A house · M
Terraced house removals
The most common house type in the country and the rung where most furniture meets its first real obstacle. A terrace gives you a narrow hall, a turn at the bottom of the stairs, and — in the streets where terraces come in quantity — nowhere reliable to put a vehicle.
Nearly every "will my sofa fit" question we answer comes from this rung.
What a terrace move involves
The hall is narrower than you think
Terraced halls were laid out around a staircase and a front door, not around a three-seater. The usable width is frequently less than a modern sofa is deep, which means everything comes through at an angle and the turn at the foot of the stairs becomes the limiting factor.
That turn is worth measuring before you buy furniture, let alone before you move it. It is a two-minute job and it answers most of the questions people have about their own possessions.
The street, not the house
Terraces come in streets of terraces, which means every household has the same parking problem at the same time. In most such streets there is no guaranteed space outside your door on any given morning.
Where a suspension can be arranged, we arrange it in advance — it cannot be done on the day. Where one cannot, the carrying distance from the nearest legal standing becomes a real part of the job and the survey measures it.
Cellars, yards and rear access
A good proportion of terraces have a cellar, and cellars accumulate. They are also frequently reached by a steep, narrow flight with a low head, so what goes in easily does not always come out easily.
Rear access through a yard or alley is worth mentioning if you have it. Occasionally it is the answer to a piece that will not go out the front, and it is never something we will assume without asking.
Where terraces are easy
Once things are on the pavement, terraces load quickly — rooms are compact, distances inside are short, and there is rarely a long path to negotiate. The difficulty is concentrated at two points, and both are known in advance after a survey.
Terraced houses
Questions about terraced houses
01 Will my sofa come out of a terrace?
Depends on the turn at the foot of the stairs if it is upstairs, and the hall width if it is not. Measure both, send us the numbers with the sofa dimensions, and we will tell you before the day.
02 Can you get a parking suspension?
We apply where the local authority operates one, and it has to be done in advance. We cannot guarantee it is granted, or that a suspended bay is clear on the morning.
03 Do you empty cellars?
Yes, if the access is safe. Tell us at survey — cellar stairs are frequently the tightest part of a terrace and they need crewing for.
04 What about rear access?
Very useful when it exists and never assumed. Mention it at survey; occasionally it solves a piece that will not go out the front.
05 Are terraces quick to load?
Once things reach the pavement, yes. The time goes on the hall, the turn and the distance to the vehicle.
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.