How to Move a Piano in Appleton, WI (and What It Costs)

Moving a piano in the Appleton area costs about 250 to 600 dollars for an upright on a local move, and 500 to 1,200 dollars for a baby grand or grand that has to be partially disassembled. Uprights weigh 300 to 500 pounds and grands 500 to 1,200 pounds, and almost all of that weight sits high and toward the back, which is why a piano tips over far more easily than its size suggests.

How much does it cost to move a piano in the Fox Valley?

Local piano moves around Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, and Kaukauna usually price out like this: 250 to 400 dollars for a spinet or console upright staying on one level, 350 to 600 dollars for a full upright or any move with a flight of stairs, and 500 to 1,200 dollars for a baby grand or grand where the lyre and legs come off and the body travels on its side on a piano board. Figure another 50 to 100 dollars per additional flight. If the piano is going with the rest of your household, it is almost always cheaper as a line item on a full Appleton move than as a standalone job, because the truck and the crew are already scheduled.

Can you move a piano yourself?

An upright, on one level, over a short flat path, with four able-bodied adults and a rented piano dolly: yes, carefully. A grand piano: no. And in the Fox Valley there is a seasonal answer on top of that. From roughly November through March the ramp, the driveway, and the front steps are the real hazard, not the instrument. A 400-pound piano on a wet aluminum ramp does not stop once it starts moving. If your move falls in winter, that is the point at which pricing out a crew beats calling in favors.

What is the right way to move an upright piano?

• Measure the doorways, the turns, and the truck ramp before anything moves. Most piano damage happens in a hallway, not on the truck.
• Close and tape the key lid shut, then wrap the whole instrument in moving blankets and strap the blankets on. Never tape directly to the finish.
• Use a four-wheel piano dolly rated for at least 1,000 pounds. The casters on the piano itself are decorative on most uprights and will snap or gouge a hardwood floor.
• Keep an upright piano vertical at all times. Tilting one puts the full weight onto the case joints, which are not built to carry it.
• For a grand, remove the lyre and the legs and move the body on its straight side on a padded piano board, never rolling on the legs.

Will moving it put the piano out of tune?

Almost certainly, and the move itself is rarely the reason. Pitch shifts when the soundboard reacts to a change in humidity and temperature, and Wisconsin swings hard from humid summers to dry heated winters. Let the piano sit in its new room for two to four weeks so it settles at that room's humidity, then book the tuner. Tuning it the week it arrives usually means paying for a second tuning a month later.

Where should the piano go in the new house?

Against an interior wall, away from exterior doors, heat registers, cold-air returns, fireplaces, and direct afternoon sun. In older Fox Valley homes with poorly insulated exterior walls, that choice makes a genuine difference in how long a tuning holds. Decide the spot before the crew arrives, because sliding a set piano across a room to find a better place is exactly how floors get scratched. Our local moving crews set it where you want it as part of the move.

Frequently asked questions

How many people does it take to move an upright piano? Four is the practical minimum: two carrying weight, one steering the dolly, one spotting doorways and stairs. Two people can roll one across a flat room, but not through a doorway or down a set of steps.

Do movers charge extra for a piano? Yes. Most quote it as a specialty add-on of roughly 150 to 400 dollars on top of the household move, covering the piano board, the extra straps, and the additional crew member.

Is it safe to move a piano in freezing weather? Yes, if it is wrapped, kept out of the weather in transit, and allowed to warm up gradually in the new house before the blankets come off. Unwrapping a cold piano straight into a heated room puts condensation on the strings and the plate.