How to Move a Piano - Moving a Piano

[@esthersanborn]

Great video, Mr. Estrin!! My Shirgeru Kawai 6 ' was moved in five separate parts: The action was removed, each leg, the lyre, the wing and fall board. The Instrument needed to come up one flight so perhaps that is why it was taken apart. I don't know. It is very interesting and SCARY to watch your beloved Instrument be moved!! Hire Pros. !! Thanks for this video.

[@MichaelDillin]

even a perfect piano move at 15 minutes and 12 seconds where the molding falls off really warms my heart because we are all human even the perfect piano movers thank you it's a great video I appreciate your work and editing 👍

[@codetech5598]

I like the way they use the pedal lyre as a weight bearing pivot and a lifting handle.

[@NWbrewmeisters]

Ok. The beer and pizza remark at the end would be enough to get me to hire you if needed. Made me laugh.

[@jskeys83]

So putting shrink wrap on the piano first causing slippage also using the pedals to drop the piano is going to weaken the structure and every style of piano has its own locking mechanisms!

[@stoundingresults]

Threw my back just seeing this video.👏

[@annie4424]

Always wondered how the bigger pianos were moved. Thanks!

[@stoneylove1445]

I use the same technique, but I do it better! Don't use a furniture dolly. The piano will slide out if you don't have that third man. I do it by myself. I built my own dolly to have rigid wheels, no swivel.

[@peter_castle]

This was better than "mind blowing" things. Great video!!! I maybe share it soon.

[@studentjohn35]

The community concerts association of a town where i played a gig, let me use their Steinway B211. The movers worked as in this video, putting weight on the lyre when tipping over. I told the technician when he arrived, what i had witnessed. His eyes opened wide with the realization: So many times he had to repair that Steinway's lyre, wondering how brutal was the concert pianist's foot. he spoke to the foreman, and they always removed the lyre before tipping after that, with muttered curses by several of the men.

[@LivingPianosVideos]

Movers have to be experienced enough to know which piano lyres are strong enough to support the weight, and which ones are not. Some pianos (particularly older or larger pianos) cannot support the weight of the piano sufficiently.

[@studentjohn35]

@@LivingPianosVideos There's a difference between moving an instrument out of a store into a client's home and a community concerts piano that is in and out of a truck 6 or 7 times a year. But the tipping over on the lyre reinforces to the crew that it is the proper procedure, which it is not. hence the Steinway B's continuously recurring problem. Old Moeller (1901-1995) never allowed that, even for the smallest Schimmel or Zimmermann 150 cm grand. In recent years, devices have been made and marketed that replace the lyre for the tipping process. That, I approve of, and it is a nifty rig.

[@anthonypeterson5618]

Hinges and tops always hang. I remove them. After several moves I just dont move anymore. Its just a tough piece of furniture to move when stairs are involved. Gud luc for the next guys moving a grand.

[@andrewbrown3824]

Yes I always take off the top and hinges. 3 strong men for the stairs.

[@bobm2637]

If it was my piano, I'd sure want the entire thing wrapped in blankets before shrink wrap was put on. Although once the piano is wrapped in blankets, the shrink wrap isn't necessary. I wouldn't let anyone move my piano unless it was completely wrapped in blankets.

[@andrewbrown3824]

The shrink is put on to protect the finish of the piano from the moving pads and straps. I think they could have used more pads. good video though.

[@bobm2637]

@@andrewbrown3824 Yes. I learned that the hard way. My Steinway Model B was moved one year ago. I told the movers to cover the piano with a 100% cotton cloth that I gave them in order to protect the piano's finish from the moving blankets, an even better measure than the shrink wrap. But, they didn't and put the moving blankets directly on the piano. Long story short - the blankets imprinted on the piano's finish. Shrink wrap...not to mention the cotton cover I supplied to the idiots...would have prevented that. But the main point of my original comment is unchanged. The entire piano should be wrapped in blankets for the move.

[@johncraw6716]

Not a professional piano mover, but WOW I started cringing when the put the weight of the piano on the pedals. I'm pretty sure that's a really bad idea. Also don't understand wrapping the shrink wrap directly on the finish rather than blankets first. I would think the blanket surface would be better for the finish than the plastic. Tipping it directly on the dolly seems like a time saving strategy, but I wonder how many of those slip partially out as they do it.

[@johncraw6716]

Oh, and why are they not taking the lid off. I thought that was a must in piano moving.

[@erinarellano1666]

I'm on my gfs yt account. I've been moving pianos for almost 2 years, my company has been doing it for 5 years, and the owner 15-20yrs who learned from his uncle who has been doing it for 40+ years. We almost always tip on the pedals unless a customer is anal. It's perfectly safe as long as you use the right equipment, fold the pad correctly, tighten and line everything up. In all reality not much weight is actually on the pedals. It's all dispersed between the rear leg, pedals, piano board, and the movers physical strength. What is really important though is the rear leg cradle and the tightness of the screws or other method of securing it to the piano. There almost always has to be someone there supporting it as it goes up because that's where most of the weight is during the tip. Once you've landed correctly on the board the piano will not move. You can actually leave it from there if you need to wrap the legs, bench, or cleanup/fold pads. We have a solid steel piano tipper that mounts to where the pedals would be. It's a $1,500-$2,500 dollar tool that adds about 10-15minutes to every job. Concerning the lid. It's more of a time thing. In my experience we've never actually taken off the lids. It's far too time consuming and doesn't have any real benefit. It also helps with the wrapping process by keeping it on. Unlike in this video We use two commercial grade rubber bands to secure the lid instead of straps. Before we land on the dolly we always lay a piano moving blanket on the board. Also in my experience I've only once saran wrapped a piano. It's also an unnecessary step we take if the customer is anal or prefers it that way. Something else I see them do in the video is take the board off the dolly in the truck. That is also unnecessary. The piano will stay glued to the dolly and the floor as long as the e-trac Ratchets are tight which they will never get loose once secure. You can shake the entire truck and flip it over. It will still be there and not move one bit. The most challenging thing with piano moving is any job that has a flight of stairs. You have to remove the dolly pick up the piano onto the stairs. Usually one person will have to be on the top with their hips and knees bent low with tow straps in their hands that are connected and ran through the inside of the board. He will be pulling and lifting each onto stair on the count of three. Two people will usually be on the bottom. One pushing and lifting, the other on the side, pushing and balancing preventing the piano from tipping to eitherside. It gets even harder if there is ever a landing. In alot of cases stair landings are too small for pianos to turn on. What needs to be done from then on out is getting the piano practically vertical and lifting over the railing onto the next flight of stairs and repeating the process. Eitherway, by the time the piano is up the stairs everyone is out of breath. We usually have to take a 5 minute break at that point. For myself I can't even walk. I'm usually the guy at the top bending my knees and hips to the maximum.

[@TruckTaxiMoveIt]

@@erinarellano1666 "Ffffffffffffff..." I'll leave the pianos to you guys but I still want to know how it's done so I thank you for the information

[@alexcohen3025]

A perfect piano move... to nowhere LOL

[@MichaelDillin]

It was the same shots just running the footage backwards LOL

[@JuliLindsey]

Thank you so much!! So thorough. I am realizing that I think I will hire professionals!!

[@chadchast]

great video, thanks

[@RedDiamondInfinity8]

The piano should have been covered entirely, as well as each leg once removed individually. Thus would have been a prefect piano move unfortunately the piano got damaged at the end. Notice were you see a chip of wood fall off.

[@LivingPianosVideos]

That damage must have been there to begin with. There was no damage on this piano. We have used these piano movers hundreds if not thousands of times and they have never damaged one piano.

[@inthesunbythebeach]

@@LivingPianosVideos Are good movers available in South Florida?

[@christerbaverfalk6292]

watch at 5:10. is that a part of the piano strukture faling off? haha always bring your own glue. cheers

[@robonymous4620]

Good ... but doesn't show how to move up / down flights of stairs.

[@erinarellano1666]

There are videos for that. If you want my opinion you're better off using a crane or material lift because it's a pain. If you do have people do it. Make sure to tip them well. A & A Piano Moving Albuquerque, New Mexico Jeremiah W

[@mishakarst3494]

@5:12 some finish is breakin off?

[@ryanpotako7779]

I was wondering about that too.

[@kinandpat]

Ryan Potako That a pin not the finishing

[@BacktoAzn]

Very risky to put it down on a dolly like that

[@Dr_Xyzt]

Great!

[@markwilliams2036]

I would never roll a piano on its legs like that,, maybe this one is strong enough but many are NOT.

[@bduponu247]

You should never have the pedals on the piano when tipping it over and you should put the piano on the grand board, then strap the piano to the grand board, and finally lift one end of the grand board and slide the dolly under. So what's the test to see if the pedals will hold the weight of the piano...surely not by tipping the piano over on them :-(

[@erinarellano1666]

This is probably the most controversial thing in piano moving. As a mover myself we've almost always tipped on the pedals, but just like everything there is a right and wrong way to do it. First thing first is tightening all the screws for both the tail leg, and the pedals next is setting the board properly ontop of the dolly to ensure weight is evenly distributed. Next a High Strength Piano Moving pad is folded in a tight square about halfway under the pedals. This is where it gets technical rather than physical. After that another pad is placed on the board to help with the wrapping process. Then we make a mental mark on the board where we want the keyboard corner to land. It's really important to land correctly and exactly at this spot otherwise the weight won't be properly dispersed and there could be complications. Someone then Cradles the rear leg taking the pressure off of it to ensure it doesn't bend or break. This is where most of the weight is. Once on the board it is pretty easy from there. Just more wrapping and disassembly. We do have specialty tools for this part, but they usually add an extra 15-20 minutes to a job, mount to where the pedals mount and cost $1,500-2,500 dollars. As a rule in business we try to keep our costs down and our profits high. A & A Piano Moving Albuquerque, New Mexico Jeremiah W

[@martinuribe3544]

👁 likewise beautiful Tks Martin

[@cuevaspedrocarrillo]

Awesome Movie, Great editing, and very well instructed! :)

[@Aapmco]

We have some of the best piano moving videos on KZbin, check us out!

[@camlpg]

I liked how you said use your brains more than braun to move a piano. The fact you never showed how to move a piano up and down stairwells irks me. Plus, I don't quite understand how beer and pizza can make a man strong; more like try eating a steak for breakfast once and a while.

[@Emperatriz_Valentina]

To move a Piano you need to have the right equipment. Oh and some Beer and Pizza, yeah that helps to

[@erinarellano1666]

There is a reason you tip your piano mover and please don't give us La Croix. Cash or Water is fine. Kind of have to save beer for home because any lack of coordination will throw off the entire process.Also since you bend and practically do situps while moving pianos. It's not good to have beer sloshing around in your stomach either. I tried it once and almost threw up. Never again. A & A Piano Moving Albuquerque, New Mexico Jeremiah W

[@elcidcampeador497]

Please don't idolize the darn thing. It's not worth it. It's not worth chewing out a fellow human over a wooden box with strings. ❤️

[@brianbutterworth2047]

scared the Shiite outa me I would never do this like they did shrink wrap can adhere to the piano finish this has to be an ad cause there is no reality involved. why were the legs brought out unwrapped, and whats with the uncovered end of the piano.Its all good till the pedals snap off. BS the whole vid is

[@dayvannaschreiner4981]

I love I sabella.s

[@duanekressin2278]

You must be kidding they’re tipping the 600 pound piano on wheels? They need to put it on the piano board first then put the piano board and Piano on the dolly second instead of chasing some wheels around the living room God for bid.

[@darrenhee]

new zealand?