Using movers to move homes is a game-changer, but people often wonder what happens between the time of hiring the movers and moving day itself. It is a process, which means that many different things happen between the time the mover is hired and the time they get moving boxes to your home. Understanding what happens at each stage of the movers process will prepare homeowners for what to expect and what not to expect. This article will help explain everything to moving customers about dealing with movers.
Consultation and Estimate
The moving process begins by assessing everything that needs to be moved from the home. Most companies will need to come to the home and do an estimate, which is often a consultation between the customer and a specialist. A moving customer will be walked through to be sure they know how much is in the house and how much will be moved and what it will be like to do so. The specialist will assess any special moving requests at this time, whether it is about stairs or ramps, a long walk from the truck to the door, or anything that may create special conditions for moving the requested item(s).
The estimator will check out every room in the home, and provide estimation calculations considering the size and the dimensions of the item and the square footage. The estimator will also note any boxes that will require extra care when handling and moving to the truck. Movers estimates usually consider 15-20 percent that packs differently than expected, which can delay moves. The estimator will also calculate how big of a crew is needed and how long it will take to move the necessary items with the crew. This moving estimate should always be done before work begins.
After the estimate, moving firms will need to confirm other details after a phone call or written confirmation. This confirmation will confirm the exact moving date and the time range in which the mover will arrive and anything else that will be needed on moving day in the event of an emergency or for completion of any preparation tasks.
Moving Day in the Morning
Movers typically do not show up at an exact time. The crew should arrive at the estimated time within the agreed-upon time range. When the movers arrive, they should walk through the home and ensure they know everything that needs to be moved and anything not in the original estimate that may have been overseen. When they enter, they should check with the customer on anything they believe is valuable, if something is fragile that it should be moved carefully, if any boxes require special care when movers load them onto the truck, and any disassembled furniture they need to pay attention to.
In most cases, the crew should lay floor runners to avoid getting dirt or damaging any vulnerable areas in the house with a high rate of foot traffic. Next, they will need to prepare loaders and unloaders, dollies, padding for any valuable items that need extra care before moving, safety gear for the crew members, and anything like gloves or masks that may be necessary.
For any items with special handling requirements, working with reputable residential movers Buffalo ensures that customer’s teams have this information without needing to get extra communication done between other movers or across different firms.
Loading
Loading will take place in an order rather than happen as an arbitrary occurrence. Most companies will load heavy items into the truck before the boxes that need to be moved first. During loading, movers will pad and wrap all large items for extra protection before placing them into the moving vehicle. The movers will then double-check everything that needs extra care before being loaded into the truck.
Moving crews will ask as few questions as possible about loading furniture, questions like whether certain pieces of furniture can be disassembled, or whether they need to remain intact when they are delivered are typically the only questions you can expect.
Loading takes time; customers can expect it to take anywhere from 3-5 hours total, depending on the amount of stuff that needs to be loaded into boxes and into trucks.
The loading process moves quickly, but it is usually detailed. Loaders have a system for loading items into the truck rather than doing so randomly as time permits. Individual crews load valuable items differently according to their experience, the equipment available at their firm, and several other changing factors that make people use these services.
Crew members usually first secure highly valuable items like mirrors and paintings after loading clothing boxes in a separate section of the truck.
Once loaders finish putting all boxes in the back of the trucks, they implement height loads to separate the boxes during the drive. Loaders may also choose to label all boxes by room during this time, so it is easier and faster to unload the boxes later.
Moving The Truck
The distance of moving trucks from the old place to the new one will vary with every single case. At this point in the process, all movers will leave and take their newly packed trucks filled with items from their old homes. Depending on the company or if agreed upon in their contract, most movers will be quiet during the ride.
The firm may or may not pick up additional items after sending customers down longer routes in the local area or stopping at warehouse locations before delivering items at previously agreed-upon times on the same day or future days.
Unloading At The New House
After arriving at their new drop-off destination, unloading will happen just as loading was done at their previous home. There should not be any changes to the process here.
Unpacking
After unloading and unpacking all of the boxes from the moving truck, movers will unload any leftover packing and packaging materials from vintage pieces in an orderly fashion.
Final Walkthrough Before Payment
Once everything is unpacked from the moving truck and set up in its proper place in the new house, movers will have to ask customers if everything made it over in one piece. If not, this is the time for customers to catch any damages that occurred during the move, allowing them to be compensated.
