Question What is best way to transport lengths?

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lastboat

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
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Shelter Island, Long Island, NY
I couldn't resist, I am buying a load of length from closed store. I think it will fit my program as I frame my own product for retail.
I need to move 4000 sticks 8' - 12'. Anyone have experience doing this? Is a custom rack the best? Or a big pile? Don't want to damage of course. Items are not boxed, but many are bunched, tied and wrapped.
thanks
 
Just secure managable size bundles and stack them. I've moved tons of moulding numerous times and the one thing that causes damage is sliding the bundles on top of one another. If you will need to slide the bundles you should pick up some 4x8 corrugated to lay on top of each layer of moulding.
 
Verrrrry carefully. Sorry couldn't resist that.

You didn't mention what kind of vehicle you will be using but I will assume a rental truck long enough to lay the longest piece down. If it is unboxed and unprotected, you will have damage. Any kind of rack will have to have protection over the rack to prevent damage from road bumps.

Probably the easiest way to move it with the least damage is ordinary moving blankets - lots of them. Start with a layer of blankets on the truck bed. Place the biggest tied bundles on the bottom and place more moving blankets between each layer. You should improvise something one each side to prevent lateral movement.

You didn't mention how far these will be moved. The further moved, the more protection needed.
 
lastboat said:
About 70 miles, and two ferries.
Not sure if going to rent a truck and do in one load or use my trailer and do in two loads?
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That raises some additional considerations. If your trailer is open, then a truck is the way to go. Moulding and salt water don't mix well.

I would do a truck in any case. Two ferries, and two trips, doesn't sound like fun with a trailer, open or enclosed.
 
That could be anywhere between 2 to 20 tons of moulding. Just sayin'. And maybe 20 to 80 bundles.

I'd sort the bundles by size and texture, put the smoother bigger ones on the bottom, little frilly ones on top.

Yeah moving blankets are what you want, but the darned things are never long enough so you need to a bunch to pair them up.
 
I am set on a truck.
Next question, those with experience with large quantities of molding in stock, what is best way to warehouse so that it is accessible? Bins? vertical, horizontal? some kind of racks?
 
Racks are probably best as far as space and damage are concerned. I've heard of people storing them horizontal in bins, but it seems like there'd be more surface damage that way when getting lengths from either sliding along them or if lifting, them accidentally dropping onto the one underneath. If the majority of it is kept bundled until use, it shouldn't warp that much. Curious to hear from people who store them flat.
 
Horizontal is the best way to store it. I have a rack that holds the boxes on 3 lengths of conduit per level. I have around 100,000 feet and if it were standing upright it would take up my entire store. Storing it horizontal prevents warping as well. I will post some pictures but if you go to my homepage you will see the racks toward the bottom of the page. The racks in that photo are not very full so you can see what the rack looks like. All of my moulding (except the 30 boxes on the sales floor) is in a space that is 10 feet by 10 feet by 8 feet high.
 
The very best way is to box it.

Where to find that many boxes? Contact your wholesalers to see if they have empty boxes have that you could have or buy....and they can also give you leads on box mfgs. That's the way to go.

You'll scratch an insane amount of moulding if you don't. Loading and unloading would just be ridiculous. Even bundled, one layer of moulding on at least three sides is open for damage.

There's not much point in picking it up if you'll just have to throw it away when you get it there.

Haul it in the back of a box truck...or better yet, hire a shipping company like Overnight.
 
janetj1968 said:
The very best way is to box it.

Where to find that many boxes? Contact your wholesalers to see if they have empty boxes have that you could have or buy....and they can also give you leads on box mfgs. That's the way to go.

You'll scratch an insane amount of moulding if you don't. Loading and unloading would just be ridiculous. Even bundled, one layer of moulding on at least three sides is open for damage.
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Jeff Rodier said:
Horizontal is the best way to store it. I have a rack that holds the boxes on 3 lengths of conduit per level. ..... All of my moulding (except the 30 boxes on the sales floor) is in a space that is 10 feet by 10 feet by 8 feet high.
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Can't locate used boxes. Should I buy new? Is it possible to move without boxing and expect ok results by using moving blankets? This would be a huge pile, does that make sense to move that way?
I can absorb this material in several locations at my place, but I am now concerned about the handling.
 
Buy new!!! NO WAY!!! Where on Long Island? Decor is in Haupauge. Call and tell them your story, see if they have any boxes you can have.

When loading up the moulding. Give priority to full length sticks. Heavy on th bottom as mentioned above, skinny on top and if you get halves and want them put them on top. Get rid of any and all shorts now. Under 4 foot dump it.... :)

Be ruthless, just because the price is right doesn't mean you want all the trash....
 
The previous owner did use sono tubes for storing the moulding. If you are gonna use sonotubes to store your moulding them maybe you could think about buying them in advance and use them to help with the moving. She used the gamut of tubes, ranging from 4" (for little black moulding) to the 10" tubes for the big stuff. With storage never fill the tube beyond 1/2 full. You want to be able to get the moulding out of them. Oh, and you'll need 24 feet of space to maneuver the moulding in, or twice the length of the moulding as you can't "bend it" to get it in and out of the tubes. The main reason I stopped using that method of storage.
 
If you want to drive up to Maine, I can unload a large bunch of moulding for around 10 cents a foot.:thumbsup:

All of the finished ones are already in boxes. The stained wood ones are piled in racks.
 
Bob Doyle said:
Buy new!!! NO WAY!!! Where on Long Island? Decor is in Haupauge. Call and tell them your story, see if they have any boxes you can have.

When loading up the moulding. Give priority to full length sticks. Heavy on th bottom as mentioned above, skinny on top and if you get halves and want them put them on top. Get rid of any and all shorts now. Under 4 foot dump it.... :)

Be ruthless, just because the price is right doesn't mean you want all the trash....
Click to expand...

I called Decor, they are telling me that they use all that they get. Hard to believe.

How big a pile, if layered with moving blankets do you think is reasonable to load in the back of a big truck?
 
Decor cuts the boxes and uses them when I call in for chops. They use the boxes for shipping length. They do "recycle" the boxes they get in. A wise move....

I have had friends that put their car in the back of a UHaul and packed their belongings around it. I don't think a truck with a bed long enough for your molding will get bogged down moving the wood. Your ferry charges will be high :)

How many people are gonna be around to help you load and unload the moulding?

I can't fathom what 4000 sticks looks like. Did you get a photo? IS it like looking at a cord of wood? (It's winter, I partially heat with wood :) and have been seeing a lot of it lately.. ) OK, in size what, 3 cords? (4'X8'X8') A big UHaul should be able to handle that. But I don't want to be alone when loading and unloading that much wood :)
 
Bob Doyle said:
Decor cuts the boxes and uses them when I call in for chops. They use the boxes for shipping length. They do "recycle" the boxes they get in. A wise move....

I have had friends that put their car in the back of a UHaul and packed their belongings around it. I don't think a truck with a bed long enough for your molding will get bogged down moving the wood. Your ferry charges will be high :)

How many people are gonna be around to help you load and unload the moulding?

I can't fathom what 4000 sticks looks like. Did you get a photo? IS it like looking at a cord of wood? (It's winter, I partially heat with wood :) and have been seeing a lot of it lately.. ) OK, in size what, 3 cords? (4'X8'X8') A big UHaul should be able to handle that. But I don't want to be alone when loading and unloading that much wood :)
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Photos show that its on shelves now, but it fills a space 12' wide by 8'high and most sticks are 12'. They are older sticks for sure. Maybe going back 20 years. I have my brother in law with 25' truck and there would be 3 of us loading and unloading.
 
Hey Bert, I just got home from the Vegas show. Which ferry are you using? The Shelter Island and the L.I. Sound? I just put 20 empty moulding boxes to the curb for tomorrow's recyclable pick up. I usually throw a few away every week. Corrugated sheets would work but moving blankets would serve you better.

4000 feet isn't a lot of moulding. Maybe 20 boxes worth. I'd rent a cargo van from Enterprise for the day. It'll cost you 49.00 and you get 150 free miles.

Loading it out will be the real time suck. I wouldn't worry about boxing everything up. As said before, you'll do less damage if you place the bundles on top of each other, rather then slide them on top of each other.
 
Bob Doyle said:
Buy new!!! NO WAY!!! Where on Long Island? Decor is in Haupauge. Call and tell them your story, see if they have any boxes you can have.
Click to expand...

I stopped buying boxes of moulding from Decor because of the horrible quality of the boxes that the moulding comes in.

When you buy length from them, the domestic boxes that they use are good quality. But the boxes that the moulding comes in from Asia is the most horrible carp I have ever seen. And when you buy by the box, they just reship it in these horrible boxes. I never received a single box of moulding from them that didn't have significant damage because of the poor quality boxes that come from overseas.

I switched all of my most popular mouldings from Decor to Studio. I used to order 3-4 boxes a month from Decor, now it comes from Studio. I wouldn't use a Decor overseas box to transport bad moulding to the dump.
 
store vertical..........IF you wish to make max usage of your spacespace(& dont wish to build horz racks)....also, little "L's" up on the wall to seperate/hold the sticks are lots easier/quicker to put together than racks . moving/packing CAN be done solo BUT 2 people makes handeling the bundles LOTS easier. lol
 
Bob Doyle said:
He said 4000 sticks, not 4000 feet.
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Artrageous said:
Hey Bert, I just got home from the Vegas show. Which ferry are you using? The Shelter Island and the L.I. Sound? I just put 20 empty moulding boxes to the curb for tomorrow's recyclable pick up. I usually throw a few away every week. Corrugated sheets would work but moving blankets would serve you better.

4000 feet isn't a lot of moulding. Maybe 20 boxes worth. I'd rent a cargo van from Enterprise for the day. It'll cost you 49.00 and you get 150 free miles.

Loading it out will be the real time suck. I wouldn't worry about boxing everything up. As said before, you'll do less damage if you place the bundles on top of each other, rather then slide them on top of each other.
Click to expand...

Hey Mark,
Yup its 4000 sticks, I am guessing about 45,000 lineal feet. It was moved carefully from a storage facility to another location, so it looks to be in good condition. Would like to keep it that way. Making a big pile in a truck doesn't sound worth while. I am thinking to build a couple of large crates, 6' x7'x13' and move on a flatbed trailer. Then slide off after filled and moved. That reduces handling. I'll make shelves in the bins, but each section will have to be filled pretty full. I hope that doesn't create to much friction and scuffing? Lots of the stuff is bundled, but more than half is loose. I'll PM you later. Thanks
Ferries: Shelter Island of course and Port Jeff
 
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