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Hi all,
I will be getting my first baby grand piano and had some questions about the transportation process. Ideally I would’ve had a professional piano mover take care of it for me but this is a last minute move and I was unable to book a mover. My question is whether the piano(body) should be transported on its belly (horizontally) or on its side (vertically) we’ve done quite a bit of research on this project but couldn’t find much detail on the actual way to transport once the piano is disassembled and wrapped. I would appreciate whatever info I can get!
Thanks in advanced

On it's side, covered in pads and strapped to a padded grand board. You need the right kind of straps and grand board. You need a dolly to place under the grand board, and you need to know the proper order of operations. You need a truck or trailer and probably a ramp strong enough to hold the piano and a couple of people.

Good luck!

PS HIRE A PROFESSIONAL!! You risk injuring people and damaging property. You could even kill someone!

Normally a grand is transported on it's side, so it needs to be securely strapped to the vehicle so that it doesn't fall over. If that's not possible, you could transport it on it's belly, but you'd need to put blocks of wood near the places where the legs usually attach so that the weight doesn't bear on the pedal mechanism underneath (or any other things things sticking out on the underside). As for dismantling it, you usually do it in this order:

- remove the pedal lyre and braces
- with people holding up the left end of the keyboard, remove the left leg and lower that corner to the floor. Also have others taking some of the weight off the other two legs
- tip the piano onto it's left side, always being careful to minimize weight on the two legs
- remove the rear and right legs.

Assemble in the reverse order.

If you can’t find a local ‘mover’, Csll a local ‘dealer’ and see if they can move the piano for you.

Don’t attempt a grand piano move yourself. It is super dangerous.

I watched my piano get moved a few months ago. The 3 movers had special equipment and had moved many pianos. They were super fit and knew how to do it.

Paying pro’s means nobody gets hurt.

AGR,

Although I agree that you should not do this yourself (lots of damage can ensue) you seem determined to do it. Others have done so "successfully" so...

1) What equipment do you already HAVE?

2) What do you think you need?

3) How many strong people will be helping?

4) What is your transport vehicle?

5) What is the overall condition of the case on this piano? (1-10 with 10 best)

6) How far are you going with it?

Peter Grey Piano Doctor

Hi, We have a piano board, straps, lots of blankets, shrink wrap and tape. There will be 4 men one female and it will be transported via trailer about 3 miles down the road.
The piano is a J&C Fischer (4’8”) out of tune but I’d give it a 6. We were thinking of transporting it in its natural position (disassembled) but on pillows, and obviously covered and wrapped

Thanks so much for all the info, it is greatly appreciated! Like I said no luck finding a professional mover as it needs to be moved Sunday, but wish us luck! I will post back with the end result.

No dollie?

Skid board will be useless without a dollie. However if you use it, I suggest you remove the lid AND the hinges. This way there is little chance of accidentally splitting the spine through mis-alignment. (Lighter too).

Peter Grey Piano Doctor

Yes, we have a dolly and piano board. Lots of straps and moving blankets too! Thanks for the advice

Number the legs. And try to put the screws on their original places, if there are any screws. Also check the key cover. In may be attached, but if not simply lift it out before you tilt the piano.

Hopefully by now the deed is done and without adverse incident. Perhaps the OP will update us so we can all relax...or whatever.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor