Full pad-wrap protection
Every piece of furniture is individually wrapped in heavy quilted blankets in your home, then only unwrapped once placed in its final position. Far fewer chips and scratches than any standard remover delivers.
Piano moving is one of the few removals tasks where general-purpose movers regularly get it wrong — and the consequences (cracked soundboards, snapped pedal lyres, dropped grands) are expensive and often irreversible. Mark Ratcliffe Moving has been moving pianos across Sussex for over forty years: uprights, baby grands, full concert grands, harpsichords and the occasional pipe-organ console. Every piano move is handled by our specialist crew with skid trolleys, custom-fit pads and a climate-aware lorry — not the standard removals van.
A modern upright piano weighs between 180 and 300 kg. A baby grand is typically 250–320 kg, a full concert grand 350–500 kg. The weight is concentrated on a few small contact points, the soundboard is fragile, and the cast-iron frame can suddenly transfer load if the piano is tilted wrong. Most damage comes from one of four mistakes:
The most common piano move. Two-crew, skid trolley, ramp. Steinway, Yamaha, Kemble, Bechstein, Bluthner. Typical move within Sussex £180–£320.
Legs and lyre off, piano on padded board, three-crew lift. Typical move within Sussex £320–£520. Add £120–£180 for stairs.
Boards, blanket-wrap, four-crew lift. We have moved Steinway Model Ds, Bechstein Model Ds and Bosendorfer Imperials. Typical Sussex move £500–£900.
Yes, still needs care — the action and the integrated speakers are sensitive to drop-shock. Treated as a heavy fragile.
Every piano we move is covered by our standard goods-in-transit insurance to its declared value. For pianos above £5,000 we recommend electing all-risks cover — the extra premium is typically £25–£80 depending on the declared value and the move distance, and it covers all of: in-transit damage, drop damage, climate damage and any consequential tuning costs. We arrange this for you before the move day; you just need to give us a current valuation.
For very high-value instruments (concert-grade Steinways, Bosendorfers, Bechstein D’s, historic instruments) we can also arrange specialist piano-mover insurance through Allianz Musical — same-day for short-notice moves, on an annual policy for performers and dealers.
A piano always goes slightly out of tune when moved. The standard professional advice is: leave the piano 10–14 days in its new home before booking a tuning. This lets the soundboard, frame and felts equalise to the new room’s humidity. Tuning before that point is wasted — the piano will go out again as it settles.
We work with three independent piano tuners across Sussex and can recommend the right one for your instrument and your post-code. Just ask when you book.
Why choose Mark Ratcliffe Moving
Every piece of furniture is individually wrapped in heavy quilted blankets in your home, then only unwrapped once placed in its final position. Far fewer chips and scratches than any standard remover delivers.
A 20% deposit locks your chosen date in. No bumping, no rescheduling for bigger jobs. We hold the slot and we keep it.
No fees for date changes, key waits, cancellations or moves running long. Your quote is your final price — we eat any overrun.
One of only a handful of UK removers with our own staff training facility. Every crew member trains here — including the pad-wrap method, fragile handling and customer service standards.
Individual steel strong rooms at our Lower Dicker depot with 24-hour CCTV. Climate-stable, accessible by appointment, with an antiques tier for high-value contents.
The same name on the lorry as the name on the paperwork. Mark personally surveys every overseas job and every white-glove relocation. Started 1982. Still here.
Upright: typically £180–£320 within Sussex, including labour, materials and insurance. Baby grand: £320–£520. Full grand: £500–£900. Add roughly £120–£180 for tricky stairs or hoist work. Email or call for a precise quote.
Yes — routinely. Uprights up two flights are standard. Grands up stairs we always survey first to confirm clearance. Anything we cannot safely stair, we can usually hoist through a window — we have done it dozens of times.
Almost certainly yes. The change in humidity and the transit vibration both put a piano slightly out. Allow 10–14 days in the new home before booking the tuner so the instrument equalises first.
Yes. Digital pianos are treated as heavy fragiles — padded, blanket-wrapped and strapped. They still need care because the internal action and speakers don’t love drop-shocks.
Yes. Standard goods-in-transit covers up to £40/kg by default; for higher-value pianos we elect additional all-risks cover specific to the instrument. Tell us the current valuation when you book.
For a piano-only move, 1–2 weeks is usually enough. If the piano is part of a full house move, the lead time matches the rest of the move — 4–8 weeks ahead is comfortable.
From the blog
How our signature method works — wrap in your home, never unwrapped in transit, only unwrapped in final position.
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Step-by-step packing for china, glass, framed pictures, mirrors, electronics — from BAR-trained packers.
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What to check before you sign — BAR membership, insurance, written quotes, reviews. Plus the red flags that mean "walk away".
Read article →Call us today for a free, no-obligation quote — or use our online form. Whether it's a one-room move or a full international relocation, we've handled it before.