General Piano Sizes and Weights

Weight is the biggest factor in piano moving, because a heavy piano can do damage to your home and, more importantly, to your body when not handled properly.

There are two basic types of pianos: upright and grand. Both contain cast metal harps, which hold the strings but also account for most of the weight.

• In upright pianos, the harps are positioned vertically, and the weight of the piano can range from 300 to 800 pounds depending on height, which correlates with harp size.
• In grand pianos, the harp is positioned horizontally, so the longer the grand piano, the heavier it is. These pianos vary in weight from 500 to 1200 pounds.

Upright pianos will usually remain intact for a move, while the legs will often be removed from grand pianos for maneuvering purposes.

Piano Moving Techniques

You’ve no doubt noticed the casters on the legs or bottom of your piano and been tempted use them to wheel your instrument around. Wrong!

Simply put, the casters are ornamental and prone to deteriorating as your piano sits, making them useless for moves, as well as increasing the chance of breaking a leg or damaging your home. If you want to move your piano a short distance, have people on all corners lift the piano high enough so that the casters don't bear its full weight.

To effectively and efficiently move a piano on a level surface, professionals use a four wheel piano dolly. When properly balanced, a piano resting on a dolly stands on its own and requires little effort to move.

Piano Dollies

When sitting on a dolly, the piano may look off center… don’t worry! A piano mover is more worried about centering the weight, not the shape, of the piano. The “wrong” positioning you may see when your mover loads your piano is chosen because a piano’s weight comes from the internal metal harp, not the front section with keys.

Moving Pianos Up or Down Stairs

There are a few different techniques for moving a piano up or down more than four stairs. First, there’s lifting the piano and carrying it up the stairs—the hardest and most dangerous way.

If possible, piano movers prefer hoisting a piano with a crane or with a block and tackle through a large window. There’s also the odd chance that your building has a freight elevator, which would be especially convenient.

When moving your piano, think ahead! Before the piano movers arrive, it’s your responsibility to ensure the piano can be moved into the new location.

When it comes down to it, pianos are just very heavy and oddly shaped objects that require a particular skill set to successfully and safely move. For this reason alone, you should leave moving a piano more than a few feet to the pros.