moving house in the snow?

ali-t

I have a move date sent for mid Jan and wondered if anyone has any experience of moving in the snow? If the weather is anything like last year, my street was pretty much at a standstill. We were digging daily but it was pretty deep and cars were getting stuck daily.

I was wondering if I should start moving my belongings into storage (in an area that is on a main road so it is easily accessible) prior to the bad weather so that I can move my stuff for the move date. Has anyone done this or spotted any flaws in my plan?

I can get storage for around £20 a week and would probably want it for around 6 weeks (based on last years weather).

Emmzi

where do you live? and what are the met office saying? seems a LOT of worry over a maybe! If you can;t get out, buyers can't get in either, everyone sits tight - no?

ali-t

Emmzi, I don't know if there are penalties for not having the house vacant or if the sale would potentially fall through. The buyers are shipping their belongings over from where they currently live and the papers are saying the met office is predicting colder and snowier than usual winters (the met office website doesn't actually predict anything!). I live in the north east of scotland so lots of snow is a distinct possibility.

ognum

ali-t wrote: »

I have a move date sent for mid Jan and wondered if anyone has any experience of moving in the snow? If the weather is anything like last year, my street was pretty much at a standstill. We were digging daily but it was pretty deep and cars were getting stuck daily.

I was wondering if I should start moving my belongings into storage (in an area that is on a main road so it is easily accessible) prior to the bad weather so that I can move my stuff for the move date. Has anyone done this or spotted any flaws in my plan?

I can get storage for around £20 a week and would probably want it for around 6 weeks (based on last years weather).

Frankly I think you are making a mountain over a molehill! It is very very unlikely the snow will stop you moving and if you cant move out then they cant move in!

Just wait and see

Emmzi

if you cannot get your lorry in then neither can theirs and no one is going anywhere. You just quickly mutually agree to move the completion date and you stop stressing.

If you are Aberdeen or further north your solicitor will have seen all this before. Ask them what happened last winter! I doubt anyone went to jail.

scooterpig

I moved out of my house last year during the snow. It was a nightmare at times.

We live overseas and had come back to have our UK house packed and shipped as we'd sold it. The first snag was that we'd intended to clear out a lot of stuff but the weeks of snow meant it was very difficult to get in and out of our street. There were great mounds of the stuff which had frozen solid. The local charity shop was shut for weeks, the tip was almost unreachable and the main road to the nearest big town was downright dangerous.

The removal guys were brilliant, but the 4 day pack turned into 6 as it was so hard for them to get to us and to bring in supplies as they needed it. Every day we had to attack the driveway with a pick to break up the ice just so the guys could get access.

The last day when the container arrived was high stress for everyone. It was a 40-foot container, and under normal circumstances they would have brought it down our fairly small street to pack it. However, because of the snow, there was no way it could get down the street. The local truck bays in the town were completely blocked and the nearby industrial estate was cut off. Eventually they managed to persuade the motorway service station to let the truck park up there and the removal guys ran back and fore with the box van to load it. Normally they get 4 hours to load the container, ours took 8 because of having to load the van, run to the truck, unload the van and then load the container. The guys were brilliant though and very good-humoured about it all.

It was crazy and stressful but actually quite fun too and I took loads of photos as we weren't allowed to pack anything. The only down side though is that I am still having to wade through all the clutter I wanted to get rid of but couldn't because of the weather, as it ended up packed and shipped 5000 miles!

tyllwyd

Have you spoken to a removal company to see what they think? They are the ones who will have the most experience and know the local area.

Brb

I've moved in the snow and it's no fun I can assure you! (3rd Jan).

Black sacks cut open (trim off bottom before opening as easier) saved the (cream) carpets (with brown tape) but do be careful. I slipped and twisted my ankle badly.

ali-t

Thanks for the feedback from those who have experienced it. I will speak to my solicitor re: any legal stuff and pick a removal company wisely before deciding whether to put most of my stuff into storage.

scooterpig

Eton_Rifle wrote: »

Wow, Scooterpig, that sounds dreadful.

Those 40 foot shipping containers are a regular feature in my life but I'm so lucky to have never had that kind of nightmare.

We've got the first snow of winter rolling in this afternoon and everyone is running around like headless chickens preparing for it.

I can't imagine trying to move house as well.

LOL, we got the first winter snows three weeks ago where I live now. It was only about 10 inches though. :rotfl: I love winter, we're prepared for it with winter tyres, snow clearing gear, fully stocked freezer etc. Bring it on!

GDB2222

scooterpig wrote: »

LOL, we got the first winter snows three weeks ago where I live now. It was only about 10 inches though. :rotfl: I love winter, we're prepared for it with winter tyres, snow clearing gear, fully stocked freezer etc. Bring it on!

where do u live?