What Determines the Cost of a Piano Move

People expect a piano to have a price, the way a sofa roughly does. It does not, because almost all of the work is determined by the building rather than the instrument.

Just-In-Time Moving moves pianos across Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County.

What actually sets the figure

The type, and specifically the model. An upright is not one thing. A small spinet and a full-size studio upright are meaningfully different weights and need different crew sizes. For a grand, the length decides the equipment.

Stairs, and more importantly turns. A straight flight is a known quantity at almost any length. A turn around a newel post, or a half-landing with a low ceiling above it, is where a job changes category. This is the single largest variable.

The outside approach. Steps up from a sidewalk, a steep front walk, gravel, no driveway. In the older central neighbourhoods this is frequently the hardest part of the whole job, and it is the part people never mention.

Distance, which matters least of the four. A piano going across town and one going three streets are much the same job.

Why quotes differ between companies

Mostly because of what was asked. A figure given over the phone from the word upright is a guess, and it gets revised when a crew sees a turning staircase.

The other reason is crew size. A piano moved by too few people is slower and considerably more dangerous, and a quote based on an optimistic crew is not the bargain it appears.

What you can do

Send the make and model, usually printed inside the lid or on the back, and photographs of the staircase including the turn, plus the approach from where a truck can park.

Clear the route beforehand, and in winter clear and salt the outside steps at both ends.

Decide the destination room in advance so nothing is moved twice.

If the piano is going into storage or a difficult room, say so at booking rather than on the day.

The other thing worth knowing is what a quote does not include. Tuning afterwards is not part of a move and it will be needed, because both the journey and the change of room affect it. If the instrument is going somewhere it will need a humidity system, or if it needs a technician to look at it first because it is old and its condition is unknown, those are separate and worth budgeting alongside rather than discovering after.

The estimate is free and comes in writing.

Call (435) 862-3080 or email office@movingjustintime.com.