Tip #9:
Use your luggage
Fill luggage and duffle bags with clothing, sheets, towels, and paper goods. Even for local Austin moves you will be able to quickly spot your green suitcase holding your favorite sweaters, whereas “Box #97″ might remain elusive for days. Avoid packing books or heavy items in large suitcases, as these can be extremely difficult to move and may damage the luggage. Also avoid packing dishes or fragile items in suitcases or duffel bags, as luggage generally does not offer the same protection as boxes specifically designed for china and other delicate items. Be sure your Austin moving company knows that your inventory list will include suitcases and/or duffel bags. For local moves this may add to the time your move takes, and for interstate moves it will increase the weight or volume of your shipment. Either way, you want to be sure your estimate is as accurate as possible by providing your mover with the best information prior to your move.

Get your local or long distance residential or commercial moving estimate now!

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This is a question the sales staff at Elephant Moving hears frequently. Many customers want to know why we need an accurate item list from them if we are charging by the hour.
REASON #2:
An accurate item list helps our moving crews keep their schedule. If a crew shows up to a move and there is more to move than on the list then the move will take longer. This means that the crew will be late to the moves after this one, which is not fair to the other customers. Just as you expect your Austin movers to arrive on time, so does everyone else who schedules a move with Elephant Moving & Storage. We know that it is sometimes hard to know if your list and box count are wrong until you have finished packing. Every customer receives a confirmation email at the time of booking; this email summarizes your move and contains a copy of your inventory list. Every customer also receives a confirmation phone call the day before their move. At any time leading up to your move appointment, including during that confirmation phone call, we encourage you to inform the office of any changes to your list. This will allow us time to inform other customers that their start times will be later or earlier than originally stated. If the crew shows up to find a lot more or less than on the list there may be additional charges on the day of your move. Please try to keep your Austin movers updated so move day is smooth for all!

Get your local or long distance residential or commercial moving estimate now!

Place an order for moving boxes and packing materials now!

This is a question the sales staff at Elephant Moving hears frequently. Many customers want to know why we need an accurate item list from them if we are charging by the hour.
REASON #1:
The most important reason is to make sure that we are sending the right size crew of movers to each and every move. We want to make sure that your moving experience is a positive one! Elephant Moving strives to maintain a consistent level of quality and service. If the crew is too small for the job the move will not go well. The crew will become fatigued and that leads to damages! A larger crew on a larger job will not only help prevent damages, but it will also save you money! We structure our rates so that the larger crews cost less per man than a 2 man crew, which means in the end our customers save money. For example, if a 2 man crew would need over 7 hours to complete a particular job the cost would be $90/hr x 7 hrs = $630. This same job would take a 4 man crew 3.5 hours to complete at a rate of $150 per hour = $525. Who doesn’t like saving money?!

Get your local or long distance residential or commercial moving estimate now!

Place an order for moving boxes and packing materials now!

One of the most important steps before you move is getting a moving estimate from your home or office mover. In order for the estimator to provide you with the most accurate quote possible you will need to provide him with the best information you can. You should have complete knowledge of your new neighborhood, apartment/house/office, and the route to your destination (including construction). With local moves, time is everything. You can sometimes save time if you can recommend a quicker route to your destination than the one your mover was expecting to take. Other helpful tidbits that your Austin mover needs to know in order to give you an accurate moving estimate:

• Check your new area for the availability of suitable parking for the moving truck – one that will allow the movers to comfortably load and unload your items. Double-parking means the truck has to round the corner every so often and you may incur additional charges. A long carry will add to the time it takes to load or unload.
• Know all of the restrictions and requirements for your building. Most big buildings, especially in city areas, allow moves only between 9am and 5pm for residenatial moves, or only after hours and weekends for commercial moves. Remind your movers to provide the necessary certificates of insurance. These documents protect the building against damage. Building superintendents will not allow entrance without them. Check what other requirements the building may have regarding floor/wall protection and elevator usage.
• The availability of suitable elevator units for apartment moves is very important, especially ones large enough to hold your biggest pieces of furniture. This will definitely save you time and money. But it will also save the movers the time and effort of carrying heavy furniture up the stairs, where damage is more likely to occur, and also from disassembling your furniture.

If you are unsure about access, parking, or elevator sizes don’t hesitate to request an on-site estimate! Your Austin movers will gladly take a little time to check things out to ensure there are no unpleasant surprises on move day and everything goes smoothly for your move!

Get an Austin residential or commercial moving estimate now!

When you call to get an Austin moving estimate, you should provide the Austin moving company with as much information as possible to ensure there are no surprises the day of your move. Pertinent information includes:
• What floor are you on? Is there an elevator or stairs?
• How many flights of stairs? Do the stairs curve or turn sharply?
• Can the moving truck park near your door or stairway?
• Or will there be a long walk for the movers?
• Does your driveway slant at a 40 degree angle?
• Do you have a storage unit or garage that is also full of furniture and/or boxes?
• How many items will require disassembly?
• How many glass/marble/granite table tops, glass shelves, glass cabinet doors and/or framed pictures will require wrapping the day of your move?
• How large are they? This is especially important information – your Austin movers need to be sure they bring large enough crates or bins to accommodate the biggest fragile piece you have.
• Do you have any items that require special tools or techniques to disassemble (i.e. pool table, game table, hot tub)?
• Do you have any odd shaped bulky or loose items such as potted trees/plants, bird baths, lawn fountains or sculptures?
• Is there something that caused problems the last time you moved (i.e. those doors that had to be removed for that extra large overstuffed sleeper sofa)?

Providing your Austin movers with this information ensures that your estimate will be as accurate as possible. It will also ensure that your moving crew brings all of the tools and materials necessary to keep your move going smoothly.

Get an Austin residential or commercial moving estimate now!

Be sure to give your estimator as much information as you can in order to keep your cost as close to the moving estimate as possible. Keep in mind that the estimator assumes, in every situation, the following:
• You will not need additional supplies/packing materials to be provided by the mover.
• You will have packed everything yourself that you had anticipated.
• The scope of the work does not change markedly on the day of the move. In other words, you didn’t forget to tell the estimator about important (and heavy) stuff, such as:
o The lawnmower your neighbor borrowed from you.
o The unknown contents of your filled storage space.
o The “priceless” junk in the basement you found under the tarp-the stuff that your wife was hoping would be left behind “by accident.”
• Traffic from your old home to your new will not be worse than usual.

Get an estimate today!

A tentative final bill for Elephant Moving’s local moves is estimated using a simple formula:

(Number of movers + truck) x number of hours = final price

Estimating moves is an inexact science. Many variables factor into how long a move will take. The professional moving estimators at Elephant Moving use their experience from doing similar moves in order to figure out how many hours your move will require. Their estimates factor in the number and type of items you have, stairs and walking distances, travel time and whether you are leaving town. Each estimate will include the amount of time that will pass from the moment the movers first arrive at your location and your move begins until the movers are finished. They will then add in the cost of packing services, moving boxes, tape and other packing materials.

Elephant Moving’s easy to understand hourly rates include the crew of movers, one moving truck, disassembly/reassembly, wrapping of furniture in heavy duty moving blankets, travel time and all taxes.

Get an estimate today!