Piano removals

Pianos are the move where ordinary careful is not careful enough. Specialist crew, instrument-specific tools, climate awareness during transit, and a sober conversation about what the move does and does not do for the instrument's tuning.

Pianos are heavy in two senses. Physically heavy — an upright is two-hundred-and-fifty kilos, a baby grand is over three hundred, a full grand is around four hundred — and structurally heavy in the sense that the instrument is essentially a tensioned harp inside a wooden case, and the move puts stress on parts of the instrument that aren't designed to be stressed. The crew that moves your sofa is not the crew that should move your piano.

The specialist piano-removal crew has different equipment (piano dollies rated to four hundred kilos, padded skid-boards, leg-removal tooling for grands), different lifting practice (a piano comes down a staircase carried by people whose backs need to remain functional after the move), and different climate awareness (a wooden instrument that's been in a centrally-heated room for a decade does not love a cold lorry). For grands, the legs come off; for uprights, the casters are checked before the move starts.

The honest conversation: a move always changes the tuning, often noticeably. Most professional pianists schedule a tuner to visit the new address a few weeks after the move, once the instrument has settled into its new climate. We don't tune; we move. The settling-in period and the tuning visit are part of the move plan even though they don't appear on our invoice.

What's included as standard.

Specialist crew with piano-rated equipment
Leg removal and refit for grands and baby grands
Padding and protective wrap during transit
Goods-in-transit cover with itemised piano valuation on the inventory
Optional climate-controlled transport for long-distance or international moves

Things worth flagging at booking.

Access at both ends — narrow staircases, conservatory thresholds, low ceilings. The crew assesses at survey and confirms whether the move is doable as planned or whether a window-hoist is required (rare but real for some upper-floor uprights).
Climate during transit — for a long transit or an international move, climate-controlled transport is the right choice for high-value instruments. For shorter UK moves with the lorry insulated, ambient transit is fine.
Tuning — the instrument will need a tuner visit once it's settled in the new room. Plan a few weeks ahead rather than tuning the day after the move.

Questions specific to piano removals.

Cross-service questions about how the network runs, the quote process, and customs are on the dedicated FAQ page.

Can you move an upright piano up to a third-floor flat?

Often yes, depending on the staircase and the lift. The crew assesses at survey: staircase width, turn radius at landings, lift capacity. Where the staircase doesn't take the instrument, a window-hoist (specialist contractor) is the alternative; this is rare but realistic for some London upper-floor flats. The route is confirmed before booking.

Will my piano need re-tuning after the move?

Almost certainly. A move changes the climate the instrument is in, and pianos respond to climate change with tuning drift even if the move itself was textbook. Standard practice is to schedule a tuner visit a few weeks after the move, once the instrument has settled. Some piano owners book a follow-up tuning a few months later for stability.

Do you handle international piano moves?

Yes, with climate-controlled transport for the road leg and a longer planning window. The customs paperwork includes the piano on the inventory at its appraised value; goods-in-transit cover for the instrument is quoted as a higher-value line on top of standard cover. Move the piano early in the international move planning; it's not a last-minute decision.

Ready to brief us on your move?

Photos, an inventory note, the destination address, the rough month. We come back in writing with a single fixed-figure quote.

Open the quote form → contact@removalss.co.uk