Plan Your Route
Before lifting anything, map out your path first, recommends Nick Valentino from Bellhop, which serves 27 states. “It’s crucial to determine the route beforehand, particularly when handling big pieces of furniture,” he explains. “Doing this allows you to remove any obstructions, check for narrow doorways or sharp turns, and ensure bystanders are safely out of the way.”
Your dimensions might show that slipping through a rear entrance—or perhaps even a window—could be simpler than attempting to force a big, bulky object through a too-small main doorway, particularly one leading to stairs. Getting creative could spare your back for later tasks.
Plan Where It Lands
If you’re relocating to a new house or apartment, determine ahead of time where each piece of furniture should be placed. Prior to the move, draw up a detailed floor plan using accurate measurements.
measurements
For each space, measure your furniture and design your floor plan. Afterward, when you start moving items in, either you or your assistants can position them correctly from the beginning so nothing needs relocating later.
To simplify the task for the movers, attach a copy of the layout to the wall in each room so individuals can quickly see where items should be placed.
Transport Long Objects Above and Below
Stop worrying about managing a tall
dresser
, assembling a filing cabinet or shelving unit on your own. It typically requires two people.
Lean the object back at an incline and let one individual hold the upper part while another grasps the lower section. This balances the load and prevents the article from moving unpredictably. It also simplifies navigating steps because the holding angle aligns well with the staircase gradient.
‘Hook’ Chairs Around Corners
Rachel Long from The Moving Site refers to this method as the “Hook Around.” This approach is used when relocating bulky items.
easy chair
Turn the chair sideways so it resembles an “L” shape, then push it backward through the doorway. Bend it around the doorframe and slide it through. This method also applies to large tables that can’t be disassembled,” explains Long.
If you’re relocating to an area prone to earthquakes, it’s wise to take precautions.
furniture anchors
once the relocated furniture has been placed to ensure it remains stationary.
Stand Couches on End
When you need to move a sofa downstairs,
hallway
and through a door, you may find it almost impossible to carry it horizontally and turn it into the room. Here’s what to do: Stand the couch on its end before you enter the hallway and slide it to the doorway. You’ll almost always be able to use the Hook Around method to get it through the door. If it’s a bit taller than the door opening, tilt the top away from the door. That should gain you several inches of clearance.
Use Furniture Carrying Straps
Movable and lift straps (also known as shoulder dollies) reduce strain on your back by utilizing leverage and stronger muscle groups. These tools also allow you to keep your hands free so you can handle cumbersome items more easily. When choosing lifting straps, opt for those that offer adjustability for various lengths of objects along with adaptable sizes suitable for different movers.
Using shoulder dollies on stairs can be challenging as the entire weight falls onto the person moving downhill, yet they will surely assist in saving energy when navigating flat areas.
Don’t Carry or Drag—Slide
You can
buy furniture
Various forms and dimensions of sliders can be found at local hardware stores or purchased online. You can even create your own sliders using items like lids from containers, frisbees, duvets, moving blankets, towels, and pieces of carpets. Opt for rigid plastic sliders for use with carpeting and softer, cushioned ones for hard floors.
“Planning for transitions is crucial,” says Valentino. “Using both sliders along with movable straps will significantly ease the process of switching between sliders during changes in flooring types, as well as facilitate moving items from inside to the truck.”
Shield Furniture Using Blankets and Plastic
Packing blankets are essential for safeguarding your belongings during relocation as well as preventing damage to the walls. While they can be rented affordably, purchasing multiple ones from a home improvement store or U-Haul location might only cost slightly more. These versatile tools will also come in handy for various other purposes later on.
To avoid harming the surface and delicate corners of dressers, tables, and other pieces of furniture, cover them entirely using moving blankets and fasten these covers with stretch film. Typically, a roll of stretch film measuring 20 inches by 1,500 feet sells for around $20 at hardware stores and places that sell moving supplies.
Make a Mattress Sling
Mattresses tend to be flimsy, cumbersome, and challenging to move around. Although many include handles, these aren’t particularly robust as their main function is aiding with positioning. As Matt Long points out, thinner or foam-filled mattresses may be easily transported when rolled up, secured with tape, or wrapped tightly. However, this approach isn’t practical for larger, heavier models of mattresses. For those bulkier options, an alternative method must be employed; here’s what works best.
Make a simple rope sling that will give you and your helper a lot more control. Thread the rope through the mattress handles, slip a five-inch piece of one-inch PVC pipe over the rope ends and then loop and tie each end to create a comfortable sling grip. Flip the mattress over so the sling is on the bottom, and you’re on your way.
Cut and Fold a Box Spring
Is your box spring too big to fit in your stairway or around a tight corner? Use this simple technique to fold it without wrecking it:
- Remove the fabric covering (the most tedious part of this whole process is removing the staples) and place the box spring face down.
- Pull back the mattress cover along each side and cut through the frame just to the left or right of the middle crosspiece (don’t cut through the crosspiece itself). Do this on both sides and in the center.
- You can now fold the box spring like a book as shown and move it. Secure it with a strap to prevent it from springing open.
- Put it back together by screwing a 1×2 along the center crosspiece cuts and against the inside of the outer frame to reinforce them.
- Secure the fabric covering back in position with staples.
Disassemble Whatever You Can
If you’re struggling to maneuver a couch through a doorframe, keep this in mind: It might fit more easily once you remove the legs—it’s like making it narrower by several inches. This rule holds true for any bulky furniture item; detach everything extra such as handles, compartments, storage units, shelving units, and even the legs.
Disassembling your furniture is a smart move,” according to experienced mover Elliot Helm, “however, one crucial step many overlook is marking down which screws go where or simply taking a fast picture prior to taking things apart. This minor action can prevent considerable aggravation once you have to put everything back together.
Remove the Back From a Recliner
A recliner might be one of the trickiest items of furniture to relocate, but this doesn’t have to be the case if you take it apart initially. Below is the process for doing so:
- Locate the rear brackets either on the exterior or interior of the back frame.
- Raise the locking mechanisms on either side (long-nose pliers might be necessary) and pull the back section directly upward to detach it from the recliner.
- Secure the footrest to prevent it from popping open.
Always pick up a recliner from the sides rather than by the back or footrest.
Remove Doors
Occasionally, just an additional half-inch is enough to squeeze through a doorway, which you can achieve by removing the door from its hinges. Don’t worry if you believe this task seems daunting; it’s simpler than you might think. All you have to do is follow these steps:
- Shut the door so that it remains stable within the jam when you take off the hinges.
- Eliminate every hinge pin by inserting a 16d nail at the base of the hinge and gently hitting the nail with a hammer to remove the pin. Alternatively, you may insert a flat-head screwdriver beneath the head of each pin and strike the screwdriver lightly to extract the pin.
- Take hold of the door from both sides and tug lightly. It ought to come towards you easily. Place it to one side.
- Replace the door by setting it back on the hinges and tapping in the hinge pins with a hammer. I’m used to doing this by myself, but heavy doors are lot easier to hang if you have a helper.
Remove Door Stop Molding
If taking off the door does not create sufficient space,
pry off
The doorstop molding can be removed with a small pry bar, which will provide an additional three-quarters of an inch.
If you’re concerned about reinstalling the doorstop trim after your relocation, there’s no need for worry. Typically, the part of the jam where you extracted it won’t have been painted yet. Simply align the trim with this unpainted portion and secure it back using nails. Provided you take care during removal, you might also manage to use the original nails again.
Get a Dolly
Valentino states, “A crucial piece of equipment for any relocation is a dolly or hand truck. They work well for transporting piles of boxes as well as heavy items such as filing cabinets, dressers, and appliances.”
Lang states, “We adore appliance dollies. These are bigger and taller compared to regular dollies to handle larger items effectively. Additionally, they feature guardrails and moving straps to ensure the item stays secure.” Should you lack an appliance dolly, there’s no urgency to purchase one. Instead, consider renting one from any rental tools store or at your nearby U-Haul location.
Utilize a Furniture Lifter for Large Items
A furniture lifter acts similar to a jack but for pieces of furniture. This tool features a flat blade which you insert beneath the item you wish to raise, paired with an extended handle that controls a hydraulic mechanism responsible for elevating it.
Long is definitely in favor of these back-saving tools. “Furniture lifters are a fairly new product for moving. They help make deadlifting furniture to place sliders or moving dollies underneath way easier.”
When moving an extremely heavy object, utilize the lift mechanism to raise one side, subsequently sliding a section of robust piping beneath it. Repeat this process on the opposite end and add another pipe midway. With this setup, you can now rotate the item across the ground by relocating the leading pipe to the back as you advance.
Shield Furniture Using Corner Protectors and Foam
Carrying oversized or hefty items of furniture often leads to unavoidable collisions with various objects. “To safeguard your walls and doorframes, installing corner protectors or foam pads might significantly help,” suggests Helm. These options serve as better alternatives compared to using blankets, since the latter tend to be cumbersome and increase overall load.”
Attach corner protectors to the corners of square or rectangular objects and secure foam along the edges. Foam pipe insulation works great for this purpose—even suitable for rounding tabletops. Should you not be concerned with scratching either the pieces being moved or the surroundings, transporting them will become simpler.
Use Ramps
If you’re familiar with shifting large pieces of furniture, then you know ramps are crucial tools—whether they’re rented or crafted from plywood and 2x4s. Positioning one at the top of a porch staircase allows for rolling cumbersome objects downwards rather than carrying them manually. Typically, rental trucks include a ramp, yet when utilizing your personal pickup, constructing an extendable ramp from the tailgate to the earth will significantly reduce strenuous manual labor.
Move Mirrors and Plate Glass with Suction Cups
Professionals utilize suction cups for transporting glass, and you should consider doing the same. These tools offer a secure grip point, allowing you to hold onto the object without directly touching the edges where breakage could lead to injuries. Additionally, using a suction cup with an ergonomic handle makes the task much simpler on your body compared to bending over, inserting your fingers beneath the weighty pane, and lifting it up manually. This method not only protects against accidental drops but also reduces strain on your spine when maneuvering large sheets of glass.
Plastic Moving Containers with Zip Ties
After dealing with large furnishings, you’ll still have smaller things such as electric cables, tiny devices, and naturally, your personal possessions left to handle. Should you opt for using plastic containers for moving them, you might face the irritating issue of the container lids opening up during transit.
Stop this using cheap zip ties. Simply make some holes in the handles, thread a zip tie through these holes in both handles and tighten them up. Once you reach your destination and are prepared to unpack, simply snip the ties off with a utility knife.
About the Experts
-
-
Nick Valentino
serves as the Vice President of Marketing Operations at
Bellhop
. -
Rachel Long
She has been in the moving industry for seven years. She founded the company.
The Moving Site
, an energetic site focused on relocation. -
Elliot Helm
is the owner of
Sterling Interstate
, a family-run local moving company located in Phoenix, Arizona.
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