Loading Help, Stairs and Moving Access

Choose the loading help you need

State whether you need the driver or additional people to load and unload, and describe the items before selecting help. The quote must identify the agreed crew and tasks. Transport alone, carrying into a particular room and dismantling furniture are not interchangeable requests.

Say what assistance you can safely provide, but do not assume that your help makes an unusually heavy or awkward lift suitable. Large appliances, pianos and items on stairs need an assessment by an appropriately equipped team. The number of boxes is not a substitute for item weights, shapes and access details.

• Identify the heaviest and most awkward items
• Specify loading and unloading tasks separately
• Explain any help available at each end
• Confirm furniture dismantling, packing or assembly separately

Measure stairs, lifts and doorways

Record floor numbers at collection and delivery and note every flight of stairs. Measure the narrowest doorway, corridor and turning space on the carrying route, not just the front entrance. A sofa can clear a door and still fail to turn on a landing.

For a lift, check usable internal dimensions, the opening and the building's loading rules. Ask whether it must be reserved and what happens if it is unavailable on the day. Measure the carrying distance from a permitted stopping place to the entrance and tell the provider about slopes, steps or uneven surfaces.

• Floor number and stair flights at each address
• Door, corridor and landing measurements
• Lift opening, usable space and reservation
• Carry distance and any steps outside the building

Arrange building and street access

Ask the building manager about loading bays, goods lifts, entry permissions, protective coverings and permitted moving hours. Give the driver the correct entrance and a contact who can release or receive the belongings. Coordinate seller, key and storage-access windows before fixing the collection time.

Check current street signs and the relevant council's rules for the actual address. Some locations require a parking suspension or other advance arrangement. Do not assume that a permit allows loading everywhere or that a neighbourhood name identifies the correct council. Check TfL information for applicable London road restrictions and charges.

Find the council for the actual address

A stairs-and-loading planning example

Planning example: a sofa is collected from a second-floor flat without a lift and delivered to a managed block. Before requesting quotes, measure the sofa and stair turns, arrange a legal stopping place at collection and reserve the destination's goods lift if required. Share photos of tight turns and explain the carrying distance.

This example is not a completed customer job or a promised crew size. Its purpose is to show why access information comes before vehicle and helper selection. If the lift or parking arrangement changes, tell the provider promptly so the work can be reassessed.

Frequently asked questions