How to Move Heavy Furniture – Our Tips for Moving Heavy Furniture
6th April, 2017
Follow these steps on how to move heavy furniture to make the job much easier, minimise risks, and prevent injuries:
Step 1: Plan your move carefully; measure access points at the existing and new locations, and the pieces of heavy furniture themselves
Step 2: Objectively assess your own health and strength
Step 3: Proceed with caution, using the right moving equipment
Step 4: Disassemble your furniture or reduce its weight wherever possible
Step 5: Protect your furniture with high-grade packing materials
Step 6: Slide your heavy furniture wherever possible
Step 7: If you must carry heavy furniture, use proper manual handling techniques
Step 8: Too hard? Contact the professionals
Step 1: Plan Your Move Carefully; Measure Access Points at the Existing and New Locations, and the Pieces of Heavy Furniture Themselves
Good planning is key when it comes to the best way to move heavy furniture. Before you even think about picking up that heavy couch, measure the access points at both the existing location and the new location, as well as the dimensions of the heavy furniture that needs to move. If you have a particularly narrow hallway, doorway or flight of stairs, then this step is very important. You’ll need to determine the best way to carry and manoeuver your furniture so that it passes through without damaging walls and doors (or getting damaged itself). In addition, it’s always a good idea to draw up a floor plan of your new home, including where heavy pieces of furniture will be placed. That way you can unload, set and forget.
Step 2: Assess Your Own Health and Strength
Once you’ve determined the way in which your furniture needs to be carried and manoeuvred, assess whether you’ll physically be able to perform the task. If you have any pre-existing health problems (like a bad back) then it may not be a good idea to carry on. While the tips for moving heavy furniture outlined below will help to alleviate some of the stress and strain involved in moving heavy items, they will not eliminate it entirely.
Step 3: Proceed with Caution, Using the Right Moving Equipment
If you’ve decided that you’re healthy enough and strong enough to continue, tip number one in knowing how to move heavy furniture easily is to invest in a moving trolley. Upright metal moving trolleys make moving the heaviest of furniture a breeze. They also protect your furniture and your property by making it easier to move these heavy items around tight angles and corners.
Another handy piece of equipment is shoulder straps. Shoulder straps are attached to your shoulders at one end, and to the piece of furniture you’re moving at the other end. They distribute the weight of the furniture onto the right muscle areas, saving your lower back and other fragile muscles. Not only that, they keep your hands free, which is incredibly useful.
We cannot emphasise enough that even when knowing how to move heavy furniture by yourself you should always have an extra pair of helping hands when it comes to heavy furniture.
Step 5: Disassemble Your Furniture or Reduce its Weight Wherever Possible
If possible, reduce the weight of the furniture that you’re moving. For instance:
- Drawers: remove all the shelves. If the shelves can’t be completely removed, at least ensure that they are emptied. Once emptied, tape the drawers shut to prevent them sliding out halfway through lugging them down your spiral staircase.
- Bookcases: Be sure to remove all the books before even attempting to move bookcases; not only will the books make it heavier, they can also become a falling hazard.
- Beds: Remove the mattress and move it separately, and take apart the bed frame if possible.
- Couches: Remove all the pillows and carry these separately and, if your couch includes a pull-out bed, remove the mattress and carry this separately too.
Step 6: Protect Your Furniture with High-grade Packing Materials
Protecting yourself should always be your number one priority. However, if you want to know how to move heavy furniture like a pro, then don’t forget to protect your furniture as well. Protect your furniture by investing in high-grade packing materials. To begin, you’ll need packing wrap and heavy duty moving blankets. For heavy but delicate items, you may even need bubble wrap.
Step 7: Slide Your Heavy Furniture Wherever Possible
Once your furniture is dismantled and the individual pieces wrapped and ready to go, it’s time to move it. Wherever possible, slide your heavy pieces rather than trying to lift them. When it comes to knowing how to move heavy furniture easily, the key to this step is understanding the difference between dragging and sliding. Dragging is the worst way to move furniture; it is a sure-fire way to destroy both your furniture, and your floors. Sliding, on the other hand, is the best way to move furniture; it saves your back and it won’t damage the furniture or your property.
To slide a piece of furniture, you’ll need the appropriate material to place underneath it; material that will reduce the friction between the furniture and the floor. If you have floorboards, then your best bet is to slip a moving blanket under the piece of furniture. If your property is carpeting then you’ll need heavy-duty plastic sheeting. Once you’ve slipped your slippery material underneath the furniture, simply push the furniture along the floor. Be sure to push slowly and carefully, so as not to push the item over.
Step 8: If You Must Carry Heavy Furniture, Use Proper Manual Handling Techniques
When trying to find ways to move heavy furniture, sometimes you’ll arrive at a dead end. You will have no choice but to carry it. If you reach this point, you need to how to move heavy furniture using the proper manual handling techniques. There is more to this than just bending your knees. You also need to keep your core muscles activated, and lift through your legs and thighs, rather than with your back. Whatever you do, never bend at the waist.
Step 9: Too Hard? Contact the Professionals
Does all this sound too hard? Your back not up to? Perhaps you’re having trouble enlisting a strong pair of arms to help? Then opt for the absolute best way to move heavy furniture: contact professionals movers. Not only will they have all the right equipment, and a truck with a hydraulic lift, they’ll have the manual handling techniques down pat. Professional removalists will move your heavy furniture safely, quickly and stress-free.