Every move requires the packing of cartons. The question is this, should you do your own packing or hire a professional?

Packing cartons  properly requires a certain amount of expertise, as improper packing can lead to damage of the contents inside your cartons. The problem most do-it- yourself packers make is that they do not put crushed packing paper in any open spaces or between items within their cartons. This mistake results in a collapse of the carton as soon as another carton or item is loaded on top of it in the moving van. When the carton collapses the items within it are at risk of being damaged from the weight of the item placed on top of the carton. If items get damaged from improper packing techiniques by the do-it-yourselfer, your mover will not take responsibility for the damage.

When you pack, wrap every item in paper, place each item in the carton, and place crushed packing paper in any open space within the carton. Pack the crushed paper in densely – this will prevent the carton from collapsing.  Make sure you place lots of crushed paper on the bottom of the carton and lots on top above the contents before you seal the carton. There should not be an open space in the top of the carton. The photo above represents professionally packed cartons loaded into a moving van. The cartons have maintained their shape and structure and they have not collapsed. A professional packer will wrap every item in paper, place it into the carton properly and place enough densely packed crushed paper into all the open spaces of the carton. This will prevent cartons from collapsing and will protect your precious valuables.  Also, your goods are insured when they are professioanly packed. For those do-it-yourself packers please view our Packing Tips page on our website at www.greatcanadianvanlines.com for more valuable packing tips.

Ever wonder what all those moving related terms mean? Below is a review of a few of the more common terms or phrases that you may find confusing and that will help you in understanding the language of moving:

SCALING YOUR SHIPMENT - Means to weigh the goods you are shipping. Typically the truck  that is loading your goods is weighed at a government certified truck scale before loading your goods. This gives the Tare or light weight of the truck. Your goods are then loaded onto the truck and the truck returns to the scale to get the heavy or Gross weight of the truck. The light weight (Tare) is substracted from the heavy weight (Gross) to give the Net weight , or  weight of your shipment.

WEIGHT VERUS CUBIC FOOT DIMENSIONS - You may have heard your sales person discussing the term cubic feet and weight of your shipment. You now know how the weight is determined from the scaling process, but how did we arrive at the estimated weight versus the actual scaled weight? When you submit a list of goods to your mover via the internet, or if a list of goods is aquired during an in-house estimate, the estimator converts the cubic foot dimensions of the load you are shipping into weight thru a simple conversion factor of seven. This factor of 7 pounds per cubic feet is a standard in the moving industry. Each of the items you are shipping has a dimension, known as cubic feet. We take the cubic feet dimensions of the item(s) you are shipping and multply it by the conversion factor of 7 pounds per cubic feet, and presto we have the standard weight of any item. When we combine the cubic foot dimensions of a list of average items from the average home  and convert these dimensions by a conversion factor of 7 lbs (pounds) per cubic feet, we determine the weight of the goods you are shipping; and we can give you a price for moving based on the weight of the goods you are shipping.

PER HUNDRED WIEGHT (CWT) -Many of the charges you will incurr for your moving services are based on the per hundred weight (CWT) of your shipment. What this means is that your charges are based on every hundred pounds of weight you are shipping. For example if your shipment weighs 5000 pounds and you have also requested a full packing service, you may have been quoted a per hundred weight (CWT) charge for packing. Let’s say you were charged $25.00 / cwt for packing. Your extended charges for your 5000 lb shipment would look like this $50.00 / cwt x $25.00 / cwt = $1250.00 for your packing service. Five thousand pounds is 50 x 100 lbs (5000 lbs) at a rate of $25.00 for every 100 lbs (CWT) per hundred weight.

Thank you for reading our first installment of “moving jargon”.

FOUR POINTS YOU MUST KNOW BEFORE YOU CHOOSE A MOVER

Since the deregulation of the moving industry the marketplace has been flooded with rogue movers. Anyone can become a mover and the only way to protect your cherished belongings is to qualify the mover prior to buying their service. Make sure they are legitimate by confirming the following:

1. Workers Safety Insurance Coverage - Does your mover have an account with WSIB? If not you could be held financially liable for injuries which occur to movers while in your home or on your property.
2. Insurance - Does your mover have adequate insurance? The Canadian Association of Movers requires a minimum $250,000 Cargo Coverage & 2,000,000 Liability as the minimum amounts for membership. Ask to see the mover’s policy and confirm they have adequate coverage as listed above – before you hire their services.
3. Canadian Association of Movers (CAM) - Is your mover a member of the Canadian Association of Movers in good standing? Confirm with CAM before you book.
4. Better Business Bureau – Is your mover an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau? If not don’t book with them – the risk is too high!

Please contact us by email (info@greatcanadianvanlines.com) or call us at 1800 665 0055 for your free

HOW TO SELECT A MOVER GUIDE

Great Canadian is a member of the BBB, CAM, has an active WSIB and proper insurance coverage so you can rest assured – you’re in good hands when you move with us!

Great Canadian is pleased to announce that we have reached our team target of $2000.00 for the HSBC Children’s Hospital  Childrun taking place on June 7, 2009 in Vancouver. We will however continue fundraising until June 7,th and we appeciate the support for our team.  Our team page can be viewed at here.

Great Canadian Van Lines donates $2000.00 to BC Childrens Hospital.

“We are a proud supporter of this organization and all the wonderful things they do for our kids” said Mark Valliant President of Great Canadian. This year our company will increase our support by entering a corporate team and participating in the 2009 HSBC Childrun on June 7th. Funds raised through HSBC Childrun go directly to the childhood cancer research at the Hospital. We would like to challenge other organizations within our industry to assemble a team, come out to this fabulous event and help us raise funds for cancer research.