Alex Fender © Fender Piano Services 2013 - 2019
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Moving your piano is not that difficult - but only if I you do it properly!
You’ll often hear the ‘sharp intake of breath’ when removal men hear that there is a piano involved, it’s actually easier to move an upright piano than to move a sofa!
Upright pianos are often fitted with very small castors, which, in most cases are totally useless. Over time the wheels seize up and the whole thing refuses to turn.
If you only need to move the piano away from the wall for decorating of if something has fallen down the back then at one end, put one hand under the keybed and the other down the back and lift at the front and pull forward at the back. You are lifting at the front only to stop the piano falling forward. Do the same at the other end so you have it about 6 inches away from the wall. Now go round to the end of the piano and about half way down on the back you will find a handle or a hand shaped hole in the body of the piano. Your right hand to the handle and left hand under the keybed, keeping your back straight, lift slightly and swing the piano out taking care that the other end if clear of anything! (Thats the treble end - if you start at the bass end then it’s left hand to the handle!) Go to the other end and repeat the process. It’s much easier with two people.
If you need to move the piano to another room the easiest way is to put the piano on a dolly. (Often called trolley) You can get one here or you can make one yourself. You will need two people for this - once the piano is away from the wall, place the dolly on the floor in front of the pedals and lift the piano on. You want about 1 inch of the dolly visible at the back of the piano. Alternatively, one person lifts one end of the piano and the other slips the dolly under the piano, you might need to lift to re-position the piano.
You will find the the dolly comes in very handy for moving other things about the house, so a few pounds well spent!
I always recommend two people to move a grand around the room as you need to take the weight off the castors. I’ve had piano legs breaking in the past where the castors have dug themselves in.
To move a grand to another room requires specialist equipment and I don’t advise having a go yourself - best leave this to professionals!
Many people move house without the expense of a removal company - having to move your own piano if not as difficult as it seems but you will need a proper piano trolley, it’s much bigger than a dolly and will be able to get over obstacles like door frames easily.
They are quite expensive so you are welcome to borrow mine, you’ll need to contact me about three weeks before and obviously sign a loan form for it
Here is a picture of the piano trolley, mine doesn’t have fancy blue wheels though!
They cost over £200, hence the need to sign a loan form.
If you are going to leave moving to the professionals, make sure they know what they are doing and have the correct equipment.
For uprights, they should have a cover and a trolley like that one. For grands they need a shoe that will fit the piano, transit cover, some transit blankets and of course the trolley. It’s worth asking them to check the length of the leg bolts as sometimes the tail leg has longer bolts. If a longer bolt is put in the front legs the action can be damaged.