See all these clunkers? That is a priceless Steinway on the top of the pile. 9 out of 10 free pianos are JUNK on average. We gut them all out for the screws and bolts. It takes about a week to take one apart by hand but the really bad ones are just torched for the scrap iron plates. We've probably recycled 10,000 pianos since 2008 in Nashville.
Things to be aware of on antique upright pianos are mainly coal dust. The old homes used coal to heat, if you open a piano up and see grey dust thats coal dust. The other thing is mouse droppings. You dont want any contact with that at all. It can be blown out in a restoration but most of the time they go to the pile.
Welcome to the moving tips page. This was an active page back in 2009 that we removed and now it's been put back up with so many people thinking they are pros we figured we would get some facts out there.
So, you have found your dream piano left out at the curb or in an old house or on FB marketplace and now you want to get it home. What should you do next? You should ask yourself why it was left behind to begin with. It will always be two reasons. Too heavy or can no longer be tuned. If you found it on marketplace, I'd want proof it can be tuned. Anything left outside for longer than a couple days in moisture is probably ruined.
Why are pianos so heavy? Each piano has a large iron plate in it to hold the string tension. The larger the piano the heavier the plate. Weight calculation is done by measuring the height. 150 pounds per foot will give you a pretty accurate number. With Steinway and Chickering 1920s models being even heavier. Expect north of 700 pounds.
Ask yourself can I lift 700 pounds? Well, it's got wheels. Do not use the piano wheels to roll it out of someone's house. Anything you roll it on will scratch if you do not use a piano dolly with the correct type of wheels. Do not use a cheap harbor freight type dolly. You can get a piano dolly from N&N Equipment out in Hermitage TN.
Polyester finishes: If you are buying something with this type of finish you want to try to look at it in natural light. They can be scratched easily. Beware of shrink-wrapping furniture pads to these finishes. Any particles in the pads will scratch the finish. Also do not move them in cold weather without a heated cargo space as the finish can crack.
Stairs. We have always tried to talk people out of putting a piano up a flight of stairs. First of all, consider the weight on the staircase. You have possibly 3 to four people plus equipment plus the piano weight in the area of 4 steps. There has also been considerable property damage to exterior steps made by stair crawling equipment. I wouldn't want one of those things on my expensive entry way of a nice home. Again, time to think about the weight of everything combined. Outside staircases with concrete steps at apartment complexes can snap pretty easily so beware of weight.
Rental Trucks. Beware of rental trucks with aluminum floors getting aluminum oxide on the bottom of the piano which will leave grey stains on carpet. Put cardboard down to prevent that. Also make sure you get a truck with a ramp as the shorter trucks don't have ramps. Also beware of the aluminum ramps on rental trucks. These can snap in half without warning. They are not really made for a heavy piano bouncing on them.