How to Move a Piano Safely

Pianos cannot be viewed in the same way as other kinds of furniture. Although fairly sturdy, they are musical instruments, generally valuable (even if only to their owner), heavy and not either a standard size or an easy size and shape to pack.

Even the smallest ´vertical piano´, the spinet piano, is 36” to 39” tall. Hard to service, they are not manufactured any more, meaning that moving them must be done with double care as any damage will be hard to repair.

Most home pianos are their larger cousins, console pianos. Generally 40” to 44” tall, they are a lovely piece of furniture to have.

Studio pianos are bigger, between 45” and 47” tall, and are more usually found in public places like schools and churches, although changing designs mean more are now found in homes.

Upright pianos are bigger still - 48” and more. Although they take up more space than the aforementioned, they take up less space than the grand pianos that they sound like.

Grand pianos have a distinctive shape and sound. Whilst they can be any size and shape, and are given many names, the two important differences when it comes to moving are grand pianos (which can range from around 4’7” and be as big as 9’ for aconcert piano), and baby grands (under 5’ long).

How to move a piano safely: Before we start, a recommendation

Packing and moving pianos is challenging. Getting them up and down stairs, into lifts, even into a tight hallway or up into a van presents a challenge that is not for the faint hearted, and certainly not a job for just anyone. Uprights, for example, are 'top heavy', with fragile feet and legs.

We cannot recommend highly enough that grand pianos (if not all pianos) are only moved by professional movers. For example, piano keys are fragile, so they need to be properly protected.

Although we explain below how to pack and move a piano, knowing that sometimes timings and budgets work against us, our strongest recommendation is to hire professional piano movers.

Preparation if you decide to move your piano without professional movers

How to move a piano: Look for the helpers

Most big furniture – sofas and tables, for example – can be moved by two people. By contrast, plan to have at least four people to move an average sized upright piano.

How to move a piano: Equipment List

A furniture dolly (a wheeled platform/trolly) strong enough to support the piano´s weight;

Heavy duty straps will offer a good hold on the piano: they will double up to help secure the piano both to the dolly and inside the moving truck;

A piano board (sometimes known as a piano skid board) is a slab of hardwood with slots cut in for the moving straps. Whilst optional (but useful) for uprights, it´s almost essential for moving a grand.

Moving blankets will help both protect the piano from bumps and protect walls from scrapes and bangs. (They need to be thick enough to protect the piano, but bear in mind that the last thing movers need is any unnecessary extra weight.) Drape the piano with the blankets, securing with plenty of tape. Ensure all sides of the piano, as well as top and bottom, are well covered. Secure the moving blankets further with moving (or ratchet) straps.

Tape measures are essential to ensure there is enough space in both the removal van/lorry, and to ensure passageways at both ends are wide enough.

The Piano's Destination

Know exactly where the piano will be placed on arrival at destination. It should ideally be against an inside wall, away from cold and damp.

BEFORE the move, use that tape measure to make sure the piano will fit through passageways, doors etc.

The Route

At both ends, ensure that floors are properly protected. Move all furniture out of the way. To protect both the piano and any doorways, it never hurts to cover the edges (of the doorway) with extra towels. The kinds of bumpers made to protect small children, available in baby shops, are also effective.

Packing the Piano to Move

Keyboard: Close and lock the piano keyboard cover before doing anything else. This will prevent it from opening during the move. If it can´t be locked, when you wrap the piano make sure it is firmly closed. (The wood surface will probably be damaged if you attempt to use tape to keep it closed, so resist the temptation: tape can be applied to the blankets to hold the lid in place.)

Lift the lid: Make sure nothing is loose inside.

Top down: Make sure the piano lid is firmly down, especially for grand pianos.

Wrapping the main body:  Wrap the piano with blankets, and secure them, using them to keep the tape (or bungees) away from the wood/piano surface.

Make sure that the blanket or padding is thick enough that it’ll keep the piano protected from any bumps it might incur.

Safely Move the Piano

Plan yourexit route, and then measure, measure, measure: you need to ensure that the piano can get through the planned removal route. Backing up because you can’t get through causes delays and means damage is more likely. Think about doorways, passageways and stairwells.

If the piano is being moved with other furniture, make sure it´s one of the first pieces to be packed, placed against a wall (ideally the wall to the driver´s cabin). Many professional piano movers use wooden planks to level out the floor of the lorry/van.

Never lift a piano by its legs when lifting it into place. Even consider taking off the piano legs (with a screwdriver). The moving team should hold the piano up during their removal, and lower the piano gently onto the ground or the straps.

Keep all of the screws together in a bag. A handy hint is to then tape the bag to one of the piano´s legs to avoid them getting lost.

Always keep the piano upright to protect the mechanics inside.

Before shifting the piano, ensure that the ramp into the removal van is firmly in place.

Put two moving straps under the bottom of the piano. Put two people at each end of the piano so that each of the four corners will be supported, with one person holding an end of each strap. Lift the piano onto the dolly - or the piano board if you are using one - and secure it with the straps and secure it well.

If moving with legs on, lock any casters in place. Make sure they sitting flat/flush on the dolly.

Lift and place gently into the removal van. Secure the piano to the wall of the van/lorry so it can´t roll around. It never hurts to have an extra moving blanket or similar for extra padding.

Once the body is loaded, return for the legs and keep them together with the body - well wrapped of course.

In the van, keep heavy boxes and furniture securely away from the piano.

The piano movers

Those are the steps required to protect the piano, but don’t forget the safety of any helpers. Pianos can weigh up to 1,400 pounds (635 kilos). Make sure there are enough people to help with the lifting (at least four), and anyone with back injuries should avoid lifting. All should avoid injury by bending their knees as they lift.

Anyone helping with the piano move should wear appropriate clothing for moving things (no loose flaps, easy to move around in, and not too hot), gloves to help stop any slippage, and shoes/boots with good grip and toe protection.

It can also be useful to have an extra person available to guide the lifters/movers out (and make cups of tea in any breaks!) They can lead ahead to ensure doors are open and passageways remain clear.

The movers should move slowly and be encouraged to stop whenever necessary. Better to be slow than be damaged – for both the piano and for the movers!

Unpacking the piano

Use the same system with moving straps for unloading as for loading, as gently as possible.

Reassemble legs etc that were removed prior to moving as soon as possible to avoid loss of parts or damage to bits that are lying around..

Looking after the piano after a move

Once in place, wipe its outside clean with a scrupulously clean soft cloth or feather duster to remove dust gathered in the move.

Any changes in the environment will affect a piano´s tune, so each time a piano is moved it should be retuned by a professional tuner - and following a big move would be an ideal time to have it professionally cleaned.

However, let the piano settle (up to a month) before scheduling the tuning.

Using self-storage to keep a piano safe during a house move

See also: Handy hints for storing a piano safely.

As we have established here, piano moves deserve care and time.

The middle of a house move can be the worst possible time to have to go slowly and focus on one particular item, especially when ´evacuation´ deadlines are looming and there´s a schedule for collecting keys, paperwork etc.

Many people choose to place their piano in self-storage ahead of the move in order to allocate the required time and care to moving.

Whilst the downside is, of course, the cost, it can take a mass of stress from the move and keep the piano safe.

Be sure to book the storage in plenty of time, and ensure that the storage space is clean and dry to keep the piano in good condition until you are ready to move it again.

Container storage offers an ideal drive up solution without navigating lifts, in a space that's inherently designed to keep things safe and dry.