Antique Furniture Moving in Ann Arbor
Antique furniture moving in Ann Arbor often starts in a house as old as the dresser. We use acid-free paper, soft cotton blankets, and custom padding, and we treat each joint, veneer, and piece of hardware on its own.
Get a Free QuoteThe doorway comes before the dresser
Good antique furniture moving in Ann Arbor looks at the building as closely as the piece. On the Old West Side, nearly every house style dates from 1860 to 1914, and simple Greek Revival homes reach back to the 1850s. About 85 percent of the houses there are frame, typically two stories with six or seven rooms. Many houses on Broadway and Jones in Lower Town are mid-1800s too. A tall wardrobe may meet a stair built long before anyone planned for it.
North Carolina's state historic sites give blunt advice: lift furniture, never drag it, and use two or more people for larger objects. That lines up with how we work. Careful lifts, slow positioning, and precise placement, with extra care for the flooring under heavy pieces.
What a Michigan year does to old wood
Ann Arbor's average January low is 19 degrees and its average July high is 83, with the muggier stretch running from late May into September. Old wood answers to those swings. The same North Carolina guide says that when humidity falls, wood shrinks and splits and joints can fail. When it rises, wood swells, drawers and doors jam, and veneer can loosen.
The guide also says conditions should stay as stable as possible for marquetry and veneer, and that furniture shouldn't sit near radiators or air vents. Keep that in mind for the room you're moving into. Ask about climate-controlled transport when you book, especially for a veneered or inlaid piece.
Fairground finds and family pieces
The Ann Arbor Antiques Market marked 50 years in 2018 at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds on Ann Arbor-Saline Road, so a local find may be as delicate as anything you inherited. Check the market's own schedule for current dates.
Tell us about glass panels, carvings, gilding, or anything that sticks out. We assess each contact point and add custom shielding for protruding parts, glass, and decorative hardware before the piece leaves the room. Full property protection goes in at both homes.
Ann Arbor Moving FAQs
There's no perfect month, since dry heated winters and muggy summers each stress old wood in their own way. What helps most is keeping conditions steady. Ask about climate-controlled transport, and keep the piece away from radiators and vents once it's placed.
Call us with the size, the condition, and where it's going. Check the market's own rules on pickup timing too. We'd want to wrap a show purchase the same way we'd wrap a family heirloom.
Hold off and point it out at the estimate, so we can pad around it. For the repair itself, talk with a furniture conservator. A quick fix with the wrong glue can be hard to undo.