Tips on Crating Marble for Shipping
Marble is not only exceptionally heavy, but it is also a porous rock which makes it susceptible to breakage. The larger the piece of marble, the more easily it will fracture.
Crating marble must be done with the utmost care. The weight of the marble makes conventional packaging methods, such as cardboard boxes, obsolete. Different companies use varying crating methods.
To safely ship marble, firm crating is required. Most marble companies recommend building a custom crate from wood to fit each individual marble piece. Within the crate, they frequently line the interior with one inch of Styrofoam and add packing peanuts to fill up any spaces and provide further cushioning.
Exceptionally large marble pieces, or sculptures, also frequently require metal banding around the wooden crate's exterior to further reinforce the crate's strength. Bubble wrapping the marble piece provides additional protection. The marble piece needs to fit snugly inside the crate so there is no movement that can jar the marble and cause breakage or chipping.
Flat counter and tabletop pieces of marble are frequently shipped in A-frame crates to keep the large, flat pieces from breaking. The A-frame crate holds the marble slab in an upright position for transport. Blocking and bracing the inside of the crate will prevent the marble piece from moving during shipping. In some cases, gluing metal rods to the backside of the marble slab helps to further stabilize and support the marble to prevent fracturing. Epoxy works well to adhere the metal rods to the back of the marble prior to shipping. Your professional crating company will determine the best way to build custom crate for your particular piece of marble.
At Pack n Send, we take shipping fragile pieces seriously. Please contact us to learn about all of our packaging and shipping methods.
We pick up & deliver worldwide, as well as in our backyard.