How to Move a Piano Safely (And When Not to DIY)

A piano is the heaviest fragile thing most households own. An upright runs 200–300kg, a grand 300–500kg — and the value lives in delicate places: the soundboard, the action, the polished case. Here's how professionals move them, what you can safely do yourself, and where the DIY line sits.

Know your piano's weight class

• Digital piano: 20–60kg. Two careful people, blankets, done.
• Console / small upright: ~180–250kg. Piano trolley territory.
• Full upright / pianola: ~250–350kg. Professional job.
• Baby grand / grand: 300–500kg, plus leg removal and a skid board. Absolutely professional territory.

How professionals actually move an upright

1. Lock or tape the keyboard lid and wrap the whole case in thick blankets.
2. Tilt the piano just enough to slide a piano trolley under the centre of gravity.
3. Roll on the flat; use ramps over every step — never lift up stairs freestyle.
4. In the truck: against the wall, strapped top and bottom, never on its back.
5. At the destination: same in reverse, then let it acclimatise before tuning.

Grands are a different sport

A grand travels on its side on a padded skid board. The lid, lyre (pedal assembly) and legs come off in order, each wrapped separately, and the body is rotated onto the skid by people who have done it many times. This is the move where a $70 saving on labour risks a five-figure instrument — it's the clearest “don't DIY” in the moving world.

The DIY line

Reasonable DIY: digital pianos, and rolling an upright within a flat room to reposition it (casters are for repositioning, not journeys).

Call professionals: any staircase, any acoustic piano leaving the building, any grand, anything on polished floors you care about, and every move between houses. The physics don't negotiate: 300kg with a high centre of gravity injures backs and cracks cases.

What it costs (so you can sanity-check quotes)

In Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, an upright typically moves for $300–$450 standalone or from ~$220 as part of a house move; grands usually land between $450 and $750 depending on access. Fixed pricing matters more here than anywhere: a piano move that hits a tricky staircase shouldn't start billing by the hour.

After the move: the tuning myth

A well-executed move doesn't damage a piano, but new-room humidity will drift the tuning slightly. Wait two to three weeks for the instrument to settle, then book a tuner — that's normal maintenance, not moving damage.

Ready to move yours? Our piano removal service covers uprights to grands across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the corridor between — get a fixed quote and tell us about the stairs.