Finally got a date for completion & the move out of Handyman Towers into Handyman Towers 2.
Haven't moved house for 30 years, but I'm going to DIY after seeing the quotes!
1.6 miles away. I'm hiring a Luton, Desmond is attending with people carrier & trailer, plus 5 helpers with cars.Any tips on how to make it go smoothly? Do's & Don'ts?
Funny anecdotes?
Get a man in. ;-)
Tim
What he said.
We moved ourselves the time before last.
Never. Again.
Wasn't there an episode of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em which might provide some relevant research material?
Don't DIY it would be mine.
None. I've always had the professionals in to do the move.
Colin Bignell
Pack the kettle, cups and a spoon in an easy place to find.
When my brother moved the pillock he bought the house off turned up to say that the shed was still his but my brother could have it for £300. My brother did not want the shed (worth £100 and the pillock said "If you do not buy it I will smash it into pieces and leave it on your lawn"
That's when the police were called for the second time in one day to that house.
The first time was in the morning when we first arrived and the pillock said he needed another day to move so we started slinging his stuff into the garden.
He did not telling 3 times (someone with two black eyes does not to be told again) to piss off. I was rather proud of my Dad that day.
I hope you have better luck. And the top tip is to position yourself so that you are not near the van when the heavy items are unloaded.
How many in the chain? Our last move had 8 in the chain, and the money never made it to the vendor before the solicitors were all tucked up in bed. In theory we and others lower down should not have allowed the purchasers to move in. In practise we anticipated this happened and had already handed over keys (certainly not usually recommended!) Depends how much you trust the people involved I suppose.
AWEM
This is a DIY group!
I am NOT paying that much!!!!
:-)
Very small chain. People buying ours own a flat which they are going to let, bloke we are buying from is moving to a new & empty flat.
This is a DIY group!
I am NOT paying that much!!!!
:-)
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So how much is THAT much
tim
Make sure they do not get the main fuse removed on the morning as they move out. Leaving you entirely without electricity until the evening. (Where you packed your kettle and tea doesn't much matter without anything to make it work.)
The bastards.
Based on last time.... never again if I can help it!
Designate a room for boxes. Pack stuff, and write in enough detail what is in each box in nice easy to read maker pen etc on each box, and stack in the box room.
Make sure you have plenty of old blankets etc for protecting furniture.
Might be worth buying / hiring mobile wardrobes (i.e. tall box with hanging rail) for clothes. Also possibly transit bags for sofas and mattresses etc.
Tie straps round things with doors. Pad so they can't scratch. Decent wheeled trolley with pneumatic tyres is a must.
CRT TVs etc place face down on a few blankets or make sure they are well tied in place if upright.
Hope there is a garage or large shed at the destination to handle all the stuff that you can't work out where to put!
£800+
When we had men in to move us, we were in the midst of stinky nappy changing when we realised that the stinky nappy bin had been packed by the men. Fortunately our stuff wasn't going into storage. ;-)
Tim
... to prevent them smashing in the car on the way to the dump.
The Dump will have a starring role in this operation.
R
Pray for dry weather.
We moved once on a heavy downpour - not to be recommended.
If you're only moving a short distance I suppose you already know the best local take-aways - no-one will feel like cooking.
I once bought some rolls of velcro. 2" wide, 100m long. I've hardly made a dent in it by sewing, but it's bloody marvellous stuff for wrapping wardrobes and cupboards onto a sack truck. Each of my sack trucks has a couple of strapfuls permanently on them.
Worth making your own (2" upholstery webbing and a few feet of velcro each end). Holds the blanket padding into place too.
On Aug 30, 8:15=A0pm, The Medway Handyman wrote:Get
Short distance - so you have more options. Decide how to do it first.
When I used to install aerials for rental companies half the jobs were on houses where the people were in the process of moving in. Tips:
Anecdotes? Well, I saw a family arrive in the car from Glasgow, at 6pm. The new house was in Yorkshire. They had travelled without coats etc. All their warm clothes were in the removal van, and it was a cold January day. The van didn't arrive. It had broken down and came the next day. They got into the new house and found that there was no gas or electricity. This was a new house on a new estate and there's been a bungle between the utility companies and the builder. I was quite prepared to install the aerial in dark (common practice then) but it seemed a bit superfluous. The shops were all closed of course and they ended up going to the police station and asking where there was an hotel. I did the aerial a few days later by which time they'd seen the funny side.
Bill
Visit the destination beforehand - ideally when the sellers are half- packed. Walk around and plan how many new lightbulbs you need. Measure the wardrobes and the wardrobe spaces before you're carrying them.
Bin your rubbish a week ahead, not on the day. You're busy enough and you've no time to go to the tip. The tip is for other days, not move day.
Don't just pack and label boxes by rooms, break it down by time too. You don't need to (and won't) unpack everything on day 1. So organise your boxes to make this easy. Don't pack the teabags in the same box as the posh coffee machine, even if you do intend to keep them on the same shelf eventually.
Don't pack big boxes of books - you can't lift them. You can pack mixed boxes (layer of heavy books, then light crockery), but this means you can't stack them easily afterwards. If you need boxes, then buy them. I used to use PC monitor boxes (strong double layer cardboard), but no-one ships in strong boxes any more. Don't use crap boxes, or weirdly proportioned boxes.
Two toolboxes. One for packing (tape rollers, marker pens, string) and one for unloading (extension leads, portable lights, fuses, chocolate, string, gin). Screwdrivers in both, because you don't want to find your only stuff's in the wrong house. Use masking tape for labels, not Post-its.
Organise your crew. Find who you have and what their times are and do this beforehand. Plan tasks beforehand. Plan meal, tea and beer breaks beforehand, accounting for their timescales. This also helps plan when you order the pizzas. Re-organise crew if you have too many hefties or too many cleaners rostered at the same time. Make sure drivers licences are there for the hired van.
If you've got an airbed, it's easier than assembling a shipped bedframe and you'll already be knackered. Camping (or a caravan) is your friend - we lived out of our camping box for a week when we moved. Handy one-of-each kitchen implements and minimal pans, all in one place.
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