Pianos are the one piece of furniture that makes most movers nervous. I understand why. A grand piano can weigh over 1,000 pounds. An upright is usually 300 to 500 pounds. Get it wrong and you damage the instrument, the floor, the walls, and potentially the mover.
We move pianos regularly at Castle Express. Here is what I tell people who are trying to figure out how to do it right.
Why pianos are different from other furniture
A piano is not just heavy. It is also extremely fragile despite its weight. The internal mechanism - the soundboard, the hammers, the strings, the action - is made up of thousands of moving parts, many of them wooden, all of them precisely tuned to each other. A bump in the wrong place can throw the whole instrument out of alignment.
You cannot tip a piano on its back like a dresser. You cannot drag it across a floor. You cannot move it with two people and a regular dolly. Pianos require specialty equipment and people who know how to use it.
Upright versus grand
The two types move very differently.
Upright pianos. These are the ones you grew up seeing in your grandmother's living room. They stand vertically and weigh between 300 and 600 pounds depending on size. Uprights move on specialty piano dollies or skids. They need to stay upright during the move. You can never lay them flat on their back. The pedal assembly at the bottom is particularly vulnerable and needs to be protected.
Grand pianos. These are the big ones with the hinged lid. They are harder to move and require more steps. The legs and the lyre (the pedal assembly underneath) have to be removed. The piano has to be turned on its side and placed on a specialty piano skid called a piano board. Then it gets strapped in place and moved on a dolly. Grand pianos that weigh 900 pounds or more usually need four or five experienced movers to handle safely.
Why general movers often refuse pianos
Most moving companies will not move pianos. The ones that do sometimes should not. Here is why.
Insurance and liability. A piano can be worth $10,000 to $100,000 or more. Damaging one during a move is a serious financial problem. Many general movers either are not insured to cover that kind of loss, or they do not want the risk.
Lack of equipment. Moving a piano correctly requires piano boards, heavy-duty dollies, straps, padding, and sometimes ramps. A general mover who does not specialize in pianos may not have any of this on their truck.
Lack of experience. There is no shortcut to learning how to move a piano. You have to have done it, over and over, under supervision, before you can do it on your own. A crew without that experience is a risk to your piano.
If you have a piano and the first mover you called will not take the job, that is actually a good sign. It means they know their limits.
What it costs to move a piano
Piano moves in Connecticut in 2026 typically run from $300 to $800 for a local move, depending on:
- The type and size of the piano - How many stairs are involved - How far the movers need to carry it - Whether the piano is going up or down a level - Whether the route has tight turns or narrow doorways
Moves involving grand pianos, multiple flights of stairs, or long carry distances can go higher. A piano that needs to be hoisted through a window or moved down a spiral staircase is a different kind of job entirely.
This is usually charged as a flat rate or added on top of a regular move, not billed hourly. Make sure you understand what is included before you book.
Why Connecticut homes are tough on pianos
A lot of our piano moves happen in older homes in towns like Wethersfield, Glastonbury, and West Hartford. These are beautiful homes but they were not built with piano moving in mind.
Older Connecticut homes often have:
- Narrow front doorways - Tight staircases with sharp landings at the bottom - Low ceilings in finished basements - Narrow back doors that were never meant for big furniture - Steep entry stairs and porches
Our crews handle these challenges regularly. We plan the route before we start, we protect the instrument and the home, and we move slowly through the tight spots.
How Castle Express handles piano moves
Piano moving is part of our specialty moving service. We have the equipment, the crews, and the experience to handle upright pianos, grand pianos, and rare or high-value instruments.
What you get when you hire us for a piano move:
- A pre-move walkthrough so we know exactly what we are working with - Experienced movers who have handled pianos before - The correct equipment for your piano type - Proper wrapping and padding to protect the instrument - Full insurance coverage on the move
We do not claim to be the cheapest piano movers in Connecticut. We do claim to do it right. If you have a piano that matters to you, that is what should matter most.
If you have a piano to move in Hartford County or Western Massachusetts, get in touch and we will walk you through what your move should look like.
- Joe Caronna, Owner, Castle Express Moving & Storage