Piano & Heavy-Item Moving in Chicago, IL

Piano board and straps, flat-rate pricing, and a route through the house worked out before it moves an inch.

This goes directly to Michelle, no forwarding, no queue — she or Desmond calls back the same day to get your Chicago move on the calendar and flag anything worth a closer look at the walkthrough.

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A piano doesn’t move on the hourly clock at Checkmate — it moves on a flat rate, because a piano job is really a rigging job wearing a moving job’s clothes, and pricing it by the hour punishes a customer for a crew being careful. Upright and spinet pianos move for a flat $285. Grand pianos run $335 to $460 depending on size and how many stairs or turns are between the piano and the truck. Gun safes move for a flat $210.

The tool for a piano is a piano board, not a hand truck and a couple of moving blankets. The instrument gets strapped to the board, walked on the board through doorways and down stairs, and loaded with the same board still attached until it’s set in its final spot. That’s true whether it’s an upright coming down a narrow staircase in a Berwyn two-flat or a baby grand going through a set of French doors in Naperville — the board and the straps don’t change, but the route through the house does, which is why Jamal Whitfield looks at the actual doorways, stair turns, and landing space before the flat rate is quoted.

Gun safes get the same rigging approach on a smaller scale: straps, a stair-rated dolly, and a route planned before anyone tips it back off the floor. Both piano and safe moves can be booked as a standalone job or added onto a full household move.

  • Upright/spinet piano: $285 flat rate
  • Grand piano: $335–$460 flat rate depending on size and stairs
  • Gun safe: $210 flat rate
  • Piano board and straps used on every piano move
  • Route through the home planned before the flat rate is quoted
  • Can be booked standalone or added to a full move

What This Service Includes

  • Flat-rate pricing, not hourly, for pianos and gun safes
  • Piano board and straps used on every job
  • Route through the home planned before quoting the flat rate
  • Stair-rated dolly used for gun safes
  • Can be booked standalone or added to a full move

What This Service Costs

Piano and safe moves run on a flat rate, not the hourly clock — $285 for an upright or spinet, $335–$460 for a grand depending on size and stairs, $210 for a gun safe

Jamal confirms the model, weight, and the exact path out of the house before crew day, so the board and straps are already lined up instead of getting sorted out on the spot. Either one books as its own job or gets folded into a full household move at the walkthrough.

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What Chicago Customers Say About This Service

Amanda Lindley
Amanda Lindley
Naperville · Google
★★★★★

“Eddy and Micael were super efficient, professional, and helpful. We needed furniture moved out of one room in order to repair flooring and they moved everything in less than an hour.”

Jason Birn
Jason Birn
Chicago · Google
★★★★★

“Romance and team responsible for my move. They were extremely helpful and happy to do anything and everything asked. They all went above and beyond. Thank you Romance and Team!”

Daniel O'Shea
Daniel O'Shea
Oak Park · Google
★★★★★

“Issac Hernandez and crew were absolutely PHENOMENAL!!! Got us moved in record time and budget friendly. Everything came in just the way it left. Would ABSOLUTELY hire again!!!”

Questions About This Service

How much does it cost to move a piano?
Upright and spinet pianos move for a flat $285. Grand pianos run $335 to $460 depending on size and how many stairs or turns are involved. Gun safes move for a flat $210.
Why is piano moving priced flat-rate instead of hourly?
A piano move is a rigging job — pricing it hourly would penalize a crew for taking the careful, slower route a piano actually needs.
What equipment do you use to move a piano?
A piano board and straps, on every piano move — the piano is strapped to the board and walked through the house on it until it's set in its final spot.
Can a piano move be added to a full household move?
Yes, piano and gun safe moves can be booked standalone or added onto a full move.
Do you move gun safes the same way?
Gun safes get a similar rigging approach — straps and a stair-rated dolly — priced at a flat $210.
What Sets Checkmate Movers Apart Around Chicago

Here’s What Checkmate Movers Does Differently Than Most Movers Around Chicago

Licensed With Illinois’s Commerce Commission — Not Just A Line On The Website

Household movers working Chicago and the surrounding Cook, DuPage, and Lake County suburbs have to carry ICC registration through the Illinois Commerce Commission; Checkmate Movers keeps it current every year, no lapses. The moment a job crosses the state line into Wisconsin, Indiana, or beyond, it's US DOT and MC authority that's covering the move instead.

You Pick Your Coverage Before The Truck Ever Loads

Basic released-value protection comes standard on every job at no cost. Ask Jamal about full-value coverage at your walkthrough if you'd rather have the higher payout ceiling You hear both options once, at the estimate — nobody's pitching an upgrade halfway down your stairwell with a dresser on their shoulder.

The Walkthrough Builds A Plan, Not Just A Price

Desmond spent eight years running crews for a big-box moving franchise where a couch could get carried up three flights twice because nobody had worked out the order first. At Checkmate Movers, Jamal maps furniture placement, load order, and building access at the in-home estimate — elevator windows, stairwell turns, tight doorways — so the crew walks in with a plan already set instead of working one out in the truck.

All Eighteen Of Us Are On Payroll, Not A Rotating Bench

Eighteen people are on payroll at Checkmate Movers, fourteen of them movers running nine trucks — no day-labor crews brought in when a week gets busy, no subcontractors filling out a truck. Desmond built it that way on purpose: a plan only holds up if the crew executing it actually works for the company that wrote it.

Every Move Planned Before The First Box Does.

Furniture placement, load order, and building access get worked out at the walkthrough, before anyone touches a box on moving day. Desmond Hale started Checkmate Movers in 2013 after eight years running crews for a franchise that never planned a job in advance, and watched the same couch get carried up the same stairs twice because of it.

Get My Checkmate Movers Quote ☎ (312) 508-3947