Business & specialist
Piano removals in London, planned around the tightest turn
Piano removals are decided by one measurement: the narrowest point between the piano and the van. An upright weighs about as much as four people standing on one trolley, and it does not negotiate with a stairwell.
Best for
Uprights, baby grands, grands
Surveyed
Every route, every time
We cover
Every London postcode
What it costs
What piano removals actually cost in London
Weight sets the crew size and the route sets everything else. This is the one service where nobody should quote from a phone call, and where a quote that arrives without questions is a warning rather than a convenience.
What kind of piano it is
An upright, a baby grand and a full grand are three different jobs. A grand comes apart — legs, lyre and pedals off, body onto a board — and that is skilled time before anything moves.
The tightest turn on the route
Not the doors. The half-landing, the corner at the bottom of the stairs, the lift diagonal. It is measured, and it decides whether the job is possible as planned.
How many steps, at both ends
Including the two up to the front door that nobody mentions. Steps are the whole difficulty on a piano move and they are priced honestly rather than absorbed.
How close the van gets
A piano is not carried a hundred metres. Where the van cannot get close, the plan changes, and it changes before the day rather than on it.
Whether a window or a crane is involved
Occasionally the stairs are genuinely impossible and the only route is through a window with a hoist. It is a specialist job with a specialist cost, and we will tell you plainly if that is what you have.
What happens after it lands
A piano needs tuning after a move once it has settled, usually a few weeks later. That is a piano tuner rather than a removals firm, and it should be in your budget.
So what would yours cost?
Ten minutes on a video call and you will have it in writing. No obligation, and no number invented over the phone.
Before the day
We measure the route before we agree to the job
Every piano move starts with someone measuring the narrowest point on the path from where it stands to where the van will be. If the piano is wider than that point, no amount of crew solves it, and the honest thing is to say so before you have paid a deposit.
Where the answer is yes, the plan is specific: how many people, which way the instrument is turned at the corner, where it rests, and how it is secured in the van. Pianos are damaged by being tipped and jolted rather than by being dropped.
Where the answer is no, we will tell you what the alternatives are and roughly what they cost. A refusal with a reason is worth more than an agreement you will regret.
On the day
How a piano move runs
Three things that happen on every job, before and after the lifting.
- 01
The route is surveyed at both ends
Measurements of the tightest point, the steps, the turns and the parking. This is the one job where a video call is not always enough.
- 02
It is wrapped and mounted properly
Covered, strapped, and onto a piano trolley or skates. A grand comes apart first, with the legs and the lyre wrapped separately.
- 03
Placed, reassembled and left level
Put where you want it, put back together, and levelled. Book a tuner for a few weeks later once it has settled into the room.
The quote
What the price covers, and what it does not
Both lists go on the written quote, so there is nothing to discover afterwards.
Included
- A route survey at both ends before the job is accepted
- Piano trolley or skates, covers and straps — never a sack barrow and hope
- A grand dismantled and reassembled: legs, lyre and pedals
- Placed where you want it and left level
Not included
- Tuning — book a tuner a few weeks after the move, once it has settled
- Repair or restoration of an instrument that was already damaged
- Crane or window hoist work, which is a specialist job priced separately
- Parking suspensions — we tell you what is needed, you apply
From our Google profile
What people said about their move
Left on our Google profile. Every card links back to it, so you can read the rest — including any we would rather you did not.
Good experience with Metro City Moves. 4 bedroom house seemed bit difficult to move from London to Liverpool, but they planned well and successfully executed. Thank you.
Saqib AwanRead on Google, opens in a new tab
Before you book
Questions people actually ask
Can you get an upright down a narrow staircase?
Often, and it depends entirely on the turn rather than the width of the stairs. Measure the tightest point and send us the number with photographs of the stairwell.
Do you take grands apart?
Yes. Legs, lyre and pedals come off, the body goes onto a board on its side, and it is reassembled and levelled at the other end.
Will it need tuning afterwards?
Almost certainly, and not immediately. Give it a few weeks to settle into the temperature and humidity of the new room, then book a tuner. That is a separate trade from ours.
What if it will not fit?
We tell you before you commit, and we tell you what the alternatives are. A piano move that is attempted and abandoned halfway is far worse for everybody than a survey that says no.
Can you move it within the same house?
Yes, and it is a common job — a room change, or moving it for building work. It is still surveyed, because the doorway between two rooms is as capable of stopping a piano as a front door is.
Is a digital piano the same job?
No, and it is much cheaper. A digital piano or a stage piano is a two-person furniture delivery. Tell us the make and model and we will price it as what it is.
Related reading
The things that catch people out
Parking, vans and packing — the rules read from the source, dated when checked.
- Guide
London parking suspensions for moving house: what every borough charges
The same one-day parking suspension costs £66.66 in Camden and £360 in Haringey. Fees, notice periods and removals concessions for six boroughs, compared.
Read it - Guide
Parking suspension vs dispensation: which one a house move needs
A suspension reserves the parking bay; a dispensation only stops the ticket. That difference decides what a house move needs, and what each borough charges.
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Red route dispensations: moving house where the council cannot help
TfL sells no parking suspensions on red routes at any price. A dispensation costs £48 a day, needs 6 working days, and red lines take no late applications.
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ULEZ, removals vans and the Congestion Charge on moving day
ULEZ charges a non-compliant removals van £12.50 a day, everywhere in London, and the Congestion Charge is £18 in the centre. What applies on moving day.
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Moving without a removal company: the honest guide, and the hybrid
When you genuinely do not need a removals firm, when a DIY move costs more than it saves, and the hybrid option where you pack and a man and van drives.
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Get it priced properly
A survey first, then the number in writing. Answered at any hour.