FAQ

Questions, answered properly

Grouped roughly by when they come up. If yours is not here, just ask.

Quoting and booking

How far ahead should I book?: As early as you can. Month-end and Friday dates go first everywhere in London, and if your building requires a booked lift slot you are competing with every other resident for the same windows.
Do you charge for a survey?: No. It is how we establish what the building will and will not allow, which is the whole basis of an accurate quote.
Why will you not quote over the phone?: Because the number would be wrong. Access in London varies more than contents do, and a quote that ignores the access gets corrected on the morning when you have no alternative.
What if my completion date moves?: Tell us as soon as you know. Chain delays are normal and we will do what we can to hold the crew. If your building has a booked lift slot, that may need rebooking too, which is another reason to tell us early.

My block has a service lift. Does that make it easy?: It helps a great deal, but it has to be booked, it usually has to be protected with blankets first, and there are normally restricted hours. Easy physically, administratively involved.
What does the managing agent need from you?: Typically written notice of the date, and increasingly evidence of public liability insurance before a crew is admitted. Some buildings also want the communal condition recorded beforehand. All of it is routine and all of it takes time.
Can a removal lorry get into my underground car park?: Usually not. Height restrictions in London car parks are commonly below what a removal vehicle needs, so the load runs from a surface bay and the carry is longer than the building suggests. We check the clearance rather than assume it.
My street is a red route.: Then there is no stopping during controlled hours at all, and kerbside loading is not available. We work from a side street with a carry, or start outside the controlled period. It is planned rather than discovered.
Do you protect communal areas?: Always. In a converted house the shared hallway belongs to several leaseholders, and damage becomes a bill split between people who did not move. Runners and corner guards go down before anything else happens.

What does listing mean for my move?: It means the protected fabric — original joinery, staircases, balusters, doors, cornices, shutters — cannot be altered or removed without consent, inside as well as out. In practice we protect it and we work around it. We do not modify it.
Something will not fit. What are my options?: Sell it, store it, have it professionally dismantled if it was designed to come apart, or in rare cases bring in a specialist hoist with the appropriate consents. We tell you at the survey so all four are still open.
Is stucco really that fragile?: It chips easily and it is slow and costly to repair properly, which is why reveals, thresholds, railings and front steps get protected before the first item moves.
How much is in a London cellar?: More than the owner thinks, almost universally. It is the commonest reason a vehicle turns out too small, so we count it properly at the survey.

Next step

Ask it. We would rather answer something now than have it become a problem on the day.