Smaller than a house · S
Studio and flat removals
The smallest rung and, surprisingly often, not the easiest. A one-bedroom flat holds very little compared with a house, and yet more flat moves overrun than house moves do — because at this size the constraint is almost never how much there is.
What goes wrong on a flat move is the way out, not the amount.
What a flat move involves
Two numbers, not one
If you are in a block with a lift, measure two things and send us both: the inside of the car, and the door opening. They are different, and the opening is the one that stops furniture.
People measure the car, conclude the sofa fits, and discover on the day that it cannot get through the doors to be angled inside. It is the commonest single misjudgement at this rung.
If there is no lift
Then it is stairs, and stairs need crew rather than optimism. A fourth-floor walk-up is a genuinely different job from a fourth floor with a lift, and quoting the two the same way produces an under-staffed van and a very long day.
The other thing stairs need is measurement at the turn — the clear diagonal where the flight changes direction. That number, more than the stair width, sets the longest rigid object that can come down.
Other people's space
Almost all of a flat move happens in shared areas: a communal entrance, a hall, a staircase or a lift. Those belong to the building, and in most leases the decoration is the freeholder's responsibility recharged to leaseholders.
So protection goes down as standard and it is worth telling the managing agent a week ahead. Marked communal walls are the most common post-move dispute at this size and almost entirely preventable.
Moving into something smaller
Frequently the case at this rung, and the honest conversation belongs at the survey. We will tell you plainly which pieces are unlikely to fit the new place, so the decision to sell, store or take them is made calmly rather than on a pavement.
Studios and flats
Questions about studios and flats
01 What should I ask my building for?
A lift booking for a realistic window, a parking or bay arrangement at ground level, and confirmation of any restriction on move days or hours. Ask as soon as you have a date.
02 How do I measure a staircase turn?
Stand on the landing and measure the clear diagonal from the inside corner to the furthest opposite point, allowing for the handrail. Send that with the length of your longest rigid piece.
03 Is a flat cheaper than a house?
On volume, usually. On time, not always — a third-floor walk-up can take longer than a small house with a drive. The survey establishes which applies.
04 What if a piece will not come out?
We tell you at survey rather than at the door. The options are further dismantling, occasionally a window with permission, or leaving it — and all three are better discussed in advance.
05 Do you protect communal areas?
As standard. Runners through halls and stairs, blankets in lift cars. Most buildings require it and we would do it anyway.
What size is the house?
Both addresses and roughly how much house is going. Five rungs from a studio to a country house, and knowing which one you are on is enough for us to ask something useful back.