The #1 Guide To Moving A Piano

Piano removal is one of the trickiest parts of the removal business, because it combines three characteristics that can make any removal job several times more difficult: it’s delicate and fragile, it’s incredibly heavy, and it has an awkward shape.

With these three factors in play, piano removal needs careful planning and expert hands involved. As piano removal experts at Giffen Furniture Removals, we know firsthand the pains of moving a piano, so we would like to help you out with your next piano removal.

Here’s a 6-step guide to help you move your piano like a pro.

1. Get Some Help!

Let’s be realistic: you and a pair of eager friends aren’t going to get your giant piano out of the attic and into the back of a truck without damaging something; the walls, the floors, the piano itself, or even worse, yourselves. Getting a professional for your piano removal is the best step you can follow, because this isn’t the kind of thing you want to do as an amateur (if you care about the condition of your piano, at least).

But if you insist on sticking to your own elbow grease, you will still need some help from some strong-armed friends for a number of reasons:

• Your piano is definitely heavy. The lightest pianos come in at around 150kg, while the heaviest can weigh nearly 400kg. The best way to go about it is to have one extra pair of hands for every 50kg your piano weighs.
• Your piano is tall and wide. This means stairs, doorways, and hallways will need some careful twisting and turning, and you and your companions need to know how to lift without throwing out your backs.
• Your piano can break at the slightest drop. Unlike a couch or a table, you can’t just drop a piano and then glue a piece back on if it breaks. A piano has hundreds of tiny parts that will come loose and break even at slight bumps.

2. Equip Yourself With the Proper Tools

Tools? What tools do you need other than your own two hands and a day of willpower and determination?

Well… quite a few things, actually. It turns out that a successful piano removal requires a number of items, mostly consisting of high quality packing equipment. These include:

• Ropes, straps, or tape: You will need to wrap these around your piano to help you maneuver and move it around corners and down hallways.
• Moving blankets: Covering your piano with heavy duty blankets will add another layer of protection from all the bumps and bruises it will run into during the moving process.
• Furniture straps: There’s no better way to get a good grip on your piano than with high quality furniture straps.
• Dolly: You won’t get away with a successful removal without a moving dolly. You will need one that has four wheels ready for a heavy load.
• A ramp or hydraulic lift: Getting the piano into the back of your truck or moving vehicle will be near impossible if you don’t have a loading ramp or a hydraulic lift. While you can simply lift the piano up, a ramp or lift will make sure that you are moving it in the gentlest way possible.

3. Get the Piano Ready

There are a number of small things you need to do before moving your piano to make sure the piano itself is ready to be carried. Here’s your checklist:

• Close and secure the piano keys area.
• Seal all lids with tape (if no locks are present).
• Don’t use any wheels that the piano might have to move it. These wheels are not strong enough to bear the weight of a moving piano; remove and store them.
• Flatten and secure any accoutrement the piano might have, such as music stands.
• Cover every inch of the piano in the moving blankets.
• Secure everything with your straps, ropes, or tape.

4. Plan Everything Out

Now that you have your assistants and your equipment ready, it’s time to make your plan. Your team needs to know exactly what it will do at every position, because the last thing you want to do is find yourself carrying a 300kg piano halfway down a flight of stairs and nowhere else to turn.

So how do you make a successful plan?

• Measure your piano. Get all of its dimensions and know exactly how tall, wide, and long it is.
• Measure the different areas between your piano’s current location and your moving vehicle. Figure out if your piano can fit through every doorway and stairway, and if not, what you have to do to make it fit.
• Clear out the area. Anything that can be knocked over or can get in the way needs to be moved out before the moving process begins.
• Make sure everyone is completely familiar with the plan before you start.

5. Safely Move the Piano into the Truck

After you successfully the piano from the house to right outside the truck, you might find yourself facing a new and unexpected challenge. Moving the piano into the back of the truck itself is another problem altogether, and will take some careful movements. How you do this depends on whether you are moving a smaller piano or a larger one.

If you are moving a smaller piano… 

• With your team, lift the piano from underneath
• Take slow steps to the truck
• Make sure the piano stays in its natural position and not tilted or sideways
• Rest every few steps to fix your grip
• When standing at the truck, the stronger half of the team should get in and pull the piano up, while the other half should push it up from below.
• Do not stand behind the piano as it is moving up, or you risk having the piano roll back and injure someone.

If you are moving a larger piano…

• The dolly and half your team should be at one end of the piano, while the others will stay at the other end.
• Use your team to tilt the piano slowly onto your dolly. Use your strength, not gravity, as this might end up causing the piano to fall over.
• The piano should stay upright at all times while it is rolling with the dolly to the truck.
• Your entire team should be keeping it up during this process.
• When standing at the truck, the stronger half of the team should get in and pull the piano up, while the other half should push it up from below.
• Do not stand behind the piano as it is moving up, or you risk having the piano roll back and injure someone.

6. Keep The Piano Fastened During the Trip

Using your ropes and straps, tightly fasten and secure the piano to the inside of the truck. It should be tight enough that the piano cannot move at all even when pushed from any side. All movement must be stopped, as even the slightest bumps during the ride can cause the internal components to break or come apart.

Extra Tip: Unload Your Piano First!

There are some who like to leave the piano last, but leaving the hardest part last is a terrible choice when it comes to piano removal. This is because you risk damaging your piano while you move everything else around it.

It will also be more difficult to move the piano into a new house filled with boxes of stuff sitting around everywhere. After all the work you did getting it out of the first home without a scratch, the last thing you want to do is damage it upon arrival.

Tired Yet? Why Not Just Hire the Pros?

Giffen Furniture Removals has been moving pianos and other furniture and personal effects for almost the last thirty years. We’ve been dealing in the piano removal industry in Brisbane for decades, and we’ve seen and dealt with it all. So instead of risking damage to your piano with DIY attempts at removal, why not just give us a call and let us give you a hand? Sit back, relax, and let us do all the work involved.

Contact us today at Giffen Furniture Removals, and let us do your piano removal the right way. Let us know what you need and we will give you a quote right away!