Best Practices Recommended by Professionals for Moving Your Piano Safely

Grand Pianos can cost upward of several hundred dollars or even as much as half a million dollars.They may weigh anywhere between 650 pounds to 1300 pounds for the larger pianos and are huge in size, usually being five feet wide and  as long as nine feet. Larger pianos certainly can be manhandled through a move, but this is at the risk of damaging the interior workings of the piano. Basic repairs can cost as much as $2000 or more, and for full rebuilds or more serious damage the costs can go well up to thousands of dollars. Sometimes the damage sustained by the piano being serious enough to render it unplayable,therefore you need to think through and prepare well, when you want to move your piano. Professional piano moving is actually a trade, with very specialized tools, techniques and knowledge being used to safely transport and navigate a piano from one place to another.When moving a piano without professional help, would mean relying on friends, family and neighbours for help. To avoid any injury to them and damage to the piano, you would need to plan and map the route that you would be taking and making notes of how the piano is to be moved while negotiating narrow doorways, the turns and bends on the stairway, the number of people required to lift the piano and any special equipment that might be required to safely transport the piano to its new site. The instructions should be communicated clearly to all persons helping to move the piano. To figure out how many people may be required to move the piano, you can follow the thumb rule and add a person for every 100 pounds of weight. Some simple rules for moving a piano, when followed will  help reduce the risk of damage to your piano.

• Always move the piano along flat floor surfaces, as rolling the piano is always easier than attempting to carry it. Bumps on the floor surface can end up tripping people,and the piano can suffer damage.

• A good practice to follow is to measure the piano and the doorways,arches, stairways that the piano needs to pass through and configure a passage that allows clear movement. Remember and anticipate any turns and bends the piano may have to take, as when a piano has to curve towards a new direction it always requires more turning space.

• Ensure that you have the right number strong able bodied helpers using the thumb rule given earlier to help lift, roll or carry the piano. This is particularly important when it comes to moving the piano down or up stairs. Make sure to rotate your team so that the strain felt in lifting or holding the heavier end is reduced and the danger of the piano slipping is averted.

• Having mapped out the route ensure that there is no heavy furniture blocking or obstructing the route, that the piano will take, thus lowering the chances of injury and damage to the piano caused by bumping it against any heavy and large furniture. If necessary clear the path by moving the obstructing furniture.

• Always lower the lid and lock it, before you start moving the piano, to keep it from swinging open and being scratched or dented.

• It is essential to cover the piano using wrapping blankets and plastic cover and make sure to place a blanket underneath the bottom end of the piano to prevent chances of damage.

• Piano dollies helps you move the piano without damaging your house or the piano.Most importantly it helps protect the piano tuning from any damage. The piano dolly can be used to move the piano over level ground or on inclines. The dolly is especially useful if the piano has to be moved across slightly uneven or loose surfaces like gravel pathways.

While moving a piano down stairs or ramps always position a minimum of three to four people because they are needed to handle the heavier weight while the lighter topside can be handled by one or two men. For transportation by truck the piano is loaded on the truck by rolling the front wheels, and placed in the truck with the padded keyboard side facing the truck wall, preventing any damage to the piano from scraping because of movement. Piano delivery involves a lot of planning, adequate manpower, coordinated teamwork and time and strict adherence to as few simple rules followed by piano removalists the world over. If you can do that, you are probably ready to move your piano.

Source : articlesbase.com