Furniture is most of what goes on the van in an office move. Desks, chairs, storage and archives are counted at the survey, and that volume drives both the price and how long the move takes.
This guide covers what to move, what to take apart, how to label it so it lands in the right place, and what to do with the rest. When you’re ready to plan, see our office removals in London.
Start with the new layout
Don’t start in the old office. Start with the floor plan for the new one. Until it’s agreed, nobody can say which furniture is moving, and a removals firm can’t quote accurately.
Mark up the plan with:
- the number of desks, and their sizes
- meeting rooms and what goes in them
- storage, print areas, the kitchen and reception
- where the server rack or comms cabinet sits
Then walk the old office with the plan. Anything without a place on it is a decision to make. In our office move project plan, this furniture audit is done eight to ten weeks before the move.
Check the big pieces will physically fit: boardroom tables, tall storage, long runs of benching. Door widths, lift sizes and stair turns at the new building decide what can go in whole. The survey looks at access at both buildings, so raise anything you’re unsure about while the surveyor is with you.
What’s worth moving
Desks and benching
If a desk is in good condition and fits the new layout, it’s a candidate to move. If it doesn’t, moving it just shifts the problem.
Small offices often find that a lot of their furniture isn’t worth moving. Buying new can make moving day simpler, as long as delivery is booked before you arrive. Bespoke joinery and specified seating can take many weeks to arrive, so order early if you’re replacing.
Chairs, storage and meeting tables
- Chairs: check every one. A chair nobody wants to sit in isn’t worth the van space.
- Pedestals and filing cabinets: empty them before the crew arrives, drawers included. Archive filing is usually the largest single volume in an office, so decide what to archive or shred before you decide what to move.
- Meeting and boardroom tables: check the size against the new building’s doors and lift. If it won’t go in whole, it will need taking apart.
Specialist items: safes, server racks, kitchen equipment
- Server racks and comms kit: servers, network kit and anything hardwired need disconnecting and reconnecting by whoever supports them. Our crews aren’t qualified for that, so we coordinate timings with your IT provider. Check the rack will physically fit through the new comms room door; it should travel upright and strapped, with nothing stacked on top. See our guide to moving office IT.
- Safes and very heavy items: anything that needs a crane or specialist rigging is identified at the survey and arranged separately.
- Kitchen equipment: disconnecting anything plumbed, gassed or wired in isn’t included unless it’s agreed, so arrange it before move day.
- Things that can’t travel: fuel, gas canisters, solvents and aerosols.
Dismantling and rebuilding: what to expect
Desks, partitions and larger storage units are routine for our crews to take apart and rebuild. The condition is that it’s agreed in writing beforehand, so it’s in the plan and in the price. It’s quoted at the survey rather than decided on the night.
On long-distance and phased moves a crew that finds unexpected dismantling has no easy way to recover the time, and anything requested on the day rather than agreed beforehand is priced at a short notice rate. When you compare quotes, remember that dismantling and reassembly are commonly charged separately, so ask for the exclusions in writing.
If you’re tempted to have staff do it, the Health and Safety Executive says employers must avoid hazardous manual handling so far as reasonably practicable, and assess and reduce the risk where it can’t be avoided. Carrying desks down the stairs on a Friday afternoon is exactly that kind of job.
At the new office, we unload, reassemble the furniture and place it according to your floor plan.
Labelling so furniture lands in the right place
The floor plan is the single most useful document you can send your mover. Without it, things get put down in sensible-looking places that turn out to be wrong. How we use it:
- Number the desks. Circulate the floor plan with every desk numbered.
- Label to a position, not a room. Everything travels labelled to a position on the new plan, so it’s unloaded straight to the desk it belongs at rather than stacked in a corridor. We use colour-coded labels.
- One crate per person. Staff pack their own desk contents into their own numbered crate. It takes about twenty minutes each, and the crates arrive well in advance.
- Mark what isn’t coming. Anything staying behind, or going for disposal, should be clearly marked so it doesn’t end up on the van.
What to do with furniture you won’t need
In England, GOV.UK tells businesses to do everything they reasonably can to prevent, reuse, recycle or recover waste, in that order. For furniture, that means:
- Reuse it in the new office if it fits the plan.
- Sell or donate what’s in good condition.
- Recycle what can be recycled.
- Dispose of the rest through a licensed waste carrier or a specialist office clearance firm.
In London, we arrange disposal of unwanted desks, chairs and filing cabinets, donating usable items where possible and recycling the rest. Whoever takes it, GOV.UK says that in England you must check your waste carrier is registered and complete a waste transfer note for each load of waste that leaves your premises.
Start early: charity collections and commercial clearance both work on lead times measured in weeks. Our furniture disposal guide explains which items charities and dealers can accept.
Protecting floors, lifts and walls
Heavy furniture is easy to knock against a lift wall or drag across a floor. We use floor protection and careful wrapping throughout.
Ask both building managers what they expect: whether the goods lift needs booking and protecting, and any rules they set for moves. Agree who checks the condition of common areas before and after the move, and take photos. If you’re moving in the City or the West End, our guide to moving office in central London covers building rules and goods lift bookings.
Plan your furniture move
Send us both addresses, a rough desk count and the new floor plan if you have it. We’ll survey both buildings, list what’s moving and what needs taking apart, and give you an itemised written quotation built on an agreed inventory, with anything chargeable separately set out at the survey.
Request a quote, read more about our office removals in London, or see the full office relocation checklist.
Frequently asked questions
Should we move our office furniture or buy new?
Move what’s in good condition and has a place on the new floor plan. Replace what doesn’t, and order early: bespoke joinery and specified seating can take many weeks.
Do office movers take desks apart?
Ours do. Desks, partitions and larger storage units are routine, as long as it’s agreed in writing beforehand so it’s in the plan and the price. It’s quoted at the survey rather than decided on the night.
How is office furniture labelled for a move?
Every desk is numbered on the new floor plan, and everything is labelled to its position on that plan, so it’s unloaded straight to where it belongs.
What happens to furniture we don’t move?
Reuse, sell or donate what’s in good condition, recycle what you can, and send the rest to a licensed waste carrier or specialist clearance firm. In England, check the carrier is registered and complete a waste transfer note for each load. In London, we can arrange disposal.