removal company or self drive

poppysarah

Removal van with at least two blokes. Each and every time!

Don't lift, just pack. Mark boxes clearly so they know which new room to put them in.

LilacPixie

I have opted to get a small local firm in. They were recomended by the storage firm we are using and they took some big items there for us last week. Only downside is they do not pack so i need to do that myself.

[Deleted User]

We had this dilema and ultimately went for the removal company. In our situation (just two of us) I'm glad I did. You'll be amazed at how much more stuff you have than you think!!

The removal guys were't as careful as we'd have been, there was a mix up (on their part) which resulted in a double booking - fine in the end, but stressful at the time.

In your situation with people to help then I think I definately do it myself. Just make sure your stuff has insurance cover during the move. We hired a van for a week anyway just to dump all the packing boxes and pick up new things from the shops.

clutton_2

REMOVAL men anytime... takes all the stress out of moving... and if you do your own packign of china and it gets broken their insurance usually does not pay up.... do a thorough check of the house before you leave... they had not emptied my fridge/freezer nor my airing cupboard, and had i not been still in possession of the property i would have lost a lot of stuff....

i paid them to pack and worth every penny ....

re de-cluttering - once something has left the house, forever - you will have great difficulty remembering what it was...... i downsized from an 8 room to a 4 room house and got rid of masses... dont miss any of it...

dacouch

Richard_Webster wrote: »

If I can add another point relating to multiple trips with the same van:

If you are selling and buying then your buyer will want in as soon as the money has changed hands, but you won't normally be able get access to the place you are buying until your solicitor has transferred the money to the other solicitor and the other solicitor has released the keys.

I get very annoyed with solicitors who are not contactable at lunchtimes, particularly Fridays. Say your solicitor has sent the money at 12.55. Solicitor goes off to lunch - his accounts people see the money has come in at say 13.02 and they send him an internal e-mail but he doesn't pick it up until he comes back at 14.30 and then phones the agents to release the keys!

So the point is that in that sort of case, if you are planning multiple trips you can usually only unload the first load starting after 14.30 and then you are going back to get the next load but your buyer is expecting to be unloading at your old house and his removal men are getting very cross the house is not empty!

I forgot to mention that one, thanks Richard. Yes the bane of our life can be the chains where you don't have the keys and it's usually just before lunch or just after lunch before you complete and get the keys. (This is especially bad on Fridays when the vast majority of house completions happen). So if your move is subject to you receiving keys make sure you know whats happening with the solicitor and estate agent and bear in mind it's often lunchtime before you get the keys.

Another couple I have thought of are.

If the house has nicely painted walls and your not planning on redecorating put some protection on the corners of the walls just inside each of the doors to stop damaging the paint and the things your moving.

Get your expensive tv's off the back of the van first (Put them on last) so no one comes along and helps themselves while your inside the house.

Have some old blankets or quilts to cover things that may get damaged eg table tops, your tv etc (Make sure the front of the tv / monitor screens are well protected as they break fairly easily if something is leaning on it and the van jolts).

When carrying heavy stuff upstairs it's easier if the tallest person is at the bottom.

Don't buy packing boxes from a storage company, you can buy the same quality boxes from ebay for a fraction of the cost.

Put selotape on the front of any glass doors or opening cupboards to stop them flying open when your carrying them.

If you put stuff into storage (They will negoiate on the price so don't accept the first price they quote). Think to yourself is it actually worth putting the items into storage, we frequently pick stuff up from storage that customers have put into storage for a few months, it normally ends up being 6 months or more. They are paying circa £150 a month for the storage and the total value of the items is only around £600. They kick themselves and say they wished they had just dumped the stuff (Or given it away etc) and just gone out and bought brand new items when they needed them

Before you actually start loading your stuff, have a walk around and spend a bit of time planning it. As I said earlier you will get far more in if you pack the boxes in first.

A professional removal company will probably load 3 bed house into a big enough vehicle within about 3 to 4 hourshours if it's three men and unload it within about an hour to 90 minutes. If you do it yourself take it steady and work methodically, it's hard work (I find it enjoy it as it's very purgatory). If your not used to this type of work expect to have stiff legs and possibly arms the next day.

If you know anyone you can lend you a sack barrow, it might help with a few things like the washing machine (They are heavy). When you carry the washing machine the bottom has fairly sharp edges so it's best to wear gloves.

If you have a sofa bed they are normally pretty heavy and awkward.

As I said before times are slow for removal companies so they really will negoiate on their prices

sandiep

If you have a metal action sofa bed, it WILL spring whilst you are carrying it, either straight into your legs, or straight into the door frame! They were invented by satan.

goldengirl28

WOW.........thanks everyone there is some cracking advise in this thread.

I've loads to think about

i'll get my hubby to read through, as he will be doing the manual work if we choose to do it ourselves,

dacouch

Golden Girl, moving yourself is nothing to be scared of, it is hard work and is not for everyone as other poster's have mentioned.

You just need to work methodically, plan it out and it's important to work as a team with one person in charge which would probably be your husband.

When you hire the van take into account you may have to drop it back late in the evening which is probably after they have closed. So look for a hire company where you can drop the keys off in a secure box so you only pay for the one day's hire.

Another good tip is that you will probably want to get a takeaway delivered rather than go to the hassle of cooking. So find the number of a takeaway that delivers and is local to your new home and put the number in your phone.

It's also an idea to put your smellies, toiletries and bubble bath in a seperate bag so you can find them and have a nice relaxing bath when it's all done.

Remind your hubby he has to carry you over the threshold!

goldengirl28

dacouch,

thanks for you fab responces, some really useful advise.

Hubby says he'll get the rugby lads round to help, to be honest that fills me with dread, i can imagine everything getting tossed around like the ball

good point about the takeaway...............i'll have a drive around and try to find one, i've a friend who lives nearby that might be able to recommend somewhere.

Good point about the bath, i travel with work each week, so will put my travel back in my car......got everything we will need. i'll pack our pajama's in there as well one les thing to try to find.

Sisters says get the beds and bedding in early and she'll make sure the kids rooms are made up, we can kip on the settee, but i want the kids in their rooms if at all possible

the last bit makes me giggle ........i'll have to rememebr that one !

Jue_xx

dacouch wrote: »

Remind your hubby he has to carry you over the threshold!

goldengirl28 wrote: »

dacouch,

thanks for you fab responces, some really useful advise.

Hubby says he'll get the rugby lads round to help, to be honest that fills me with dread, i can imagine everything getting tossed around like the ball


the last bit makes me giggle ........i'll have to rememebr that one !

:rotfl:I had to re-read the first line of your post - I read it as your hubby would get the rugby lads around to help carry you over the threashold!!:rotfl: