Should one hire movers to move piano around (180 degrees and over by about 10 feet) in a room? I'm not 100% sure that I want the piano in this position and it may warrant a second move to a different room-but will keep it in this position until movers help a potential second move. Do I need movers to move the piano within a room? If do not hire movers, then how many men should do this? Can the piano be lifted with attention paid to its three legs? I'm worried here but do have very strong men available. Would love advice. (note, I did a search and received 100s of irrelevant posts and clearly need to learn how to use the search here- as I bet this topic has been covered. My apologies for restarting a well worn topic, if this is the case!)

My husband and I moved our Steinway M (5'7") 90 degrees and over 3 or 4 feet ourselves on at least two occasions. It has casters on the legs (not sure if all grand pianos do). We were trying to figure out how the orientation of the piano within the room would affect its sound. When moving it, one of us was in front by the keyboard and one in the back by the single leg which is the weakest I believe. We lifted the piano slightly and only moved it a little bit at a time and did so very carefully. It wasn't easy for me even though I'm fairly strong for a woman but we got it done.

I'm not sure if it was a smart move to do it this way but it did seem to work and now I think it's in the position it will stay in for a while. The flooring is wall to wall carpet. Be careful if moving it on a hardwood floor as the casters can easily make indentations in the wood.

To move a piano within a room, you need one person per leg to lift the piano at the legs, so the weight is at least partially of the leg.

It can be done by one person provided there are casters on the legs and the floor is a hard surface. It helps greatly if the casters can be pre-aligned in the direction of movement, and the floor needs to be clean of any kind of debris; a foreign object the size of a grain of sand could be problematic if it catches under one of the casters when the piano is rolling.

If you have caster cups between the casters and the floor (as I do), there's an extra step that has to be done first. I get under the piano in a crouching position at each of the front corners and then again at the rear, each time pushing upward with my back against the underside to raise each leg successively about an inch in order to slide the caster cup out of the way. As I lower the leg back to the floor, I rotate the caster into the proper alignment for the direction I'm going to be moving the piano.

Steven

I do it by myself... carefully. Thin carpet with no underlayment, no caster cups, a little lift as I get the wheels going in the right direction. Push the case, not the lid, and keep items like belt buckles--- even pants buttons or zippers--- well clear of the finish. (And rings, and shirt buttons.)

This 6'6" grand is very easy to move on the fake pergo floor, harder, but possible, on the carpet.

You can ruin yourself, or snap a piano leg off, so, you know... careful there, big guy. One forum member called her piano dealer and cut an easy and affordable deal with their piano delivery guys (a ceramic tile floor with big cracks, in her case).

I have heard that the weight of the piano can crack such tiles if they are not laid up with proper support. Those pretty porcelain tiles are thinner than some.

P-I-A-N-O
A 1914 Mason & Hamlin AA is an extremely heavy piano - even for its size. It's heavier than other manufacturers. On top of that, the leg-locking system for pianos of that era required additional shims over the years to secure the legs. There is a wooden wedge that is hammered into place to snug up the leg within its lock. That is where the shim is required, usually if the piano has been moved frequently. No one wants a leg collapse with a heavy piano and amateurs getting hurt.

I would pay the movers for a "service call". It won't cost too much (call around, of course). Good luck.
Regards
Mike

+1

I saw a 9 foot concert grand lose a leg when a couple of guys pushed it a few feet. There was an extension cord in the way -- the caster stopped and the piano kept moving. The result was loud and expensive!

That said, I move my piano on my own. It's also an extremely heavy piano. The old Hardmans have *cast iron* key beds, in addition to abnormally fat plates.

I do exactly what Steven does - push up with my back, crouched beneath the piano, once per leg, in order to get it off of the casters and in order to line the casters up with the direction of the move.

Since I have thick carpet now, I put a piece of plywood under each leg, making sure there is room in the direction of the move. (Plywood pieces a few feet on each side). Once the piano is on them with the casters lined up, it's an easy push.

As long as you never push hard you don't really need to worry about a leg snapping off.

MAKitt...Okay- now I'm to nervous about this- so I'm going to have movers come for this - or, another idea is to have our tuner supervise this attempt! I believe this piano may weigh between 700-900 pounds and we have rugs & hardwood.