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So we are moving in a few weeks, to a house about 15-20 minutes away.
We have a 4-bedroom place, moving to a 4-bedroom place, but we really only have 3 bedrooms of furniture. We have a dining room, living room and family room.
We hired some moving guys, who just work for themselves (not a company, cheaper rate at $20/hr per guy as opposed to $48/hr per guy at the company we used last time.
How long do you think it will take 3 guys to move our stuff? There are stairs here, and a heavy elliptical machine and washer/dryer have to come downstairs. I was thinking 6 hours but have been told that may be too optimistic. I realize no one can give me a totally accurate estimate but in general?
Second, should we tip these guys? We rent the truck, and they each get $20/hr, that they get to keep themselves -- no overhead (no office or advertising other than local word of mouth.) I of course will tip if it's customary and/or they do a superb job.
Calculating how long a job takes involves more than just manpower and number of rooms. Generally a professional mover will handle a 1000 lbs per hour. Each room in a typical American home averages 1000-1500 lbs depending on how their appointed.
However, access/egress limitations, number of and configuration of the stairs, distance from truck to the threshold of your home; size, density and readiness of the items being moved, weather conditions, amount of packing material and moving equipment required to complete the job; and, experience level of those providing the loading and unloading services all play a significant part in the amount of time it takes.
Since you're renting the truck, expect the job to take twice as long as you planned because of increased travel time … unless, of course, you have commercial driver license and are renting a tractor trailer. I expect that there will be at least two ... and possibly three trips depending on the size of the straight truck you get.
Since your handle is lawmom, have you checked on your state's requirements for providing workman's comp and/or casualty insurance to the three guys you're hiring? As their employer, you're responsible for any and all breakage or damage claims, injuries, or property damage that occurs as a result of your employment agreement.
A tip or gratuity should always be a reflection of your level of appreciation for a job well done. You might want to delay rewarding your laborers until after the job is complete and you can determine your satisfaction. Ten to $20.00 per laborer is typically what’s offered. How much do I tip the movers?
There's a reason that professional movers cost more.
My personal experience is that non professional movers end up costing as much, or more than the professional ones. I would go with the more expensive ones.
Are they packing boxes also or just moving the heavy furniture? Will the furniture be dismantled at the old house and assembled at the new house? Will all the boxes be ready for the movers on move day?
On our move day, for a family of 6 in a 4 bedroom house (2600 sq ft house plus stuff in 3rd stall and unfinished basement), we got the trailer loaded in 4 hours. We still had more stuff to load so we got another trailer dropped off on Monday and it took us another hour to use 10 ft of it. On our move day, everything was packed and ready to be loaded onto the trailers. Every furniture that could be dismantled was knocked down. We live off paper plates and simple foods the last 2 days before the move day.
Calculating how long a job takes involves more than just manpower and number of rooms. Generally a professional mover will handle a 1000 lbs per hour. Each room in a typical American home averages 1000-1500 lbs depending on how their appointed.
However, access/egress limitations, number of and configuration of the stairs, distance from truck to the threshold of your home; size, density and readiness of the items being moved, weather conditions, amount of packing material and moving equipment required to complete the job; and, experience level of those providing the loading and unloading services all play a significant part in the amount of time it takes.
Since you're renting the truck, expect the job to take twice as long as you planned because of increased travel time … unless, of course, you have commercial driver license and are renting a tractor trailer. I expect that there will be at least two ... and possibly three trips depending on the size of the straight truck you get.
Since your handle is lawmom, have you checked on your state's requirements for providing workman's comp and/or casualty insurance to the three guys you're hiring? As their employer, you're responsible for any and all breakage or damage claims, injuries, or property damage that occurs as a result of your employment agreement.
A tip or gratuity should always be a reflection of your level of appreciation for a job well done. You might want to delay rewarding your laborers until after the job is complete and you can determine your satisfaction. Ten to $20.00 per laborer is typically what’s offered. How much do I tip the movers?
There's a reason that professional movers cost more.
Yes, exactly right. I used to work as a mover and this is spot-on, even down to the tip. I've moved houses as big as 48,000 pounds and as small as 500 pounds for a dorm, and it works out to about 800-1400 pounds an hour, depending on the worker's ambition and ability. I worked for an owner-operator (often with 1-2 guys from the local dispatch office) and we typically moved around 15 but up to 20k/day. Granted, we were the guys who got paid thousands of dollars per job that most can't afford.
A few things to consider--
Has everything been boxed up and packed? If not, have you considered how much boxes cost? Be prepared for some sticker shock.
Assuming they'll be coming in a box truck (or possibly 18-wheeler), have you determined where they'll be parked? Hills, lack of walkways from sidewalks to doors (i.e. perpendicular to the street), and big front yards are all going to play a factor.
How many floors? Going up and down stairs takes its toll, too, and requires more expensive equipment such as stair dollies.
We are getting a 26' truck ourselves -- they do not provide one. The last company we used brought their own box truck. It fits fine right in our driveway, with a ramp up to the lawn. Everything we had fit just fine in that sized truck.
I got free moving boxes and packing paper from a Craigslist ad -- great stuff, as i know how expensive boxes are. I prefer to save money and trees at the same time. Every time we move I offer our boxes free for someone else to use.
We are getting a 26' truck ourselves -- they do not provide one. The last company we used brought their own box truck. It fits fine right in our driveway, with a ramp up to the lawn. Everything we had fit just fine in that sized truck.
I got free moving boxes and packing paper from a Craigslist ad -- great stuff, as i know how expensive boxes are. I prefer to save money and trees at the same time. Every time we move I offer our boxes free for someone else to use.
They don't provide their own truck? Wha? Are you sure they even work as movers for a living? Well, go ahead and disregard some of my advice, because I was thinking this was a different kind of situation. My bad; apparently I read through too quickly.
2 more pieces of advice:
1. don't let them move your small valuables. Jewelry, laptops, etc. These moving guys DO like to steal.
2. If you really want them on your side, working their butts off or at least listening to your requests, buy them lunch. $3/person from the dollar menu at Micky Ds, whatever. They'll really appreciate it.
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