Odd art storage question 2 2

[Aahz]

So we have to do some home renovations that will not allow us to be in the house for a couple of months. Although I don't expect anything to go wrong, there is always the risk of flood/fire when people are playing with water and electricity.  I'm trying to come up with a solution to store/protect the art I own while this is going on.  Do I keep it in the house boxed and in plastic? Offsite climate controlled storage?  

I'm sure I'm not the first to go through this, so suggestions are welcome!  Appreciate the help!

[MOStateSuperman]

I would look at offsite storage storage options. If you're going to have people in and out of the house, it's probably not worth leaving it there. 

[Twanj]

How much art are we talking? Hundreds of 11x17" pages or framed artwork on the walls?

[Aahz]

Both.  Portfolios of art and framed pieces.  Also wondering if I vac pac the boxed frames or portfolios, if that would promote mold.

[tth2]

Definitely don't store them somewhere in the house while it's being renovated.  Why can't you store them wherever you're staying while you're waiting for the renovations to be finished?  Or maybe in a friend's basement?  There've been so many horror stories about theft from self-storage places that I'd be concerned about using off-site storage.

[Kevn]

On 3/30/2024 at 6:28 AM, tth2 said:

Definitely don't store them somewhere in the house while it's being renovated.  Why can't you store them wherever you're staying while you're waiting for the renovations to be finished?  Or maybe in a friend's basement?  There've been so many horror stories about theft from self-storage places that I'd be concerned about using off-site storage.

A basement is the last place I'd put OA (or anything vulnerable to moisture/mold). I've known of several people who had their basements flood (my mother's basement twice flooded to the rafters), and lots of basements are just generally dank. Mold is a much bigger threat to OA than theft. Attics have the opposite problem, poor temperature control and often become ovens in warm weather.

I've kept my OA in my house during renovations several times. I have other valuable things and electronics, much of which would be a much bigger target for theft by workers, or would be more vulnerable to damage. I just took reasonable precautions. Unless the renovation involves gutting the house, I would just move the things wanted to protect to a room that wasn't affected by the renovation, and lock it in a closet. A home security camera setup with live feed is also pretty easy and cheap to set up, so you can keep an eye on things during the day while out of the house (during my renovations I was always living in the house). If you're doing something so extensive that you have to move out for a while, then yes, I'd move the art to wherever I was stying in the interim.

Also, my family and I have used temp/humidity controlled self storage places for years without issue. I think the key is that when you put stuff in there, don't let it be obvious that it's really valuable stuff, and you check out the crime history at different facilities before you rent. Most storage units are full of stuff with minimal resale value, and are low value/high risk targets for thieves. in the rare cases where units are broken into, my impression is that it's usually because the thieves had insider knowledge of which units to target.

[alxjhnsn]

I doubt that this will help, but it's what we did to our 60+ year old house. You can see more pictures here and here.

We have renovated every room in the house and lived here the entire time. We put some furniture in storage, but for framed are, we wrapped it in bubble wrap and stored it in one of the rooms not being worked (yes, we had to move it twice). The portfolios were stored in the same room.

The entry way, living room, dining room, kitchen, utility room, and den were taken to the studs and the screeds (the 2x4s that hold the wood floors off the slab).

The house maintained climate control in the rooms not being worked.

[tth2]

On 3/30/2024 at 7:28 PM, Kevn said:

A basement is the last place I'd put OA (or anything vulnerable to moisture/mold).

Wasn't the greatest comic book collection ever stored in a basement for decades?

In any event, while I normally wouldn't advocate storing valuable stuff in a basement, we're only talking a couple of months here.

[cstojano]

I have pretty much been doing with alxjhnsn has been doing, but I have the benefit of being able to stay home when the people are here working. Pets are worse to deal with than art. If you really want to look offsite then see if your city has a fine arts storage facility. Unless you live in a very big city I doubt it, but I have been to these places for work and its amazing what people have there. Museums use them for offsite storage of unique and historically irreplaceable objects as well. It would cost a ton of money though.

[Rick2you2]

On 3/30/2024 at 11:59 PM, tth2 said:

Wasn't the greatest comic book collection ever stored in a basement for decades?

In any event, while I normally wouldn't advocate storing valuable stuff in a basement, we're only talking a couple of months here.

All it takes is one broken sump pump. Trust me on this one.

[PhilipB2k17]

On 3/30/2024 at 7:28 AM, Kevn said:

A basement is the last place I'd put OA (or anything vulnerable to moisture/mold). I've known of several people who had their basements flood (my mother's basement twice flooded to the rafters), and lots of basements are just generally dank. Mold is a much bigger threat to OA than theft. Attics have the opposite problem, poor temperature control and often become ovens in warm weather.

I've kept my OA in my house during renovations several times. I have other valuable things and electronics, much of which would be a much bigger target for theft by workers, or would be more vulnerable to damage. I just took reasonable precautions. Unless the renovation involves gutting the house, I would just move the things wanted to protect to a room that wasn't affected by the renovation, and lock it in a closet. A home security camera setup with live feed is also pretty easy and cheap to set up, so you can keep an eye on things during the day while out of the house (during my renovations I was always living in the house). If you're doing something so extensive that you have to move out for a while, then yes, I'd move the art to wherever I was stying in the interim.

Also, my family and I have used temp/humidity controlled self storage places for years without issue. I think the key is that when you put stuff in there, don't let it be obvious that it's really valuable stuff, and you check out the crime history at different facilities before you rent. Most storage units are full of stuff with minimal resale value, and are low value/high risk targets for thieves. in the rare cases where units are broken into, my impression is that it's usually because the thieves had insider knowledge of which units to target.

I think this depends on the circumstances. If you live in a wet climate, or have a basement prone to flooding or that is overly humid, that might be the case. But, in the House I am in now, the original construction included shelving under the basement stairs made out of cedar. This shelving is raised off the floor, and it is resistant to moisture and bugs. I stored raw comic books in a longbox in that shelf for over a decade and they never suffered. So if you have a good place to store stuff like that, you can probably do it. I'm less worried about flooding at my house than fire. 

[Hekla]

Check with your local banks to see if they have oversized lockboxes. I rented my house out while living abroad for a year and considered multiple options for a safe yet affordable storage solution. One of our local banks had oversized lockboxes that were able to accommodate 6 portfolios. While not all my OA, it was a substantial amount and I felt better leaving the remainder with someone else. 

On 3/31/2024 at 4:59 AM, cstojano said:

I have pretty much been doing with alxjhnsn has been doing, but I have the benefit of being able to stay home when the people are here working. Pets are worse to deal with than art. If you really want to look offsite then see if your city has a fine arts storage facility. Unless you live in a very big city I doubt it, but I have been to these places for work and its amazing what people have there. Museums use them for offsite storage of unique and historically irreplaceable objects as well. It would cost a ton of money though.

I checked with a fine arts storage facility in Scottsdale and the fees were   

[cstojano]

On 4/3/2024 at 8:37 AM, Hekla said:

Check with your local banks to see if they have oversized lockboxes. I rented my house out while living abroad for a year and considered multiple options for a safe yet affordable storage solution. One of our local banks had oversized lockboxes that were able to accommodate 6 portfolios. While not all my OA, it was a substantial amount and I felt better leaving the remainder with someone else. 

I checked with a fine arts storage facility in Scottsdale and the fees were   

I am in Tempe. Can you share the information of the place. I know it will be expensive but peace of mind may be worth it. This city isn't exactly free of property crime.

[cstojano]

On 3/30/2024 at 3:41 PM, alxjhnsn said:

I doubt that this will help, but it's what we did to our 60+ year old house. You can see more pictures here and here.

We have renovated every room in the house and lived here the entire time. We put some furniture in storage, but for framed are, we wrapped it in bubble wrap and stored it in one of the rooms not being worked (yes, we had to move it twice). The portfolios were stored in the same room.

The entry way, living room, dining room, kitchen, utility room, and den were taken to the studs and the screeds (the 2x4s that hold the wood floors off the slab).

The house maintained climate control in the rooms not being worked.

You just need to stick a 10 year old TV at the doorway so they have something heavy to steal.

Edited April 3 by cstojano

[sfcityduck]

On 3/30/2024 at 8:59 PM, tth2 said:

Wasn't the greatest comic book collection ever stored in a basement for decades?

 

So was the greatest pulp collection. Same basement. Unfortunately, that closet of Edgar's had a leak. Chuck said they were all ruined.

[Hekla]

On 4/3/2024 at 2:15 PM, cstojano said:

I am in Tempe. Can you share the information of the place. I know it will be expensive but peace of mind may be worth it. This city isn't exactly free of property crime.

A local credit union; pm sent.

[Aahz]

Thanks everyone for the feedback ... quick follow up: If I were to put portfolios in non-airtight plastic bags, is it a good idea to add desiccant bags?

[Kevn]

On 4/11/2024 at 7:29 PM, Aahz said:

Thanks everyone for the feedback ... quick follow up: If I were to put portfolios in non-airtight plastic bags, is it a good idea to add desiccant bags?

Can't imagine it would hurt, and it might help if you somehow had more humidity than expected wherever they're stored.

I've had the idea that large vacuum seal storage bags, the kind you use for packing away bulky bedspreads and towels, might be useful for sealing up portfolios in a dry, airtight condition. I can't think of why this would be harmful to OA, and it seems like it could be a useful option. Plus you could wrap the portfolios in a couple of towels, so to a thief it would look like you had a few sealed bags of towels that would have no value.