removal company or self drive

goldengirl28

All,

not that i'm ready to book anything yet, BUT when moving what are the pro's and con's of using a removal company or hiring a van and doing it ourselves.

all thinks to consider welcome

Bellalolo

Did a removal myself and the difference between what I thought I had and what was actual there once attic, sheds & cupboards were empty was a big difference so allow for that when getting quotes. You can only drive a certain size van on a car licence so may take extra runs back and forth but a Luton van can hold quite a bit if packeged right. Saved abit of money doing myself even allowing for van hire, storage hire, fuel. I was able to use boxes tape bubble wrap from work and had dads free labour you will need to allow for these.Are house contents going to new house or storage? Does the distance allow multiple trips? Will you have time contraints?

Cannon_Fodder

If moving to somewhere 8 floors up, with furniture that won't go in the lift, get a removals firm in...!

goldengirl28

thanks Bellalolo

we are moving "hopefullu" about a 10 minute drive away
moving house contents......... we have some itme sin storage, but we used our car's to put them there so can use same to get them out

we could probuably do about 7 trips in a day, this if we could load and unload the van every hour.............i'm thinking about getting a van for the weekend and roping, hubby, brother in law's and male friends to do the move and my sisters and femail friends to do the unpacking and top of the day with a take away and some beers/wine as a thankyou

i think that may work, whats your thoughts?

ET1976

How much stuff are you moving (i.e. what size of house are you moving out of)? What sort of stuff is it - e.g. standard furniture, or have you got lots of breakable or precious stuff? Have you got flatpack furniture? How much has to be taken up and down stairs? I moved out of a first-floor 2-bed on my own and I was going crazy by the end, and I hardly even had any actual furniture to move. Would always get a removal company in future unless I seriously downsize.

I'd get some quotes from removals firms and see how that stacks up against the cost of hiring a van. It might not be that much more and will save you a lot of effort!

goldengirl28

Hi ET1979

Moving from a 3 bed house, in rough
UPSTAIRS
2 kingsize beds
2 single bed
1 childrens wardrobe
4 set of drawers
and clothes etc from wardrobes
2 TVs

Downstairs
Tv & stand
Bookcase
2 settee and an arm chair
Dining table and 4 chair,
2 display cabinets
washer
freezer
and kitchen junk etc.

not a huge amount of bug stuff, most will be packed up in boxes

thanks for your suggestion, i'll get some quotes sent out

Welsh_Totster

We moved from a 1 bed flat 8 years ago into a 4 bed house, we had one trip as it was a 200 mile move, just about got everything in a Luton with two carloads of extra stuff squished in. I decided if I were to move again Id get the professionals in. So this time we are doing a 40 mile move and the removals company is on standby when we get a completion date. They will pack everything up for us the day before and everything they pack is insured, so if anything gets broken we can claim for it. If we did it ourselves then tough, its broken, no comeback. They are also providing another van to move all the garden furniture and plant pots which will fill a Luton on its own.

Stress free, they pack, they move, they unload, no way am I doing it myself cos after packing up a 1 bed flat on my own that took weeks, a 4 bed house would take forever!

reddevilled

When we moved the first time we did it ourself, but moving the second time we used a removals firm which even though it cost a lot more gave us the piece of mind as much as anything, and it was so nice getting to the end of the day and all the big stuff was unpacked and in its place.

Bellalolo

I would definately do myself in your situation lots of help at hand, moving close by etc.Luton vans are only around £59 a day around here.You could always get a quote from a removal firm to compare costs alot do online quotes but guess they will not get anywhere near what you would even with beer and takeaway.The only draw back is I don't know if your contents insurance would cover any damage in transit, never looked into it but then I don't have any ming vases. Guess as you would be moving it you would take extra care with expensive/fragile items.Also will anyone be waiting on your doorstep with a van to get their stuff in?

goldengirl28

Thanks Welsh totster,

i hadn't realised they packed as well............now that is a bonus worth paying for.

Do i have to get everything out or do they methodically go through each room, cupboard and pack themselves?

Ha, i'd forgot about the garden furniture

Welsh_Totster

Well we have had a major declutter / throwing out of stuff over the past few months so we know that everything that gets packed is stuff we want and use, so thats a good start. They have a team of 4 packers that come armed with boxes and pack everything from cupboards/drawers/shelves for each room. You just leave them to it safe in the knowledge that they do it for a living and know the best and safest way of doing it.

Its costing us an extra £250 for the packing service which I reckon is money well spent for no stress! They also provide hanging rail boxes for clothes to be taken straight out the wardrobes and hung to take with you so no packing boxes and boxes of clothes up either!

We have a huge 8 seater table and chairs and garden swing, banana parasol, big BBQ and loads of plant pots (around 70!) all rather heavy too. Id rather pay for them to be moved by someone thats trained in manual handling than end up putting my back out doing it myself. Self preservation is key!