Antique furniture removalists in Adelaide are asked to move the pieces people care about most: a grandmother’s dresser, a cedar sideboard that came with the house, a hall stand, a glass-fronted bookcase, a marble-topped washstand. These pieces are often heavier than they look, older than their owners, and impossible to replace. Moveall moves them as part of a household move, with extra padding, more careful handling and, for the heaviest items, extra team members and equipment.
This page explains how old and heavy furniture is prepared, wrapped, carried and loaded, and how pianos and pool tables are handled inside a full move. Furniture Removalists Adelaide is a service of Moveall Australia Pty Ltd, an Adelaide removalist.
Tell us about the special pieces
Your name, a number and the pieces that need extra care. Moveall’s customer care team will call you back about the whole move.
Antique furniture removalists in Adelaide, inside a household move
Moveall’s focus is the complete move of a home, and that is where antique and heavy pieces belong: on the same truck as the rest of the household, handled by a crew that has planned for them. When you ask for a quote, the customer care team asks about heavy or bulky items as well as the bedrooms, living areas and access, so the special pieces are part of the plan from the first call. Name them on your list, with a word on what they are, how big and whether they are upstairs.
What makes old furniture different
A new flat-pack wardrobe and a hundred-year-old wardrobe may be the same size, but they are not moved the same way. Old furniture was built with glued and pegged joints that have dried and loosened over decades. Veneers can lift at the edges. Mouldings, finials and carved details may be held on by old glue alone. Traditional finishes such as French polish and shellac mark easily with heat, pressure and moisture. Original hinges and locks can be fragile, and the keys are often irreplaceable.
None of that means old furniture cannot move. It means it should be lifted by its frame rather than by its top, its arms or its mouldings, carried rather than slid, kept upright where it was built to stand, and padded so nothing presses on a finish for hours.
Before moving day
- Photograph each special piece from all sides and note any existing marks, loose veneer or wobbly joints. It is a useful record for you and for the crew.
- Empty it completely. Drawers, cupboards and display shelves must be emptied of loose items, as Moveall’s terms ask. Old drawer runners do not take the weight of contents being carried.
- Take the keys out of the locks and keep them together in a labelled envelope you carry yourself.
- Remove loose shelves and glass where they lift out, or leave them for the crew to remove and wrap.
- Ask about clocks. Long-case and mantel clocks have pendulums and weights that need securing before they move. A clock specialist can tell you how your clock should be prepared.
- Point out the pieces at the walk-through, so the crew knows which ones are fragile, valuable or very heavy.
How antiques are wrapped and carried
Moving blankets are the main protection, and on antiques they go on more generously: corners and carved edges padded, doors and drawers wrapped shut, mirrors and glass removed where they come off and packed separately. Stretch wrap holds the blankets in place but never touches a finish directly. Legs that unscrew can come off and travel taped in a bag to the piece. Legs that are fixed are padded and the piece is carried, not walked on them.
Old furniture is carried with someone at each end, lifted by the strongest part of its frame and turned slowly through doorways. Stairs are taken one at a time with the weight kept low. In the truck, antiques travel upright against a padded wall or a square, stable piece, tied off so they cannot move, with nothing stacked on them.
Heat and the truck
Adelaide’s hot days are hard on old timber and finishes. Moveall’s Pantech trucks are enclosed, which keeps furniture out of the sun, and a well-planned move keeps antiques on the truck for as little time as possible.
Pianos and pool tables in a full move
Moveall’s Supercharge option, its heavy and bulky items service, brings extra team members and specialty equipment to the move for heavy items such as a pool table or a piano. On this site those pieces are moved as part of a household removal, alongside the rest of your furniture, rather than as a job on their own.
When you ask for a quote, tell us what the instrument is (an upright piano, a grand, a pianola), where it sits, and how many steps there are between it and the street at both homes. For a pool table, say its size and whether it has a slate bed, which makes it very heavy. Stairs, tight turns, narrow side paths and steep driveways all change what the move needs, so the more you tell us, the better the plan.
Other heavy furniture
Plenty of everyday furniture is heavy too. Solid timber dining tables, stone and marble tops, large display cabinets, solid wardrobes, old cast-iron pieces and outdoor settings in stone or concrete all need more hands and more planning. Name them on your list. Stone tops travel on edge with support so they do not flex. Very large tables may need their tops taken off: the page on furniture dismantling and reassembly explains how to measure and what to tell us.
| Piece | What it needs | Tell us |
|---|---|---|
| Antique sideboard, dresser or chest | Emptied, blanketed with corners padded, carried by the frame, upright in the truck | Size, age if you know it, any loose veneer or mouldings |
| Glass-fronted cabinet or bookcase | Emptied, shelves and glass removed where they lift out, doors secured | Whether the glass is original, whether the shelves come out |
| Marble or stone top | Removed where it lifts off, travels on edge with support | Whether the top is fixed or loose |
| Piano | Moveall’s Supercharge: extra team members and specialty equipment | Upright or grand, steps at both homes |
| Pool table | Moveall’s Supercharge: extra team members and specialty equipment | Size, slate bed or not, access at both homes |
| Long-case clock | Pendulum and weights secured before the move, carried upright | Whether it has been prepared by a clock specialist |
At the new home
Special pieces are placed first, where you want them, before the boxes start to fill the rooms. That saves moving a heavy sideboard twice and keeps it out of the way of the rest of the unloading. Decide where the piano, the dresser and the dining table go before moving day, and measure the walls if you are unsure. The blankets come off once each piece is in place, so you can check it with the crew.
Settling in after the move
Old timber furniture can react to a change of home, especially one with a different aspect, heating or cooling. Keep antiques out of direct afternoon sun through a west-facing window, away from heating and cooling vents, and off damp floors. Check drawers and doors in the first weeks: if one sticks, give the piece time to settle before planing or forcing anything. If you notice something you want to raise with Moveall, do it straight away, with photos, so it can be looked at while the move is fresh.
Insurance and care
Moveall holds $20 million public liability cover. For valuable antiques, ask us about transit insurance for your belongings when you book, and read the terms on your quote. Australian Consumer Law also says a service must be provided with due care and skill (ACCC).
For the rest of the move, see furniture removalists in Adelaide and house furniture removals in Adelaide. For wrapping and packing, see furniture packing and moving in Adelaide. Taking antiques interstate? Read interstate furniture removalists in Adelaide.
Moving heirlooms with the rest of the house? Call Moveall and tell us about the pieces that matter most.
Questions people ask
Do you move antique and heavy furniture?
Yes, as part of a household move. Antiques get extra padding and careful handling, and for very heavy items such as a piano or a pool table, Moveall’s Supercharge option brings extra team members and specialty equipment.
Do you move a piano on its own?
On this site pianos and pool tables are moved as part of a full household move, with the rest of your furniture.
Should I take the drawers out of an antique chest?
Empty them, but they can usually stay in and be wrapped shut with the piece. If the runners are loose or the drawers fall out easily, tell the crew and they will be wrapped and carried separately.
How do I prepare a grandfather clock?
Long-case clocks have pendulums and weights that need securing before a move. Ask a clock specialist how your clock should be prepared, and tell us about it at quote time.
Talk to us about your furniture