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Removal companies Vs do it yourself
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Echoing all that's been said before - we still have small injuries from helping friends move furniture, it's really not worth it.
Weirdly we've never spent as much as is usually quoted on here either. Our moves have generally cost us around £300, maybe ever so slightly more, and we're in Brighton (I would have thought there'd be cheaper options available elsewhere). Obviously depends on how far you move and how much stuff you've got, but we've lately paid £75 / hour for two men with one or two luton vans and they were really, really fast.0 -
We are a family of 4 so it's a bit different, but I would not have considered trying to do it myself. We were all done and dusted by 3pm but if I'd done it msyelf I would probably still have been moving stuff around at 10pm. The removals men we had also had the uncanny ability to not knock furniture against walls and bannisters whereas I think quite a bit of damage might have occured trying to man handle things myself.
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Just spent time helping family move.All the small stuff they/we did over the course of a few days.Hired a man with a van for the big stuff which was all moved on Saturday morning.All worked out very well.Things that are differerent: draw & drawer, brought & bought, loose & lose, dose & does, payed & paid0
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I've helped friends on a DIY house move twice and believe me, I'd never recommend it unless you're (a) extremely organised and (b) you've plenty of fit and handy people on tap. For me, I'd get a professional every time.
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hazyjo said:Pay for movers. WORTH.EVERY.PENNY!!!!!!! Might be a moneysaving site, but your sanity (and your back!), is priceless. Do not underestimate how much work is involved - not to mention wrapping paper, tape, boxes, etc.
Just make sure the movers know what's staying! They'll whizz round like magic and anything not labelled clearly will be packed.
Moving house yourself always strikes me as like trying to drill your own teeth to save dentists bills.
There is no honour to be had in not knowing a thing that can be known - Danny Baker2 -
trailingspouse said:Get them to do the packing. Yes, it's slightly more expensive - if you have a granny, sell her, she'll understand...What you spend on a removal company you'll save on physiotherapy fees.And if they've packed and something gets broken, they pay up without quibbling. If you packed it yourself, you have to prove that they were negligent.Murphybear - I see you’re 19 and raise you 21 - soon to be 22. Hoping this will be the last!!!
. Actually mine should be 20. I forgot my first ever house move. I was a shy young 19 year old moving from sunny Hampshire to University in big bad London. All I had was one suitcase …. It’s hard to believe that was over 50 years ago.
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I've DIY moved and helped friends to do so. My van hire was less than a third of the OPs so the saving over getting people in was significant. Some of my friends were able to borrow vans for free (or cost of diesel) so their savings were even greater. If the van will be £300 definitely look into the cost of a removal firm. I doubt I will ever DIY move again, a big part of that is the awkward staircase in our house and one very awkward piece of furniture. If you do decide to DIY move, I'd highly recommend buying a decent sack truck.0
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We've always moved ourselves using a variety of friends and family cars, tiring but it always worked out. I'll hopefully be moving again shortly and there is no other option but the do it ourselves one as there just isn't the money to pay for removals or even a man with a van.
For context - I'm in a wheelchair!We made it! All three boys have graduated, it's been hard work but it shows there is a possibility of a chance of normal (ish) life after a diagnosis (or two) of ASD. It's not been the easiest route but I am so glad I ignored everything and everyone and did my own therapies with them.
Eldests' EDS diagnosis 4.5.10, mine 13.1.11 eekk - now having fun and games as a wheelchair user.1 -
DH and I have moved four times.
The first time we moved from a mobile home to my parents' house so had very little to move. Part went into storage and just our bed, fish tank and personal belongings went to my parents' house. We borrowed a trailer and moved ourselves.
We then moved from my parents to our first home. Again, very little to move so DIY'd it.
Twenty years, three children and much accumulated junk later we moved house thirty miles away. We had overlap between selling our house and moving into a rental, so it should have been easy. DH wanted to DIY, I wanted a removals company. I lost that discussion, it was a complete nightmare trying to move ourselves with three children between the ages of six and eleven. One of the worst experiences of my life. Or so I thought, until the next time.
The final time we moved, it was a mile down the road. Again, a month's overlap between completing on our new house and handing back the rented house. I though we'd have three weeks to decorate the new place then a week to move, being as DH refused to get a removals company in for "such a short distance". The day we were due to start the move, I was knocked off my bike by a drunk driver which rendered me almost useless. I was carted off to hospital, DH decided to carry on with moving (he's still not forgiven for that). He got the beds moved that day, with the help of my teenage son. The following couple of days I couldn't do much as was dealing with police, insurance companies, lawyers, doctors. After that I had no choice, I had to help otherwise we weren't going to get out of the rented house on time, so I was drugged up to the eyeballs to manage the pain. I found out a couple of weeks later that I was trying to do all of this with two broken ribs that had been missed during my visit to A&E, on top of my other injuries. I did tell DH that the insurance company would have paid for the removals company but he wasn't having it (he's not forgiven for that, either).
I will never, ever, DIY a house move again. The stress was unbearable. It always takes a lot longer than you think as well. I already have a secret fund stashed away for the next house move, money that I have earned through surveys, etc. My money, I will spend it on what I want, which will be a removals company!1 -
I do always find it bizarre when people won't use removal companies if it's for a short distance. The driving from A to B is the easy bit. Doesn't really matter if your stuff is on board for 10 minutes or 1 hour. It's the packing, moving, and unloading that's the pain! 🙈2024 wins: *must start comping again!*2
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