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Uprights and grands, moved rightA piano is a few hundred kilograms of concentrated weight wrapped around a soundboard that one bad lift can ruin. We move uprights and grands with the proper gear and a crew that has done it hundreds of times, fully insured, for one capped price in writing before we start.
Moving a piano is a technique problem, not a strength one. Here is the gear and the care that sit inside your capped price.
One number in writing before we start. If the job runs long because of stairs or tight access, the extra hours are on us, not added to your bill.
Piano trolleys, skid boards, stair-climbing equipment and heavy straps. The weight is carried by the equipment and technique, not by four people hoping for the best.
For grands we remove and wrap the legs and lyre, lay the body on a padded skid board, then reassemble at the other end so it stands correctly in the new room.
Heavy blankets and shrink over the case and keys, then full transit and in-care insurance. On a high-value instrument, that cover is the whole reason to hire a specialist.
Every piano goes with a crew that has moved plenty before. They read the route, the doorways and the turns before they lift, because the plan is what keeps the instrument safe.
Narrow hallways, garden steps, a landing with a turn: we size the crew and gear to the route so nothing is rushed and nothing scrapes a wall on the way out.
Upright or grand, the stairs at both ends, doorway widths and any turns. That detail lets us cap the price accurately within the hour, 7am to 7pm.
We match the crew size, trolley and skid board to your job and lock the capped price in writing before anything is touched.
We wrap the case and keys, control the weight through every doorway and stair, then place and rebuild the piano exactly where you want it.
Most removalists are good at what they do, which is furniture. A piano is not furniture. An upright can run past two hundred kilograms and a grand well beyond that, and all of that mass sits over a soundboard and action built to fine tolerances. Tip it, jar it down a step, or let a caster catch on a threshold and you are not looking at a scuff, you are looking at a repair bill that can rival the cost of the instrument.
The risk is not only to the piano. It is to the person carrying it and to the walls, floors and doorframes on the way out. A crew without a proper piano trolley, a skid board and stair-climbing gear ends up muscling the weight, and muscle is exactly what fails on a landing with a turn in it. Specialist equipment exists because the job genuinely needs it, and the technique to use that equipment safely only comes from having done it many times.
That is the whole case for hiring a specialist and insisting on insurance. We bring the right gear, an experienced crew and full cover, and we put the price in writing and cap it so a tricky staircase never becomes a bigger invoice. If you are moving the rest of the house too, our furniture removalists can take the sofas, wardrobes and everything else in the same booking. When you are ready, get your capped piano quote and tell us about the stairs.
"Our grand had to come down a narrow staircase with a turn at the bottom. They took the legs off, skid-boarded it, and controlled every step. Rebuilt it perfectly in the new lounge. Not a mark on the case or the walls."
"I nearly booked a cheaper general mover for our upright, then read that a drop can wreck the soundboard. So glad I paid for the specialists. Proper trolley, straps, blankets, and the price they quoted was the price I paid."
"Third-floor walk-up to a ground floor, which everyone else quoted vaguely or wouldn't touch. These gave me one capped number, brought stair gear and a full crew, and had it down safely. Genuinely impressed."
From the footpath, every piano move looks the same: a heavy thing goes onto a truck. Inside the job, an upright and a grand are two different pieces of work, with different gear, different crew sizes and different plans. Knowing which job yours is helps you understand the quote and what will actually happen on the day.
An upright travels the way it lives, standing up. We wrap the case and the keyboard lid in heavy blankets, strap the instrument to a piano trolley built to carry that concentrated weight, and roll it out over ramps rather than lifting wherever we can. Depending on the piano and the access, that is usually a job for two or three crew: one steering, the others controlling the weight over thresholds, steps and the ramp into the truck. The piano never leans further than it has to, and the trolley, not anyone's back, carries the load.
A grand is a partial dismantle. The pedal lyre comes off first, then the legs, each wrapped and packed separately. The body is tilted onto its straight side on a padded piano board, wrapped, strapped and moved as one controlled unit that fits through doorways a fully assembled grand never would. At the other end the sequence runs in reverse, and the crew reassembles the instrument so it stands correctly in the new room. If you have ever wondered how a grand leaves a narrow terrace, that is the answer: it leaves on its side, on a board, with its legs in blankets.
Stairs and tight turns are where the planning matters most, which is why we ask about them on the quote call instead of discovering them on the day. The number of steps, the width of the staircase, any landing with a turn in it, and the doorways at both ends all decide the crew size and the gear that goes on the truck. That detail is also what lets us cap the price in writing, so a tricky staircase never turns into a bigger invoice. Our guide to removalist costs in Sydney explains how access shapes a quote more generally.
One honest note to finish on: plan to book a tuner a few weeks after any piano move. A piano holds its strings under enormous tension, and a new room means a change in humidity and temperature that the timber responds to as it settles. A mover who promises your piano will not need tuning afterwards is guessing. We move it safely; the tuner finishes the job once the instrument has acclimatised to its new home. Moving the rest of the house at the same time? Our house removals crew can take everything else in the same booking, or you can get your capped piano quote on its own.
As a rough market guide, a local upright move in Sydney often sits somewhere in the low hundreds, and a grand costs more once you add the dismantle and reassembly. Stairs, tight turns and distance all push the number up. We don't quote off that range. On the call we ask about the piano, the access at both ends and the distance, then give you one capped price in writing before we book the crew.
What actually moves the price: upright versus grand, the number of steps at each end, whether a landing forces a turn on the stairs, and how far the truck has to park from the door. None of that changes what's included. Every piano move comes with a trained crew, the proper trolley or piano board, all wrapping materials and full insurance, whatever the quote turns out to be.
Yes. We move uprights, baby grands and full grands. Grands are partly dismantled onto a skid board with the legs and lyre removed and wrapped, then rebuilt at the other end. Uprights travel upright on a piano trolley, strapped and blanketed.
Yes. We use stair-climbing gear, skid boards and a crew sized to the job so the weight is controlled the whole way, not muscled. Tell us the number of stairs, any turns and doorway widths when you ask for a quote and we plan the route before we arrive.
A piano is a few hundred kilograms of concentrated weight on castors that were never meant to carry it far, and the value sits in a soundboard and action that a drop can wreck. A general crew without piano trolleys, skid boards and the technique to match is a risk to the instrument, the building and their own backs. Specialist gear and experience are what protect all three.
Yes. Your piano is covered in transit and in our care from the moment we start wrapping to the moment it is set down in the right room. Given what a quality instrument is worth, insured handling is not an optional extra, it is the point.
It depends on the type of piano, the access at both ends and any stairs, which is why we quote each move individually. Before we start you get one capped price in writing, and any hours over the estimate are on us, not you.
Most pianos benefit from a tune once they have settled in the new room, usually a couple of weeks after the move, because the change in humidity and position affects them more than the trip itself. We move it safely; a tuner fine-tunes the sound once it has acclimatised.
Yes. A slate pool table is a similar specialist job: the slate, cushions and legs come apart, travel protected and are rebuilt and levelled at the other end. Mention it when you ask for a quote and we cap the whole job in one written price.
It depends on the instrument and the access. A ground-floor upright with clear access usually needs a smaller team than a grand or a staircase job, and we size the crew on the quote call rather than guessing on the day. The crew size is built into your capped price, so it never changes the number you were given.
Yes. The piano is wrapped, strapped and secured for the longer haul the same way it is for a local job, with the same insurance in place the whole way. Tell us the destination when you ask for a quote and we put one capped price on the entire move.
Very little. Take anything sitting on top of the piano off, empty the stool of sheet music, and clear a path to the door if you can. We handle the wrapping, the lifting and the protection of floors and doorframes.
Tell us the piano, the stairs and your dates. You'll have a written, fully insured price back within the hour, 7am to 7pm, and no obligation to book.
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