Ok, now that I have your attention

Bernard, I'm "tagging" you b/c didn't you just move your piano? Or did you pay for pros to come and do it?

Ok, now for the deets.

I'm wondering if I can re-position my grand piano in the same room, if that's something my husband and I could do without calling on professionals. Basically I'm thinking I want to turn it 90 degrees, repositioning the rug as well (turning it 90 degrees too). But I am super paranoid and don't want to damage the piano, or the area rug, or the floor. In order to re-position it, I'd need to move it off the caster cups, then off the rug. Move the piano over to the far side of the room, re-position the rug, and then move the piano back onto the rug and re-position it and get it back up onto the casters. It seems to me that trying to roll it over the rug could permanently damage the rug. Or, worse, if the casters get stuck and we're pushing the piano, could the leg break away from the main part of the piano case? Then, assuming we get the piano off of the rug, in the process of rolling it along the hardwood floor, I'm worried we might scratch or dent the floor.

So, does anyone have any advice about how to avoid all these scary scenarios, without paying an arm and a leg for professional movers? Should we get some plywood boards to roll the piano on? Will my husband be able to move the piano off of and then back onto the caster cups without hurting himself? (He would say yes, but what do y'all think?)

Here is the current layout:


Here's the layout I'm thinking of changing to:


Here's what the room looks like now (note that this only shows the piano half of the room, there's enough room on the other side to put the piano while moving the rug etc. And the rug would get turned 90 degrees as well, I measured and it fits):







(Yes, that's a window there, and there's an HVAC vent. I would close and cover that vent completely, I think that would work. The window doesn't get direct sun, but I would be very careful with the blinds and drapes. I've had an acoustic piano in front of a window before, I know the risks and also how to mitigate them)

One other question is, would I hate having my back so close to the wall? I'm thinking no?

So, any thoughts on how feasible it would be for us to do this ourselves?

You won’t hate having your back against the wall, and the piano will probably sound better. But I think you will need to get help to move it. Pretty sure it needs to be lifted and turned, and I don’t know how you will manage that with moving the rug as well.

Jodi, we would have to move the piano completely off of the rug, over to the other side of the room.

Once the piano is off of the rug, I would turn the rug 90 degrees (it would fit, I measured) and then move the piano back onto the rug.

There's room to do that, and have the piano sitting on the opposite of the room while rearranging things. But the idea is predicated on rolling the piano, which I am super paranoid about, both because that could damage the floor or the rug, or both, and also because of those horror stories about people pushing on pianos, having the leg get stuck and the person pushing the piano to the point where the piano leg breaks.

Mr. SK has pushed a grand piano before, but it was across a hardwood stage floor. And it was a piano that was moved around a lot, so the casters were fluid, and he just pushed the piano around all by himself. This situation is different, because of the casters and the rug.

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But I think you will need to get help to move it.

Also, by this do you mean pros? Or just extra bodies?

I think I should probably pay someone to do it.... the horror stories are too... horrible.

You need help. Pro help.

And then...

The piano will be exactly in the position that mine is!

And I have no problem with my back against the wall...well mine is against a built in glass bookcase.

And you will be able to see into the room!

Watching this because I want to move my piano and rug one foot east. Not sure how many guys I need.

With the (real) concerns you express, it is safest to hire.

But.... check with your tech - it's pretty simple with about 4-6 people to just lift and walk over, then walk back (Under his supervision). Might be easy to round up some students that would do it for pizza!

I used to work for a music school - and got quite good at moving grand pianos as we did it all the time.

We had dollies to aid the moves and moved fairly large grands without too much problem.

In your situation, five strong people could probably do what needs to be done for that proverbial pizza. Otherwise, go with pros.

I would hate to ask some friends to help and then have one of them get hurt.

I called the guys who did the moving for me the first time, he said it would be $150 if they came out to do it.

I might also call the moving company we used when we moved, they move pianos. I didn't use them when I bought the piano only because they are not piano pros and I didn't want a non-piano person involved in tipping and removing the legs etc. But for this job, it's just moved in one room, no tipping....

We'll see.

What I meant was, you are not supposed to roll them. They need to be lifted. So you will need extra bodies, and if it were me, id hire professionals.

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What I meant was, you are not supposed to roll them. They need to be lifted.

Really??? Why are they not meant to be rolled?

Is that because of the rug/flooring issue? Mr. SK has moved a grand before by himself just by pushing it, but that was a grand that was on a stage, so no flooring/rug concerns.

What I’ve been told is that you can move them very small distances on a smooth floor with the casters (and even then you are supposed to lift slightly) but on carpet, and longer distances, it strains the legs.

Ahh, ok, that makes sense.

I wasn't planning on rolling it on the rug, both because I figure the casters wouldn't roll and also it would destroy the rug. But I was thinking of getting plywood boards and rolling it across the boards. But there are some logistical issues with doing that.

Also, the concern about needing to sort of lift if rolling is one reason (to my mind) not to use generic movers. I feel like they wouldn't be careful enough.

Ugh.

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Originally posted by ShiroKuro:

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What I meant was, you are not supposed to roll them. They need to be lifted.

Really??? Why are they not meant to be rolled?

Is that because of the rug/flooring issue? Mr. SK has moved a grand before by himself just by pushing it, but that was a grand that was on a stage, so no flooring/rug concerns.

pianos on a stage are on dollies so they can be moved around. you could break a piano leg trying to push it across the floor on its casters. it must be lifted off the floor and carried.

The local museum got a donation of a small Steinway grand (M or L). A couple of us musicians have been begging them to get a piano dolly to move it around (it's in an all-purpose museum space). I wonder if they ever did. For a long time they were just pushing it on its casters.

Otherwise, the space is completely climate-controlled (being a museum) so the piano should be happy for the rest of its natural life.