Piano shipping is a precise process that demands expertise, understanding, and experience specially with something that weighs as much as a Piano does. For instance, a grand piano may weigh up to 1,300 pounds or even more, whereas an ordinary piano weighs between 500 and 900 pounds. Despite their size and weight, pianos have a significant sensitivity, necessitating specific attention throughout the transfer. With all of these details in mind, it is clear why only experts should handle the transportation of a piano.
If you want to export a piano, you need to find a shipping company who will treat your piano with care (grand). Piano shipping is a skill that takes tremendous attention and diligence, and not everyone understands how to do it.
Custom Crating and Logistics has extensive international piano shipping experience.
Tips for shipping piano safely:
Shipping your belongings across borders may be a challenging and time-consuming process. A piano might be among the most challenging goods to convey. Pianos need proper handling and shipping techniques due to their size and form. Shipping a piano abroad involves several different factors. If you’re considering transporting your piano overseas, carefully review the advice and instructions below.
Hire a professional shipping company:
You must avoid shipping a piano by yourself in the first place. It’s challenging enough to move the piano out of your home. But it may get stressful when you think about the other procedures, like packaging it and ensuring it gets to the right place.
The freight forwarder coordinates with the steamship line and consolidates the goods for transportation into containers. The firm will pick up your products and transport them to the freight forwarder, who will inform you of the steamship line, port of embarkation, dates of departure and arrival, and container number.
Several foreign piano manufacturers wrap their instruments in airtight plastic to protect them from excessive humidity while in transportation. Find out if the company you hire will provide a comparable service while shipping your piano.
Feel free to ask Custom Crating and Logistics for assistance to ensure your piano gets to its destination securely.
Preparing your piano for shipping:
Since a piano has many moving parts, it is best to prepare before putting it away. To get your piano ready for delivery, you will need the following standard supplies/tools:
- Saran wrap
- screwdrivers
- Tape
- shrinks wrap
- rubber bands
- Quilted pads
- Towels
Shut and lock the keyboard lid:
Make sure the keyboard cover is closed and secured as soon as possible. The sensitivity and fragility of piano keys make it quite simple for them to be damaged during a transfer. Additionally, tape the piano’s corners.
Splitting the piano:
Many individuals find it convenient to split the piano down into small pieces. The piano is made lighter to transport and seems less bulky when the legs, lyre, lid prop, or other detachable elements are split. Make sure the piano can be put back together when it gets to the new place. While settling into a new nation, the last thing you want to do is fight to put your piano back together.
Wrapping piano in saran wrap:
Saran wrap ought to be applied to the piano’s body. As you approach the bottom of the piano, begin at the top and make your way around it in a spiral fashion. Before shrink-wrapping the blankets, cover the piano with them. Tape or rubber bands can be used to secure the blankets in place. So that moisture does not accumulate within your piano, make sure your saran wrap has a few vents. It will be crucial if the piano needs to be stored either before or after delivery.
All components separated from the piano in the preceding step should be individually wrapped in shrink wrap and quilts. If you took the piano’s lid off, be careful to save the hinge pins somewhere secure so you can put it back on later. Remove any books or music writing that may be kept inside the piano bench. Remove the legs by unscrewing them if you can, then package them individually. Make sure the bench’s lid cannot pop up by wrapping it in quilted padding and saran wrap.
Shipping piano:
You’ll need to pack your piano inside a crate before shipping it. Use the assistance of expert piano movers to package the instrument for you if necessary to ensure the safety and security of all the contents. To speed up the procedure, you must know where you intend to put the piano once it has been delivered to the new site.
Insurance:
Although shipping a piano is challenging, proper planning can make it simple. To lessen the likelihood that the piano may sustain damage during transportation, you must pack it carefully. It could be a good idea to insure the piano in case of any issue, such as wood chips, scratches, or other problems.
It is suggested to buy insurance on the item’s replacement value at the destination. Take into account every insurance alternative that the organization is providing for you. In most cases, replacement value insurance only pays for a portion of the item’s worth. Find out if your homeowner’s insurance covers the transportation of your piano, or do more research and get a different type of insurance for your shipment if it doesn’t.
You may transport your piano easily if you follow the above instructions.
Ivory Ban:
If the piano you intend to export overseas contains genuine ivory key tops, you can face difficulties when it passes customs. Due to the global ban on the manufacturing and supply of ivory, several countries will demand that the ivory be removed from the piano before allowing it to enter their country.
If the piano is older than 100 years, it could be permitted to pass through with the proper documentation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the foreign country you’re transferring it to, depending on where it’s going. Give yourself at least 90 days to obtain the required paperwork.
If your piano is less than 100 years old, either don’t move it or prepare to have the keys re-topped with plastic before shipping. If you decide to get your piano keys back, do it before the transfer since the customs officials could damage the keys when they remove the ivory.
If your piano is less than 100 years old, either don’t move it or prepare to have the keys re-topped with plastic before shipping. If you decide to get your piano keys back, do it before the transfer since the customs officials could damage the keys when they remove the ivory.
Cost for shipping a piano:
Since it is usually charged by weight or volume, international shipping may get expensive. The best way to price pianos is by volume because they are hefty.
Depending on the alternatives you choose while arranging your relocation, the pricing will differ from company to business. Once the piano reaches its destination, you’ll also need to consider any taxes and import levies levied by the various government agencies.
Shipping Piano With Custom Crating And Logistics:
A piano is a hefty and delicate musical instrument with various transportation needs. Therefore, shipping it by sea freight is the only appropriate option if you require it to be delivered internationally. We at Custom Crating and Logistics can swiftly and effectively plan the complete piano shipment procedure. Your prized musical instrument will be collected from your home by one of our representatives, packed and crated at our warehouse, together with all the required paperwork, and sent to the port for further international shipping. Our trustworthy partners will organize the final delivery to the specified place once your piano has reached its destination.
It might be challenging to move a piano internationally, but if you use our piano shipping service, we’ll take care of everything for you. Furthermore, our pricing is unbeatable, so you’re guaranteed to enjoy stress-free shipping.
