Moving your piano during a home renovation

If you are planning a kitchen extension, a loft conversion, or a full house renovation, the piano needs to come out of the affected space before work starts. Dust, vibration and the humidity shifts that come with damp plaster and open structures can all cause damage that is expensive to put right. This guide sets out what to plan for and how to time it.

Why renovation is risky for a piano

Dust from cutting, sanding and plastering settles inside the piano action. The action contains hundreds of felt-covered hammers and precisely weighted keys. Even a thin coating of plaster dust can make keys sticky, cause hammers to misfire and change the feel of the keyboard. A full internal clean after heavy building work is a specialist job and does not always restore the action to its original state.

Vibration is the second risk. Sustained drilling and impact work in the same room, or in adjacent rooms sharing a wall, can loosen tuning pins and throw the instrument out of tune. On older pianos where the pin block has already seen some wear, this risk is higher.

Humidity is the third factor. When walls are opened, wet plaster is applied and heating runs intermittently or is switched off, the moisture content of the air can shift significantly. The wooden components of a piano, particularly the soundboard and the bridges, absorb and release moisture with these changes. A piano left in a space with wet plaster and no consistent heating for several weeks can develop soundboard cracks or glue-joint failures that need specialist repair.

For an immediate quote on a renovation move, go to book.pianospeed.com. If you need to talk through the access or the timing, call 020 7164 0000.

When to move the piano

Move the piano before work starts, not after. By the time the first contractor walks through the door, the risk to the instrument has already begun: tools are being carried through the room, dust is in the air and the piano is in the way.

The same thinking applies even if the piano is not in the room being renovated. If the route through the property runs past the piano, if the renovation is directly above or below, or if the heating will be off for a sustained period, the instrument should move before work begins.

Where to put it during the works

There are three options, and the right one depends on the scale and duration of the works.

Another room in the same property

If there is a room that will not be affected by the renovation, the piano can move there for the duration. Check that the route is clear and that there is enough space in the receiving room. If the rooms are on different floors, a stair charge applies. For this kind of internal move, contact us before the renovation starts so the cost is planned in advance.

A second property

If you have family or a friend with space, the piano can go there for the duration of the works. This is a straightforward two-move job: out before work starts, back when the space is finished and dry.

Piano storage

Short-term specialist storage is the cleanest solution when no alternative space is available. The piano moves into a controlled environment for the duration of the works and comes back when the property is ready. We can quote the outbound move and the return together so there are no surprises later.

Planning the two moves together

Whether the piano is going to storage, a second property or another room, it will need two moves: out and back. Tell us both destinations and the approximate timescale when you book the first move. We can note the return move and quote it at the same time, which means you have a fixed cost for the whole operation before the renovation begins.

Do not book the return move too early. The destination room should be finished, dry and at a consistent temperature before the piano comes back. Damp plaster continues to release moisture for weeks after it looks surface-dry, and returning the piano to a room that has not fully dried out puts it back into the same risk environment you moved it out of.

What to tell us when you book

• The collection address and the destination, including the floor level at each end
• Whether there are stairs at either address (stairs are chargeable)
• The type of piano: upright or grand, and the make if known
• The approximate dates for work starting and finishing
• Whether you want us to note the return move at the same time

After the renovation: settling in and tuning

Once the piano is back in its renovated home, allow it two to four weeks to settle before booking a tuner. The instrument will have been in a different environment during the renovation period and it needs time to equilibrate to the humidity and temperature of its new space. Tuning too soon often means the pitch drifts again before the first practice session.

If the renovation involved changing floor surfaces, removing a wall or altering the acoustic of the room, you may find the piano sounds different even after tuning. This is not damage: it is the instrument responding to the different reflective properties of the new space.

For a fixed price on moving your piano before or during a renovation, go to book.pianospeed.com and describe the access at both ends. You can also call 020 7164 0000. PianoSpeed is rated 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 77 reviews, all from real piano moves across London, Surrey and the UK.