Piano Moving Services
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As a professional piano moving company, we understand the importance of proper piano moving. Pianos are delicate instruments that require careful handling, and moving them incorrectly can result in serious damage. That's why we take great care to ensure that every piano we move is transported safely and securely.
Here are some of the steps we follow to ensure proper piano moving:
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Preparation: Before we move a piano, we make sure that it is properly prepared for transport. We close and lock the lid, if applicable, and use high-quality moving blankets or pads to cover the entire piano, securing them with tape or straps.
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Equipment: We use specialized equipment for moving pianos, including piano dollies, straps, ramps, and additional padding. Our equipment is designed to protect the piano and make it easier to move without causing damage.
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Expertise: Our team of piano movers are highly trained and experienced in moving pianos of all shapes and sizes. They understand the intricacies of piano construction and are able to navigate tight spaces and tricky staircases with ease.
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Safety: We take the safety of our team and the piano seriously. We use proper lifting techniques and protective gear to prevent injury, and we take steps to ensure that the piano is stable and secure throughout the moving process.
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Transportation: We use large, well-maintained trucks with air-ride suspension to transport pianos. Our drivers are trained to handle pianos with care and to avoid sudden stops and bumps that could damage the instrument.
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Unloading: When we arrive at the destination, we carefully unload the piano and place it in the desired location. We take the same care and attention to detail during unloading as we do during the rest of the move.
Overall, we take pride in our ability to provide safe and efficient piano moving services. If you need to move a piano, whether it's a small upright or a grand piano, you can trust us to get it there safely and securely.
Moving a piano requires a team of experienced piano movers. Luna's Piano Moving uses only the best piano moving equipment in the industry. Rest assured that your piano will be moved in the most professional manner possible. It does not matter if you are moving an upright, player piano, baby grand or concert grand. We have the skill and man power to move any piano. We strongly advise against moving a piano on your own. A piano typically weighs 400-1000lbs. If you do not have the proper tools or experience, do not risk scratching that piano or even worse, hurting yourself. As you can see, we have all the ramps that are needed when moving a piano.
Moving a piano is a multi-step process. As you can see from the images below, a lot of work goes into moving a piano. From properly wrapping and padding the piano to using the right moving equipment such as; Piano dollies, piano boards, floor protection, ramps, lift-gates, moving trucks and most importantly, the right experience behind your move. Our professional piano movers are ready to move your piano. Whether it's a small spinet piano or a 9.5ft concert grand, our team can properly handle your piano moving needs.
To get a quote, click here or give us a call!
All terrain Piano Moving
Moving a piano through flat and smooth surfaces isn't always an option. Sometimes a house is built on a hill or there is a long dirt, grass or gravel path to travel though. We have the ability to transport your piano through tough and uneven terrain. Sometimes an all terrain dolly isn't enough though. In cases where the ground is severely uneven or in cases where the all terrain tires aren't big enough. We use the assistance of wooden planks.
We have two different types of all terrain dollies. The traditional smooth wheel, narrow frame dolly and the bigger wide base.
Narrow smooth wheel all terrain dolly: This dolly is used for level all terrain surfaces and allows us to go directly into your home. Smooth wheels means that rocks and sticks will not get stuck in the tread crease. This is important because pianos weight 300-1200lbs and will dent and/or scratch your floors.
Wide base all terrain dolly: This dolly (as shown below) is used when the ground is not level. It helps keep the piano from tipping over to the left or right. This dolly does not have smooth wheels and will therefore need to be transferred onto a regular piano dolly once we've grossed over onto concrete/smooth floors.
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Moving a piano through stairs
Moving a piano through stairs can be a challenge. Luna's Piano Moving offers a few moving options when carrying a piano up or down a flight of stairs.
At Luna's Piano Moving, we understand that moving a piano up or down flights of stairs can be a daunting task. Whether you're moving to a new home or a new venue, it's important to ensure that your precious piano is transported safely and securely. In this article, we'll share some tips and advice for moving a piano up or down flights of stairs.
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Measure the staircase
Before you start moving your piano, it's important to measure the staircase to ensure that it can fit through. This is especially important if you have a grand piano or a larger upright piano. You'll need to measure the height, width, and depth of the piano, as well as the width of the staircase. This will help you determine if you need to disassemble the piano or if you can move it as is.
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Use proper equipment
When moving a piano up or down stairs, it's important to use the proper equipment. This includes a dolly, straps, and padding. A dolly will help you move the piano more easily, while straps will help secure it in place. Padding will protect the piano from any bumps or scratches.
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Disassemble the piano
If your piano is too large to fit through the staircase, you may need to disassemble it. This involves removing the legs, pedals, and other parts, and wrapping them in padding. Make sure you keep track of all the parts and label them to make reassembling the piano easier.
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Hire a professional piano mover
Moving a piano up or down stairs is not a task for the faint of heart. It requires strength, skill, and experience. If you're not comfortable moving your piano yourself, it's best to hire a professional piano mover. Luna's Piano Moving has over 30 years of experience moving pianos up and down stairs, and we have the expertise and equipment to get the job done safely and efficiently.
Moving a piano up or down stairs can be a challenging task, but with the right equipment and expertise, it can be done safely and efficiently. Whether you choose to move your piano yourself or hire a professional, make sure you take the necessary precautions to ensure that your piano arrives at its destination in perfect condition. At Luna's Piano Moving, we're here to help make your piano move as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to learn more about our piano moving services.
Method 1: Carrying/Lifting by hand.
This requires more man power and is the most labor intensive method. Why would we do it this way when there are easier methods? Every piano and every property is different. Sometimes there isn't enough room to use our ramps. Sometimes there is a low hanging roof halfway through the staircase and dose not allow use to use the ramp (a ramp raises the elevation clearance). And sometimes a stair climber does not allow us to have the right angle or clearance. For example, we would never be able to use a stair climber on a 9.5ft concert grand piano, they are simple too long for a stair climber and will always be too heavy for the person operating the dolly since the leverage will always be uneven.
Method 2: Ramps
In most cases we use ramps. Since ramps come in many length and sizes, we come equipped with many ramps. Ramps provide an easy solution when dealing with stairs since they hop over the steps. However, sometimes we cannot use a ramp due to the amount of stairs (usually 10 steps is the max) and need to use other methods.
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Method 3: Piano Boards
Another method is using the piano boards to slide a piano up/down a flight of stairs. We cover all steps using floor runners and/or thick moving blankets (you can't find this quality at home depot) every time we use the piano board sliding method. We also use hot tub sleds whenever possible. Both piano board and sleds have their advantages and disadvantages. It is up to the piano movers to decide on the spot which method they will use. We are there to move your piano in the safest possible manner.
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Method 4: Appliance Dolly
Why would you use an appliance dolly on a piano? A great question to ask since this isn’t an appliance, how is it useful considering we have a ton of other piano moving equipment? First, an appliance dolly has a low weight capacity rating, usually under 500lbs so we tend to use them only on spinet and miniature sized pianos. Second, appliance dollies are very light, especially if they are made from aluminum. The appliance dolly and small upright combination allows our team to keep things light while providing maximum maneuverability since these appliance dollies are small.
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Method 5: Stair climbing dolly
The stair climbing dolly can handle up to 1200lbs pianos. That's the weight of a concert grand, but we can never use it on a concert grand. As stated above, the concert grand piano is simply too long to balance. We mainly use it for grand pianos under 6'5" and all uprights. If the stairs are spiral or there is a tight turn, we will not be able to use the stair climbing dolly. Although the 4th image is not a piano, it shows our foreman using the Escalera Stairclimber and, thanks to the white steps contrast, shows a clear shot of how it climbs steps.
The accident heard around the piano moving world!
This was a Bonsendorfer Concert Grand Piano was dropped and made headlines. The piano was damaged beyond repair.
How did this happen?
There were enough movers. The truck was big enough. The liftgate can easily lift 2 concert grands at the same time, the dolly is a piano moving dolly, the piano is on a professional piano board and wrapped/padded like it should be so where did things go wrong?
The issue was the length of the piano on that liftgate. Technically speaking, it can be done, but not without high risk.
With our moving system 1 mover can prep, tilt, load, transport, unload and set up a concert grand. However, we never send out just one piano mover. We always send two professional piano movers. If there are stairs involved or if it is a tricky situation, we will send out a bigger team.
We do not use liftgates, we do not use long, steep loading ramps. We use low profile loading ramps. It allows a single mover to slowly and gently roll the piano right up to it's location where it will be strapped and secured for transport
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How to properly move a Full Concert Grand
Our piano moving method greatly reduces risk of damage to your piano and injury to our movers.
The piano accident shown above could have been avoided if the movers were better equipped. Check out this section of our website that shows us moving a few Concert Grand Pianos. This piano weighed approximately 1400lbs. Many pieces of equipment were used on this piano move. Piano Board, Piano Board Stands, Piano Tilter, All Terrain Piano Dolly, 4ft Ramp, 10ft Ramp, low profile trailer and most importantly, experienced professional piano movers. Luna's Piano Moving & Storage offers top of the line piano moving services.
If you have a min, play the video below and view the step by step images that show how we properly move concert grand pianos.
Firs we inspect, then prep!
First we check the piano for damage and take pictures. Once we have inspected the piano we use thick moving blankets. Luna's Piano Moving & Storage uses only the highest quality moving blankets tough enough to handle the heaviest and most delicate pianos. We use more blankets than most piano moving companies. Safety of our movers and delivering your piano without a scratch are our main priorities.
Our piano moving methods have improved over the years. Check out our entire website and view our piano moving equipment. You will not see other piano movers use them. Why? Either they don't know it exist or don't feel it's worth the cost. Sure it's expensive, but we have high standards!
Next we remove lyre/pedals and insert piano tilter
Why is that yellow device? That device is a tool that we use to tilt the piano onto a piano board. It eliminates one of the most dangerous steps when moving a grand style piano. In order to lay the piano on a piano board, the left side needs to be lowered onto the piano board. Without this device, there is a risk that the piano might slip and the corner will slam onto the piano board. This causes the corner of the piano to crack. This happens all the time. A lot of the pianos that we move have this damage so we make sure to first check it out and inform the customer prior to moving it.
The piano tilting device allows use to slowly tilt the piano with one person. In fact, if the piano board is not properly aligned, we can easily roll the piano back, adjust the piano board and roll the piano back onto the board.
Time to tilt onto the piano board and strap down
Here we are shown using our tilter on a concert grand and a grand piano (3rd image). In the first 2 images, we show a 9'2" 1400lbs concert grand player piano being tilted onto our piano board. On this piano, we are setting this concert grand piano onto the all terrain dolly using our piano board blocks (the blocks with the blue rubber top). On the 3rd image we see a different technique. We set it down on a piano board that is not on a dolly or piano board stands. This piano was stored in the customers house and did not need to be moved using a dolly.
As you can see, this device allows one man to handle large grand pianos with ease.
Remove tilter, strap onto the all terrain piano dolly and roll it
There were 4 steps going from the hallway down to the garage. When moving a piano that weighs close to 1400lbs, extreme care is needed. We take our time, access the situation and bring out every possible tool/piece of equipment in our arsenal. It is only because of how well prepared we come that we're able to do what most piano movers can't/won't do.
Bringing the piano down a fiberglass ramp
To access the garage from the hallway, one must descend four steps. Moving a piano that weighs almost 1400lbs requires utmost caution, so we proceed slowly and carefully, assessing the situation and utilizing every tool and equipment available in our arsenal. Our thorough preparation allows us to accomplish what many other piano movers are unwilling or unable to do.
Loaded, strapped and ready to head to the next location
Once the piano made it down the loading ramp, it was wheeled over 40ft and into our vehicle. We secure all pianos properly. Sometimes it looks like padding on top of padding with more padding and that's because one of our top priorities is to deliver a piano in the exact same condition that it was prior to moving it.
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The "Front Heavy" vertical/upright pianos
What is a "front heavy piano"? These pianos are the upright/vertical pianos that will tip over/forward if the two front legs are removed. If you take a minute to look at the dollies that we use when moving uprights, the front two legs hang off the sides and have no support. This is generally ok if the piano's weight is well balanced. However, some pianos that have front legs, especially those that do not have the bottom support bracket connecting the bottom of the piano legs to the piano, will lean forward and tip over when mounted onto a standard piano dolly and even the wider base furniture dolly.
What we do is move these pianos in our extra wide base piano dolly. As you can see in the images below, this piano has been mounted on to our dolly and is being fully supported on all four corners.
Types of pianos
(Excerpted from The Piano Book, Fourth Edition, by LARRY FINE)
Sizes and Types of Pianos
Vertical Pianos: Vertical piano types are classified according to a combination of piano height, cabinet styling, and size and position of action. This illustration shows how the height of the piano dictates the size and position of its action. First, the Upright Grand/Cabinet Grand Piano (52"-60") is the tallest and heaviest (some weigh 800lbs) of the vertical pianos The full-size Upright (48"–52") contains a full-size, extended direct-blow action. The Studio piano (44"–47") has a full-size, direct-blow action. The Console piano (40"–44") has a compressed action (notice the smaller action parts), direct-blow type. Last, the Spinet (36"–40") has a full-size, but indirect-blow action. See text for a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each action type. Most domestic vertical actions made in the past hundred years fall into these general categories, but foreign-made pianos may have action parts whose size falls in between two types, and occasional hybrid or unusual actions may defy classification.
Grand Pianos: Unlike vertical pianos, grand pianos differ primarily in their length, and not in the type, size, or position of their actions (except that longer grands generally have longer keys than do shorter grands). Size classification of grands is less standardized than that of verticals, but a common breakdown is: Baby Grand (4' 6"–5' 6"), Medium Grand (5' 6"–6' 6"), Large Grand (6' 6"–7' 6"), and Concert Grand (over 7' 6"). Historically, many other names have also been applied to grand-piano sizes, such as Petite Grand, Parlor Grand, and Living-Room Grand, but these have no technical or standardized meaning.
