POSTS PORTFOLIO SEARCH SHOP
PORTFOLIO
SEARCH
SHOP
  • Your Cart Is Empty!
Rosedale Piano Movers - 1058a Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M4W 2L4 416-929-1915
BLOG

Piano Moving Checklist

By on

February 5, 2021

- BLOG

Planning a Piano Move? It’s Easy if You Follow This Checklist!

Let’s be honest, a piano is an expensive, uniquely shaped, sensitive, and extremely heavy instrument that’s awkward to move. It takes a professional team to move a piano safely from point A to point B.

The following checklist provides a comprehensive overview of everything a piano owner must consider in order to have a successful move.

1. Confirm there is a clear path for the move. It’s best to communicate (prior to the move) with your piano moving company about any obstacles the movers may encounter (at both locations). Obstacles can include uneven ground, grass, broken pavement, spiral staircases, tight spaces, and corners. During wintery months, ensure snow and ice are cleared from the moving path before the movers arrive.



2. Accurate information is important. By knowing the correct number of steps, the moving company will be able to provide you with an accurate quote. It is also important to know and relay the dimensions (primarily height) of your piano so you will not be surprised with additional charges.

3. Ensure the piano moving company has good customer reviews. By checking out the Google reviews and testimonials on the company webpage, you can get a glimpse of what to expect.



4. Ensure the piano moving company is properly insured and WSIB compliant. Sometimes, accidents happen and your instrument is the one that takes the brunt of it all. Insurance can’t prevent these things from happening, but they can help make the situation right in the aftermath.

5. Have a plan for securing your pets. As much as we love interacting with your furry friends, their safety during the move is paramount.

 

6. Book a piano tuning after the move. Although a piano is robust and can take a lot of use and abuse, they are also very sensitive to changes in environment. A bouncy move in the back of a truck can often shake things loose, meaning your piano will require a tuning after it arrives and settles. Our sister company Paul Hahn & Co. recommends allowing the piano to settle and acclimatize for 3-4 weeks before having it tuned. At Rosedale Piano Movers, we can coordinate that with you. We have partnered with Paul Hahn & Co to be able to offer 10% off your piano tuning when you book a move with us. They have some of the country’s best piano technicians.


Now that you’ve checked off all the items on our checklist, reach out to us at info@rosedalepianovers.com, visit here or call us at 416-929-1915 to obtain a quote. Piano moving doesn’t need to be a daunting task. Let our professional crew do the heavy lifting for you.
0
BLOG

The Diary of a Lonely Piano Techni… MOVER?

By on

April 23, 2020

- BLOG

It is difficult to be lonely when you’re sharing the cab of a moving truck with two other guys. However, when the guys fall asleep on the long country roads of rural Ontario, it feels like it’s just me and the road again.  

A few days prior to the province-wide shut down due to COVID-19, I was asked if I would take a few days to help the piano moving company attached to Paul Hahn and Co. by driving the truck. The regular truck driver and moving lead was busy delivering a piano to my home province of Nova Scotia. I love driving, so this sounded great. There are some very valuable things I quickly learned during my two days as a truck driver and piano mover.

As the driver of a car, I know how big it is, and I know that I can look over my shoulder to see if there is a car along side of me. I know that if I prod my foot into the accelerator, I’ll be whisked off in a seamless wave of torque. This is not true of driving a 15 foot moving truck. Even after two days I couldn’t be sure where the back of the truck was, there was no wave of torque with my right foot mashed to the floor, and I wanted to scream obscenities at everyone who cut me off because they could, and they did. Lesson learned. Give those who are driving large vehicles plenty of space. Allow them to merge on the highway, and do not cut them off only to pile on the brakes because of impatience. These things are obvious, but it becomes even more so when you’re behind the wheel of said large vehicle.

Piano movers are marvels of brute strength and laws of physics. The last move of the first day was a nightmare, until we encountered the first move of the second day. Both pianos needed to go up very long flights of stairs. The last piano of the first day was a huge Heintzman upright. The stairs were a straight flight on the outside of the house to a second floor apartment. My biggest fear was that we would get half way up and the whole staircase would let go from the side of the house; the movers were concerned they were going to miss the rugby match. 30 minutes after arriving, the piano was in its new home, and the boys were going to get to watch their rugby match. The first move on the second day essentially involved bending a piano. It was the only way I could see it making it up the set of stairs in front of us. It was a smaller Heintzman console upright, and the issue with the set of stairs to the second floor apartment was a landing where the direction of the stairs changed. The plan was to get the piano on its side, which meant it had to be lifted onto each step, while also being pushed into an increasing vertical angle. Long story short, these two motions were counterproductive. The first attempt was fruitless, so the piano came back down to level ground. This was a day the movers were thankful for a piano technician being on hand. I took as many parts off the piano as I could, and while in the end it didn’t seem like much, the reduction of 50 pounds and an inch or two of casework made enough difference that we were able to get it onto the landing and up the stairs into its new home.  

I hope both of these pianos never need to come back down… at least while I’m driving the truck.

Christopher Ritcey-Conrad, usually a Paul Hahn piano technician

0
BLOG

“Just needs tuning”

By on

August 15, 2017

- BLOG

Every week we move pianos that have been purchased online, on the usual classified sites like Kijiji & Craigslist. There are always diamonds in the rough: pianos that have outlived their usefulness to their owners, but have been well looked after, and are in good, ‘sit down and play’ condition. A simple visit from a tuner to tune the piano after it is delivered and you’re enjoying a good instrument for less than you may have had to pay at a dealer.


But in my experience, this is the exception, rather than the rule. The simple truth is that most pianos being sold, or even given away online have been neglected. Age and neglect conspire to render pianos untunable. I see ads every day that say: “may need tune-up”, which is usually an understatement.


Yes, the piano is out of tune, but if it is old, hasn’t been tuned in years, it’s a sure bet that there it needs much more than ‘just tuning’. Loose tuning pins, weak strings, broken bridges or pinblocks, worn out hammers, seized centre pins… these are just some of the things we see on neglected, old pianos.


“But, I’m not very good!”, or “My kids are just starting!” is often the response to our friendly warning to be careful. The simple truth is that if the piano is not performing the way it was designed to perform, it is a very rare person who finds that piano inspiring enough to sit down, play, practice and get better. At worst, the piano is delivered and only then is a tuner called in.


Every week the technicians at our sister company Paul Hahn & Co. visit pianos that have been purchased online that need hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to be useful as musical instruments. This disappointing news is the precursor to a life without piano playing in it. An old, out of tune piano is one way to guarantee that a child hates lessons, and certainly a way for an adult to choose another way to spend their time.

Our best advice is to have any piano whose purchase you are considering should be looked at by an experienced technician, and preferably one with some rebuilding experience. Even when the news is bad, an old piano that needs some TLC can still represent a good opportunity. Before you commit to fixing someone else’s neglect, call our sister company Paul Hahn & Co. – they are our preferred technicians, and they can visit the piano to make sure that you won’t be surprised by the news that you’ve just purchased a several thousand dollar project.

They can be reached at 416-922-3122, or by emailing them through their website at www.paulhahn.com.  – A visual inspection costs less than $100 in Toronto, and can save you money and anxiety. If you’re considering a piano purchase online, I urge an abundance of caution, and some of the best money you can spend is to have it assessed before you buy.


– Jeremy Elliot

0
Give Us A Call