Specialist Movers and Made-for-the-Job Equipment for an Object That Forgives No Error
Take stock of what’s in front of you: some hundreds of pounds of iron frame clad in glossy wood that bends for nothing and remembers each clumsy bump. Trust it to an all-purpose crew improvising around a narrow Lehi corner and a lasting scar all but writes itself. So I route this work to a unit that handles only pianos. Their gear marries a four-wheel keyboard dolly to a board milled to fit, fixes it with ratchet straps, and piles on thick quilted blankets. Only people from my crew go anywhere near it, which means no random hire ever gets to bet on a tight turn while it sways.
Equipment and Method
- Dense quilted blankets, ratchet straps, a four-wheel dolly and a board purpose-cut for the instrument
- On grands, the pedal lyre and the support legs come off for wrapping as the body rides the board
- A crew at home with the close turns and stairwells found in older Lehi and hillside houses
- Walls, doorways, banisters and floors guarded the whole way along the carry
- Cinched firmly enough to hold motionless through the whole journey
How the Operation Runs That Morning
To start, the crew plots the route, sets protection underfoot, and drapes each railing and length of wall ahead of any tipping. A vertical keeps its stance, lashed to the dolly. When it’s a grand, the pedal mechanism and support legs get removed and wrapped, the body lowering onto a cushioned board, and the whole thing then rolls out on edge within bracing. When a loose-gravel desert drive or a rain-slick monsoon path enters in, the route plus the ramp are both swept and traction-treated before a single lift, since a single bad footing under all that bulk is the precise mishap this method is built to forestall. At a downtown loft or mid-rise, we hold a freight car so the instrument never sees the stairs.
Past What We Cover
Hauling it over undamaged is my charge; booking the tuning afterward is yours, best around two weeks later after the instrument adjusts to the fresh room and the arid desert climate. Mechanical fixes and spent rollers belong with a technician as well. Spot an unsteady support or a crack the finish already carries? Mention it up front so we can map the route around it.
Pricing
Budget roughly $300 to $450 on a console or vertical and $500 to $750 covering a small grand; every band crests once a stairway, or a lengthy carry up to the entrance, comes into the picture. I set the exact total once I’ve reviewed the instrument together with its route.
Set the specialist unit on your instrument move by ringing (888) 711-4778.
