Steps for Moving Heavy Furniture
Moving heavy household furniture is often a difficult task but, if done the right way, it can be an easy and maybe even a fun job. The key to making furniture moving easy is adequate planning and having the right tools.
The first step in successfully moving heavy furniture is to accurately measure your item and make sure the path you’ll take through your house is clear. Check there’s enough room for the furniture to pass through doorways, stairwells and around tight corners.
Depending on the situation your furniture may need to be stood upright or tipped sideways to navigate those tight spots. In some cases, you may even need to remove furniture legs or otherwise partially disassemble the item to fit through a narrow doorway.
It’s also a good idea to clear the path of any obstacles before moving heavy furniture. Move rugs, accent tables, even picture frames out of the way before you begin. Don’t forget to get our pets out of the way too!
Lighten the load! Empty all drawers, or even better, completely remove the drawers before you start. Take all the dishes out of china cabinets. Remove mattresses from beds and cushions from couches. Simply unpack or remove everything you can to make the item being moved lighter.
Next, you’ll want to protect the item, the floor and yourself. As for the floor, there are many home remedies to accomplish this.
Many people will cover the floor with cardboard, even taping multiple pieces of cardboard together to create path to the destination.
Another approach is to lift the item onto a thick blanket or quilt then pull the blanket to move your furniture along. Another possibility is to borrow or rent a professional furniture dolly, although this may create its own set of challenges.
Common Questions about Moving Heavy Furniture
- What are the primary issues encountered when moving heavy furniture?
- What are the main problems for your body when moving heavy furniture?
- What’s the best plan when you have to move heavy furniture?
- How can you protect your carpet when moving furniture?
- What existing solutions are available to help successfully move heavy furniture?
- What are the most common mistakes when moving heavy furniture?
What are the primary issues when having to move heavy furniture?
The single biggest issue people encounter moving furniture is physical constraints. This is especially true when moving very heavy furniture. Depending on a person’s size, weight and strength they may simply be unable to move a very heavy object. Elderly people especially may struggle to safely move heavy furniture.
What are the main problems for your body when moving furniture?
The biggest concern when moving bulky, heavy furniture is the potential to injure your back. You can easily strain your back by lifting an object incorrectly. An additional risk is dropping a heavy object on your foot or smashing your fingers between the furniture and a wall or doorway.
What’s the best plan when having to move heavy furniture?
Follow these steps to successfully prepare for moving furniture.
- Measure the furniture to ensure it will fit through doorways.
- Clear all accent pieces, picture frames, clutter, rugs, pets and small children out of the way.
- Lighten the load by removing shelves, drawers, cushions and any ancillary pieces.
- Protect your floors and yourself by sliding furniture instead of lifting it.
What can you do to protect your carpet?
If you try to push and slide a large item sitting directly on your carpet floor it’s easy to ruin the carpet’s “stretch”, resulting in unsightly wrinkles. There are two classic methods of protecting your floors when sliding furniture. Many people place the furniture on a heavy blanket. Moving blankets are especially suitable for this task. You can also lay down large pieces of cardboard and create a trail to move the item over.
What existing solutions are available to help successfully move heavy furniture?
A great solution for moving heavy furniture is to use a furniture dolly. Furniture dollies are a purpose built cart designed specifically for this job. However, most people don’t own a dolly so they would need to rent or borrow one. Furniture sliders are another good solution and there are many types and styles available.
What are the most common mistakes when moving heavy furniture?
The most common mistake people make when attempting to move heavy furniture is trying to carry bulky furniture that’s really too heavy for them to safely maneuver. In these situations it’s very easy to damage your walls, doorways or floors – or yourself. Sliding furniture is easier and safer than carrying furniture!
The Recommended Solution
Now that we’ve covered the common questions let’s talk about the solution for moving heavy furniture! One of the easiest, safest and affordable ways to move heavy household furniture is to use EZ Moves® Furniture Slides family of products. The key features of these professional grade furniture slides are:
- EZ Moves Furniture Slides are high quality slides used by flooring professionals for over 25 years.
- One person can safely move their household furniture by themselves.
- Patented EZ Moves technology enables slides to glide smoothly on top of the carpet nap.
- Easier to store and more affordable than a carpet dolly.
- Sliding is safer than carrying!
When you’re actually ready to move heavy furniture, we recommend EZ Moves® Furniture Slides for a safe, easy and affordable option.
Background
EZ Moves® Furniture Slides were invented in 1993 by a father and son team of professional carpet installers. The product was originally marketed towards flooring installers, painters and cleaners in the professional trades. As more people saw the EZ Moves products in action, demand grew rapidly among individual homeowners. EZ Moves is now a mature brand with a full lineup of products. EZ Moves products are exclusively licensed and distributed by the Beno J. Gundlach Company.
Product Overview
The original EZ Moves furniture slides were in the class we now call Professional. The primary characteristic of the professional furniture slides is the patented dual-spring technology.
The curve of the hard plastic base bends upwards on both the side and the front and back, allowing the slide to move freely above the carpet nap when moving heavy furniture.
In fact the heavier the furniture, moving a large china cabinet over a thick carpet floor for example, the more upward force is applied to the edge of the base.
Size is another differentiating characteristic of Professional furniture slides. While the slides come in various sizes, all the models are generally larger than the competition. The relatively large size makes it much easier when moving heavy furniture with a large leg, or even with no leg.
Think of the example of moving a heavy dresser with a flat base to the opposite wall of a room with plush carpet. Even for the dresser with no leg, an EZ Move Furniture Slide placed under each of the four corners will lift the dresser sufficiently to easily push it to the new spot.
There are six models of EZ Move Furniture Slides in the Professional class. The original slide is the NSEM-4. The NSEM-4 is over 11 inches long and almost 7 inches wide. This slide is the workhorse of the product line and can be used in both residential and commercial settings. Choose the NSEM-4 to move largest and heaviest armoires, sectional sofas, and grandfather clocks smoothly and easily across any type of carpeted flooring.
There are several additional models that round out the Professional category. The 02-04S is similar to the NSEM-4 but slightly smaller and at a cheaper price point. Perfectly sized for moving beds, tables, loveseats, and other furniture in typical weight and size ranges, the 02-04S is a good option for many consumers.
The last products in Professional class are the convertible slides. These 2-in-1 slides include the 40-01 and 50-01 models. The 40-01 is medium sized and are available in attractive Zebra and Giraffe prints. The 50-01 is a smaller model appropriate for lighter items, perhaps in an apartment setting. Being convertible slides, both models work on carpet, hardwood, tile, and resilient floors. This makes these products a great value for the consumer.
The next category of products are the EZ Move Pull Slides. There are three items in this category; a 4’ and a 6’ set of slides for carpeted floors, and a 4’ set of slides for moving heavy furniture on hard surfaces such as hardwood, tile or LVP floors.
Pull slides excel at moving flat bottom items that don’t have four individual legs. Bookcases, dressers and credenzas are good examples of furniture items that typically have a flat bottom surface.
The full length pull slides are also very popular with companies and consumers who need to move large safes and gun safes. Lastly, many retail furniture stores also use full length pull slides to easily move and rearrange their display areas.
The EZ Moves Permanent Furniture Slide category takes a different approach to moving heavy furniture than the two previous categories. As the name implies, these slides are meant to be left underneath furniture legs permanently. This product line is optimal for furniture that needs moved repetitively, for example during a weekly cleaning routine.
As you can imagine, if you’re going to leave something underneath your furniture permanently the product needs to look good aesthetically. Recognizing this requirement, EZ Moves permanent furniture slides come in both square and round versions and in various colors including beige, black, brown and white. The permanent slides are also much smaller than the Professional slides which provides a more discreet look.
Of the four products in this category two are for carpet, one is for hard surface flooring, and one is a convertible 2-in-1 model which works with any flooring type. The respective part numbers are 03-04 for square slides, 16-04 for round slides, 21-04 item is square but for hard surfaces, and lastly the 24-08 is a square, 2-in-1 convertible model.
Accessories are the fourth and final category of EZ Moves products for moving heavy furniture, consisting of three items.
The most popular EZ Moves accessory is the 25-PMFL PowerMax Furniture Lifter. As the name implies, the 25-PMFL is a heavy duty lifter to elevate furniture and other items several inches off the floor. This allows the homeowner to position a slide underneath. The PowerMax Furniture Lifter is also popular to help slide area rugs under furniture, adjust leveling legs, or simply to vacuum or sweep under an item.
The other two accessories are the PS-1 Pull Straps and the PH-1 Pull Handles. These accessories are used in conjunction with full length slides, and even with the NSEM-4 slides, to increase leverage and maneuverability and safely move heavy furniture. It’s important to note the PS-1 and PH-1 are not recommended for use with the 933-HS or NSEM-4-HS hard surface slides. The hole on those models isn’t reinforced and can tear.
Conclusion
When moving heavy furniture it’s better to slide than to carry and the best tool to accomplish this is EZ Moves® Furniture Slides.
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