Moving a Piano

By Alex Kazaryan

A young woman asked her father to help her move a piano. They got a couple of friends to come along and rented a dolly. Suddenly, while she was straining away, somebody said, "Uh, oh." ( when you hear that – it's time to close your eyes and reach for your wallet.). The piano tipped back too far and got away from them. While it was falling, its upper corner dug down through the wall. The trench it made was deep enough to sever an electric conduit, which shorted and began to burn. Fire spread to the floor below… After the fire department was done, there was little left of the two apartments.... and the piano.

This is of course an extreme exaggeration of what might happen if you move piano without professional help. So can you do it yourself? Yes, you can-if you don't value your piano-or your stairs-or your walls-or your friends.

The fact is that pianos are very heavy. Small Spinet piano or console piano weighs about 300-500 pounds; full size upright piano ( or so called Russian Piano) weighs about 700 pound or more and baby grand piano, grand piano or parlor pianos – up to 1300 pounds. Besides that piano is heavy – it is also bulky and has uneven distribution of weight. With that here comes inertia and problems with balancing when you try to maneuver it, especially moving piano in a narrow passage. Professional piano movers know that piano is extremely sensitive to a shock because it has a very delicate inner mechanism.

The iron frame, also called the "plate", sits atop the soundboard, and serves as the primary bulwark against the force of string tension (in modern grand the total string tension ca approach 20 tons). The frame is made of cast iron and if it cracks the damage is irreparable.

Add to that the fragility of the outer cabin, as most of the pianos have outer cabin made out of finished fine word or covered with lacquer.

It's a risky business. But you're a lot further ahead to let someone who has experience, take the risks, even if it costs. If you think that professional piano movers charge too much for piano moving services, try to call refinisher, carpenter and a doctor to find out what their prices are.

In fact it's not the strength that makes a professional mover. It is training, experience, proper equipment and knowledge of special handling techniques. There are certain tricks that professional piano movers use to move a piano whether it is a spinet piano, an upright piano or a grand piano.

Moving a spinet piano,
•wrap the piano in blankets ( leave access to handles on the back)
•Put piano on a small piano board ( recommended) and strap it up;
•Take the legs off the piano ( if removable). If you remove the legs and/or put piano on a piano board – piano becomes unstable. Make sure you have a helper or two holding piano securely at all times;
•Place on dolly and roll it to as moving van. (While rolling it on a dolly, it is crucial to maintain the balance of the piano when it is on wheels.)
•Load piano on the moving truck strap it securely to the side.

Moving upright Piano
•Sometimes it is necessary to remove the top cover board, especially if it has a lip over the body of the piano
•wrap upright piano in moving blankets, leaving access to the handles on the back
•Put upright piano on a long piano board ( a must to protect the bottom and wheels of the piano especially if you have to move piano up or down the stairs);
•If legs are removable – remove the legs. (When you remove the piano legs and/or put piano on a piano board – piano becomes unstable. Make sure you have a helper or two holding it securely at all times);
•firmly strap the piano to the piano board. When you strap the piano – make sure that you
a) keep the buckles on the back side of the piano where there is a hollow space. Leaving strap buckles on the top or the front of the piano can cause damage to the finish of the instrument;
b) make sure the strap is tight but do not overstretch it. The front wooden panel of the upright piano is not that strong and can be damaged by excessive tension.

NOTE: Because upright piano is much heavier than spinet and have a higher center of gravity, you need to watch the balance very carefully when lifting the piano, putting piano on a dolly and rolling it to the moving van.

Moving Baby Grand piano and Grand Piano moving. •remove the top, lid prop, pedal lyre, desk and legs.

HOW TO REMOVE LEGS FROM GRAND PIANO: a certain procedure should be followed, otherwise the grand piano might fall on you and cause injuries. Normally it takes four people to handle a baby grand piano: three people would stand around on three sides: two at each end of the keyboard and one at the far end of piano, holding it in the horizontal position. The forth man is to remove the legs. First the front pedals should be removed. Then the leg next to the left hand side of the keyboard (on the long side of the grand piano) should be removed. After that leg is removed the three helpers who were holding the piano must carefully turn the grand on its long side and place it directly on the piano board. The remaining two legs can be easily removed at this time. Two helpers must hold the piano securely in this vertical position at all times.

•Once all the legs and pedals are removed, complete wrapping the piano
•Place all parts (legs, etc.) into a large box (it fits well into a china box) and keep them together.
•Blanket wrap the top lid separately. It is recommended to wrap a piano in saran wrap before putting blankets on a piano. Absolutely do not use shrink wrap directly on the finished surface of the piano.
•Strap Grand piano to a piano board,
•roll it straight to the moving truck where it should be strapped to the side.
•You will need a truck with a lift gate to load the Grand piano.

Sometimes the piano move becomes more complicated when there is no straight exit to the street and piano mover must use stairs. Then piano movers thoroughly wrap the piano, put it on a piano board (it is absolutely necessary), and slide it up or down the stairs.

No matter how much care you put into moving a piano you will need to tune it up after the move is completed. Pianos are knocked out of tune very easily. If a perfect pitch is a priority for you, consider getting your piano tuned after the piano has endured any significant moves or has gone over small bumps during a move.

For more information and related services go to http://www.ezmoving.com.