Don?t forget that conventional uprights have many easily removable parts that can lighten it. Lid, top front panel, lower front panel, keyboard lid etc. Few tools, if any required to remove. The main ?action? with all the hammers and levers can also be lifted out by undoing a few fasteners.
Tim
Angle Grinder. [g]
Mr Shifter is a real company in Doncaster.
I wouldn't start from there, I'd get a man in.
Presumably an upright, which isn't quite so bad.
My ex parents in law inherited a small Bechstein grand, in one of their moves it had to go into a first floor room in a Victorian Terrace in Oxford, apparently the movers took out the sashes and jury rigged some sort of hoist from above, c.f. the systems used in old Amsterdam (and London) warehouses.
I once sold a grand piano on ebay. When the buyers arrived to collect it we lifted it off the ground, tipped it back, and stood it up balancing it on its long edge on a bit of carpet. We then took the legs off and slid it to the front door (on the polished wood floor). Then we grabbed it as best we could and lifted it (still with its back edge down), carried it out. Then we turned it and put it flat on the floor of the van (still without the legs on).
We only just managed to lift it with 4 strong men - it was a huge effort. You need at least six to do it without risking hernias.
Specialist piano movers use special little trolleys.
Robert
Interestingly the piano I sold (see my previous post) was in my house in Watford :-)
R
I still remember the TV news item when Ted Heath lost the election and we saw the removal firm taking his grand piano out.
6 blokes and a trolly dolly of some sort with the piano up on its long edge and no legs.
SWMBO'd has "collected" two upright pianos here. One timber frame the other cast iron, the timber one is the heavier. That maybe down to the timber framed one being older so has a much better built case, even so it does have about 6 x 4 to 5' long 6x6 ish timbers in it...
F**KING HEAVY.
Without the right tool and some thought about any routes through doors etc, yes.
But with the right tool it becomes a lot easier. The right tool is a
*very strong* single axle dolly about 15" long and 12" wide with large (6") soft (pnumatic), with the tops of the wheels below the top surface of the dolly and inside the 12" width. The one I've seen was made from nothing smaller than 3 x 2.Lift one end of piano, slide dolly underneath as near central as possible lower piano onto dolly and it'll be a POP to move and rotate in it's own diagonal width. The large wheels enable small level variations to be negociated. Single steps over an inch or so will require some form of ramp, this might just be a rectanglura bit of wood laid large dimesion down next to the obstical to reduce the size of each required vertical lift.
With a good dolly getting the bastard thing into the van is like to be the hard bit. A ramp to be shallow enough to push the piano up on the dolly is going to require so seriously chucky bits of timber and still need supporting and don't forget the van suspension will "give" quite a bit when the weight gets applied.
Picking it up and getting one end in and onto old carpet (backing side up) to slide in might be possible with four blokes. Personally I'd have a word with one of the local farmers and get them to come round with a front loader and some strong strops. Strops under each end, prevented from sliding to the midle some how, front loader picks it up and gets one end into van on the old carper, then blokes shove it in as the front loader slowly lowers.
Yes, good for lessening the weight whilst dollying about. Taking the main action out is also possible but it does have lots of easy to snag fragile bits. I'd put it back in for transport in the van and put it well out the way when shifting the main part.
When I had one moved I was amazed at how easy they made it look. A little dolly underneath and away you go and yes it was iron framed upright.
Problem solved
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