exchanging washer and dryers between homes

[Doug]

Before I check around, any idea what I should expect to pay to exchange side by side washer and dryers ( including uninstalling hoses and reinstalling them after the exchange) between homes which are both

1 story homes. The distance between homes is 3 to 4 miles apart (5 traffic lights between). My guess with 2 men would be 1 to 1.5 hours labor using a dolly and truck.

Also one set washer/dryer is the fancier type (Samsung front loaders WF419 and DV419 on pedestals). I don't know if these require extra care in moving compared to the regular type washer / dryers? Is this true? Who is best to move these or who should I consider calling?

[George]

Why not call an appliance store? They are certainly used to handling appliances.

[Doug]

Wow. I called a local mover and he basically charges $68 trip charge and $68/hr with a 2 hour minimum. I think 2 hours should be enough for this job. I promise if I do it, I won't have the machines running then .

[Ed Pawlowski]

It depends. Who is going to remove the laundry room door if need be? When I had a new dryer delivered, I already had the door off, but it turns out even the stop had to come off to squeeze it through.

How long have the connections been in place? If old, consider new hoses as the old ones may be stiff and break when flexed in the new location. Or they may be damage in the removal process.

If everything goes smooth with connections and space, two guys can easily do the job in about the time you estimate. If things don't go so smooth, it can be 3 hours or so. My dryer delivery turned out to be an hour easily for two guys.

Try a local mover that does small jobs, or a local handyman kind of guy. If you want cheap and are willing to take some risk, get a couple of the local derelicts at the bar if they have a pickup truck.

I can see it being $100 to $300. Rates will be from $50 to $75 per man with some sort of minimum.

Oh, clean the dryer vent while they are out too.

[TomR]

You mentioned that both homes are 1-story. That should make things a lot easier, depending on how many steps there are up or down (even to a 1-story home), how accessible the washers and dryers are, how wide the appliances and the doorways are, etc.

But, overall, it sounds to me like a job that a reasonably skilled handyman-type person with a pickup truck and possibly a hand truck could easily do. To me, it is not really a "moving" job -- it's more of an appliance disconnect and hook-up job.

In my case, I have a handyman/contractor type person that has his own truck and tools etc. that I pay $30/hour. For this type of small project, I would expect that he could probably do the whole thing in a couple of hours -- maybe 4 at the most. With an appliance hand truck, one person can do the move. But, if I were around, I would probably have my handyman/contractor person do the job and I would be there to help a little on the move up or down the few steps that would be involved. That may not be an option for you.

[Doug]

Good advice Ed. Thanks !!