office moves– If you have a big office you need a bigger company that does commercial moves. Good office moves involve putting most items on dollies and those items stay on dollies strapped into the truck for the whole move. This greatly reduces the hourly rate. Your elevators and loading docks must be booked for this to run smoothly, three stairs can add hours to your move as every item must be lifted manually. However two stairs and sometimes three can be overcome if your company has a stair ramp. Be sure to clarify this. If your move is big have a representative come by to make sure the number of trucks and movers needed match the size of your office.

If your office move is small, for example a few desks or 2-3 employees you can save by hiring a residential moving company. These companies charge less but use smaller trucks and carry less equipment. In this case the difference between 70-100 dollars and 120 to 160 an hour make a difference

residential– Residential moving rates vary greatly. My moving company in Vancouver BC (Greens Moving Solutions) charges 79 mid month and 89 peak month for two guys and a moving truck. This is an average but larger moving companies charge more because they have more overhead due to advertising and office staff.

Every move depends entirely on the workers you have on the day of your move. There are large companies with great staff and experienced movers who do great work. The opposite is also true where large companies must have low wages to compete and have high turn over and therefore very inexperienced workers who could care less.

Always make sure the truck is big enough. Bachelors and 1 bedroom apartments can use a one ton truck, but if your move is only a little bigger than this make sure you wont get charged for the extra travel time if it takes two trips.

Owner operators and small companies with 1 or 2 trucks are the way to go. They want to work for you because they need to in order to pay for their trucks and advertising. Bigger companies can easily overbook due to the confusion that can happen in large offices so whatever you do confirm your move the day before just to be sure

pianos– finding moving companies that will move your personal stuff as well as your piano is a little risky. You have two choices, 1; hire house and piano movers separately and 2; Hire piano movers that also move houses. If you choose option number 2 than make sure they will have a piano skid, if they don’t know what this is then they are not piano movers. Piano movers should also tune your piano once it is delivered.

Which Truck to Choose. If you cant afford movers then here’s tips to make moving by your self a little easier. If your not using one of the many local moving companies, Vancouver and most other cities in North America have many option for renting trucks and vans. As a general rule look at your stuff, decide how long you think it will take, and multiply that by 2. One bedrooms and small two bedroom apartments take between 3 and 5 hours and can be done with a moving truck called a 1-ton which has a box that is roughly 14 feet long by 7 feet wide by 8 feet high. A 3 bedroom should use a 3-5 ton truck which is significantly bigger. Small houses need a minimum of a 5 ton truck which is about as big as they get. If you live in a shared accommodation and only one room worth of stuff a pick up truck or van will do.

Pack up up all your stuff and refer to the list of locations to get moving supplies in Vancouver’s. Book elevators if you have them and reserve the parking spot closest to your front or back door.

Lifting and moving Here’s some tricks that Vancouver movers and other moving companies use when lifting and moving heavy objects. Rule number one, 2 and 4 wheel dolleys make life a lot easier. All Vancouver moving companies use them and most truck rental companies rent them though they tend to be overpriced. I highly recommend them as they can save your back and your furniture. Here’s some tips along with pictures and videos to get an idea of lifting techniques and moving techniques.

• couches – Couches are best moved with the knees facing down and grabbing them from the bottom. Align it so that the corners you need to negotiate will go be pointing towards the centre of the seats. If this doesn’t give you enough room you may need to set the couch so the arm is on the floor, then swivel the knees through the door. If your loading onto a truck just tip the couch onto the tail gate.

Packing the truck – There are several techniques to doing this but the most common is the wall technique, or at le

ast that is how a Vancouver moving company would refer to it as. Step 1: Stack one layer of boxes from the floor to the roof as shown in the photo. Step 2: Put a mattress and box spring or other items like cabinets up against the boxes to form a wall to block them in. Step 3: Stack a wall of boxes again and repeat until its done. Once you’ve run out of that type of stuff improvise by putting heavy items on bottom and stacking smaller lighter items on top. Be sure to use a lot of moving blankets so you don’t damage your furniture.

Delicate Furniture: When moving in Vancouver or anywhere, be sure to rap delicate furniture with shrink wrap as shown in the couch picture above. This will prevent the glass doors from opening and the corners from scratching other furniture and walls. Wrap it around 4 or 5 times to make a thick layer. If your really worried about specific furniture hire an insured Vancouver moving company you can google “moving company Vancouver” to get a list.

How to treat movers. Any labourer whether they be movers, landscapers, carpenters, painters or house cleaners often feel so far removed from their clients that it is easy to become their favorite customer. Most people want to get what they pay for, just remember that most moving companies pay between 12 and 16 per hour. Say hi, ask them what they do in their spare time or what they want to do. Be respectful and they will do likewise.

Have water, pop, juice and snacks in the fridge. This doesn’t cost much and people who feel respected work hard because they want to not because they have to. Let them know there’s a tip involved for good work. Tips are common in the industry and always appreciated. Tips range from $20- $60 per person but are not expected in the event of lost or broken furniture

Elevators and Parking. Booking your elevators and saving a parking spot will save tons of time. If your movers have to wait for elevators each time they want to bring a load to the truck, the time will add up very quickly. Call your building manager and schedule your elevator before you call your moving company. The night before your movers show up try to park where you think the best parking spot is for them And if you have a neighbour who’s willing to park beside you, the movers will have plenty of room to maneuver.

Packing your stuff. Being properly packed and prepared is important when moving. Vancouver companies often offer packing services at the same rate as their moving service. In order to save money on your move be sure everything is in boxes that are full and taped shut. Boxes that are half full tend to squish on one side and then cause stuff on top to tip over. Put books and other heavy items into small boxes. Put a layer of newspaper or packing paper at the bottom of the box when packing plates and other breakables. Wrap each plate or item and fill the empty space with crumpled up news paper to prevent damage. You can usually get boxes from storage facilities or you can google moving supplies and your city. Other companies offer plastic reusable boxes which are incredibly convenient. Check out say no to boxes in Vancouver, they’ll come by your house and tell you how many you need, it’s about the same price as buying boxes and it’s much greener.

Wrapping. All moving companies are willing to shrink wrap all your nice furniture. You can do this yourself ahead of time to save some money. Buy a roll of shrink or bubble wrap from your local moving supply shop. Most things can be shrink wrapped. Put on a pair of gloves so you don’t cut your hands on the cardboard roll.

Disassembling your furniture. Movers always show up with all the necessary tools for taking apart furniture but if you do it yourself you can save some money. Put all the screws and bolts in a little bag and tape it to the furniture it belongs to