Shipping artwork, glass, and stone without a claim

Framed art, mirrors, glass tabletops, and stone slabs all break the same way: an edge takes a point load, or the panel flexes and cracks across the middle. Good packaging prevents both, and it does it with structure rather than volume.

The order of materials is soft against the item, rigid on the outside. Soft-face contact protects the finish, foam or corner blocks control shock, and the rigid shell takes the abuse. Doing it backward, with something hard touching the surface, is how a well-wrapped piece arrives scratched.

Glass and stone travel on edge, never flat. Flat means the panel can flex and any impact bends it across its weakest axis. On edge with proper support, the same panel is dramatically stronger, which is why slab racks exist.

Corners and edges get their own protection. Nearly every damaged mirror we have seen took a corner hit. Corner blocks cost almost nothing and prevent the most likely failure.

Air gaps are the enemy. A piece that can shift an inch inside its crate will keep shifting for the entire trip and arrive with the finish rubbed off. Blocking holds the item still without clamping pressure on the panel.

For anything valuable, mark the crate clearly with orientation and fragility, and photograph the item and the packing before it closes. That documentation is what settles a claim if one ever happens.

We build these to the item, on site where we can, so the piece gets handled once and the crate matches what is actually inside it.