Moving the Family Piano

Russ Vitt

MOST OF US HAVE SEEN OR HEARD a humorous story of ordinary people attempting to move the heaviest thing ever made: a piano. Just thinking about it can give otherwise macho adults lower-back pain. A typical vertical piano weighs 300 to 500 pounds; some larger uprights can weigh over 800. Grand pianos typically weigh about 100 pounds per foot of length, but some concert grands weigh as much as 1,400 pounds. While pianos are abnormally heavy, with thousands of moving parts, they are also fragile. Additionally, many pianos have fine finishes that are sensitive to extremes of temperature and humidity. Then, to make things even more interesting, there are obstacles to maneuver, such as steps, turns, overhangs, hills, culs-de-sac, wet grass, and long gravel driveways. So, as someone who needs a piano moved, what are your options?

As the owner of a professional piano-moving company, I can’t recommend moving a piano yourself. Risk of personal injury and damage to the instrument outweigh the advantage of saving a few dollars. Here are just a few of the many mistakes people make, and the dangers that await you if you try to do it yourself:

Letting the piano get away from you: Gravity can be a powerful tool when used properly, but it’s dangerous if not respected. If someone slips or loses their grip, the piano will start moving by itself. In The Piano Book, Larry Fine tells the story of some friends who tried to move an upright piano. As they tipped the piano back, the bottom scooted away from them, causing the instrument to fall. The top edge gouged the wall and severed an electric cable, which started a fire that burned down the house. If something like this can happen in the home, imagine what gravity will do on steps or a steep outside grade. I’m sure you’ve seen those commercials in which a piano is being hoisted by crane and falls from a great height, breaking into smithereens. The truth, though, is that for many moves, particularly those above the second floor, hoisting by crane is much safer than moving a piano by hand. In some kinds of geography, additional equipment and creativity may be needed. One move we did in hilly San Francisco, on a street too steep for a truck to maneuver, required three professionals, two tow straps, an all-terrain vehicle, and an SUV! Don’t think you can do this yourself.

Moving a piano without securing it to the vehicle: A piano sitting on a truck may seem just fine in the driveway, but a piano is not like a refrigerator, which is heavy mostly at its base. An upright piano’s weight is evenly distributed from top to bottom, and some may even be top-heavy. Even a slight turn or grade can encourage a piano to jump ship. One story has the proud piano owner playing his instrument in the back of a pickup as they ride down the road. When the truck turned at a traffic light, the piano, motivated by inertia to keep going straight, did a back flip out of the truck, whereupon it ceased being in one piece.