Apartment and condo moves in Chicago live or die on timing, not muscle. A high-rise with one freight elevator might give a building a four-hour window on a Saturday morning before the next tenant’s slot opens, and a third-floor walk-up doesn’t have an elevator at all — just a stairwell that turns twice before it reaches the street. Checkmate plans around both at the walkthrough, before the move ever gets booked on the calendar.
Jamal Whitfield maps the actual route a couch or a dresser has to take out of a specific unit: which stairwell is wider, whether the freight elevator fits a mattress flat or has to go in on its side, and how many trips a crew can realistically make inside a two-hour freight window before the clock runs out and the job spills into overtime. That routing gets worked out before crew day, so the crew isn’t discovering a tight stairwell turn for the first time with a dresser wedged in it.
Elevator buildings, walk-ups, and everything in between get the same hourly local rates as any other Checkmate move — $145 to $225/hr depending on crew size — and the same basic released-value protection included at no charge. What changes is the routing plan, and that gets worked out in advance so freight-window time doesn’t get burned re-figuring the stairwell on the spot.
- Freight elevator windows scheduled and mapped in advance
- Walk-up stairwell routes worked out at the walkthrough
- Furniture measured against tight turns and doorways ahead of time
- Same hourly rates as any local move, no elevator surprise sprung on move day
What This Service Includes
- Freight elevator window scheduled ahead of move day
- Walk-up stairwell route mapped at the walkthrough
- Furniture measured against doorways and turns in advance
- Same hourly rates for elevator buildings and walk-ups
- Basic released-value protection included free
What This Service Costs
Crew size sets your hourly rate — $145/hr for two movers, $185/hr for three, $225/hr for four — or if you'd rather book off a written number, Jamal can walk the place first and price it before move day
That hourly rate covers the truck, dollies, furniture pads, and shrink wrap — nothing billed separately: $145 for two movers, $185 for three, $225 for four, and $50/hr for each mover beyond that. A $175 deposit holds your date and comes straight off the final invoice. Every job includes basic released-value protection at no added cost; for anyone who wants more coverage on a specific item, Michelle sets up a full-value quote when she books your date.
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