Help!!! Getting ready to move

[Bill671]

My SWMBO has decided we are moving into a new home (New construction) with a very large walkout basement that's MINE- ALL MINE (almost....)

Here's the question: I'm fairly well equipped, tablesaw, drill press, bandsaw, planer, lathe, and more benchtop tools the she really needs to know about. What are your thoughts or experiences on relocationg my shop ?

Distance is about an hour away, so it's not unreasonable to consider moving it myself (odds are we may need to go the storage route for a few months). I think I'll call the local high school football coach and see if he has any linemen that need a good workout and a few bucks. Is this the way I want to do it, or am just over estimating how bad a professional moving company is going to ding me if I let them do it? I am hiring the pros for the rest of the house.

All input greatly appreciated.

Bill C in NJ ( Soon to be PA)

[George]

What? Compromise their amateur status?

Pros have some strange ideas about packing and handling. A half-dozen pro moves as a GI were not as easy on tools as the ones where my crew and friends put everything in several pickups/vans and hauled. Be sure to have a bunch of wedging material to keep motors, grunions, other moveable parts from flopping. And be there to tell them where they may lift without damage or maladjustment.

[bridger]

the distance makes less difference than you might think- mostly time.

the moving co. will have the right equipment and the right insurance. if your shop is anything like mine it's worth more than most of your furniture.

call around a bit. machinery movers can vary a lot in price.

[Pounds on Wood]

We moved just a year ago May and we had pro movers do all the moving including machinery. We did all the boxing and packing and wrapping of stuff ourselves. That saves you a bunch of money. We were only moving 15 minutes away but the total for a 1100 sq/ft home and a 400 sq/ft shop was around $700. Worth every penny. Nothing broken.

One suggestion if you have any concerns is to buy the optional insurance. Otherwise their standard coverage will only be based on weight carried and it is not much. I took my chances and did not buy it, and lady luck smiled on us. YMMV

You can see the old and new shops on my site to get an idea of the equipment moved.

[Rudy]

We did the same but put it all in an 18' Ryder truck and moved ourselves

1500 miles for the same $ 700.00

Getting the unisaw and the 800 lb Honda M/C tucked in there was a chore tho..How much DOES a Unisaw weigh anyway ?

R

[Charlie Self]

Rudy asks:

Give or take, 450 pounds.

Charlie Self "It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man." H. L. Mencken

[Rich]

IMHO Use the movers! #1 you or your SWMBO could get hurt since you dont pick up heavy things and move them in and out of trucks everyday. Save yourself for all that good woodworking. #2 Liability problem with the school kids. #3 Worth every penny. I moved and was intending on moving most of the tools by myself. When I saw how easy and efficient they loaded up the house I said dont forget about the shop! 30-45 mins later the whole shop was in their truck. #4 Prepare yourself for something to get busted up, scratched, dinged, or just plain broken, it happens. No big deal. #5 Dont forget they also unload it for you too! Plan on where its going if possible.

Rich

[Pounds on Wood]

Not quite sure what you mean by "did the same" since you moved yourself. You rented a truck and it cost $700?

Paying pro's to do the heavy lifting is not for everyone. As I get older I am less interested in mucking fridges around, and as I get older my friends seem to be getting older too. It's a very personal decision. One thing I did not mention before is that we moved our 3 computer systems, televisions, and clothing ourselves. The electronics because I was concerned about handling, and clothing because it is not worth boxing that stuff for a short trip.

Interesting thing about the moving company estimator. He came out with a hand held, sort of a pocket PC kind of thing. Walked around looking at what must be moved, and checking off on a list on the PC what was included. I was surprised to see that he was pre-programmed with table saws, radial arm saws, bandsaw, jointer, just about all my woodworking equipment was pre-programmed with cubic foot and weight. The only thing I recall he did not have was a shop built router table/cabinet. I think his estimate for the tablesaw was 200#, and I had a Unisaw. For a roll-around tool chest he was way too low too, don't recall how low just now. But I had packed the drawers tight with all the heavy stuff I could fit in there. The movers did not enjoy rolling those chests up the ramp. Those things went in my favor. Generally you pay by a rate per hundred pounds, but it is all just estimated, plus an hourly estimate.

[Rudy]

Moved for $ 700 with a lot of tools, but DIY style.

Yes, it costs $ 700 to rent a one way truck for a 1500 mile trip to another country (Canada)

True, I hope to never have to do it again. I called for estimates and the CHEAPEST was a trucking company (AMF? or something like that) Their idea is to drop off a semi trailer unit in your driveway and YOU fill it up (pay by the lineal foot used). They deliver about a week later..You unload.. and for that, they wanted over $ 1100 USD which at the time was about $1400 CDN. I figured the Ryder @ 700 was a bargain.

R

[Charlie Self]

Rudy responds:

Truck rental prices have gone done a little in the past 3 decades. We paid just under $350 for a Budget rental 15' about 2 weeks ago. For a larger truck about

28 years ag (24' sticks in my mind, but those don't seem to be available any more: it's a short one or a long one, 15' and 28'), I paid about $725.

And you're right: our friends age at the same rate we do, so bad backs, messed up tickers and large bellies are often shared features of life. We hired help at both ends so my wife and I didn't end up moving furniture we no longer care to handle--refrigerator, washing machine, dressers, sofa, similar large, weighty objects. We also used my pick-up (tiny S10) to haul down several loads of toys for the shop over the preceding weeks, and made 3 trips with rental cargo vans (prices all over the lot and not generally available for one-way rentals) to finish out the shop items and to bring down a love seat and a short list of other items.

I fully expect to stay right where I am until I die. It is NOT worth the experience of moving again to see another town.

Charlie Self "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy." Ernest Benn

[Mutt]

I moved my fully equipped shop 3 times in 6 years (job relo) - Northern NJ to Phila, Phila to Charlotte, and Charlotte back to NJ - and each time I had professional movers the company paid for. Each move was different. Just because they were "professional" does not mean they know how to move unisaws, planers, jointers and the like. Nor pack them properly in the truck. The first time I left it to the "pros" and got broken and dented machines (insurance paid for the repairs, however). The next two times I took charge and made sure they did it my way. My suggestions: if you can take off the cast iron wings of the Tablesaw, do so, as it's lighter for them to carry and less likely to get damaged. Remove all fences, pack them separately. I actually disassembled my lathe and packed it up in boxes, as that was damaged the first go-round. Dust collector too, its too tall to pack properly. Jointers are a problem as they always want to lift them by the ends of the infeed and outfeed tables, and you have to ride herd on them not to do that. So, take the time and prepare with partial disassembly if you have the time.

For some unknown reason (likely too lazy to bring them out of the cellar and throw them out) I saved the origninal boxes for the miter saw and grinders, so if you have them, use them. Pack up all your handheld power and hand tools yourself, as the "pros" subcontract out "help" that in some cases might just finished doing 7 to 10 at Rahway and things 'tend' to disappear (I lost 75 CD's, all my country music) and tools are expensive. I did all of the above for the last two moves and everything turned out fine. Just be there on move out and move in days, assert yourself, and if you have mobile bases, have them packed last so they can be put in place for them to put the machines in them. They'll appreciate that when moving them thru the cellar, and if they have plywood sheets (most do) they can roll the stuff to the truck. Good luck.

Mutt.

[RonB]

Many areas have movers that provide local moving services for a very nice rate. a few years ago a local company provided a truck and three movers that loaded my house full of furniture and pre-packed boxes and unloaded into temporary storage for less than $300. Since we had a house under construction, we had to use them again for the move from storage to the home and again it cost about $250. Obviously, we could have saved the second cost if our house was ready. They were bonded, insured and very efficient.

My daughter's family used the same service for a long-distance move. The company provided two movers that loaded their large rental truck. Again a full house of furniture including SERIOUS weight lifting equipment. Cost about $400. (They got help on the other end for unload.)