A lift that takes your furniture
Easiest
Book the slot, check the internal dimensions rather than assuming them, and load in an order that keeps the lift running full instead of often. Distance from bay to door is the only real cost.
Flat & apartment removals
Five situations, and yours is one of them
A flat move is decided by the way out, not by how much furniture there is. Find the row that matches your building and you will know most of what the quote depends on.
The most useful thing you can tell us about a flat is the floor and whether there is a lift. Almost everything else follows from those two facts — crew size, how long the day runs, and whether the awkward pieces are a problem or just an afternoon.
A lift that will not take long items
Split job
Sofas, mattresses and bed frames go by stairs while everything else goes by lift, with the crew split so both happen at once. This is why crew size matters more in a flat than in a house.
No lift, second floor or above
The big variable
Every item is carried, one at a time, by people who then walk back down. It is the single biggest thing that changes a flat quote, and it is why we ask about the floor before anything else.
A managed block with rules
Paperwork first
Insurance details to the managing agent, a booked move window, sometimes restricted hours. We handle that correspondence so the day is a move rather than a negotiation at the front desk.
A conversion with an original staircase
Measure it
The turn decides what fits. Many sofas come apart at the back and go through flat; a few genuinely will not, and you hear that at survey rather than on a half-landing.
What a flat move includes
The same standard as a house, sized down. Furniture blanketed in the room, boxes labelled for where they are going, beds and flat-pack dismantled and rebuilt, and runners on communal hallways — shared carpet is somebody else's problem right up until it is yours and your deposit's.
Packaging goes away with us at the end, which matters more than it sounds when a check-out inspection is booked the same week.
Bigger or smaller?
A whole house is house removals; a single room or a part load is man and van.
Flat moves — straight answers
Does the floor really change the price that much?
Without a lift, more than almost anything else. Every item makes a round trip on foot, and that is time rather than effort. With a working lift that takes your furniture, the floor barely matters.
Will my sofa get down the stairs?
We measure the turn at survey and tell you honestly. Many sofas come apart at the back. A few will not go at all, usually because they were carried in before a bannister or a wall changed — and knowing that a fortnight out beats discovering it on the day.
Do I need to tell the building?
In a managed block, almost certainly. Agents commonly want notice, insurance details and a booked lift slot, and some restrict moving hours. Ask as soon as you have a date; it is the most common cause of a late start.
What if the lift is out of service?
We carry, which takes longer. We would rather know in advance and rebook than turn a booked slot into an improvised one, so we ring the building the day before to check.
Can you move a one-bed in a single load?
Usually, though it depends on the furniture rather than the floor area. A one-bed with a corner sofa, a double wardrobe and a couple of bikes is not a single-trip job, and we size the vehicle to what we have actually seen.
Do you do student and single-room moves?
Yes, and they are quoted as real jobs. A room out of a shared flat still has a staircase, a street door and a parking problem attached.
Floor, lift or stairs, and the parking
Three facts and we are most of the way to a quote. Send them over and we will do the rest.