Piano Movers Rochester NY
Joe's Moving Co.
PIANO AND HEAVY ITEMS
Piano and Heavy Item Movers in Rochester, NY
Joe’s Moving Co. are piano movers in Rochester, NY. Uprights, baby grands and full grands, moved by a crew with the right board, dollies and straps, and the training to use them.
A piano is not heavy furniture. It is a few hundred pounds of unevenly distributed weight on casters that were never designed to roll anywhere. Moving one with a regular crew and a hand truck is how pianos and staircases get damaged.
GBP
4.9 from 800+ reviews
Licensed and insured
Eight years in Rochester
Locally owned, not a franchise
Free written estimate
No obligation to book
What we move
- Pianos of every type, from a spinet to a concert grand.
- Gun safes and floor safes, including into and out of basements.
- Pool tables, where the slate comes apart and goes back together.
- Treadmills, rowers and home gym equipment.
- Wood stoves, pellet stoves and fireplace inserts.
- Chest freezers, commercial refrigerators and oversized appliances.
- Sheds and outbuildings that can be skidded.
- Antique furniture, armoires and anything that will not survive an ordinary carry.
These are priced separately from an hourly move, because they need different equipment and usually an extra pair of hands. If you are moving house and there is a piano in it, tell us at the estimate and it goes on the quote as its own line. Residential moving
Three kinds of piano job
Upright
Spinet, console, studio or full upright. The keyboard lid is closed and secured, the whole instrument is blanket wrapped with the corners protected, and it moves on a piano dolly. On stairs it goes onto a board and is walked down one step at a time, never rolled.
Grand or baby grand
The lid is closed, the music desk and the pedal lyre come off, and the piano is lowered onto its bass side on a padded board while the crew supports it. The legs come off one at a time. Everything is wrapped separately and reassembled at the other end.
Within the same building
Moving a piano across a room for new flooring, or between floors, is one of the most common calls we get. It is usually a short job, and it is far cheaper than the repair bill when two people try it with a blanket.
Pianos and Rochester houses
This city has a lot of pianos in a lot of old houses, and the two do not get on.
- The narrow staircase. The South Wedge, Park Avenue and the North Winton Village are full of early 1900s homes with a tight turn at the landing. An upright will usually make it. A full upright with a half landing sometimes will not, and we would rather establish that at the survey than with the piano halfway.
- The porch step. Many of these houses have a run of porch steps before you even reach the street. That is part of the job and it should be in the quote, not a surprise.
- Winter. A piano should not sit in a cold truck any longer than it has to. Condensation on the strings and the plate is the concern, not the cold itself. We keep the truck time short and we do not leave an instrument loaded overnight in January.
- Basements. Gun safes go down more often than pianos do, and the stairs to a Rochester basement are usually the narrowest in the house. Send us a photograph before the day.
How a piano move actually runs
A survey first, in person or from photographs. The instrument, the room it is in, the route out, the route in at the other end, and every step in between.
On the day the piano is closed up and secured. On a grand, the music desk and the pedal lyre come off before anything else.
Blanket wrapping, with the corners and the legs protected separately. Nothing is taped to a finished surface.
A grand is lowered onto its bass side on a padded piano board while the crew takes the weight, and the legs come off one at a time. An upright goes on a dolly, or on a board if there are stairs.
Straps, then the move. On stairs the piano is controlled from below and walked down a step at a time. It is never rolled down a flight and it is never taken by fewer people than the weight needs.
Reassembly at the other end, and the piano placed exactly where you want it before the blankets come off.
Where to put it in the new room
Keep a piano off an exterior wall if you can, away from a radiator or a heating vent, and out of direct sunlight. All three swing the humidity around the soundboard, and humidity is what puts a piano out of tune far more than the move does.
What we need from you
- The make, model and height or length of the piano. It is printed inside the lid or on the plate. A photograph is enough.
- Photographs of the route out and the route in: the room, the doorway, the hall, every staircase, and the front step.
- How many stairs at each end, and whether there is a turn or a half landing.
- Where the truck can park at both ends, and how far the carry is from there to the door.
- Anything fragile on the route, a banister, a glass door, a tiled floor, so we can protect it before we start rather than after.
Where we move pianos
Plus the villages between them.
Questions about moving a piano
Will my piano need tuning afterwards?
Almost certainly, but not straight away. Wait two to four weeks so the instrument settles into the humidity and temperature of the new room, then have it tuned. Tuning it the day after the move usually means paying twice.
Can you get a piano up or down stairs?
Yes, and it is most of what we do. What matters is how many steps, whether there is a turn, and how wide the narrowest point is. Send photographs and we will tell you honestly before you book, including if the answer is that it will not fit.
Do you move pool tables?
We move them. The slate comes apart into sections, each of which is 150 to 250 pounds, and goes back together at the other end.
Can you move it as part of a house move?
Yes, and most people do. It goes on the same quote as a separate line, because the crew and the equipment are different from the rest of the job. Residential moving
Send us a photograph of the piano and the stairs.
That is usually enough for a flat quote, and it costs nothing to ask.