Heavy items need a plan, not just muscle
Some items need special equipment, extra crew or a different approach: pianos, gun safes, pool tables, treadmills and home gyms, large armoires, marble tabletops, hot tubs and oversized sectionals. Moving them badly risks injuries, damaged floors, stairs and walls, and damage to the item itself. Tell the mover about every heavy or awkward item before they quote, so they can bring the right equipment and people.
Pianos
Upright pianos are heavy, top-heavy and fragile inside. They're usually moved on a dolly with straps, with padding and a crew big enough to control them on stairs and ramps. Grand pianos are typically moved on their side on a piano board after the legs and pedal lyre are removed. Some moving companies handle pianos routinely; others send them to piano movers. Ask whether the company moves pianos, and what equipment they use. Expect a piano to need tuning after a move, because temperature and humidity changes affect it, as well as the move itself.
Gun safes
Large safes can be extremely heavy and concentrate their weight on a small footprint. Moving one safely takes the right dolly, straps and crew, and sometimes floor protection that spreads the load. Stairs make it much harder. Tell the mover the safe's dimensions and approximate weight if you know it, and where it's going. Empty it first.
Pool tables
Pool tables with slate beds usually have to be disassembled: the rails and felt are removed, and the slate, often in several pieces, is moved separately and releveled at the new location. That's specialized work. Ask whether the mover does it or recommends someone who does.
Gym equipment
Treadmills, elliptical machines, weight stacks and home gyms are heavy and awkward. Some fold; many need partial disassembly. Find the manufacturer's instructions if you can, and tell the mover the make and model.
Appliances
Refrigerators, washers, dryers and freezers are heavy and need disconnecting. Gas appliances should be disconnected and reconnected by someone qualified to work on gas lines. Washers often need a shipping bolt or bracket to protect the drum. Ask the mover what they'll do and what you need to arrange.
Oversized furniture
Sectionals, sleeper sofas, armoires and tall bookcases may not fit through doors, hallways or stairwells without removing doors, legs or feet, and sometimes not at all. Measure the item and the tightest point of the route. Some movers can hoist furniture over a balcony; that needs planning.
Protecting the house
Heavy items can dent hardwood floors, crack tile and scrape walls and banisters. Ask what floor protection the mover will use, especially on the path heavy items take. Plywood or hard board over floors spreads the weight of a safe or piano dolly.
Stairs
Stairs multiply the difficulty of moving heavy items. Tell the mover exactly how many steps there are, whether they turn, and how wide they are at the narrowest point.
Questions to ask
- Do you move pianos, safes and pool tables yourselves, or refer them?
- What equipment and crew size will you use for each heavy item?
- How will you protect floors and stairs?
- Is there an extra charge for heavy items or stairs?
- What are you responsible for if a heavy item or the house is damaged?