Exposed – Tilt and Thumbs. A Removalists Secret Weapon
The difference between a highly trained removalist and a backyarder is utilising backwards tilt and using your thumbs when carrying items like Wardrobes, China & Chrystal Cabinets, Wall Units, Buffets, Sideboards and so on.........anything that has swinging doors or draws (swinging parts). Stretch your thumb as far as you can across the swinging parts to hold them in place and prevent them swinging open whilst being carried.It does sound like a very simple and basic technique but if you dont do it, you can run into problems . For example - If your carrying an item like a wardrobe on a 45 degree angle and a door happens to swing open, it will almost always snap off unless it's got really strong hinges; in which case the hinges will bend and it will never close properly again.
The technique of tilt is even more important. If you carrying a large item like a sideboard or large entertainment unit, you have two things you need to focus on, tilt and thumbs. You must tilt the item backwards very slightly. Be aware, too much tilt will make the item very hard to carry. Once you have your grip, use your thumb as a backup in case you stumble and lose your tilt.
Large items like these are a problem because they are hard to see around when you are carrying them, so if a door does swing open it can cause a few unexpected problems.
1. It can knock you off balance, so you stumble and bang a wall. Stumbling whilst carrying a heavy item can also cause you to drop the unit which is certainly a worse case scenario we are looking to avoid
2. The door can catch on a door jam or something else and either snap the door off, scratch or ding walls or knock you off balance like in the example above.
Power Tip
The easiest way to ensure you maintain tilt on the item you are carrying is as follows - reach as far around the front of the item as you can and grip it with a straight arm. Then grip the back of the item with a bent arm. This automatically applies backwards tilt to the item that can’t be reversed unless you change your grip on the front. Simple but effective.
You may be wondering why we dont just use tape to hold the swinging parts closed? we dont use tape because it adds unneccessary time to the job and it can sometimes pull off paint or clear coat when removed.
For more moving tips click the link. Next Friday I will show you how to carry things beyond your normal capabilities and also get yourself out of trouble if something is too heavy.
