HOW TO PREVENT DAMAGE TO WALLS DURING AN OFFICE MOVE

Caveat emptor—let the buyer beware! I don’t care what the label says, if you attach cardboard, corrugated, or coroplast to office building walls during an office move with “painters’ tape,” chances are you’ll damage the sheetrock when you remove it.

Don’t take my word for it. In 2013, Consumer Reports evaluated 6 of the leading painters’ tapes and found that it’s best to remove the tape as soon after painting as possible, even if the paint is still wet,to prevent removal problems. In other words, leaving it attached to painted surfaces as movers do for hours during an office move can be risky business.

Right before I sold my moving company, we did an office move and secured the wall protection with blue painters’ tape. Three hours later when we removed it, the paint (and in some cases the sheetrock itself!) came right off the walls! Despite what the advertisements say, the tape left a sticky residue that was impossible to remove without damaging the sheetrock. It cost $5,000 to repair the walls, and when we contacted the tape’s manufacturer, they denied the claim by blaming the quality of the paint.

A better way to install wall protection is to lean and tape precut Masonite® that’s 2 feet by 4 feet against the corrugated. The “leaners” prevent the corrugated from falling thereby making it unnecessary to use painters’ tape.

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For more information on our online office moving training, please visit www.officemoves.com/training/index.html or call Ed Katz at 404.358.2172.