Moving at a higher standard since 1981.
Grand Piano Moving
What do you need to know about moving a grand piano?
Grand pianos range in cost from a couple of thousand dollars for a low-end used one to half a million dollars for a new high-end concert grand. Most people looking to get their grand piano moved want it done right! While anyone can technically try to move a piano, only true experts in piano moving have a proven track record of doing so safely. This is why everyone recommends hiring a professional piano mover to move a grand piano separately from household goods. Experience does matter!
Piano moving requires strength, spatial awareness, attention to detail, and teamwork to ensure a safe outcome. It also requires specific knowledge of how to disassemble and assemble your particular piano brand. After all, not all pianos are the same, and different tools and techniques are required to move them. Unfortunately, not everyone has all of these skills.
How to move a grand piano?
While the basic concept of moving a piano may look easy when watching a professional do it. Many subtle things are happening in the background, with the pros that most people overlook or are unaware of, even during their move. This is why hiring a professional is such a good idea.
To move a grand piano, you need to know the following:
- What piano moving equipment to use?
- How to take the grand piano apart safely.
- How to manipulate that much weight safely without damaging the piano.
- How to move it over floors without damaging them.
- How to roll the piano around without it falling over.
- How to reassemble the grand piano so it works again.
This may sound straightforward, but it is more complex than it appears.
What equipment is required to move a grand piano?
- The right-sized piano skid.
- Moving blankets
- Piano dolly
- Tools to dismantle and reassemble the piano.
- Ramps for stairs or truck loading
How to take a grand piano apart
There are a few variations on this depending on the mover.
The most common is:
- Remove the lid (if you are a household mover).
- Remove the piano lyre (pedals).
- Remove the left piano keyboard leg.
- Lower the piano onto a piano skid
- Tip the piano onto the piano skid.
- Remove the other two legs.
- Wrap the piano to ensure it is ready for transport.
How to move a grand piano?
It really comes down to having an experienced piano mover leading the team. There are too many variables to explain. If you want your grand piano moved safely, the person running the show has to know what they are doing and have done it before. One wrong push or turn, and that piano will topple. Common sense is only common for things that you do regularly. You want someone with piano-moving common sense to lead your move and know firsthand which variables to watch for before they become a problem.
What most people do not realize is that when something goes wrong with a grand piano move. It happens FAST! If you are not ready for it or in a defensive position to stop it, either your piano, your property, or you will be damaged faster than you can blink. Statistically, whenever something goes wrong, whatever you thought you would save by being cheap costs you a boatload more. All professional piano movers have many stories of how they bailed out individuals or regular household movers who got in way over their heads on their piano moves. The most important thing is not ending up like them.
Crane your Grand Piano
What do you do when your grand piano will not fit up the stairs safely? Or fit at all? Call a piano mover with craning experience. They can help you determine what options and cranes would work best for your situation.
Call Braymore Piano Movers to see how they can assist you with your piano move. Braymore has been moving pianos since 1981.
Moving day is stressful enough. Allow our professionals to make your grand piano move, the highlight of your move.
Contact our staff today to see how Braymore can handle all your upright piano moving needs.
Call Us: (416) 749-2100
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