A smooth office move in Dallas-Fort Worth comes down to sequencing: decide what furniture moves versus gets replaced, measure the new space before ordering anything, and book delivery-and-installation as its own trade — not an afterthought bolted onto the moving truck. This checklist walks through what to do at each phase, from 8-12 weeks out through move-in.
What should I decide first when planning an office move?
Start by sorting your current furniture into three buckets: keep and move, keep but reconfigure, and replace. This decision drives every downstream deadline — measurement, ordering, and install scheduling all depend on knowing what’s actually going into the new space before you commit to a floor plan.
Most facilities managers underestimate how much this first decision compresses or expands their timeline. Furniture that moves as-is is simple. Furniture that needs to be reconfigured — say, workstations that were 6×8 benching in the old space but need to fit an 8×6 footprint in the new one — often needs new parts, panels, or connectors, which puts it on a lead-time clock similar to buying new. And furniture you’re not keeping needs a disposal plan before move week, not during it. Eggleston Office handles outgoing furniture at your request — anything from haul-away and disposal to reselling. Buyback exists but is rare and case-specific: labor costs have made most used furniture uneconomical to buy back, and it’s better to know that up front than to plan a budget around a buyback that won’t materialize.
Walk department heads through this sort separately from a general employee survey. Employees will tell you what they want; department heads will tell you what still functions. Reconcile the two before locking a plan.
When should I start planning an office relocation in DFW?
Start the furniture and layout planning 8-12 weeks before your move date, even if your lease and construction timeline are still in flux. Furniture lead times, on-site measurement, and installation scheduling all take real calendar time, and DFW’s active commercial market means installation crews and delivery windows book up fast during peak relocation seasons.
Here’s the phased breakdown:
8-12 weeks out
- Finalize the new space’s floor plan (or get access to walk it) as early as your landlord or GC allows.
- Sort existing furniture: keep-as-is, keep-and-reconfigure, replace.
- Schedule an on-site measurement of the new space before ordering or committing to any furniture plan — a floor plan on paper and a space measured in person rarely match exactly.
- Get quotes on replacement and supplemental furniture. Eggleston Office carries both new furniture and used inventory — including pieces from Herman Miller, Steelcase, Haworth, HON, and Allsteel — which gives you options if new-furniture lead times don’t fit your move date. New furniture runs anywhere from a few days to 6-8 weeks depending on the manufacturer; used inventory is already in the warehouse, so it moves on delivery scheduling rather than production time.
4-8 weeks out
- Confirm final furniture order based on the measured space, not the original floor plan.
- Share the furniture layout with your IT and electrical contacts so power, data, and cable pathways are planned around where furniture will actually sit — not the other way around.
- Set a firm installation date and confirm it against your building’s freight elevator or loading dock reservation, if applicable.
- Coordinate a delivery-sample or mockup process for any new workstation or systems furniture configuration, so you catch fit and function issues before the full order ships.
2-4 weeks out
- Confirm the disposal or removal plan for furniture that isn’t moving. Eggleston Office can handle removal at your request — from haul-away and disposal to reselling — so raise it during the quote conversation rather than scrambling for a separate vendor at move week.
- Reconfirm installation crew scheduling, especially if your move date has shifted at all — DFW installation crews run tight calendars during busy relocation months.
- Walk the new space one more time to confirm electrical and data drops landed where the furniture plan expects them.
- Label furniture and boxes by destination room/desk, not just by department, to speed up move day.
Move week
- Movers relocate boxes, files, and furniture that’s moving as-is.
- The installation crew handles unpacking, assembly, and placement of new and reconfigured furniture — this is a distinct scope from general moving labor (more on why below).
- Have a single point of contact on-site who can make real-time placement calls, since floor plans never survive first contact with an actual move perfectly.
- Confirm punch-list items (missing parts, damaged pieces, wrong configurations) are documented immediately, not weeks later.
Post-move (first 2-4 weeks)
- Walk the space with your installation contact to close out any punch-list items.
- Confirm all workstations, storage, and common-area furniture are fully assembled and functional — not just placed.
- Collect employee feedback on layout and ergonomics while adjustments are still easy to make.
- File warranty and service documentation for new furniture. Manufacturer warranties pass through to you on new purchases — terms vary widely by maker, generally from five years up to lifetime coverage — so keep the paperwork with your facilities records.
Why does the new space need to be measured before furniture is ordered?
Measuring the new space in person catches the gaps that floor plans miss — column placement, outlet locations, door swing clearances, and ceiling height variations that affect systems furniture. Ordering furniture off an architectural drawing alone risks a mismatch that shows up on move day, when it’s too late to fix cheaply or quickly.
This is one of the most common and most avoidable relocation failures. A floor plan tells you square footage and wall locations. It doesn’t reliably tell you where an unexpected structural column sits, whether a doorway swing eats into planned desk space, or whether the ceiling height in one section is different from the rest of the floor — all of which matter for systems furniture and storage placement. An on-site measurement before the furniture order is locked catches these issues while they’re still a design adjustment, not a move-day crisis.
What are realistic lead times for office furniture, and how does that affect my move date?
Lead times vary by whether furniture is new or used, and by manufacturer for new pieces. New orders run anywhere from a few days to 6-8 weeks; used inventory is on hand and moves on delivery scheduling instead. Build your furniture order deadline backward from your move date, not forward from when you started planning — and give the process at least a few weeks of runway. Compressed schedules can be accommodated, but the more a timeline gets pushed, the more likely mistakes become.
Used inventory typically moves faster than new furniture because it’s not being manufactured to order — this is one of the practical reasons facilities managers facing a compressed timeline lean on quality pre-owned pieces (used Herman Miller seating, pre-owned Steelcase workstations, and similar) to fill gaps that new-furniture lead times can’t accommodate before a fixed move date.
How do I coordinate furniture installation with IT and electrical work?
Share your furniture layout with IT and electrical contacts as soon as it’s finalized, ideally 4-8 weeks out, so power and data drops land where desks and workstations will sit. Sequencing this backward — running electrical first and fitting furniture to it — creates awkward cable runs and outlet placements that are expensive to fix later.
The furniture layout should drive the electrical and data plan, not the reverse. When facilities teams let electricians rough in power based on a generic floor plan before furniture placement is locked, the result is often outlets stranded behind where a credenza ends up, or data drops that require exposed cable runs across walkways. Getting the furniture plan finalized early enough to hand to IT and electrical as a reference document avoids most of this.
Why is furniture installation a separate trade from the movers?
Furniture installation is a distinct skill set from general moving labor — it involves reading assembly specs, wiring systems furniture connections correctly, leveling and aligning panel runs, and knowing manufacturer-specific hardware. A moving crew is trained to relocate boxes and bulk items efficiently; an installation crew is trained to assemble and configure furniture correctly the first time.
| General movers | Furniture installation crew | |
|---|---|---|
| Core skill | Loading, transport, relocation of existing items | Assembly, configuration, and placement of furniture systems |
| Handles new/reconfigured furniture | Not typically | Yes — this is the core scope |
| Reads manufacturer assembly specs | Not typically | Yes |
| Wires systems furniture (power/data through panels) | No | Yes |
| Responsible for punch-list/warranty fit issues | No | Yes |
Treating these as one undifferentiated “move day” service is where a lot of relocations go sideways — boxes get relocated fine, but workstations end up misassembled, panels aren’t level, or systems furniture wiring is wrong, and there’s no clear owner to fix it. Eggleston Office’s team handles measurement, design, delivery, and installation as one connected process specifically so that handoff gap doesn’t happen.
FAQ
Do I need to hire movers and a furniture installer separately?
Yes, in most cases. General movers relocate existing boxes, files, and furniture that isn’t being reconfigured. A furniture installation team handles assembly, placement, and configuration of new or reconfigured furniture — different skill sets, and coordinating both around the same move date is part of relocation planning.
How far in advance should I measure the new office space?
Measure as early as your landlord or general contractor gives you access, ideally 8-12 weeks before your move date. Measuring before finalizing your furniture order catches structural and layout issues — column placement, outlet locations, ceiling height — that floor plans on paper often miss.
Can I mix new and used furniture in one office relocation?
Yes. Many DFW relocations blend new furniture for key areas with quality used inventory — pieces from brands like Herman Miller, Steelcase, Haworth, HON, and Allsteel — to manage budget and lead time. A single dealer handling both keeps the layout and installation coordinated.
What happens to our old furniture if we’re replacing it during the move?
Old furniture is dealt with at your request — options range from hauling it away for disposal to reselling it. Occasional buyback arrangements exist for specific items, but they’re rare: rising labor costs have made buying back most used furniture unfeasible, so treat buyback as the exception, not the plan.
Does Eggleston Office serve locations outside Dallas-Fort Worth?
Eggleston Office is based in Euless, Texas, and serves the DFW metro directly, with recurring truck-delivery projects to Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. If your relocation spans multiple Texas locations, ask about coordinating delivery across sites when you request a quote.
How do I get started planning our office move with Eggleston Office?
Contact Eggleston Office to walk through your relocation timeline, current furniture inventory, and new space details. Request a quote to start the measurement, design, and furniture planning process for your move, or call (469) 324-5600 to talk through your move date directly with the team.