While moving a piano is not an easy job, preparing in advance can make the entire process easier. And, just like when moving other household things, moving a piano is not a one-person job—meaning, you will need some assistance.
But, there’s one thing you must note when moving a piano—these are delicate instruments, and they should be handled with care. Any kind of damage can leave your piano unplayable or cost you a lot of money to repair. Because of this, you should hire professional piano movers if you want to move your piano safely.
With that, let’s look at the most important supplies you need to move your piano
When planning you move your piano, you will need to protect yourself, as well as the piano. Damages like dented railing, scuffed walls, pulled muscles, and scratched piano surfaces are very common when moving a piano. However, you can avoid all these so long as you have the right piano moving equipment. Besides, having the right equipment makes the job easier, meaning you’ll not have a hard time during the entire process.
So, to protect your piano, the piano movers, and yourself, you will need the following items:
- Work gloves
- A piano moving dolly
- Plastic wrap or dense blanket/cloth
- Heavy-duty tape
- Dolly straps
- Moving straps
- Ramp
- Weightlifting straps
Moving the piano
Please note that the piano moving features of the piano model you are moving play a crucial role during the entire process. Also, it’s important to note that different types of pianos have different weight distribution. For example, an upright piano has delicate legs and bears all its weight at the top end. Lastly, the size and design of the piano are essential—and you will need these when making your exit plans, as well as creating space for the piano in your new home.
When you hire piano movers, they will take several steps before moving your piano—all these steps are geared towards keeping your piano throughout the entire moving process. First, the movers will remove certain parts, like the legs, lyre, and pedal box. This ensures that these parts are not damaged while on transit. After that, the movers will place a heavy wrap or piano cover around the piano to reduce the risk of damaging the instrument. Then, they will use the heavy-duty plastic wrap to cover the pad—this keeps the pad in place and reduces the chances of exposing the piano to moisture while moving it.
Now, after preparing the piano for the move, the movers will place it on a piano board or dolly to move it into the moving truck. To prevent the piano from moving while on the dolly or board, they use the dolly straps to secure it. In addition to this, they use piano straps to pull, lift, or steer the piano. At times, the movers will need a skid board to keep the instrument off the ground.
Typically, piano movers are skilled to lift and set these instruments down safely, to make sure that they retain their balance. And in case your piano needs to be moved down several flights of stairs, the movers might need to remove it from the piano board or dolly as they navigate the steps.
Once the movers get the piano to the moving truck, they will need to secure it properly for transport. Most moving companies have moving trucks fitted with built-in fixtures that make it easier to secure items on the truck. Now, in the case of your piano, the movers will need to place it against the wall of the truck, as this makes it easier to secure it using the moving straps.
Upright pianos are normally placed with the front part against the truck wall. Grand pianos, on the other hand, are placed in the moving truck with the top of the instrument against the wall. Typically, movers like to move pianos while against the wall to protect the front area of the piano from damage. So, the bottom or back of the piano will be at risk in case of an accident.
When you hire piano movers, make sure that they follow each of these steps during the entire process. In case they skip any of these measures, make sure that they give you an explanation as to why they are doing so. Besides, they should give you a good reason for changing their plans. If they don’t do so, they are not skilled to do the job.
Piano owners must remember to get their instrument re-tuned after arriving at the new destination. The atmospheric changes can affect the delicate balance of the moving parts of your piano. And, since your new home might not have the same environmental conditions, as well as room size as your previous home, this calls for your piano to be re-tuned—even if you’ve just bought it from the store. Thus, you will need to add this to the costs of moving the piano.
Bottom Line
There you go! Here is how you can move your piano without a challenge. Please note that you will need the services of professional movers for the entire job to go according to your plans. However, you must vet the piano moving company to make sure that your piano is in safe hands while on transit.
