Piano and specialty moving with the right tools and the right crew chief
I will say this up front. Most movers in the Portland-Vancouver metro will tell you they move pianos. Far fewer actually carry the piano board, the skate dolly, the stair climber, and the ratchet straps in the truck on the day of your job. Honey Do does. Riley Gunderson, our piano-lead crew chief, walks every piano job in person before move day and writes the binding flat rate after he sees the actual stairs.
What piano work runs in the Portland-Vancouver metro
| Instrument | Move type | Typical binding flat rate |
|---|---|---|
| Upright, 1 floor each end | 2 movers + truck at $145/hr | $385–$625 |
| Baby grand, ground floor | 3 movers + truck at $195/hr | $725–$1,150 |
| Baby grand, basement stairs | 3 movers + truck at $195/hr | $1,150–$1,650 |
| Residential safe, 600–1,200 lb | 3 movers + truck at $195/hr | $485–$925 |
Where PNW geography changes the plan
- Camas hillside driveways — truck spots on the flat, piano walked down on a skate dolly with safety straps
- Portland NE/SE Craftsman basements — banister-wrapped, stair-padded, climber-assisted
- Lake Oswego estates with long fir-lined driveways — longer carry, planned by the chief, priced into the flat rate
- PNW rain — rosin paper end-to-end, never a wet leg under a piano
Safes, gun safes, and the heavy stuff
Residential safes from about 300 to 1,200 pounds are routine for us. Above that we will quote, but we will also tell you straight if a rigger is the right call. Honest answers are cheaper than a busted floor. Pair a piano move with a whole-home move and the planning is one combined walkthrough, one written flat rate, one crew.
The license side, because it matters here too
A piano move that crosses the Columbia is a cross-state move on a high-value item. Honey Do holds a WA UTC moving permit and an Oregon DOT HHG license, plus US DOT and MC authority on file. If a claim ever came up on a Portland-to-Vancouver, WA piano move, the paperwork is clean on both sides of the bridge. Plenty of cheaper crews quietly cross the river without Oregon authority, and you do not want to find that out the hard way. Cross-Columbia piano work is one of our most-booked specialty jobs.
What rides in your Vancouver, WA flat rate
- In-home walkthrough by our piano-lead crew chief before the move date, with a written binding flat rate
- Heavy-duty piano board, four-wheel skate dolly, and quilted pads matched to your specific instrument
- Stair climber and ratchet-strap system for Portland, OR Craftsman basement stairs and Camas hillside switchbacks
- Disassembly and reassembly of grand piano legs and pedal lyre, with hardware bagged and labeled to the piece
- Safe and gun-safe moving for residential safes from 300 to about 1,200 pounds, with floor protection on every threshold
- Released-value coverage standard, with full-value piano coverage available before we touch the instrument
What will it run?
Hourly is $145/hr for two badged movers and the truck — or skip the clock entirely and sign one binding PNW flat figure that covers the whole job on paper
Moving pads, four-wheel dollies, shrink film and the basic COI paperwork for cross-state buildings all sit inside that rate; bump to three movers plus the truck and you are at $195/hr.
Get my exact PNW price
