Piano movers who have done it before

It depends far more on access than on the instrument. Four things move the price: the piano type, since an upright is a different job from a grand; the number of stairs at each end; doorway and turn clearances; and how far the truck can park from the door. Tell us those four and we’ll put a real number in writing before move day.

Both. Grands are dismantled for the move: the lid and music desk come off, the legs and pedal lyre are removed, and the body travels padded on its side on a skid board. That’s the standard method. It protects the instrument, and it’s usually the only way the piano clears a normal doorway. We reassemble it at the other end.

Yes, and it’s one of the most common things we’re asked. Stairs are a crew-size and technique problem rather than a barrier. What we need to know in advance is how many flights, whether there are landings or turns, how wide the staircase is, and whether there’s a banister. Those determine how many people show up.

Almost certainly, and that’s normal even when nothing has gone wrong. Tuning drifts from the vibration of transport and from the new room’s temperature and humidity rather than from mishandling. Most technicians suggest letting the piano settle in its new home for a few weeks before tuning, so it acclimates first.

That’s a normal job and doesn’t need a truck at all. Same equipment, same technique, over a shorter route. It’s worth booking rather than attempting: most piano damage happens in short indoor moves where people assume the casters will do the work.

Yes. Older and player instruments are usually heavier than they look and the cabinetry can be fragile, so they get extra padding and a slower approach. If your piano has any history of structural repair, tell us when you book so we plan around it.

Piano type and rough age, the address at both ends, stairs and flights at each, door widths and any tight turns, and how close a truck can get to the door. Photos help more than descriptions. A picture of the staircase and the doorway answers most of our questions at once.