Why a floating TV unit is harder to ship than it looks

A floating TV unit looks simple on a drawing: one clean horizontal volume, wall-mounted, with the screen sitting inside it. In an international project order, that same item crosses three separate risk areas at once — joinery tolerance, concealed services, and freight handling for a long, shallow crate. If you are specifying these units for apartments or villas overseas, the planning work happens before production, not after.

This guide walks through how we prepare an international delivery for a project order of Floating TV Units: what to fix at the design stage, how the units are grouped into containers, and which documents and site conditions need to be settled before the cargo moves.

Step 1 — Lock the specification room by room

Project orders rarely contain one identical unit. Each apartment or villa level brings a different wall length, screen size and storage mix. Our Floating TV Units are made to measure, with material, finish and layout specified per space, so the first task is a unit schedule rather than a single line item.

• Unit code, room and floor — so cartons can be reconciled against rooms on site.
• Overall width, height and projection, plus the finished face detail — veneer, lacquer or melamine are examples from our catalogue.
• Screen niche dimensions and the ventilation gap around the recess.
• Cable routes, socket positions and any integrated lighting or display niche.
• Wall build-up: substrate type, board thickness and where the fixing batten or steel backing sits.

Two details cause most rework on wall-hung joinery. First, the wall build-up is confirmed late, so the set-out dimension no longer matches the finished face. Second, screen niche sizes change after the tender drawing, and a made-to-measure volume cannot simply be trimmed on site. Confirm both before we release production.

Step 2 — Decide how much is factory work and how much is site work

A floating unit that arrives as one fully assembled box is easy to describe in a purchase order and expensive to ship: the crate is long, the panels are shallow, and corner damage follows it. We therefore split units into factory-finished modules — carcases, drawer boxes, doors and shelf panels finished to their final surface — with assembly and wall fixing carried out on site.

This split also protects finishes. Veneered and lacquered faces travel flat and protected rather than standing in a container where they can shift. It means the site team needs the fixing drawings, not just the packing list — which is why we issue installation drawings with the shipment instead of sending them separately.

Step 3 — Group the order into containers that match the site sequence

For multi-unit orders we plan container grouping around the order in which rooms will actually be fitted out, not by product category. Units for the same floor or apartment go together; long panels are packed with the wall hardware they fix to; spares and adjustment components ride with the batch that needs them.

• Mark every carton with unit code, room reference and panel position, so a fitter can find a part without opening crates.
• Keep fixings, battens and adjustment brackets in the same crate as the panels they belong to.
• Photograph packing before sealing — it settles disputes about what was in which crate.

Our logistics and door-to-door delivery service covers freight forwarding by sea, air or rail, packaging and container loading planning, customs paperwork and shipment tracking. For a project order this far out, we agree the Incoterms and the delivery address in writing early, because a floating unit delivered to a warehouse instead of the apartment floor still has to be moved twice at your cost.

Step 4 — Prepare documents before the cargo leaves

Documentation delays cost more than freight on small project consignments. Before booking, prepare:

• Commercial invoice and packing list with unit codes that match the crate markings.
• Bill of lading or air waybill with the agreed Incoterms and consignee details.
• Certificate of origin where the destination requires it, plus any import permit paperwork for the receiving country.
• Installation drawings, fixing details and a spares list attached to the shipment file.

Duty rates, permitted materials and clearance practice differ by destination and change over time. We confirm current requirements for your specific port and consignee with the forwarder on each order rather than assuming an earlier shipment still applies.

Step 5 — Site readiness: the part most buyers overlook

Wall-hung joinery cannot be fitted until the wall is finished and the services are in their final positions. Before the delivery date, confirm on site:

• Walls boarded, levelled and at finished face level, with the set-out dimensions re-measured.
• Low-voltage and TV/data cabling pulled, tested and labelled at each unit position.
• Backing or batten positions agreed in writing where a unit spans a non-solid wall.
• Lift access, storage area and working hours cleared for the fitting crew.

Where we provide on-site installation and after-sales support, that pre-fit check is part of the handover, along with inspection and snags. The exact scope, warranty terms and response arrangements are set out per project — worth reading against your main contract before you rely on them.

A practical sequence to work to

How a one-stop supplier reduces the handover gaps

The real risk in an international order is not any single stage but the seams between them: joinery from one vendor, screens and lighting from another, freight from a third. As a China furniture and building materials manufacturer working on villa, hospitality and office projects, we produce media walls together with the surrounding built-in items — storage walls, shelving, panelling, doors and cabinetry — so finishes, tolerances and delivery windows are coordinated in one production plan.

If you are assembling a project enquiry now, send the room schedule, the screen sizes you are working to, and the wall construction for each unit position. Through our custom & OEM service we can also match a floating unit to the veneer, lacquer or melamine finish already specified for the rest of the interior, so one supplier carries the joinery, the freight and the fixing sequence. From that schedule we can quote the units, propose the packing split, and give you a delivery plan for the address you are actually fitting out.

Talk to us about a project order of floating TV units: contact SANTERSON.