Houston has a lot of pianos and a lot of stair-pitches. We’ve moved uprights down narrow Heights bungalow staircases, baby grands across River Oaks marble foyers, gun safes up Memorial two-story landings, and antique armoires through Sugar Land French doors that were never sized for them. 1st Choice Moving & Storage handles each one as a specialty job, not an upcharge tacked onto a generic move.
What we move under the piano flat
- Upright pianos, including 1920s player models with intact action
- Baby grands and full concert grands, lyre removed and crated
- Gun safes from 400 to 2,000 lbs on stair-climbing dollies
- Antique armoires and curio cabinets that won’t come apart
- Marble dining tables and stone slabs with custom skid sleds
- Sub-zero refrigerators, double-oven stoves, restaurant ranges
The walk-board protocol
Trent’s specialty crew walks every piano job before move day. They count the stairs, photograph the tight turns, measure door clearances, and decide whether the job needs a walk-board (for entry-stair drops), e-track strap rigging (for two-story landings), or a climbing dolly (for safes over 600 lbs). The figure Kyle signs is the final figure.
Pricing the heavy stuff
Piano flat starts at $445 for an upright on the same floor as the truck. Stair flights, baby-grand crate rentals, and tight-turn scout time line-item from there. Gun safes from $345 base, marble slabs from $295. Kyle counter-signs every figure before the truck arrives.
When the piano joins a regular move
If the piano is part of a full-home move, the flat figure is the move flat plus the piano line. We don’t double-charge crew hours; the piano crew folds into the residential crew once the heavy item is set. See residential moves, local Harris County jobs, and full-pack for combined runs.
Not included in the piano flat
Tuning after delivery (Houston piano techs run a separate appointment), exterior staging cranes for second-story window drops, and same-day Saturday emergency rigging are quoted separately. We don’t move pipe organs or anything bolted to a foundation.