Moving upright piano - help!

[pianistwannabe]

Hi all,

I need to move an upright piano from a raised platform where it currently stands (about 6 inches from ground) at the back of the church, to the front, for a performance. 

The piano is on its own wheels (rather tight though, as it's rarely ever moved), and the ground is carpeted.

What is the right way to do this so no one's back gets hurt? 

Thanks for any advise.

wannabe

[bartolomeo_]

The professional movers put a rope or strap underneath the piano and put one man on each end.  The rope goes over the shoulders and around the back of the neck of each man and is adjusted in length so that the piano is lifted slightly if they straighten their backs completely.  Then they can use their hands for balance and guidance.  It works well but you still have to be strong.

If you have four strong men you can just put two on each end and carry it.  One lifts by the handle in back and the other by the keyboard.

[pianistwannabe]

This is more difficult than I anticipated.  Thank you very much for your response, though.  I'll have to do more thinking about this as I don't want anyone hurt on my behalf! 

[rc]

...It was quite a while since I moved my piano from the garage to the house (Through the alley, AROUND the block. Felt like we were driving the piano down the street).

So, we borrowed a ramp and wheelie from the music store. With a grunt, lifted one end of the piano while my brother slid the wheelie under the piano. We pushed it 'round to the front of the house on this wheelie, set up the ramp to the front steps (about 20 inches of steps). One pushed while the other guided and made sure the piano didn't fall over. Got it in the house, lifted the piano and got the wheelie out from underneath. The end.

[cy_shuster]

Ask your tuner for help!  Some pianos are top-heavy, so be careful; it may fall over on its keys or back.  The wheels on some pianos are very small, and may damage carpet or floors.

--Cy--

[pianistwannabe]

...It was quite a while since I moved my piano from the garage to the house (Through the alley, AROUND the block. Felt like we were driving the piano down the street).

So, we borrowed a ramp and wheelie from the music store. With a grunt, lifted one end of the piano while my brother slid the wheelie under the piano. We pushed it 'round to the front of the house on this wheelie, set up the ramp to the front steps (about 20 inches of steps). One pushed while the other guided and made sure the piano didn't fall over. Got it in the house, lifted the piano and got the wheelie out from underneath. The end.

That was quite a job!  And gives me hope.  What is a grunt?  Never heard of this word used as a noun.  Also, are you and your brother exceptionally big, strong, strapping guys?  Or just average size?  Others seem to think it takes 4 STRONG guys to do this.  And what kind of upright did you move - typical, or lighter than normal?

Thanks!

Kwok

[rc]

That was quite a job!  And gives me hope.  What is a grunt?  Never heard of this word used as a noun.  Also, are you and your brother exceptionally big, strong, strapping guys?  Or just average size?  Others seem to think it takes 4 STRONG guys to do this.  And what kind of upright did you move - typical, or lighter than normal?

Thanks!

Kwok

hahah, well a grunt is the noise I make when I'm lifting something heavy .

I would consider my brother and myself to be of average strength. We're not athletes or weight lifters, but no strangers to physical work.

I'm really not much of a gearhead with the instruments. I haven't moved any other pianos before. I figure the piano we moved was a fairly standard sized upright. 49" studio upright I believe is what it was.

The trick was just in the wheelie and the ramp, that meant that the most work we had to do was lifting one end of the piano to get the wheelie underneath, and the rest was pushing. We also had to go over the doorjambs, which was just a matter of tilting the piano on the wheelie. The only time I can think that it would be necessary to lift the piano completely off the ground would be a staircase, otherwise if you play it smart you shouldn't have to do more than lift one end at a time, which is manageable (you can try just lifting it a bit where it stands for a test). If all you have to overcome is a 6 inch drop you could probably even do it w/o wheelie and ramp.

Just remember to lift with your legs and not twist your back.

[penguinlover]

You're already done, but I'll reply anyway.  At our church, the piano is always being moved somewhere.  We just get several people around it, and go for it!  Sometimes there have only been two people, teenagers mostly.  We're gettting too old for such things.  We found out that you have to be careful of the legs, which tend to loosen with much moving around.  Also, the more you move a piano, the more it needs tuning! 

I'll bet you are glad that's over!  One church I was in actually wheeled the piano out in the parking lot and brought it down a ramp to the first floor, then positioned it.  Scared me to death - I couldn't watch.  We have moved a spinet piano upstairs that way too.  I don't watch.