How Are Extra Large Picture Frames Delivered?

Extra large picture frames are delivered in three tiers. Up to two metres on the long edge they travel by UK-wide courier on a shared multi-drop route, or by dedicated single-trip courier where the timeline calls for it. Above two metres they travel in the Harten specialist van with two staff. At that top tier, delivery and installation together can approach or exceed around £2,000.

This guide covers why oversized frames cannot ship like standard frames, what each delivery tier actually is, why installation is recommended at the top tier rather than offered as an upsell, what the workshop asks before quoting delivery, and how UK coverage works.

Why oversized frames cannot ship like standard frames

A standard picture frame ships through ordinary parcel networks. An extra large picture frame does not, because the physics changes. The work is fragile in three different ways at once: the glazing is brittle and large, the frame is heavy and lever-armed, and the artwork inside is usually irreplaceable. Standard parcel carriers handle by belt and chute, both of which exceed the impact tolerance of large glazing.

On top of that, courier networks have a size cap. Beyond roughly two metres on the long edge, the frame stops fitting cleanly on van shelving and is either refused or upcharged into a dedicated category. The two-metre point is the same threshold where the workshop construction needs a specialist team and where the glazing switches from cast acrylic to 6-12 mm polycarbonate; the practical reason the cost curve steps at this size is covered in our extra large picture frames cost guide.

The three delivery tiers

The three tiers are not pricing bands the workshop chose. They are the natural break points in the UK courier market and the workshop's own capability above it. The reason the table shows a spread within tier 1 rather than a single number is the multi-drop versus dedicated-trip distinction explained below.

Tier 1: UK-wide courier, multi-drop weekly trip

Most extra large picture frames up to two metres go out on a multi-drop courier route. The courier collects from the workshop and runs a weekly trip into a given region, dropping multiple Harten jobs in one journey. The shared route is the reason this band is the most affordable delivery option for oversized work: the cost of the vehicle is amortised across the run.

The trade-off is timing. The frame leaves the workshop on the next scheduled run for that region rather than on the next available day. For most commissions the build time itself is the longer constraint, so the courier schedule is rarely the binding factor.

Tier 1a: UK-wide courier, dedicated single-trip

Where the timeline does not match the multi-drop schedule, the same courier network runs dedicated single-trip deliveries. The vehicle goes from the workshop to the destination and back without intermediate drops. The frame is the only piece on the run. The cost premium reflects the unshared route; the speed and date control reflects what the premium is paying for.

Dedicated trips are most common for gallery installs with a fixed hang date, hospitality openings, and private commissions where the artwork is travelling alongside the frame.

Tier 2: Harten specialist van, two staff

Above two metres on the long edge, courier networks stop being a practical option. The frame travels in the Harten specialist van, driven by two members of the workshop team. The van is fitted out for oversized work, with internal A-frames and padded blocking sized for very large glazed pieces.

Two staff are required for two reasons. The first is handling: a 2m+ glazed frame cannot be carried, loaded or unloaded by one person without putting the artwork at risk. The second is install, which is covered in the next section.

Why installation is recommended at Tier 2

At Tier 2 the recommendation is almost always to bundle installation with delivery, and the reason is mechanical rather than commercial. The cost of getting two trained framers, a van and the right handling gear to the destination is already paid by the time delivery arrives. The marginal cost of hanging the piece on the wall once it is in the room is small relative to a separate install visit. Bundling makes the economics legible rather than feeling like an upsell.

There is also a practical argument. The same two people who built and packed the frame are best placed to handle it through doorways, around stair turns and into final position. Handing a 2m+ glazed piece to a third-party installer adds a transfer step where most of the in-transit damage risk on oversized work tends to occur.

Some Tier 2 deliveries are collection-only, where the client has their own art handlers on site. Those are quoted as van-and-driver without install, and the saving sits on the install line, not on the delivery line.

Delivery plus install at the top end

On the largest pieces, delivery and installation together can approach or exceed around £2,000. That figure covers the van, the two staff, the round trip from the Bollington workshop to the install site, and the install itself on a wall the workshop has not previously seen.

In project terms, a 2m+ piece at the specialist-team frame tier of around £2,500 plus delivery and install at around £2,000 typically lands somewhere north of around £4,500 for the full delivered-and-hung project. High-end commissions with premium materials and museum-grade glazing scale well beyond that. The frame-side numbers and the three cost levers behind them are in the extra large picture frames cost guide.

What the workshop asks before quoting delivery

A delivery quote is built from five practical pieces of information. The first is postcode: mainland UK delivery is on standard tiers; Highlands, islands and Northern Ireland are quoted separately. The second is access: the floor of installation, whether there is a lift, whether the stairs are turn or straight, and whether there is a clear run from the front door to the hang wall. The third is parking: van access, single or double yellows, time-of-day restrictions and the distance from where the van can stop to the destination. The fourth is the timing requirement: scheduled multi-drop, or a dedicated date. The fifth is the install scope: hang only, or hang plus levelling, securing and any wall-fixing that the destination requires.

For an installation onto a previously unprepared wall, the workshop will sometimes recommend a site survey before the build to confirm fixings, weight load and access. That step is rare; most projects are quoted from the information above.

UK coverage

The workshop is in Bollington, Cheshire, and the Harten specialist van and the courier network both cover mainland UK as standard. Highlands, islands and Northern Ireland are quoted on the specific job rather than on a posted rate, because the van schedule and the ferry timings change the calculation. International oversized work is handled on a project basis with bespoke crating.

How this fits the rest of the project

Delivery is one line of an oversized project, sitting alongside the frame, the glazing and the install. The frame side of the cost is broken down in the extra large picture frames cost guide, the broader pricing logic for bespoke framing across all formats sits in our guide to custom framing costs, the metalwork capability for the welded side of oversized work sits on our welded picture frames service page, and the full oversized service sits on our oversized framing service page. For the dimensional side of planning a piece at this scale, the measuring guide for oversized frames covers what to send the workshop before quoting.

Every oversized frame is built in our Bollington, Cheshire workshop and carries our 5-year guarantee on the framing.