By Julie DeLong, A-1 Freeman Moving Group
Aside from saving your back, and your friendships, there are other reasons to hire a moving company to pack and transport your household goods. For one thing, these people are pros and know how to pad and pack your valuables. They're also insured--if you drop Great-Grandma Margaret's crystal in the driveway, it's on you. If your professional mover doesn't get it just right and things break, no problem--it's covered.
Seems like a dumb question, right? Wrong.
If you pack a box of china and wrap everything well, chances are good that it will survive some bumps and maybe even a small drop. If you try to move a heavy piece of exercise equipment—like that Peloton that you got for Christmas--and you lose your grip and it slips to the ground, that bike, and possibly your walls and floor, is going to fare worse than the small box. You can buy replacement plates on eBay, but repairing that Peloton isn't going to be cheap, not to mention the cost of fixing the dings in the walls and scuffs on the floor.
You've got a lot invested in your gym equipment, so hiring a moving company to pack and transport them properly is well worth what you'll spend on professional help.
If you have any fine art or antiques, it's worth it to have them professionally packed and transported. These items are typically insured on a rider that is separate from your basic homeowner's policy--check the fine print about moving. There may well be a clause that you have to use professionals for coverage to be effective.
Another reason to use a moving company to deal with your fine pieces is that they have the tools and know-how (or 3rd party connections) to build custom crates and boxes for oddly shaped things like large mirrors, sculptures, paintings, and the like.
Okay, you're thinking, I've got a truck with a ramp, some hand trucks, and a bunch of quilts and tape, and my buds are strong guys. We can do this, no problem. Of course, you can. But is it really a good idea?
Moving that sofa across the room is one thing. Move it out of the house, across the driveway and into the truck is a whole different project, and unless it's a straight flat line from point A to point B, it's going to eat up a lot of time and energy. Multiply that sofa by chairs, tables, mattresses, other sofas, and a lawn mower, and that's not worth a cold beer and a pizza.
Then there's the dreaded piano--are you comfortable moving that? Even an upright piano weighs around 300 pounds, and a baby grand is easily 1000 pounds. There's close to 18 tons of pressure on the strings--and one can snap in a second of you don't know what you're doing. Not to mention the scratches on a hardwood floor--you've got to lift it up onto casters or a piano dolly, so you don't leave gouges in the wood.
String instruments are also fragile and should be moved in their cases. If you don't have the case, a professional can fashion a crate for the instrument, wrap it gently in bubble wrap, and then, they know exactly how to place it on the truck.
Knowing how to pack the truck is an art form, and you should leave all your heavy, fragile, and awkward-shaped things to the professional movers. But feel free to pack your own socks.
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