Items You Shouldn't Move Yourself

Moving on Monday

Moving can be expensive.  With supplies and packing and movers, the costs add up.  You may decide to save money by borrowing boxes and packing yourself.  Or you may decide to rent a truck or portable storage units you load yourself.  But there are some items you shouldn't move yourself because of their intricacies. 

One of these items is pianos.  Whether yours is an upright or baby grand, you should never move a piano yourself.  The inner workings of a piano are delicate and complicated.  Professional piano movers are skilled at knowing how to handle them.  They know how to maneuver uprights through doors, and disassemble and reassemble grand pianos without damaging the inner workings.

Another specialty item is grandfather clocks.  These should never be moved with the weights and pendulum intact.  Clock retailers often have staff who come to the house to disassemble your clock and pack up the pieces correctly.  Call well in advance of your move, as they may be booked, or only visit neighborhoods on specific days.  Schedule the reassembly at the same time.  Do not have the movers pack/unpack your clock.

Other items that should be left to the professionals are pool tables and fish tanks.  Pool tables must be disassembled in order to fit through the doors.  They are also extremely heavy, and if dropped can be destroyed.  Smaller fish tanks can be moved by you, but anything larger than 20 gallons should be left to professionals.  They must be emptied, the fish transported separately, then re-filled and the fish re-introduced. 

Anything expensive (like art) or extremely heavy (like exercise equipment) should be left to professionals also.  If you drop it, the item is a loss.  If movers drop it, then it is covered by insurance. Check with your moving company for adequate coverage.

While it may be tempting to do the entire move yourself, consider the consequences if something is damaged.