In addition to volume, weight also affects how much you end up paying for a moving company. An estimate rarely takes this value into account, but despite this, it is better to know how heavy your furniture and boxes are.
In this article, we will present you with some ways to estimate the weight. Then you won’t be in for a shock as soon as the moving company’s employees press the bill into your hand at your destination. But first, we want to let you know if weight is even an important factor in estimating the cost of your move.
Is it important that you estimate the weight?
We’re sure you’re already wondering if weight is really that important. After all, with most moving companies, you also only specify where your current residence is, what city you want to move to, and how many cubic meters of furniture and boxes you want the company to transport for you.
Sure, for a single move, volume is actually the main factor in the final price. But if you are transporting only single pieces of furniture, the weight can be significantly different from the average. A cubic meter of boxes, of course, has a completely different weight than a cubic meter of built-in cabinets. Therefore, it is still important that you are able to estimate the weight.
However, it does not always have to be an exact figure. Especially in the case of self-organized moves, it is quite sufficient if you can roughly estimate how much your furniture weighs. You will hardly be able to carry especially heavy furniture by yourself. Being able to estimate the weight will help them know if they need one or even more helpful friends to be supportive while carrying.
There are a number of reasons why you should estimate weight approximately. Below, we’ll give you two of them.
The final cost of your move
In order for moving companies to give you an accurate estimate, you will need to provide the volume of your moving items. Accordingly, the company’s employees will calculate how much the weight will be approximately.
By the way, you can also use this method. Below we will give you a helpful tip, with which you will be able to roughly estimate the weight for your move.
Do not exceed the maximum load of moving boxes
Cardboard boxes, unfortunately, can not withstand any weight. Even if you are quite robust and can withstand quite a bit more than other boxes, there is a maximum weight for them. If possible, they should not exceed this.
Of course, your carton will not immediately fall apart if you exceed this guideline by a few hundred grams or even a kilogram. Nevertheless, every time you exceed the limit, you run the risk of the bottom of the carton breaking through.
For this reason, it is important that you can roughly estimate the weight of even small items such as books and dishes. If you are not sure, it is better to estimate a little more generously. Especially if you are transporting fragile goods in the box.
How to estimate the weight yourself for your move
But how can you even estimate how much your moving goods weigh? There are a few helpful methods for that. We’ve put together two particularly helpful tips below that will make this easier for you.
Convert the cubic meters of your move into kilograms.
As a rule of thumb, one cubic meter of moving goods will result in a weight in the range of about 100 to 120 kilograms. For this, it is advantageous if you know how to calculate the volume that will be involved in your move.
For air freight, this value is even about 50 kilograms higher. However, you only need to take this into account if your new place of residence is in a faraway country. For example, this would be the case for a move to Japan.
Weighing boxes with a body scale
Surely you have a scale in your bathroom with which you control your weight? If yes, then you can of course use the scale for other purposes. Of course, you can not weigh your bed or couch with such a household body scale. But for boxes this useful utensil is ideal.
How about the following tip? Simply place an empty cardboard box on the scale and fill it with your belongings. The advantage of this is that you will then always know whether you have already reached the maximum weight.
Now you know what options you can use to estimate the weight for your move. Both methods have already proven themselves in practice for many moves. For this reason, you can rely on them as well.
If you need more tips regarding your move, you will also find a number of other helpful articles about moving on our website. If you have any questions, we will of course be happy to advise you. Just send us a message for this purpose.