Storing a grand
Wrapped, raised off the floor and kept in dry, steady conditions between homes or during building work, by the same crew that moves it.
About piano storage →Grand piano removals
Grand piano movers across Greater Manchester
Baby grands, boudoir grands and full concert instruments. Every one comes apart, travels on its side on a padded skid and goes back together level at the far end, handled by a crew that moves nothing else.
Since 1977pianos only, nothing else
What actually happens on the day
People expect us to wheel a grand out on its castors. We never do. A grand carries its weight through a rim and a soundboard that were built to be supported along one straight edge, and the castors are there for nudging it a foot across a room, not for taking it anywhere.
So the order runs like this. The lid comes down and gets strapped. The music desk lifts out. The lyre and the pedal rods come away as one piece and get wrapped separately. Then the instrument is tipped gently onto its straight side, onto a padded skid board, and the legs come off while the weight is already carried by the skid rather than by the leg blocks. From that point it is a wrapped, strapped, rectangular object with handles, and it will go round corners that the piano itself never would.
At the other end it reverses, and the part that matters is the last ten minutes: legs back on, the piano lowered square, the lyre refitted and the pedals tested before we leave. A grand that has been set down slightly out of level will tell you about it every time you use the sustain pedal.
One measurement tells us nearly everything
If you send us nothing else, send the length: lid closed, measured along the side, from the front edge of the keyboard straight back to the bow end. That single figure sets the crew size, the vehicle and most of the time on site.
Roughly, anything under about 5ft 6in is a baby grand and tends to sit near 250kg. From 5ft 6in to 6ft 6in is parlour or medium territory. Past 7ft you are into semi-concert and concert instruments, and the weight climbs towards 500kg. Those bands are a guide rather than a rule, and makers use the names loosely, which is exactly why we ask for the number instead of the name.
The second figure worth having is the tightest point on the way out. This is where most people talk themselves out of a move unnecessarily: because a grand travels on its side, what has to fit through the door is the depth of the case, not its length. A nine-foot instrument is a much narrower object than people picture. If measuring is a nuisance, photograph the doorway and the turn at the foot of the stairs and we will work it out from the photographs.
Grands in city-centre apartments
A good share of our grand work now happens in buildings that did not exist twenty years ago, or in mills that have been converted into them. Ancoats, New Islington, Castlefield, Deansgate and the Quays all put the same three questions in front of us, and none of them is about the piano.
The first is the goods lift: its internal depth and, more often the deciding factor, the diagonal through the door. The second is the loading bay, which usually has to be booked, sometimes days ahead, and often comes with a time limit measured in minutes rather than hours. The third is the building's own rules, since plenty of city-centre blocks only permit moves on weekdays inside set hours, and a few want to see our insurance before they will release a lift key.
You do not have to chase any of that. Give us the building and the floor and we will deal with the management company ourselves. It is a normal part of the job here, and it is the single biggest reason a Manchester grand move goes smoothly or turns into a wasted morning.
Victorian villas, bay windows and the Cheshire edge
The other half of the work is the opposite problem. South Manchester is full of large Victorian and Edwardian houses that were built with a piano in mind but not with a furniture van in mind, and the grands in them have often been in the same room since before the current owners arrived.
The recurring features are familiar: a tiled front path with a step up to a storm porch, a hall that narrows at the foot of the stairs, a half-landing with a shallow return, and a bay window in the front room that the piano is sitting in. We are in those houses constantly around Didsbury, West Didsbury, Chorlton, Withington, Whalley Range and the Heatons, and out through Sale, Altrincham, Hale, Bowdon and Timperley into Wilmslow and the Cheshire edge beyond it.
Floor protection goes down before anything moves, and the route is agreed with you rather than announced at you. Where a period floor, a stone threshold or a newel post is the thing most at risk, we would rather spend twenty minutes protecting it than explain it afterwards.
Further out, Stockport, Bolton, Bury, Oldham and the Saddleworth villages bring their own version, usually stone steps and a slope. Same method, different weather.
When the staircase is the entire job
Every so often the stairs are not an obstacle on the way to the job, they are the job. On the skid board a grand goes up and down stairs on its side, held on belts, with the turn worked out and walked through before anyone takes any weight. Tight period half-landings are routine. Long civic staircases are slower but no different in principle.
The one we get asked about most is a Steinway Model A that needed to reach a Civic Hall stage five flights up, after two other firms had already turned the enquiry down. It is written up in full, photographs and all, in the account of that move if you want to see what the method looks like when it is stretched.
Where a staircase genuinely will not take an instrument, the answer is a window or balcony lift rather than force, and we will tell you that at the survey rather than discover it with the piano half way up. Venue work, school music departments, churches and rehearsal rooms all run on the same basis: we work to your get-in slot, and we put the access plan in writing first.
What a grand costs
There is no flat rate for a grand and anyone quoting one over the phone without asking about access is guessing. The figure comes from four things: the length of the instrument, the access at the collection address, the access at the delivery address, and the mileage between them. Access is usually the largest of the four, which is why a short move can cost more than a long one.
As a starting point, grand piano moves begin at £210 including VAT for a baby grand with level access at both ends.
Send the make, the length and a photograph of the way in and out, and you will get a figure that holds, usually the same day. Our published starting prices for standard piano work are on the piano removal prices page, and the quote form has a box for the instrument value so liability cover is set correctly from the start.
Moving one within the house
Room to room, floor to floor, or out of the way while a floor is relaid. Usually a half-day rather than a full removal.
Internal moves →Parting with a grand
Beyond economic repair is not the same as worthless. Licensed collection and recycling, with under 1% going to landfill.
About disposal →Uprights and digitals
Not a grand? The same crew, the same insurance and the same care for uprights, digital pianos and pianolas.
All piano removals →Grand pianos · good to know
Moving a grand piano: your questions
How long does it take to move a grand piano?
A straightforward grand between two houses with reasonable access is usually an hour or so for two or three of us, including taking it down and putting it back together. Stairs, a long carry or a booked loading slot push it towards a half day.
Can you get a grand piano into a city-centre apartment?
Yes, and we do it regularly. The things that decide it are the goods lift dimensions, the loading bay booking and whether the building restricts move times. Send us the building name and the floor and we will check the access ourselves rather than asking you to measure a lift.
Do I need to do anything before you arrive?
Very little. Clear the route of rugs, low furniture and anything breakable, and make sure we can park close. Leave the piano itself alone: no need to empty the stool, take off the lid or move it away from the wall. If parking needs a permit or a bay suspension, tell us when you book and we will sort it.
Is a baby grand easier to move than a full grand?
Lighter, yes, but not necessarily easier. A baby grand around 250kg still comes apart and still travels on its side, so the method is identical. What actually changes the job is the route rather than the instrument, and a baby grand up three flights is a harder day than a concert grand straight out to the van.
What happens if the piano will not fit?
We find that out before the day, not on it. If the survey says the route will not take it, we say so and set out the alternatives, which usually means a different door, a window or balcony lift, or occasionally that the piano cannot come out the way it went in.
Does a grand need different insurance from an upright?
The cover works the same way, but the sums involved are larger, so it matters more that the value is right. During the quote chat you will be asked for the instrument value. If your grand is a named maker or has been appraised, put the appraisal figure in rather than a guess.
Moving a grand piano in Manchester?
Send us the make, the length and a photograph of the way in. We will come back with a clear price, usually the same day.