The task of piano moving is a daunting one. Pianos are heavy objects which can way several hundred pounds. Whether it is moving a piano around a room, moving a piano locally, or moving a piano to a different country, it is important to know what you are doing.
Piano Moving Within a room
Moving a piano within a room is one of the easiest tasks of piano moving. The short distances mean that most people will not want to hire people to perform a service and will instead call upon a few friends. As most pianos people own are not concert or grand pianos, the risks involved are health related. People attempting piano moving by themselves are advised to tilt the piano back slightly and make sure they have a solid grasp on the instrument.
For those moving a grand piano, where losing one of the piano’s legs can be a disastrous occurrence, grand piano trucks which are designed to support the legs and cause the piano to role can save many piano moving expenses and expensive consequences.
Local Piano Moving
People who wish to protect their investment in their pianos while moving to a different house in the same city or perhaps moving the instrument to a different house in the same city should use the services of a professional piano mover. While there are movers who specialize in packing up all the gear at a house, it is best to hire a service that specializes in piano moving and knows the skills required.
Piano moving companies can be found in the yellow pages of most phonebooks. Asking friends or neighbors who they would recommend to perform the service can avoid the problem of finding an unreliable company. People who invested in a grand piano will want to protect their investment, but even the standard vertical model can be hard to replace or repair and most companies offer insurance on the move.
International Piano Moving
Moving a piano to a different country imposes a new set of considerations. Many piano moving companies who provide this service use freight forwarders. Freight forwarders will be the carriers who ship the piano to a new destination. Depending on where the piano is coming from and going to, duties may be imposed that double the cost of the instrument. How long the piano will take will depend on the country to which the piano is being shipped.
Such piano moving companies typically offer insurance on the move, but it is not necessary. Buying the insurance will help protect the investment, especially if a grand piano is being moved to a foreign country. While duties are paid in the country the instrument gets moved to, insurance and shipping charges are paid before hand.
Piano moving, whether it is international, local, or just across a room requires planning. For instruments bought for the family that stand upright and are not moving long distances, piano moving can be done with a few friends, for longer moves, professional movers who specialize in moving the instrument should be brought in – especially if it’s a grand piano.