Planning
11 July 2026 · 5 min read · Just In Time Removals
Weight is not the problem — leverage is
An upright piano weighs 200 to 350 kg, but the reason it hurts people is that the weight sits high and shifts the moment it tilts. The same is true of a full-height safe and a slate pool table. Two strong people and good intentions are not a plan; four people, a proper dolly and a strap system is.
Pianos
An upright is wrapped in heavy quilted blankets, strapped to a four-wheel piano dolly, and taken down stairs with a person on each corner and a strap handler above. The lid and keyboard cover are secured so nothing swings. On the other side, leave it a fortnight to settle in the new humidity before you call the tuner — tuning it the same week is money wasted.
Safes
Anything over about 100 kg is a specialist item and should be declared when you get quoted. Safes are moved on a steel-frame dolly with load-spreading boards over tiles and wooden floors, and they should be empty. If it is bolted down, it needs to be unbolted before the crew arrives, not discovered on the day.
Pool and snooker tables
A slate table is never moved assembled. The cloth is removed, the slate bed comes off in sections (each one can be 60 kg or more), and the frame is dismantled. Reassembly needs re-levelling with shims and a spirit level, and re-fitting the cloth properly — this is a two-person, two-hour job at the other end.
Gym equipment
Treadmills and multi-gyms should be broken down to their frames. Weight stacks come out and travel separately — leaving them in the frame is how you crack a housing. Photograph the assembly before you take it apart; you will thank yourself.
The honest advice
If you are moving yourself and you own any of these, book a labour-only crew just for that item. Two hours of professional handling is far cheaper than a cracked slate, a broken finger, or a piano through a wall.
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