How to pack art, mirrors, and TVs

Flat fragiles—framed art, mirrors, glass table tops, televisions—are the hardest things in a house to pack. They’re too big for a normal box, too delicate to lean against a wall of the truck, and one good twist can run a crack corner to corner. The good news: the right carton and a few rules solve most of it, and knowing where your limit is solves the rest.

Why flat things break

A plate breaks from impact. A mirror usually breaks from flex—the frame twists a few degrees going around a corner or over a pothole, and the glass inside doesn’t twist with it. That’s why the two commandments of flat fragiles are: keep them rigid, and keep them on edge. A mirror or framed piece laid flat has to support its own weight across its whole face, and every bump in the road lands on the middle of the glass. On edge, standing tall the way it hung on the wall, it’s dramatically stronger.

Mirror cartons, and how to actually use them

Mirror cartons are four L-shaped cardboard sleeves that telescope together to fit almost any flat item. Here’s the sequence that works. First, run painter’s tape in a big X across the glass—it won’t prevent a crack, but it dampens vibration and holds pieces together if the worst happens. Second, fit foam or cardboard protectors on all four corners, because corners take the hits. Third, wrap the whole piece in paper or bubble wrap, taped snug.

Slide the wrapped piece into the carton sleeves and pad any looseness—the piece should not rattle or shift inside. Tape the seams, then label it on both faces: glass, fragile, this end up, with an arrow. On the truck it should ride on edge, ideally snugged between mattresses or sofa cushions, never flat and never under anything.

A note on artwork specifically: canvas is a different material with different rules. Never let bubble wrap or plastic sit directly against the painted surface of an oil or acrylic—plastic can stick to and mark the paint, especially in a warm truck. Wrap the canvas first in glassine or plain unprinted paper, then add the bubble wrap and the carton. For anything of real value or age, that’s your cue to skip ahead to the last section of this post.

Televisions are their own animal

If you kept the original box and foam, use it—nothing protects a TV better. If not, buy a TV kit: a slim telescoping box with foam corner blocks sized for flat panels. Before you unplug anything, take a photo of the cable connections on the back; future-you will appreciate it. Remove the stand or feet, and tape the bagged screws to the back of the panel.

Two things matter more than everything else. A flat panel travels upright, never laid flat—laid down, the panel can crack under its own weight on the first hard bump. And a furniture blanket alone is not packing for a modern TV; the screen needs rigid protection over its face, not just a soft wrap. Upright, boxed, and loaded with the screen facing something soft: that’s the standard.

When to let the pros handle it

Some pieces are past the point where a carton from the hardware store is the right answer: oversized mirrors, marble and glass table tops, chandeliers, and heavy antique frames where the frame itself is the valuable part. Those call for custom crating or purpose-built handling, and the math is simple—the cost of doing it right is small next to the cost of doing it wrong. Antiques and other high-value pieces are work we do regularly, and it’s worth asking about rather than gambling.

There’s also a practical wrinkle worth knowing: if you pack a box yourself and something inside it breaks with no damage to the box, the claim gets complicated, because no one can show how it was packed. We’ve written a plain-English explainer on how moving damage claims work that’s worth five minutes before you decide what to pack yourself.

If your move includes a wall of framed photos, a few mirrors, and one piece you’d be sick about losing, a sensible middle path is to pack the easy stuff yourself and have the crew handle the rest—our packing service can do exactly that. A free written estimate will sort out which pieces need what, before anything gets wrapped.