It’s time to move, and you’re facing a bit of a dilemma: Do you try to move your baby grand on your own or should you hire professional piano movers? When it’s time to relocate and you need to pack and move a substantial investment like a baby grand, you’ll have several things to consider. While you can certainly choose to move your belongings by yourself, relocating large, heavy, expensive items requires great care and special equipment, both to avoid damage and personal injuries.
If you’ve never moved a piano before, our team at Ace Moving & Warehousing in the Twin Cities is here to help. Below, we’re sharing our best advice on how to safely move a baby grand without damaging your investment.
Use Professionals to Move Your Baby Grand Piano
Although you can attempt to move your baby grand on your own, moving something that heavy, expensive, and fragile is really a task for professional piano movers. Even if you exercise the utmost care when performing do-it-yourself piano moving, you could easily scratch, dent, or otherwise damage your baby grand. Worse, you could easily injure yourself, especially if you’re unfamiliar with moving safety best practices and proper lifting techniques.
Hiring a team of professional movers that specialize in piano moving might be an investment, but it’s one that will significantly reduce the risk of damage to your baby grand. And when you make that investment, you’ll get moving company insurance, which will reimburse you in the event anything happens to your piano during the move.
If you’ve never hired professional movers before, be sure to check out Gathering Moving Estimates: 7 Questions You Can’t Afford to Neglect for tips on selecting a quality company.
Enlist Plenty of Helpers
When considering how to move your baby grand piano, understand that’ll you need plenty of manpower. While a two-man crew is usually sufficient in normal household furniture moving, a baby grand will require a third person. And if there are any stairs involved in your move, you will need a fourth person.
The average baby grand piano weighs nearly 600 pounds, but some are as heavy as 1200 pounds. Even if yours weighs in on the low end of the spectrum, considerable strength and many pairs of hands are necessary to move it. So if you’re not planning to hire professional movers to handle the job, you’ll need to have three to four strong, strong helpers available. Those helpers should not only be capable of lifting your piano but also carefully maneuvering it outdoors and back in.
Packing Your Baby Grand
A bit of careful preparation in packing your baby grand will make all the difference in your piano making it through your move damage-free. If you insist on moving it yourself, you must disassemble your piano first. This will make the process easier while helping prevent damage during loading, transit, and unloading. Here’s what you’ll need to do.
Remove the Lid
Find the screws that hold the lid in place and use a screwdriver to remove them. Place the screws in a bag and label it. You may need more than one size/type of screwdriver to complete the job.
Wrap the Lid
Use a quilted moving blanket to protect the lid from scratches, scuffs, and dents. Ensure it’s completely covered and secure it with tape to stop it from shifting around.
Remove the Lyre
Locate and remove the screws that hold the lyre in place. Again, you may need more than one size/type of screwdriver to do this. Place those screws in a separate bag and label it.
Remove the Pedals
Wrap each pedal in a separate moving pad and secure each one with tape. This will prevent the pedals from scratching one another in transit.
Remove the Legs
Like the pedals, wrap each leg in its own moving pad to prevent scratches and dings in transit. Secure each one will tape to keep the pads from shifting around.
Wrap the Piano
When you’ve finished removing and wrapping all of the piano’s detachable parts, wrap the keys and body with moving blankets and secure them with tape. Without sufficient wrapping, you could easily scratch or dent your baby grand’s finish while transferring it into and out of the moving truck.
Moving Your Baby Grand Piano
To get your baby grand out of your house and onto the truck, a piano board, also known as a skid board, is essential. This piece of equipment is a platform with wheels and an elongated base with straps that’s specifically designed for moving the body of a baby grand piano.
When your baby grand is fully disassembled and thoroughly wrapped, have your team of helpers lift it onto the board and secure it using the built-in straps. Then carefully maneuver it out of the house and onto the moving truck.
Whatever you do, do not try to use a regular furniture dolly to move your baby grand! There is no dolly large enough to safely accommodate the instrument, and using the wrong equipment will likely result in damage.
Before you try to move your baby grand on your own, check out these 16 moving safety tips that can help you avoid injuries during your relocation.
Looking for Piano Movers in Minneapolis or St. Paul?
Whether you’re planning a local, interstate, or international relocation, let our team at Ace Moving & Warehousing help you simplify your move! We specialize in a wide variety of moving services, including piano moving, full packing services, custom crating, and much more. No matter what level of assistance you’re looking for, we can create a custom plan tailored to your unique needs. We’re fully licensed, insured, and FMCSA-registered and have proudly served Minnesota residents since 1970.
To learn more about our moving services or get a quick, preliminary quote, call us today at 763-755-2045 or request a quote online, and we’ll get in touch with additional information.