2,900kg Marble Reception Desk Relocation at Lots Road, Chelsea
A fragile multi-piece marble reception desk weighing nearly three tons needed to be disassembled, protected, transported across the road and reassembled in a new building — without a scratch. On site we discovered the sections were both bonded together and adhered to the wooden floor.
Nearly Three Tons of Fragile Marble Across the Road Without a Mark
Samson Marble brought us in to move their clients showpiece reception desk relocated from its current ground floor position at Lots Road, Chelsea, to a new building directly across the road. The desk was a large, multi-piece marble construction weighing a combined 2,900kg — a substantial load, but one where the real difficulty was the material itself. Marble is unforgiving: any knock, scrape or uneven pressure during handling can chip edges, crack faces or leave marks that are impossible to repair invisibly.
The desk was constructed in four main sections, each of which needed to be separated, individually protected, transported across a public road, brought into the new building and reassembled in its new position. Both the origin and destination buildings had finished floors that needed protecting throughout.
When we arrived on site, we discovered an additional problem that hadn't been flagged in advance. The desk sections were not only bonded to each other with adhesive, but the base was also stuck fast to the wooden floor beneath it. Separating the sections without damaging either the marble or the flooring would require careful, controlled work before we could even begin the move.
- 2,900kg of fragile marble — minimal tolerance for chips, cracks or marks
- Sections bonded together with adhesive — discovered on site
- Base adhered to wooden floor — floor also had to be protected
- Transport across a public road between two buildings
- Finished floors at both locations requiring full protection
Controlled Separation, Bespoke Protection and Cross-Road Relocation
Before any lifting could begin, we had to deal with the bonding. The four desk sections were carefully separated from each other using controlled techniques to break the adhesive bonds without transmitting shock or stress into the marble faces. The base section, which was stuck to the wooden floor, required particular care - we needed to free it without damaging either the marble or the flooring beneath.
Once separated, each section was individually measured and we manufactured bespoke protection foam on site to fully enclose and cushion every piece for transport. The protection was designed to distribute load evenly and prevent any movement during handling, eliminating the risk of edge contact or pressure points that could mark the polished surfaces.
Floor protection was laid throughout both the origin and destination buildings before any heavy manoeuvring began. The crated sections were then lifted, moved out of the building, transported across the road and brought into the new location. Once inside, each section was uncrated, positioned and the desk was reassembled in its new ground floor reception area.
- Controlled separation of bonded sections and floor-adhered base
- Bespoke protection crates manufactured on site for each section
- Full floor protection at both origin and destination
- Safe transport across public road and into new building
- Full reassembly in new reception area
Relocated and Reassembled in One Day With Zero Damage
The entire operation — from separating the bonded sections and freeing the desk from the floor, through crating, transport and reassembly — was completed in a single day. Every section of the marble desk arrived at its new location without a chip, crack or mark. The wooden floor at the original location was as left as undamaged as possible due to the adhesive used.
The client and their designers were delighted with the result. What could have been a multi-day problem — particularly given the unexpected adhesion discovered on site — was resolved quickly and cleanly by adapting the plan on the day.
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