Pianos Get Their Own Crew and Their Own Gear
A piano forgives nothing. It’s several hundred pounds of iron frame and lacquered cabinet with zero flex, and the finish scars at the lightest knock. A general moving crew guessing its way around a landing is the surest path to a chip you can’t undo. That’s why pianos go to our specialty team under Pete Kowalski, who works them nearly every day with proper boards, four-wheel skids, ratchet straps and heavy pads. The lift is ours from start to finish, so nobody unfamiliar is improvising a turn with your instrument balanced in their hands.
The Gear and the Work
- Board, four-wheel skid, ratchet straps and extra-thick blankets
- For grands, legs and pedal lyre off and wrapped, body on the board
- Practiced stair and tight-corner work in vintage Chicago buildings
- Walls, rails, doorways and floors shielded the length of the route
- Tied down hard so the instrument never shifts in transit
How a Piano Move Goes
Planning comes first: the route mapped, the path padded, the walls and railings shielded, all before the instrument so much as leans. An upright travels standing, lashed to the skid. A grand has its legs and lyre removed and wrapped, settles onto a padded board, and rides braced on its side for the drive. On an ice-glazed stoop the crew salts and squeegees the path and ramp ahead of the carry, since a single slip under that weight is precisely what the whole setup exists to rule out.
What We Don’t Do
We handle the move and the protection, not the tuning; book a tuner for a couple of weeks afterward, once the piano has acclimated to its new room. Internal repairs and worn-caster swaps aren’t ours either. If the case is already cracked or a leg is loose, say so up front and the carry gets planned around it.
Pricing
Figure $270 to $460 for an upright or console, $405 to $620 for a baby grand, and $570 to $1,030 for a full grand, with the higher end reserved for stairs and long carries. We confirm the exact number once the type of piano and the route are clear.
Phone (888) 711-4778 and our specialty crew will schedule your piano move.
