate notice.
Thankfully, commercial movers operate around the clock and allow businesses to find the best time for their move, whether this be overnight or on the weekends.
This planning is also necessary to determine exactly what equipment the movers to know what equipment to bring.
Sensitive Materials
Especially for corporate office moves, moving sensitive material and information poses a significant risk. This is because commercial moves include moving company information such as employee paperwork, financial records, and much more. Should any of this information be lost or fall into the wrong hands, it could spell disaster for the company in question.
What’s more, data privacy laws create a legal obligation for businesses to be mindful of information security. That extends to when businesses are moving house.
As such, commercial movers often heavily vet their movers before allowing them to handle such material.
Weight
There’s a lot of lifting in moving the business. There’s no denying that. However, it’s particularly true for commercial moves.
Commercial properties include vending machines and photocopiers, and for industrial properties, there’s manufacturing equipment and other large pieces of equipment to move. Moving such large and awkward items require professional commercial movers with the equipment, knowledge, and insurance to do the job safely.
College Bound Movers is here to help!
Whether you’ve outgrown your home, it’s time to move your corporate office, or you want to relocate your storefront, you need a team with the experience to make it as painless as possible. You need College Bound Movers. Our professional movers have years of experience and training for residential and commercial moves.
Visit us online, and don’t hesitate to contact us today if you are ready to make your next big move.
