The Challenges of Moving Grand Pianos: Expert Solutions

As professional piano movers with over 30 years of experience, we at Modern Piano Moving understand the unique challenges posed by moving grand pianos. Given their large size, heavy weight, and delicate nature, transporting a grand piano requires great care and specialty equipment to avoid any damage. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the specific difficulties of moving grand pianos and the customized solutions we employ to ensure a smooth, secure move every time.

The Sheer Size and Awkward Shape of Grand Pianos

At nearly 6 feet long for a baby grand and up to 9 feet long for a concert grand, these pianos are cumbersome and occupy a sizable footprint in a home or venue. Their width also flares dramatically from front to back, which makes navigating stairs, doorways, and tight spaces very tricky. Most homes and buildings were simply not constructed with moving grand pianos in mind! When a piano needs to be taken out of a house, we may have to remove doors or even hoist the instrument out of a window using specialty moving equipment.

Our Solution: Disassembly and Strategic Movement 

To combat these size and shape issues, our expert movers strategically disassemble sections of the grand piano to help with moving it out of cramped rooms and narrow corridors. This allows us to reroute and rotate the instrument to fit through otherwise impassable spaces. We then reassemble the piano flawlessly at its destination without harming the inner mechanisms or structure. We also use exclusive dolly and lift systems to help manipulate the piano’s weight and dimensions when whole-piano transport won’t suffice. 

The Extreme Weight of Grand Pianos

On top of their size, grand pianos are also exceptionally heavy instruments. Most models weigh between 400-1200 lbs! This ads incredible difficulty when lifting, manipulating, and transporting them, especially when navigating stairs. Dropping or mishandling such massive weight risks severe damage and destruction of such prized musical investments. 

Our Solution: Advanced Moving Equipment and Specialized Training

To provide safe and smooth transport, our movers utilize custom dollies, lift equipment, and strapping systems designed specifically for transporting heavy grand pianos. Our dolly systems employ ergonomic designs and leverage principles to allow 1-2 movers to securely ferry these massive instruments. We also have sturdy ramps to safely load pianos in and out of our climate-controlled trucks. 

Just as essential as our equipment, our movers have undergone extensive piano moving training to learn proper handling techniques for minimizing strain and struggling when manipulating these heavy instruments in awkward spaces. Such specialized training helps reduce the risks of potential injuries or accidents.

The Delicate Nature of Pianos

What ultimately demands such care and caution when moving grand pianos is their incredibly delicate nature. These instruments are constructed from hundreds of intricate moving parts, complex assemblies, wooden frameworks, and taut strings totaling up to 20 tons of tension pressure. Even inadvertent bumps, scrapes, or shakes can knock components out of tune or alignment and cause serious, costly damage. 

Our Solution: Piano-Specific Packing and Navigation Methods  

From start to finish of the moving process, we take meticulous steps to protect the structural integrity and precise alignments within the piano. We use custom-fitted padding and foam cushions made specifically for wrapping vulnerable areas both inside the instrument and along its exterior. This prevents jostling of delicate mechanisms or scraping/chipping of the polished wood surfaces. Our specialized dollies have thick, shock-absorbing wheels and wide, stable bases to prevent bouncing or tipping of the heavy cargo during transport. 

For navigating stairs or loading in and out of trucks, we have thick nylon piano straps rated to safely bear these massive weights. These prevent slipping or sudden movements that could jar the instruments. We also have specialized ramps with non-slip coatings engineered at appropriate gradual slopes for rolling large pianos in an controlled manner. 

Trust the Piano Moving Experts!   

When it’s time to move a treasured grand piano across town or even just to a different room, don’t take chances with amateur movers or generic moving companies. Our decades of experience, specialized equipment, customized techniques, and rigorous employee training enable us to safely overcome the myriad challenges of transporting these massive yet delicate instruments. We’ve helped hundreds of happy customers move priceless grand pianos of all shapes and sizes without incident. For premium protection of your beloved piano, trust the pros at Modern Piano Moving every time!