Pianos have historically been some of the most difficult to move items. The complexity that goes into caring for one, in all its intricate glory, makes it impossible to rotate or move without one fine piece breaking. The impressive size of this musical instrument earns it extra points in the style department – too bad they don’t transfer to the practical realm of transportation. Most pianos won’t fit through doorways, which makes transporting them a significant challenge.

However, it’s nonetheless possible – and even realistically achievable by today’s standards. Today we’ll be looking into the exact approaches that make piano transportation nearly effortless. All you need to do is follow this guide, and your transportation will be drastically simplified.

Find the proper aid

Before you get too far ahead, ask for help. This deceptively simple step will make every next one a breeze. Pianos are very heavy, hard to move, and require concentrated effort on the part of multiple people to even lift without breaking anything inside them. As a result, having a couple of friends over will make this much simpler.

On the other hand, one of the best ways to ensure your piano’s integrity is to get the help of a piano moving company. While it can be worth it to hire a regular moving company, as the price tags will typically be less, keep in mind that specialization comes with ability. Having someone around who moves pianos for a living will make the process go that much smoother, and leave you with truly nothing to worry about. In a similar vein, if the move is complicated, such as if you’ve got narrow hallways or multiple flights of stairs, a specialized company may be the only possible course of action, as most movers will excuse themselves.

In very drastic situations, when a physical move is impossible it might even be worth moving the piano with the help of a lifting device, and move it through the window. However, this approach is typically reserved only for the most expensive, luxurious antiques – nonetheless, finding the right help in this scenario is invaluable. You won’t want an amateur to take over such an impressive project.

Protect the piano

Your next step should be making sure that the integrity of the piano is guaranteed throughout the move. This involves wrapping it in packing tape all over and forcing the lid to stay closed for the entire duration of the move. If you don’t take this step, what can happen is that the lid might open during the move, and the relatively vulnerable bits of the piano may get broken. If you’ve ever had the displeasure of repairing an old musical instrument, you may know that the finesse and experience needed to perform such work are often correlated with a significant price tag.

All the necessary material can be gotten off your favorite Californian moving company, or, even better – leave it up to your chosen movers to pack. Most movers either have a special insurance plan or if moving pianos is one of their specialties, it will be automatically covered by their insurance, provided you let them do the packing. Realistically, there should be no good reason not to let experts handle it. It’s far too easy to get something wrong, and then either must pay for repairs out of your pocket, or discard the piano wholesale.

Transportation

For transporting it between locations, first, make sure you have enough people. A minimum of 4 is recommended, for each corner. When lifting the piano, hold it by practically anything other than its legs, as they’re some of its most fragile elements during the move.

Don’t rotate, or tilt the piano too much – keeping it upright will protect the inner mechanisms and ensure that the next time you’ll want to play it, you won’t be met with any unpleasant surprises. When moving the piano, make sure to be careful and move slowly, as the weight and non-traditional handling make it especially difficult to move.

Have a furniture dolly in place to aid in moving the piano, or lease it for a day from your favorite piano movers in Sacramento. Trying to carry the piano for the entire time is an extremely difficult undertaking and alternatives are always preferred.

Securing it in

Assuming you’ve gotten it safely out of the household, all that’s left is to place it carefully onto the moving truck and get it started towards its destination – after securing it in place. After all, you wouldn’t want it to slide across the floor of the truck during the move, as that’s almost certain to break it into pieces.

Instead, what you’d like to do is secure it using specialized moving straps. Before you ever give the driver permission to begin the move, try to forcibly tilt the piano in many directions, and see if it moves. Remember that on the road, anything can happen – so apply sufficient pressure. A good setup should keep the piano firmly in place, regardless of your efforts.

A closely kept secret of the industry is this: when moving a piano, keeping it upright is crucial. To that end, you can place wooden planks as flooring, in case the truck’s floor isn’t level, which it often is. This leads to more stable transportation for your piano and fewer issues down the line.

When to call a professional

After reading this, you may be wondering, at which point does calling a professional become mandatory, for your own sake? The simple answer is this: calling Los Angeles piano movers is never a bad idea. Think of the money you pay as an investment in your future career, protecting a family heirloom, or simply appreciating the value of your belongings enough to treat them right.

Most amateur piano moves become incredibly complex and dangerous very quickly – that’s why hiring professionals is your best bet for a stress-free, painless, quick, and efficient move. Express Moving Van Lines are the only team of movers you’ll ever need!