I am often asked what equipment would be needed to move a piano. This question typically comes from someone who is considering purchasing a used piano. Often people are planning to have their friend help them move the piano after it is purchased, not realizing that it takes an experienced professional to move a piano. After a piano has been moved it should be tuned, and your Philadelphia and Wilmington piano tuner, www.depianotuning.com, provides precise piano tuning services.
The equipment that you will need is basically a licensed and insured piano mover. Pianos are very different from other large pieces of furniture. Every piano has a cast iron plate inside to support the 30,000 lbs. of tension on the instrument that results from 200 strings at 150 lbs. tension each. Before plates were inserted in pianos, the whole piano would eventually fold up on itself from the accumulated tension of the strings.
The cast iron plate that’s inside a piano weighs hundreds of pounds, so the whole instrument will weigh even more than that. As a result, it is not unusual for amateur piano movers to injure themselves when trying to move a piano. Back injuries, foot injuries, and hand injuries are the most common.
It’s well worth it to hire a professional piano mover. Typically, a professional mover will charge only around $100-200 to move a piano locally. It’s certainly not worth it to risk someone’s health and/or the safety of your friends by not hiring an expert to do the job. Besides this, here’s another reason: piano tuners in Wilmington and the surrounding areas are sometimes called upon to perform repairs which are often in the hundreds of dollars on pianos that were moved by amateurs. It definitely takes special skill and equipment to move a piano safely. The extreme weight of a piano makes them difficult to control when moving, and this could easily happen if a piano is moved by amateurs.
On the other hand, if you are selling your piano, it’s a good idea to specify in the sales agreement that the piano will be moved by only licensed and insured piano movers so as to reduce the chances of any liability for you.
As your Philadelphia and Delaware piano tuner, I hope this information saves you a lot of time and trouble. If you would like a recommendation for a reliable and professional piano mover, please give us a call.
