Can I move my grand piano by myself? Attn Bernard

31 October 2019, 09:26 PM

I have been moving furniture by sliding it around on towels. Of course, the piano is heavier, and the legs are more delicate, and you'd have to slide the rug out from under the piano first. Probably best to over-engineer it with human labor. Lots of hands and backs, or professional help.

31 October 2019, 09:58 PM

rontuner

The safest way to "group move" a grand is the lift and set technique.

1. Place people around the piano and do a practice lift. Up and down. "How does that feel for everyone?"

2. Instead of making everyone walk together, the concept is to just lift and move a couple of feet and set it back down. Check how everyone is doing and repeat!

3 Using a "123 up" or similar is handy...

01 November 2019, 02:08 PM

Qaanaaq-Liaaq

In diagram no. 8 of the first post, the new layout: Will there be enough room between the wall with large window and the tail end of the piano to walk without having to squeeze by in order to get to wall with small window? It looks like it might be very narrow. To be sure, measure the piano + bench distance and compare it to the width of the room.

04 November 2019, 02:51 AM

AdagioM

$150? Just do it!

04 November 2019, 08:52 AM

rontuner

If Mr. SK wants to give it a try without a bunch of people, then have him get some thick masonite or plywood to make tracks for the piano to roll. While your wheels will roll fine across your floor, they will almost surely leave marks in the wood without being protected.

04 November 2019, 10:05 AM

ShiroKuro

Ron, we were actually planning to roll it on some kind of board. There's a sheet of vinyl flooring in the basement left by the previous owners, it's pretty big so I'm wondering if that might work.

But yes, we want to avoid scratching the floor up. The other thing we have a lot of is cardboard. Do you think the casters would roll over cardboard? Or would it sink in a bit?

AdagioM, I would rather use that money for an extra tuning!!

QL, we did have that on our radar. I think we're planning on having it so that the distance from the tail to the large-window-wall is just about the width of one person.

04 November 2019, 10:13 AM

wtg

Don't rely on vinyl flooring or cardboard.

It didn't involve a piano, but don't ask me how I know this....

04 November 2019, 10:26 AM

ShiroKuro

WTG, can you say more? I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you mean

Just fyi, the idea is to put something between the casters and whatever we're trying to roll it on. At first that will be the rug, then it will the hardwood floor.

I do not care if the vinyl flooring gets damaged, it's a sheet of this ugly vinyl like you'd see in a cheap kitchen remodel that someone tried to use when they re-did the basement bathroom, we will never use that sheet for anything else.

04 November 2019, 10:27 AM

ShiroKuro

WTG, do you mean, don't rely on the sheet of vinyl flooring to protect the hardwood or rug that's underneath it?

04 November 2019, 10:32 AM

wtg

We tried to move a heavy piece of furniture across a wood floor. We put a piece of cardboard down on the floor, put the furniture on it and pushed it across the floor. We ended up damaging the floor, especially when it went across the grain.

I know you think you're just rolling the piano on casters, but there is a tremendous amount of weight on each of those casters that is being transferred to the floor. That's why people put caster cups under the legs, so that you don't end up with dents

If the material you are using to protect the floor (cardboard or vinyl) will deform under the weight of the object, then there is a really good chance that damage will transfer through to the floor. edit: Plus it will be harder to roll on something that's soft like cardboard or vinyl. The wheels will roll better on something solid.

I would use plywood. Actually, I would spend the $150. Some things are simply better to farm out to pros....

04 November 2019, 10:57 AM

ShiroKuro

WTG, ahh, I see what you mean. In that case we will skip the vinyl sheeting or cardboard and use plywood boards.

I know I must sound like a total cheapskate, but we really stretched to buy the piano, and now we're trying to replenish our savings and being super careful with what we spend our money on.

Also, I do want to get another tuning before the holidays. And as it happens, the tuner charges $150. So I would rather spend that money on the tuning than on the moving.

It's really hard to justify spending $150 on moving, when moving is something that just requires strength, patience and logistical carefulness. These are all things we can put together ourselves. ~~Plus have you seen how hunky Mr. SK is?~~

The tuning? Now that requires a pro and is nothing we could do ourselves.

Of course this is all contingent on getting two other friends to agree to help.

04 November 2019, 04:37 PM

piqué

This is a false economy.
What does it cost to fix a broken piano? What does it cost to go to the emergency room? What does it cost to miss work and go to the chiropractor? What does surgically fixing a blown disc or two cost? Just spend the $150. Really.

04 November 2019, 04:51 PM

ShiroKuro

piqué, again, no stairs, no corners, no tipping the piano. The piano has casters which are in good shape. It needs to be moved 7 feet out, rotated, and moved 7 feet back. If it were more than that, or if Mr. SK didn't think he could do it, I'd hire movers, but it isn't and he does.

We'll see, right now my plan is to do it ourselves.

04 November 2019, 04:55 PM

wtg

Could you tune now and then have pros move it a little later when the finances have recovered?

The move isn't quite as straightforward as you're describing. You have to get the piano *and* the rug moved to a different location while also jockeying the plywood around.

It's kinda asking a lot of friends to risk their bodies to move something this size....