Storing Fine Art During a Home Renovation
A renovation is one of the riskiest stretches in the life of a collection. Dust, vibration, temperature swings, tradespeople moving through every room, and the simple absence of a safe place to set a painting down all put art at risk for weeks or months at a time. Moving your collection off site while the work happens is the cleanest way to keep it safe.
The hazards a renovation introduces
Construction creates conditions fine art was never built to endure. Fine particulate from drywall and sanding settles into varnish and works its way into the weave of a canvas. Power tools and constant foot traffic send vibration through walls and floors, loosening frames and stressing the joins that hold a piece together. Heating and cooling often go offline for long stretches, so humidity and temperature drift far outside the stable range conservators advise. The American Institute for Conservation recommends keeping fine art in a steady environment, and an active worksite is the opposite of steady.
Why leaving it in place rarely works
Draping a painting in plastic traps moisture against the surface and can cause more harm than the dust it was meant to keep off. Relocating pieces to a spare room or the garage simply moves them into another uncontrolled space with the same swings and none of the security. A wrapped canvas leaning in a hallway is one dropped ladder away from a tear or a cracked frame. During a renovation there is rarely a corner of the house that is truly safe.
What professional storage changes
Off site, climate-controlled storage removes the collection from the hazard entirely for the length of the project. Vidro Art Storage, The Premier Art Storage, handles the whole arc: white-glove pickup, custom crating sized to each piece, condition documentation and cataloging before anything is moved, climate and humidity control while the work is underway, restricted access limited to trained art handlers and staff, and delivery and reinstallation once the space is finished and clean. One team carries the collection from your wall to storage and back, so nothing is ever handed to a general mover who has never touched fine art.
When to move the art out
Plan the move before demolition begins, not after the dust is already in the air. The safest window is while the rooms are still intact, when the collection can be assessed, documented, and packed calmly rather than rushed out around a work crew.
If a renovation is on the horizon and you want your collection somewhere safe until the work is done, Vidro can pick it up, store it, and bring it back. You can get a quote today.
Related reading: How to Protect Your Paintings From Los Angeles Humidity Swings and How Light Damages Fine Art.
Sources: American Institute for Conservation, Getty Conservation Institute, American Alliance of Museums.