So, my Dad hand-carved a fireplace mantel that sat above the house that I grew up in for decades. After he passed, my Mom sold the house but I asked her to exclude the mantel from the sale and asked to have it. Thus, I now have the mantel in my POD waiting for shipping to my place in Ireland (along with my other household goods), which I think would make him quite happy. However, after reading about pallets and the special heat-treated, stamped wood that needs to be used in making them for international shipping, I now have this nightmare playing in my head that my Dad's mantel will get rejected entry because it is effectively a giant hunk of wood, or cause other clearance issues. Could it not be a problem because it is ancient, and was effectively heated over several years sitting over the fireplace? Should I be concerned about this or not ?
Sounds like a very special case, Susan. I'd recommend contacting Irish customs and seeing how best to handle this one.
Thanks Liam; sounds like good advice. In the meanwhile, I did pose the question to rep at Schumacher who does not anticipate a problem since it is likely more in the nature of an antique or a piece of furniture. But, an email to customs couldn't hurt to double-check.