Upright, spinet and console piano movers

Spinets, consoles, studios and full uprights compared

Every vertical piano moves the same basic way, but height and weight change how many hands a stair needs: the taller the piano, the higher its center of gravity and, usually, the heavier it is. The table uses manufacturers’ published figures for current models.

Notice how fast weight climbs with height. About 7½ inches separates the Kawai console from the Steinway K-52, yet the K-52 weighs 226 pounds more. A tall upright is a heavier, more top-heavy load on a stair than a console, even though both look like “a piano against the wall.”

Spinets, the shortest verticals, are lighter but not light, and their compact cabinets leave little to grip. They still go on a dolly with straps; nobody should lift a spinet by its lid or the narrow ends beside the keys.

Why uprights are harder to move than they look

An upright is harder to move than its size suggests because its weight sits high and toward the back, where the cast-iron plate and strings stand, so it tips more readily than a dresser of the same footprint. The narrow base that makes an upright fit against a wall is the same thing that makes it unstable on a slope or a stair.

The Piano Technicians Guild’s care rules tell owners to use only a professional piano mover, and an upright on a stair shows why. Once several hundred pounds start to lean, the only safe place to be is above it, and the only safe way to stop it is with straps and a board already in place.

What the crew brings

• A piano dolly or skid board, so the piano moves as one strapped unit.
• Pads and moving blankets for the case, plus bubble wrap where a finish needs it.
• Heavy-duty lifting straps for the carry and tie-down straps for the truck.
• Packing tape to hold blankets in place without touching the finish.

Moving an upright piano down stairs, step by step

An upright goes down stairs strapped to a board or dolly, with crew members below guiding and supporting it and crew members above holding it back, one tread at a time. Going up works the same way in reverse, with the pull coming from above.

1. Measure the stairWidth, headroom at the top step, and the size of any landing or turn are checked against the piano’s height, width and depth.
2. Close and wrap the pianoThe fallboard is closed over the keys and the case is covered in pads and blankets, taped so nothing slips mid-stair.
3. Strap it to the board or dollyHeavy-duty straps cinch the piano to its board so it can’t shift as the angle changes.
4. Set the teamThe low side guides and supports, the high side controls the weight. Nobody stands directly in the piano’s path below.
5. Take one step at a timeThe piano is eased down each tread on the board’s edge and never bounced, with a short pause at every step so everyone resets.
6. Pivot at landingsAt a turn, the piano is pivoted on its board rather than spun on its own feet.
7. Check the floor at the bottomBefore rolling on, the crew checks the threshold and flooring at the foot of the stair, then rolls the piano to the door or its new spot.

Townhomes, split-levels and basements around Yorkville

The hardest upright moves around Yorkville are in homes where the piano lives on a different level from the door: townhomes with stacked floors, split-levels and finished basements. U.S. Census estimates show 64.2% of Yorkville’s housing units are single-family detached homes and 21.7% are single-family attached homes such as townhouses, so both kinds of stair show up often.

Townhome stairs tend to be the tighter of the two, with turns at a landing and less room at the top step. The apartment and townhome moving page covers the rest of a move in that kind of home. In a detached house, the challenge is usually the basement: a rec-room piano may have arrived before the stair was finished or through a door that has since changed, so a walk-out or patio door can be the better way out.

• How many steps on each staircase, and whether they’re inside or outside.
• Any landing turns, and how much room the landing gives.
• The narrowest point on the route, often a door at the top or bottom of a stair.
• Whether a walk-out, patio or garage door gives a level path to the driveway.
• Where the piano will stand at the new home, and what floor it’s on.

Amenity’s crews come from its Plainfield warehouse and move uprights throughout the area, including Plano and Minooka.

Protecting the piano, floors and walls

Protection on an upright move covers three things: the piano’s case and keys, the floors it rolls over, and the walls and door frames it passes. Pads and blankets go on the piano, door frames get padded at tight spots, and on winter moves Amenity lays floor runners.

In the truck, the piano is strapped in place with tie-down straps. On local moves Amenity puts one customer per truck, so the piano rides only with your own furniture.

Your part is quick. Take photos, candles and decorations off the top, empty the bench of sheet music so it travels light, and tell the estimator if the piano has a delicate antique finish or loose veneer. Don’t polish the case right before the move; PTG warns against aerosol polishes that contain silicone in any case.

Deciding whether an older upright is worth moving

An older upright is worth moving if it’s mechanically sound or matters to the family, and a technician’s inspection before the move tells you which. The PTG’s care FAQs say one piano may need rebuilding after just 20 years while another needs only reconditioning after 50, and that not every piano is worth the expense of either.

PTG also notes that most large, high-quality instruments can be rebuilt for one-half to two-thirds the cost of a comparable new piano, which is why a technician’s opinion on a tall upright from a respected maker carries more weight than its age alone.

If you’re sorting a parent’s house, the piano is often the biggest single decision on the list. The downsizing checklist for seniors and families and the guide to what to get rid of before you move help you decide early. Yorkville Movers moves pianos to a new home or into storage; if you decide not to keep one, ask a technician or dealer about your options.

Settling an upright into its new room

Set the upright against an interior wall away from vents, windows and direct sun, then let it settle for a few weeks before tuning, as Amenity suggests for any moved piano.

Finished basements deserve a hygrometer. The PTG’s humidity guidance names 42% relative humidity as the ideal level inside a piano, and Steinway recommends a room between 40% and 60%; a lower level that runs damp in July will push the pitch around. PTG suggests tuning often enough to hold pitch between A439 and A441, which usually means two to four tunings a year.

If the piano needs to wait between homes, piano storage keeps it in a climate-controlled facility. For other instruments in the house, see grand and baby grand piano moving or organ and pump organ moving, and the main piano moving page covers coverage and billing.

More piano moving services

Grand & Baby Grand Piano MovingLegs and lyre removed, piano boarded on its sideLearn more →Organ & Pump Organ MovingHome organs and antique pump organsLearn more →Piano StorageClimate-controlled warehouse storage for pianosLearn more →

Back to Piano Moving in Yorkville · all moving services

Available across the Yorkville area

• Oswego
• Montgomery
• Plano
• Sugar Grove
• Big Rock
• Plainfield
• Sandwich
• Aurora

Last reviewed November 11, 2026 by the Yorkville Movers team against Amenity Moving & Storage’s published service details and the public sources listed above.