[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":290},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-\u002Fblog\u002Fmoving-heavy-and-awkward-items":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"category":278,"description":279,"extension":280,"meta":281,"navigation":282,"path":283,"publishedAt":284,"readingMinutes":285,"seo":286,"stem":287,"updatedAt":288,"__hash__":289},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmoving-heavy-and-awkward-items.md","Moving a piano, range cooker or American fridge freezer",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":268},"minimark",[9,13,16,19,24,27,35,38,42,45,54,66,69,97,100,103,107,114,136,139,159,162,165,169,179,182,202,219,222,226,237,244,248,260],[10,11,12],"p",{},"A piano, a range cooker and an American fridge freezer can all be moved, and usually without drama. Each needs one thing done before the day — the piano declared, the cooker disconnected by the right engineer, and the fridge freezer defrosted. Skip that step and the item may have to stay behind.",[10,14,15],{},"That last sentence is the honest downside, and it is why this post exists.",[10,17,18],{},"None of the three is unusual. They are just heavy, awkward or connected to something — and turning up without the right kit or crew for them is how a smooth morning becomes a second booking.",[20,21,23],"h2",{"id":22},"why-do-these-need-declaring-before-i-book","Why do these need declaring before I book?",[10,25,26],{},"Because the equipment and the crew are decided before the van leaves.",[10,28,29,30,34],{},"A piano, a safe, an American fridge freezer or gym equipment needs ",[31,32,33],"strong",{},"the right equipment and often extra crew",". Declared in advance, it is usually straightforward. If there is an additional charge, you will know about it upfront rather than on the doorstep. Discovered on the day, the team may not be able to take the item at all, and it may have to be booked as a separate job.",[10,36,37],{},"So the rule is simple. If it is heavy, mention it. If you are not sure whether it counts as heavy, mention it anyway.",[20,39,41],{"id":40},"how-do-you-move-a-piano","How do you move a piano?",[10,43,44],{},"Upright pianos are the common one, and the problem is rarely the weight on the flat. It is the route — the stairs, the turns and the doorways between the room and the van.",[10,46,47,48,53],{},"In Sunderland that often means the older houses. Ashbrooke's Victorian villas have staircases and wide furniture from a different era, and a piano that went in before a later alteration is not always coming out the same way. Terraced streets in Fulwell and Southwick often move better by the back lane — provided the yard gate opens fully. There is more on the city's streets on our ",[49,50,52],"a",{"href":51},"\u002Fremovals\u002Fsunderland","Sunderland removals page",".",[10,55,56,57,60,61,65],{},"On the van, a piano travels ",[31,58,59],{},"against the front wall, under a blanket, with a bar across"," so it stays put. There is a photograph of exactly that in our ",[49,62,64],{"href":63},"\u002Fgallery","gallery",", along with an upright piano waiting by an open staircase.",[10,67,68],{},"What to tell us:",[70,71,72,79,85,91],"ul",{},[73,74,75,78],"li",{},[31,76,77],{},"Upright or grand",", and the make if you know it",[73,80,81,84],{},[31,82,83],{},"Which floor"," it is on at both ends, and any steps outside",[73,86,87,90],{},[31,88,89],{},"The narrowest doorway or turn"," on the route out",[73,92,93,96],{},[31,94,95],{},"Whether the van can get close",", or whether it is a long carry",[10,98,99],{},"Our answer: declare it when you ask for a quote and we bring the kit and the crew it needs.",[10,101,102],{},"One more thing worth planning for. A piano often needs tuning once it has settled into its new room. That is a job for a piano tuner, not a removals crew — and a tuner will tell you how long to leave it first.",[20,104,106],{"id":105},"can-you-disconnect-a-range-cooker","Can you disconnect a range cooker?",[10,108,109,110,113],{},"Some cookers, yes. Disconnecting washing machines, cookers and ovens is ",[31,111,112],{},"free with your move"," if you mention it when you get your quote. The exception is anything that needs a qualified specialist, and a gas cooker is one of those.",[10,115,116,117,120,121,124,125,128,129,135],{},"A gas range cooker is the clearest case. The Gas Safe Register says that if an old gas oven or hob needs removing or disconnecting, only a ",[31,118,119],{},"suitably competent Gas Safe registered engineer"," should do it. It also says the standard \"Cooker\" category on an engineer's ID card ",[31,122,123],{},"does not include range cookers",", so for a range you need an engineer whose card lists ",[31,126,127],{},"\"Range Cookers\""," (",[49,130,134],{"href":131,"rel":132},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gassaferegister.co.uk\u002Fgas-safety\u002Fgas-appliances\u002Fgas-cooker-and-hob-appliance-guide\u002F",[133],"nofollow","Gas Safe Register, gas cooker and hob guide",").",[10,137,138],{},"So, in practice:",[70,140,141,147,153],{},[73,142,143,146],{},[31,144,145],{},"Book the engineer before moving day",", for the old house, so the cooker is disconnected and the supply made safe before we arrive.",[73,148,149,152],{},[31,150,151],{},"Book another for the new house"," to fit it. We do not reconnect appliances at the far end, and anything needing a gas engineer is a job for a qualified specialist.",[73,154,155,158],{},[31,156,157],{},"Check the card."," \"Range Cookers\" on it, not just \"Cooker\".",[10,160,161],{},"A hard-wired electric range can need an electrician rather than a gas engineer. Work that needs an electrician, a plumber or another specialist has to be arranged separately, and we will tell you if it applies.",[10,163,164],{},"Range cookers are also wide and heavy — measure the doorways at the new house, and the space it is going into, before the day.",[20,166,168],{"id":167},"how-do-you-move-an-american-fridge-freezer","How do you move an American fridge freezer?",[10,170,171,172,175,176,178],{},"Upright, every time. On our vans a fridge freezer travels ",[31,173,174],{},"upright, blanketed and ratchet-strapped to the rail",", and the photograph of one strapped beside a washing machine is in the ",[49,177,64],{"href":63}," too.",[10,180,181],{},"Your part comes first:",[70,183,184,190,196],{},[73,185,186,189],{},[31,187,188],{},"Defrost and empty it at least 24 hours ahead."," We will happily move the appliance; we will not move what is inside it.",[73,191,192,195],{},[31,193,194],{},"Measure the doorways"," against the fridge freezer, handles included. A wide one can be tighter through an internal door than it looks.",[73,197,198,201],{},[31,199,200],{},"Tell us if it is plumbed in"," for water or ice. If the feed needs a plumber to disconnect, that is arranged separately.",[10,203,204,205,208,209,212,213,218],{},"Then, at the new house, leave it alone for a while. Beko's guidance is to stand a fridge freezer ",[31,206,207],{},"upright and unplugged for at least 4 hours"," so the compressor oil can settle, then switch it on, and to allow ",[31,210,211],{},"up to 12 hours"," for it to get cold before the food goes back in (",[49,214,217],{"href":215,"rel":216},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.beko.co.uk\u002Fsupport\u002Fhow-to-guides\u002Frefrigeration\u002Fhow-long-to-leave-a-fridge-after-moving-home",[133],"Beko, how long to leave a fridge after moving home","). Your own manual may say something different for your model — follow that if it does.",[10,220,221],{},"The practical upshot: move the food in a cool box, and do not plan a big shop for the evening you arrive.",[20,223,225],{"id":224},"what-else-counts-as-heavy-or-awkward","What else counts as heavy or awkward?",[10,227,228,229,232,233,236],{},"The same rule covers ",[31,230,231],{},"a safe"," and ",[31,234,235],{},"gym equipment"," — running machines and multigyms especially. Both need declaring before you book, for the same reasons.",[10,238,239,240,53],{},"Some things cannot travel at all, however they are packed: gas cylinders, fuels and corrosive chemicals among them. The full list is in ",[49,241,243],{"href":242},"\u002Fguides\u002Fwhat-we-cannot-move","what a removal van cannot carry",[20,245,247],{"id":246},"booking-one-heavy-item-on-its-own","Booking one heavy item on its own",[10,249,250,251,255,256,259],{},"You do not need to be moving house. If it is just the piano, or just the fridge freezer going to a new kitchen, that is our ",[49,252,254],{"href":253},"\u002Fservices\u002Fsingle-items","single items and small loads"," service. Hourly bookings have a ",[31,257,258],{},"two-hour minimum",", and the heavy-item rule still applies: tell us what it is before you book.",[10,261,262,263,267],{},"When you know what you are moving, ",[49,264,266],{"href":265},"\u002Fquotation\u002Fsingle-item","tell us about the item"," and we will price it.",{"title":269,"searchDepth":270,"depth":270,"links":271},"",2,[272,273,274,275,276,277],{"id":22,"depth":270,"text":23},{"id":40,"depth":270,"text":41},{"id":105,"depth":270,"text":106},{"id":167,"depth":270,"text":168},{"id":224,"depth":270,"text":225},{"id":246,"depth":270,"text":247},"Advice","The three heavy items that most often stop a move on the day. What to tell us, what a specialist has to do first, and how each one travels.","md",{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fmoving-heavy-and-awkward-items","2026-10-16",5,{"title":5,"description":279},"blog\u002Fmoving-heavy-and-awkward-items",null,"VzFB5qC4Zl51fkejNCbNc2WmXfq3-mkbqQA8lanwZuI",1792100013668]