If you live in a high-rise building and are planning to move out and take your beloved piano with you, we advise you to hire specialized movers. Moving a piano up or down any flights of stairs is safest when done by professional movers. The sheer size, weight and uncertain balance of a piano makes it one of the most dangerous belongings to move.
Moving a piano in a multi-story building
If for whatever reason you’ll be moving your piano by yourself, here are some things to consider:
Make certain to acquire any equipment that you’ll need and will help you to move your piano more easily. You can generally visit an equipment rental store and have one of their trained clerks help you pick pit what best suits you. Be it a piano dolly or a piano skid or anything else in this direction. These will guarantee you an easier, safer experience when moving your piano.
Before you do this, you will have to make some inquiries regarding any staircases you will be using. That’s because moving a piano on it might not be doable. Make certain that any stairwells you will be moving the piano up or down on can actually support the weight of your piano and your helpers at the same time. It might not always be the case and this could lead to property damage and injuries. If your staircases can’t accommodate that weight, you won’t be able to move your piano, unfortunately.
If all else is taken care of and you’ve decided to do this yourself, remember that when moving your piano up or down into a building, the lower-end of the piano will carry more of its weight. As such, have the majority of your helpers support that end of the piano. But make sure that nobody is standing directly behind it and that everybody has enough room to move out of the its way quickly, so that in case anybody makes a mistake and loses control on the piano, the rest can get out of the way safely.
The next obvious thing to keep in mind when moving your piano up and down stairs would be the speed of movement. Even more so than during a normal move, you will have to plan for frequent breaks. You will need them to readjust your grip and make certain nobody gets too winded. Otherwise they may loses control of their end of the piano.
Landings will most likely require you to turn your piano on end. Or to do any other type of maneuvering in order to move the piano around the corner. Make sure to take things slowly and that everybody has a proper grip and enough room to move around.
Final word
We still warmly advocate that you hire professional piano movers for such a task. So call Empire Movers if you want a strong helping hand. But if you’re moving a piano by yourself in a multi-story building, we hope these tips will help.
