Crate or Not to Crate

Do you have a grandfather’s clock or a stained glass window you need to ship and don’t know where to begin? When you have a special sculpture, dishware, animal mount, stained glass, grandfather clock, etc., it is best to go the extra expense and crate your piece.

Expert Crating Services for Safe Shipping of Fragile and Unique Items

A crate will withstand the handling that comes from shipping items. When Columbine’s crate builders crate a piece, they consider the characteristics of your artwork and the travel duration to determine what type of packing crate to design. We can do a full plywood crate which means there is wood all around the piece or a wood slat crate. The wood slat crate is then stretched wrapped or card boarded to keep the dust off the piece.

The full plywood crate is more expensive compared to the wood slat crate because of the extra wood that is used. The wood slat crate will weigh less compared to the full plywood crate which is a big consideration when shipping rates are usually based on the pounds. The primary goal of our crates is to construct a secure and controlled environment so your piece arrives in the condition that we received it. Once the crate is built, Columbine can ship it for you by various methods such as Allied Van Lines Special Products, FedEx, UPS, and Bellair Air Freight.