It is best to book a moving company two to three months before your move-out date. This provides enough time to compare rates, organize your belongings, and find an available crew for your desired day and time. While you might find movers with only one or two weeks' notice, some companies require booking up to 90 days in advance.
Planning ahead is especially important if you're moving during the busy summer season when demand is highest. Summer weekends, in particular, book up quickly. Securing your movers well in advance helps you avoid the stress and potential extra fees of last-minute arrangements.
Moving insurance helps protect your belongings from damage or loss during the moving process. This policy can help reimburse you either part of or the total amount of your belongings that become damaged during the moving process. Moving insurance has three main options: full value protection, released value protection, and third-party or separate liability coverage. Speak with your moving company to determine what is covered under each policy and their cost to determine the best fit for your needs.
This depends on your specific needs and budget. If you’re looking for the most cost-effective way to ship furniture, a self-moving service that provides pods may be your best option. If cost isn’t an issue and you’re more concerned with the security of your items, you may want to hire a white-glove furniture delivery company with ironclad insurance policies to help.
It is certainly possible to move a piano without hiring movers, but it’s not recommended. Not only will you need at least four people to lift and maneuver the piano, but getting it around tight corners and down flights of stairs might not be possible without the help of movers. Plus, pianos are exceptionally heavy and bulky, which means you and any helping hands are at risk of injury, as well as an increased risk of damaging your piano. Ultimately, it’s always worth it to call in a professional piano mover.
Yes, moving a piano often causes it to become out of tune, even if you're not moving the piano very far. One reason is that any temperature and humidity changes can affect a piano's tuning. Additionally, the bumps and jolts from a moving truck usually push a piano out of tune.
However, don't jump right to tuning it once the piano gets to your new home. Instead, it's best to wait at least two weeks for the instrument to acclimate to its new environment. After a couple weeks, you'll get an idea of what the piano will really sound like in its new home, at which point you can call a piano technician to get it properly tuned.
The Bowman, ND homeowners’ guide to professional moving service pianos
From average costs to expert advice, get all the answers you need to get your job done.
Professional piano movers help ensure the safe, smooth transportation of your instrument. Before you hire, it’s important to check qualifications, review references, and get a contract in writing. Find out the steps for hiring a piano mover here.
Buying a used piano can be an exciting—but nerve-wracking—process, especially when damage could be lurking below the surface. Whether you’re a piano expert or a total novice, we’ve got some tips for how to buy a quality used piano.