Packing, unpacking and materials

Packing is where a move is won or lost. The crew on moving day can only work as fast as the boxes let them, and a house that is ninety per cent packed is a house that will run over by hours. This page covers what a professional packing service actually does, what it costs in Ottawa, and where the money is best spent if you are only going to pay for part of it.

Step one: the materials count. A packing estimate starts with a materials list, not a labour figure. A two-bedroom household typically needs sixty to eighty cartons in three or four sizes, two or three wardrobe boxes, dish barrels or cell dividers for the kitchen, mattress bags, mirror cartons for framed art, paper for wrapping and tape. Ask whether materials are included in the quote or billed separately, because that is the single most common surprise on a packing invoice.

Step two: the kitchen. This is the room that justifies a packing service. Glassware, ceramics and small appliances take a trained packer two to four hours and an untrained homeowner most of a weekend, and breakage in a badly packed kitchen box is the most frequent claim in the trade. Dishes go on edge, not flat. Every piece is wrapped individually. Boxes are filled to the top so nothing shifts, and a box that rattles when tilted is a box that will arrive broken.

Step three: the fragile and the awkward. Framed art and mirrors go in mirror cartons with corner protection. Televisions travel upright in their original carton if you kept it, or in a flat-screen box, never flat on the back. Lamps come apart, shades travel in their own carton. Books go in small boxes only, because a large box of books cannot be lifted safely and often cannot be lifted at all.

Step four: labelling. Room of destination on the top and two sides, in marker, large enough to read from across a truck. Contents second. A number on each box and a one-page list gives you a way to know at the far end whether anything is missing, which is the only practical way to make a claim stick.

Step five: what must not go on the truck. No mover will carry propane, gasoline, paint thinner, aerosols, pool chemicals, ammunition or a full barbecue tank. Plants generally cannot travel in a hot or freezing truck and are best moved in your own car. Keep passports, medication, jewellery, keys and the laptop with you, in a bag that never touches the truck.

How long it takes. A professional packing crew of two packs a one-bedroom apartment in three to five hours, a two-bedroom house in six to eight, and a three-bedroom house with a basement in one to two full days. A kitchen alone is two to four hours. If you are packing yourself, plan on a solid week of evenings for a two-bedroom and a fortnight for a family house, and start with the rooms you use least.

What it costs in Ottawa in 2026. Indicative ranges. A full packing service starts around $600 and rises quickly with the size of the house (CompareMovers, Ottawa moving prices 2026). Partial packing, which usually means the kitchen, the fragile items and the wardrobes, commonly runs $300 to $700. Materials alone for a two-bedroom household are roughly $150 to $400 if you buy new, and materials are often billed on top of labour. Unpacking is priced the same way as packing and takes about half the time, because the decisions are quicker and there is no wrapping.

What makes an Ottawa household different. Two local habits show up in every packing estimate here. The first is the basement. Ottawa housing stock is overwhelmingly full-basement, and finished or not, the basement holds twenty years of accumulation. It is routinely underestimated in the survey and it is the biggest single reason a move runs long. Open the storage room for the estimator. The second is the seasonal kit: snow tires, a snowblower, skis, a hockey bag per child and patio furniture, most of them awkward, heavy or both. Tell the mover about the snowblower and whether the fuel has been run out of it.

Who does this work, and what is not regulated. Packing is unregulated. There is no certificate, no licence and no provincial oversight, which is consistent with the moving trade generally: Ontario states that moving companies are not licensed by the province (Ontario, Hiring a mover). The practical checks are the same ones that matter for the move itself. Is the packing crew employed by the company and covered by WSIB (WSIB, Expanded compulsory coverage in construction). Does the estimate say in writing what is included. And critically, how does liability apply to boxes you packed yourself. The industry default of $0.60 per pound, $1.32 per kilogram, per article is low enough that the distinction matters (CAM, Carrier liability), and many movers limit or exclude liability for the contents of cartons the homeowner packed, since they cannot see what went in or how.

What to ask before you hire. Are materials included or extra, and at what price per carton. Who packs the kitchen. How is liability handled for boxes I pack myself versus boxes you pack. Will the same crew pack and move, or does a different crew arrive on moving day. Do you take away the empty cartons afterwards, and is that included.