There was an error when trying to process your request. Please accept our apologies for this inconvenience. If you think this is a problem which needs to be fixed, please email us a bug report. In the bug report, please provide us at least the following information: How Much Does a Piano Moving Company Typically Cost? in Moving on November 11, 2009 by Staff Writer Buying a piano is a thrilling experience, but hiring a piano moving company can be a slightly confusing one. Knowing what pay range is normal and what you can expect from the experience demystifies the situation and allows you to simply enjoy your new piano. What is Included in a Piano Move? The piano moving company will wrap your piano in blankets to protect it when they pick it up from the store. They will move it into their truck, securing it with straps so it won’t be damaged in transit. At your house, the movers will unload it from the truck and put it in your house in the location you indicate.

If there are steps or awkward entrances, or even if it has to be lifted through a window using a crane, quality piano movers can handle the situation. Be sure you know exactly where you want the piano to go in your house, as you will not want to attempt to move it yourself! Some services that require additional costs are obtaining insurance on the piano, moving the piano up steps and lifting the piano through a window. Local moves typically cost from $125 to $250 for an upright piano to $600 for a grand or baby grand. Long distance moves range from $700 to $2000, but distance and the accessibility of beginning and end locations make this price estimate fluctuate wildly. Stairs are usually billed per stair, and you can expect to pay between $2 and $12 per stair. Sometimes the company will just give a flat fee for a flight of stairs, usually around $100. Insurance is billed on a weight basis. A upright piano weighs approximately 550 pounds, a baby grand weighs approximately 600 pounds and a grand piano weighs 820 pounds.

Insurance rates are about $4 per pound. Alternatively, some insurance is billed based on the piano value rather than the weight. In this case, the cost is usually $10 per $1000 of piano value. Senior discounts are sometimes available from piano movers, and can usually save you 5%-10%. Some people will see the piano moving estimates listed above and decide to take on the piano move themselves. A word of caution: renting a truck to move the piano will be about $50, but there is no way to insure the piano against human error. At 600 pounds, these pianos are heavy and awkward. Moving a piano across a flat surface is deceptively easy; coaxing that piano up a ramp, or even over a single step, is significantly more difficult. Moving an upright piano into a house with a single flight of stairs will run about $250. This will be done easily. With the special talents of the piano moving professionals, you will be able to enjoy playing your new piano quickly and painlessly. Most of the time, they will pick up the piano without you having to be there, so you can wait at home and only dedicate 30 minutes or less of your day to this endeavor.

Enjoy your new piano!Like most people, I’m not a big fan of moving. Bronze Patio Furniture PaintBut for someone who hates moving so much, I sure do move a lot. Cheap Pups For Sale SydneyA few years ago, I made a big move from Texas to California. Average Cost For Installing ToiletI’d saved up a small “Relocation Fund” in case I couldn’t find work when I got here. I needed to make that money last as long as possible. So I had to relocate for as cheap as possible. Here’s how I did it.I wanted to take as little with me as possible. Of course, “as little as possible” turned into more than I expected. If you make a list of all of your stuff, chances are, you have way more junk than you realize.Some cross country movers advise getting rid of everything to make the move really cost-effective.

But I’ll be honest–I had a hard time doing that. There were a lot of items I decided to keep, because I felt it would be wasteful to get rid of them altogether and shop for new stuff later.Still, I wanted to travel as lightly as I could. The less I had, the cheaper it’d be to relocate.Typically, I don’t have trouble letting go of stuff. But there were a few items I wavered over leaving behind. So I used a basic rule-of-thumb when deciding what to get rid of. With each item I had trouble letting go of, I asked myself: Will I likely buy a replacement in the next two years?If the answer was yes, I left it behind. At that point in my life, most of my belongings were Ikea cheapies and garage sale/curbside finds. So I said “yes” to a lot of stuff.Are PODS still popular? They certainly were when I was planning my move. In case you’re in the dark, PODS are mobile storage units you can fill with stuff and  send to your new address. They seemed convenient, so I considered them. And then I found out they cost a small fortune.

So I started looking for other options.Everyone’s go-to moving solution seems to be U-Haul. For my cross country move, U-Haul was still an expensive option. With the mileage expense, the cheapest truck I could find would cost me nearly $1,000 total.  (If you have few belongings, you might consider hitching a U-Haul trailer to your car for a cheaper rate.)Despite my purging, there were a few pieces of furniture I planned to take with me. As mentioned, I didn’t want to blow my budget on new furniture once I got to California. So I had to weigh my options. I started researching other truck rental services: Budget, Ryder, and Penske. Penske offered a rate of $450. No extra for mileage. We filled it with my crap, and we hit the road.One thing I was damn sure not going to buy for this move: boxes. After working in retail and seeing how many boxes just get tossed out, I can’t bring myself to spend money on boxes.But I’m also not a big fan of dumpster diving. So I started saving boxes at work.

I checked with different departments and asked if they could set them aside for me. I asked friends and family, too. To ensure I’d have enough, I asked early on–maybe four months away from my big move. I also started saving newspapers. By the time I had to start packing, I had plenty of boxes and packing material to use.Related: Brokepedia’s Guide to Saving Money on TravelI’m an organizational freak, so I love lists. I make a lot of lists. I make lists of lists I want to make.So as soon as I decided to make a cross-country move, I started listing all of the extra costs. Of course, there were obvious expenses: an apartment deposit, moving costs, etc. But there were a lot of smaller expenses that added up, too. For example:Vaccinations and required health documentation for my cat to travelDMV costs for a new California driver’s license and vehicle registrationDeposits and connection fees for utilitiesOverall, I was happy with the cost of my move, considering how expensive it could’ve been.

I ended up spending much less than I anticipated. But there are still a few things I wish I’d done differently:Stocked up on cheap(er) stuffEveryday stuff seems to cost a little more in California, plus, sales tax is higher than it was in my home state. I kind of wish I would’ve stocked up on some pricier, evergreen items–batteries, for example.Also, there are products I used to use that I can’t seem to find here. My go-to face cream, for example, was four bucks at the H-E-Bs in Texas (I miss you, H-E-B). Here in L.A., my face cream is nowhere to be found. We don’t use face cream here, we just buy new faces. I can order it online, but then I have to pay shipping and state sales tax. Thankfully, my mom is lovely enough to send me my favorite Texas goodies every now and then.I moved during the summer. Chances are, I could’ve saved money on quite a few things by timing my move better:Mapped out my gas tripsOh, if only I were as frugal as I am now. I would’ve mapped out my gas stops.