Tips you should Know when Moving a Piano
As a music lover, your piano is probably your most priced asset and that’s why you should research on how to move a piano properly, if ever you have an intention to relocate.
A piano is an expensive, treasured and extremely heavy. Sturdy as it looks, it has many fragile parts including its keyboard, legs, pedals and internal mechanism. As such, it is difficult to move and many experts will suggest that you hire professional movers who know the process of moving a piano well. This is even more important if your old or new house have elevators or stairs. An inexperienced person trying to move a piano can damage the house, flooring, your piano and even injure himself. Moving an upright piano requires at least four pairs of very strong hands as they are top heavy and may easily topple over.
Never roll a piano on its castors. Doing so may damage your flooring or carpeting and can even cause the legs of your piano to break. This is because pianos are often left at one place for a very long time. It is thus common for castors to become rusty or jammed.
Before moving your piano, it pays to remove all objects and obstacles that may be in the way to have the clearest possible path to the moving truck.
It is important that you use the right equipment when moving a piano. As a minimum, you should have:
- A 4 wheel piano dolly with padded rail that can support a piano will make the job a lot easier.
- Sufficient padding as this is essential. You can purchase professional padding from a moving agency or use blankets. This will protect your piano (as well as doors and walls) from scratches, scrapes and bumps.
Piano keys are fragile, so ensure that you lock the lid of the keyboard. Unless it is locked, the lid may open up during the move and this may cause damage to the keys.
When wrapping the piano, be sure to secure the corners especially with padding or blankets. Further secure the padding on the corners with packing tape. It is important not to let the tape touch the surface of the piano as it may damage the wood finish. Check that the padding is thick enough all over the piano to prevent damage from bumps.
The next step is to lift the piano onto the dolly. Never lift a piano by the legs as they are often very weak. Keep your piano in an upright position as laying it on its side may damage the mechanics inside. For an upright piano, you should ideally have two pairs of hands on either side of the piano plus another person to align the dolly. Once on the dolly, be sure to secure the piano.
On reaching the truck, the piano should ideally be lift gated into the truck. If not, it will have to be dollied up the ramp. The piano should be dismounted from the dolly and placed right against the wall of the cabin, with the keyboard side adequately padded and facing the wall. Once in position, the piano has to be securely strapped against the wall to ensure it does not move out of position while on the road.
At the new home, ensure that you know where to place the piano to prevent unnecessary further moving. Also do ensure that you have a power point installed in that designated place for the heating element of the piano. When placing the piano in its final position, it’s also a good idea to use castor caps to prevent the piano from scratching or otherwise damaging your floor.
Finally, a piano has to be tuned after it has been moved. The strings and blocks inside are very sensitive and prone to be altered by bumps and movements. In addition, the different temperature and humidity of your hew home may sometimes also have an effect on the piano’s sound production and tuning. This is especially so for international relocation. We recommend letting your piano settle for a month or so in the new environment before calling in a professional and getting it tuned.
The above merely describes the bare basics of moving an upright piano. It does not cover technics used for moving a piano over stairs or moving a grand piano, which is even more complicated as it may involve some dismantling work as well.
As can be seen, moving a piano is a tough job. Hiring a mover can save you lots of trouble and help make your piano relocation stress free. If you need help with house moving, including relocating a piano, do call us at +65 66816630 or fill in the contact form to the right of this page. Alternatively you can visit our enquiries page.
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