Careful Piano Movers in Roanoke, VA
Collegiate Movers moves upright, console, spinet and grand pianos in Roanoke, VA, whether the piano is going to a new home, to another room or up a flight of stairs. Our crews have moved homes across the Roanoke Valley since 1999, and a piano always gets its own plan: enough people for its weight, a piano dolly or piano board, thick padding for the instrument and protection for your floors and door frames.
The quickest way to check a date is to call (540) 992-1414, Monday to Saturday from 7am to 7pm, or send the quote form on this page with the piano type and a photo of the stairs.
Piano Types Our Roanoke Piano Movers Handle
- Upright pianos (studio, console and spinet): the most common pianos in Roanoke homes. They stay standing for the whole move and roll on a piano dolly over level floors.
- Grand and baby grand pianos: the legs and pedal lyre come off, and the body is laid on its straight side on a padded piano board and strapped down before it moves.
- Digital pianos and keyboards: much lighter, but the stand, pedals and cables are packed with them so nothing goes missing.
- Piano benches: wrapped and moved with the piano.
Not sure what you have? Send a photo of the piano with something nearby for scale. The height of an upright, or the length of a grand from keyboard to tail, tells us most of what we need.
Trained Crew
Proper Equipment
Padded and Secured
Written Estimate
Information Needed for Your Piano Quote
You do not need every detail before you get in touch. A first inquiry only needs the piano type, both addresses and your preferred date. The more of the following you can share, the more precise your written estimate will be:
- Piano type and size: upright or grand, and the make if you know it. A rough height for an upright, or length for a grand, helps.
- Where it is now and where it is going: both addresses, or the two rooms if it is staying in the same house.
- Steps at each end: how many, inside or outside, and whether the stairway turns or has a landing.
- Doorways and tight spots: narrow halls, sharp corners or a door that may need to come off its hinges.
- Photos: the piano, the stairs and the entrance at each home. A phone photo of each is plenty.
- Your date: and whether it is flexible.
Stairs, Doorways and Access on Piano Moving Day
Access shapes a piano move more than distance does. A piano that rolls from a ground-floor room straight out to the driveway is a very different job from one that comes down a turning staircase into a basement, or up the front steps of a hillside home, which are common across Roanoke, Salem and Vinton.
- Straight stairs: the crew carries the piano one step at a time, with people above and below it and one person calling each move.
- Turns and landings: we check whether the piano clears the turn at the angle it has to travel, which is why the size of the landing matters.
- Doorways: an upright passes through standing on its dolly; a grand passes on its side on the piano board, so the opening has to fit it in that position.
- Outdoor steps and walkways: steep, wet or icy paths change the plan, so tell us if the route is uncovered.
If the route looks too tight in your photos, we will tell you before moving day instead of finding out with the piano halfway down the stairs. The Piano Technicians Guild recommends using a professional piano mover to avoid injury to yourself, the instrument and your home, and stairs are where that advice counts most.
Upright and Grand Piano Moving: How We Handle Each
Upright Pianos
The lid and fallboard are closed, the piano is wrapped in moving pads, lifted onto a piano dolly and kept upright. In the truck it stands against a wall, padded and strapped so it cannot shift on the drive.
Grand and Baby Grand Pianos
The music desk and pedal lyre are removed and wrapped, the piano is lowered onto its straight side on a padded piano board, and the legs come off. The body is wrapped, strapped to the board and travels on its side. At the new home the legs, lyre and music desk go back on before the piano is set upright in its spot.
Whatever the type, a piano is lifted by its body, never by the legs, lid or keyboard, which are not built to carry its weight.
Moving a Piano Within Your Home
Yes, we move pianos within the same property: from the living room to a music room, from an upstairs room down to the main floor, or out of the way for a renovation or floor refinishing. These short moves get the same crew and equipment as a move between homes, because the stairs and doorways are the hard part, not the distance.
What Affects Piano Moving Cost
Every piano move is quoted individually, and the price is confirmed in a written estimate before you book. These details change it:
- Type and size: a grand needs disassembly and a piano board; a spinet does not.
- Stairs: the number of steps, turns and landings at each end, inside and out.
- Carry distance: how far the piano travels from its room to the truck, and from the truck to its new spot.
- Distance between addresses: across Roanoke, across the valley or farther.
- Crew size: set by the weight of the piano and the difficulty of the route.
- Part of a full move or on its own: a piano moving with the rest of your home is planned into the same day.
Our guide to how much movers cost in Roanoke explains how moving estimates work in general.
Preparing for the Crew
- Clear photos, lamps, sheet music and decorations off the top and the music desk.
- Close the lid and fallboard, and lock them if your piano has a key.
- Clear the route from the piano to the door, take up loose rugs and move small furniture out of the way.
- Decide where the piano will stand in its new room. The Piano Technicians Guild suggests keeping it away from heating and cooling vents and direct sunlight, and on an interior wall if the home is not well insulated.
- Empty the bench, or pack its sheet music in a box.
- Tell us about loose legs, worn casters or past repairs so the crew can plan around them.
Our guide on how to move a piano covers what to check and photograph before booking, and what to look at after delivery.
After Delivery: Settling and Tuning
A move, and the change in temperature and humidity between homes, can put a piano out of tune. We move pianos but do not tune them, so book your piano technician and ask when they would like to tune it; many prefer to let the piano settle in its new room for a few weeks first. The Piano Technicians Guild’s piano care FAQ explains why steady humidity helps a piano stay in tune.
Piano Moves Within and Beyond the Roanoke Valley
A piano can move on its own or as part of a full local or long distance move. When it travels with the rest of your home, it is loaded where it rides safest on our truck and stays with your belongings for the whole trip. Moves within about 200 miles of Roanoke are part of our regular service area; for anything farther, call with both addresses and we will tell you what is possible.
We also move pianos for churches, schools, music teachers and studios, between rooms, floors or buildings, and plan the time around services, lessons and classes.
Request a Piano Moving Quote
Call (540) 992-1414 or send the form below with the piano type, both addresses, the stairs at each end and your preferred date. Photos are welcome but not required for a first inquiry. We reply by the next business day with any questions and your written estimate.
We serve the whole Roanoke Valley and nearby towns, including Salem, Vinton, Cave Spring, Roanoke County, Bedford, Smith Mountain Lake, Lynchburg and Blacksburg. Collegiate Movers is licensed and insured, USDOT 861003. Read what customers say on our reviews page, or see all of our moving services.
Piano Movers FAQs
The piano type, both addresses and your preferred date are enough to start. Stair details and photos of the piano and the route let us give a more precise written estimate.
Every piano move is quoted individually. The piano type and size, the stairs and turns at each end, the carry distance and the distance between addresses set the price, which is confirmed in a written estimate before you book.
Yes. Grand and baby grand pianos travel on their side on a padded piano board, with the legs and pedal lyre removed, wrapped and reattached at your new home.
Yes. Tell us how many steps there are and whether the stairway turns or has a landing. A photo of the stairs helps us plan the crew and the route.
Yes. We move pianos within the same home, including between floors, and single pianos across Roanoke, as well as pianos that are part of a full move.
Often, yes, because temperature and humidity change between homes. We move pianos but do not tune them, so ask your piano technician when to schedule a tuning; many suggest waiting a few weeks.
Moving a piano within the Roanoke Valley usually takes a few hours, depending on stairs and access. Grand pianos take longer because the legs and lyre are removed and reattached.
Yes, usually as part of a long distance move. Moves within about 200 miles of Roanoke are part of our regular service area, and farther moves are quoted individually.
Yes. We move pianos for churches, schools, studios and teachers, and can schedule around services, lessons and classes.
Yes. Collegiate Movers is licensed and insured, USDOT 861003, and has served the Roanoke Valley since 1999.