Specialty Moving in Portland and Eugene
The items that need a plan rather than another pair of hands. Surveyed first, quoted on their own, moved with the right equipment.
- Pianos
- Safes
- Oversized art
- Antiques
How specialty is quoted
- Surveyed first
- Always. Weight, dimensions and access decide the method and the crew size
- Priced separately
- On its own, never folded into an hourly rate that hides the risk
- Equipment
- Piano boards, stair-climbing dollies, rigging straps and custom crating as the item needs
- Honest limits
- Some items need a rigger or a specialist, and we will tell you which ones
Some things are not just heavy, they are unforgiving
A sofa that gets scuffed is a bad day. A grand piano dropped on a staircase is a different category of event, and the difference is entirely in the preparation.
Specialty items share a trait: the cost of getting it wrong is far higher than the cost of doing it properly. That is why they are surveyed before they are quoted, and why they are priced on their own rather than absorbed into an hourly rate that quietly transfers the risk to you.
The survey decides everything downstream. How many people, what equipment, whether the staircase can take it, and occasionally whether it should go through a window instead of a door. None of that can be settled over the phone.
What usually falls into this category
- Pianos. Uprights, baby grands and grands, each with a different method.
- Safes and gun safes. Weight concentrated in a small footprint, which is what makes stairs the problem.
- Oversized art and mirrors. Custom crating rather than blankets.
- Antiques and heirloom furniture. Often fragile in ways that are not visible.
- Pool tables. Disassembly and reassembly, not a lift.
- Large aquariums, hot tubs and exercise equipment. Each with its own preparation.
Rarely booked on its own
Most specialty work happens inside a larger move. Occasionally it is the whole job.
Inside a house move
The piano is quoted as a line of its own; the rest of the household is quoted normally. Same crew, same day.
Residential movingWith crating
Art, mirrors and irregular pieces get built crates rather than cartons. Made to the item.
Packing servicesOver distance
A specialty item on a long haul needs more preparation, not the same preparation for longer.
Long-distance movingSurveyed, planned, moved
We come and look at it
Dimensions, weight, and the route it has to travel. Doorways, turns, stair pitch and landings all get measured.
A method and a price
You are told how it will be moved, by how many people, with what equipment, and what it costs, before anything is booked.
Prepared and protected
Wrapped, crated or disassembled as the item requires. Floors and door frames protected along the whole route.
Moved and set down
Placed where you want it, reassembled where relevant. Pianos need tuning after any move; that is a tuner’s job, not ours.
Where we stop and hand over
The honest answer on specialty moving is that the category has an edge, and pretending otherwise is how items get damaged. A moving crew with the right equipment can handle most of what a home contains. Some things need a rigger, a crane or a manufacturer’s technician.
We would rather tell you that at the survey than discover it on the day with your item halfway through a doorway.
Things we will refer on
- Items needing crane or hoist rigging to leave a building.
- Safes above the weight a stair route can carry. Sometimes the answer is that it cannot come down those stairs at all.
- Hot tubs requiring electrical or plumbing disconnection. Licensed trades first.
- Full aquariums. These have to be drained and the livestock rehoused before we arrive.
- Piano tuning. Every piano needs it after a move. We move it; a tuner tunes it.
Specialty crews in both markets
Specialty equipment and trained crews work out of both offices.
Specialty moving, answered
Do you move pianos?
Yes, uprights through to grands. Each is surveyed first, because the method depends on the instrument and on the route it has to travel. Grands are usually partially disassembled and moved on a piano board.
Can you get a gun safe down a flight of stairs?
Usually, with stair-climbing equipment and the right crew size. Occasionally the honest answer is no, and we would rather establish that at the survey than on the day.
Why is specialty quoted separately?
Because folding it into an hourly rate hides the risk and gives you no way to compare quotes. A separate line tells you what the item actually costs to move.
Will my piano need tuning afterwards?
Yes. Any piano needs tuning after being moved, regardless of how carefully it travelled. That is a tuner’s job and worth booking for a week or two after you settle in.
Can specialty items go into storage?
Yes, with the same preparation. Crating matters more for items that will sit for a while.
Got something awkward to move?
Tell us what it is and where it has to go, and we will come and measure it.