Moving Heavy Furniture: A Guide
December 4, 2018
Moving house can be difficult enough for unfurnished properties. Having to change providers, pack away your belongings and finding time to throw away all of the junk you didn’t even realise you owned can all take its toll. It can be a huge hassle just to get everything organised, to say nothing of how stressful it can be on the moving day itself.
However, moving with furniture is another matter entirely. Even transporting heavy or awkwardly sized furniture out of your current property can be a huge chore without help, to say nothing of loading it into a vehicle and unloading it at your destination.
Things are even worse with heavy furniture. Here, a single mistake could result in a serious injury, as well as damage to your property and belongings. The last thing you want at the end of a difficult moving day is having to deal with a huge repair bill!
When it comes to moving heavy furniture, a little planning goes a long way. Leaving everything until the last minute and trying to solve your problem with nothing but strength and tenacity is a surefire way to cause an accident. In contrast, taking the time to understand how you are going to manoeuvre certain pieces out of your home, as well as whether you will need help to do so, will save you a huge amount of time and stress come moving day.
Getting rid of heavy furniture
Before we go further, it will be worth considering whether or not you really need all of your furniture. Is it expensive? Does it have sentimental value? Can it be easily replaced once you arrive at your new home?
There are quite a few ways to get rid of unwanted furniture. If it is in a good condition, you may be able to sell it second hand using websites like eBay, Amazon or even Facebook Marketplace. This can be a fantastic way to offset the costs of moving house.
Charities will also usually be happy to take second-hand furniture free of charge, as long as they meet their standards. Some may also be able to offer pickup services to save you the trouble of transporting it yourself.
Failing that, you could find a new owner via a freecycling service like Freegle. All you will need to do is post your items and look for interested parties in your local area. Whatever you choose, be sure to take accurate pictures of the items and describe their condition as accurately as you can. Do not use pictures from catalogues, as then buyers will expect them to be like new.
Either you or your buyer will also need to arrange a furniture delivery service for the items, though you should be able to factor the costs of doing so into your asking price.
Hiring a furniture remover
Most of the time, the most effective way to shift heavy furniture when moving to a new property will be to hire a professional removal company. While you may be cautious about spending any more money on your moving day than you have already, this option offers three key advantages:
- Insurance - You may think that you can save money with a self-move, or by simply having friends or family help you out. However, this can be a false economy. Hiring and insuring your own removal vehicle can easily cost more than hiring a remover. Any friends you have helping out will not have suitable insurance coverage in the event of an accident. A professional removal company, on the other hand, will be able to offer excellent coverage for its staff, as well as your property and belongings.
- Means - A professional remover will be able to provide the vehicles, equipment and manpower required to move your heavy furniture without any problems. For delicate, valuable or unique items like pianos, they should also be able to hire specialist machines if necessary, as well as top-quality packaging materials
- Expertise - Professional removers will know exactly how to transport your belongings without injuring themselves or causing damage. You will need to let them know about exactly what furniture you are transporting well in advance. As well as the parking situation at your property and what they can expect in terms of access and stairs. With enough foresight, they can plan around any obstacles far more efficiently than you would be able to on your own
Moving heavy speciality equipment
Cupboards, sofas, beds and other standard furniture are one matter, but particularly heavy, valuable or awkwardly shaped pieces will be something else entirely. For example, grand pianos or heavy mahogany wardrobes aren’t just difficult to move and transport; they are also incredibly expensive to replace!
To save yourself from these costs (as well as the potential for serious physical injuries), it will be best to leave speciality items to a professional remover. Even if you do not hire them for anything else.
Remember, saving money will seem like an excellent idea, up until the point where something goes wrong.
How to move heavy furniture
It would take far too long for us to list every single piece of heavy furniture out there, but luckily there are quite a few common steps which can make your job much easier. The key will be to give yourself enough time to plan what you will do on your moving day. Do not just try to wing it on the day itself, or the chance of something going seriously wrong will be much higher.
Start by measuring the furniture in question, making exact measurements for its height, width and depth. This information will be important later on!
Next, ask yourself if your furniture needs to be transported as one piece. If it can be dismantled, your job will be much easier. However, you will need to ensure that all of the pieces, fasteners and tools are stored in clearly marked containers so that you can find them easily once you arrive at your destination. Some removal companies may provide this service at an extra fee.
If your furniture cannot be taken apart, you will need to consider whether you can get it out of your property without removing any windows or doors. You can do this by comparing the size of the openings with your furniture (remember when we said how useful that information would be?) Again, this is something you will want to plan for well in advance, or it could cause serious delays come moving day.
Next, remove any loose pieces from your furniture, such as drawers or shelves. This also includes anything that you currently have stored inside it. Trust us when we say that you DON’T want to be the idiot who tried to move a wardrobe while it was still filled with clothes.
As for moving the furniture itself, it will usually be best to slide it, rather than carry it, if possible. You can avoid scratching your floor by placing cardboard, towels or blankets under the furniture before sliding it. Though you will need to take extra care with delicate flooring. When this cannot be done, it will be worth looking at load-carrying equipment like furniture dollies.
Keep in mind that you should never attempt to move heavy furniture on your own. You will need at least one other person helping you move things along, as well as someone else to guide you. Remember, if something feels particularly heavy or awkward, it is not worth the danger to your health to try and tackle it without help.
Our furniture courier prices for heavy furniture removals start at just £26.