It is funny the things you never think of until you are suddenly pressed in to dealing with them. Moving is a great example of this. When we moved into our current home, I pretty much swore that I never wanted to move again. It was such a royal pain in every way. Now that some time has passed, I can see myself reconsidering at some point, but the memories of a challenging move are still there.
For me, most of the hassle was the pre-moving adventure. All of the open houses, insane amounts of cleaning, getting a new roof, getting the game room completely dry (that was probably about ten grand right there). The moving itself wasn't so bad except for the big stuff. Given the chance to do it again, I think I'd probably pay professional movers. We tore up the kitchen floor moving an antique stove/oven that was unbelievably heavy and had to fix it. Just that cost probably would have made a dent in paying to get the work done.
I was talking to a friend of mine who is considering moving and I remembered that he has a grand piano in his house. I think it was delivered there when he and his wife bought it and has not been moved since. I just had to know his plan for moving it. Without any hesitation he said that he was paying piano movers to do the deed for him. I had heard of piano movers, but had never really given them much thought until he mentioned them. I myself would no longer need much convincing to hire professionals for that type of job, but I was curious about how the heck you would go about moving something so huge, expensive and easily damaged on your own.
photo credit: alexanderward12
It seems that there are specially designed dollies just for moving pianos. The ones designed for moving upright pianos weren't priced too bad on Amazon
If you do decide to go with a piano moving company, you should certainly shop around for prices. Different companies may have very different prices. Some factors that may affect cost include the size of the piano, weight, the distance it is being shipped and any other special considerations that might have to be taken into account. Some places to contact for quotes include local piano movers if any are available in your area or larger companies specializing in piano moving and storage. General moving companies may or may not be equipped and trained to move large pianos. You would be wise to ask them about their level of experience as well as what their policies are regarding damages. Always make sure that their insurance will cover any damages that may occur during a move. If they do not seem experienced or completely sure of their abilities, you probably should stay away.
If you are making a move of considerable distance, you can also add long distance movers to the list of possible candidates. Once again though, they might not be properly trained in how to disassemble a grand piano for a move or how to take care to make sure that there is no damage done during the trip to the piano's destination.
Moving a grand piano that costs thousands of dollars is not a minor project. Damages can be expensive and there is no guarantee that the piano will ever look or sound the same even after repairs. If you have a piano to move, getting some quotes from reputable piano movers is definitely a good idea.
