Piano Removals in Bournemouth, Poole & Christchurch

Moving a piano is not a normal removals job. An upright weighs anywhere from 180 to 320 kg, the weight sits high, and one slip on a doorstep will damage the cabinet, the action inside, or — more often — the person carrying it. After eight years of man and van work across Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, I've moved enough uprights, digitals and small grands to know where most "two mates and a van" attempts go wrong: turning the piano on its back, dragging it across a threshold, or lifting a digital by the keybed.

Ground floor only — please read this first

I move pianos ground floor to ground floor. No stairs at either end.

That is a deliberate limit, not a gap in the diary. Walking a 300 kg upright up or down a staircase needs four people, a stair-walker and a spotter, and the risk of damage to the instrument, the property and the crew is real. Firms that do it are specialists with the kit and the insurance for it, and I would rather point you to one than have a go.

If you have stairs at either end, I'm not the right person and I'll tell you that on the phone rather than at your door. Lift access is fine — if the lift is wider than the piano, we use it. A single step or a threshold ramp is fine. A flight of stairs is not.

For everything else — same-level moves, garage to living room, house to house with level access, collection from a shop or a seller — a piano is a straightforward job with the right equipment.

What's included

Every piano job comes with a two-person crew, heavy-duty piano straps, four thick removal blankets and a four-wheel piano skate. We protect the keys, pedals and lid with foam corners before the piano leaves the room, and blanket-protect doorframes and floors at both ends. The van is a long-wheelbase Luton with a tail lift, so the piano never has to be lifted off the ground — it rolls on and it rolls off.

I cover upright pianos, digital stage pianos (Yamaha Clavinova, Roland, Korg), electric organs, and small baby grands up to about 5'6" where access is level. Full concert grands need a four-person crew and a specialist trolley — I'll refer you on.

What it costs

Pricing starts at £180 for a same-postcode upright move with level access at both ends — for example BH8 to BH8, ground floor to ground floor. Beyond that it is priced on distance and access like any other job: the first 10 miles are included, then £1.20 a mile on the round trip, and driving time is charged at the crew rate. Long-distance piano moves are quoted as a fixed price — call and describe the job.

Digital and stage pianos

Digital pianos look easier than uprights but the stand is the weak point. Yamaha Clavinovas, Roland HP series and Kawai CN models sit on particle-board stands that crack if you lift the whole unit by the keys. We separate the keyboard from the stand, wrap each piece, and reassemble at the other end. Tools travel on the van, so you don't need to dig out a screwdriver.

Stage pianos (Nord, Yamaha CP, Korg Kronos) in a flight case are usually handled as a furniture delivery — quicker and cheaper than a full piano job. Gigging musicians moving kit around Dorset regularly: get in touch and we'll work out a rate.

Access — send a photo first

Most piano calls come down to access rather than distance. Before booking, message a photo on WhatsApp of the route the piano has to travel — the room, the hallway, the doorway and the approach from the road. I'll tell you straight whether it will physically come out, and whether it's a job I can take. It takes two minutes and saves a wasted call-out for both of us.

Things worth measuring: the narrowest doorway, any 90° turn in a hallway, and whether there is a step at the entrance.

Insurance and tuning

Goods-in-transit cover up to £20,000 is included on every piano move, alongside £2m public liability. That said, no piano sounds quite the same after a move — temperature and humidity change, and the soundboard and strings react. Leave it two weeks in the new room before booking a tuner. We don't tune pianos, but we can recommend two trusted Dorset technicians who do.

Areas covered

Piano moves in Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, Winton, Charminster, Southbourne, Boscombe, Parkstone and Broadstone. Postcode hubs BH1–BH25 all in scope.

Related services

If you're moving a whole house and the piano is one piece of it, see house removals — it's usually cheaper rolled into the main move. For collecting a piano from a private seller, furniture delivery is the right page.

Call 07879 168 829 or message on WhatsApp with the piano model, both postcodes, and — importantly — whether there are stairs at either end. You'll get a straight answer within the hour.